Only I Am A Reader

While the mutant project proceeded smoothly, the researchers acknowledged that direct induction of mutation was impossible. Most subjects either directly died due to their body's inability to accept the change, while others lost their minds or became crippled. Overall, controlling the mutation to achieve the desired outcome was impossible.

However, the answer to that wasn't hard to reach. The head researcher believed that the human body's evolutionary ability to adapt was capable of solving the issue. The only problem was that this solution required time.

Rather than developing a mutant, they decided to develop parents to that mutant. Relying on the research data that they already obtained, they picked up candidates from the older subjects to minimally expose them to the fragment's effect coupled with other 'potions' that they made for the body to specifically accept that effect.

"So this is who 'I' am."

The page Leo was currently staring at had 24 drawings that were strangely accurate, his picture wasn't amid them, but his eyes were attracted to a particular blonde pair. Not only did the pair have the same features as the current him, but they were also the eleventh pair on the page, the number that the crazy head researcher had just called him by!

"This explains the orphan part."

Arthur's memory didn't have any recollection of these 'parents' of his, but something inside him ached as he stared at it. Most protagonists would later reunite with their 'secretly strong' parents, but here he was, finding out that he came from a lineage of test subjects…

Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly time for Leo to mourn his parents from this world. He was finally getting to the part concerning him, so he wouldn't stop here.

The 'parenting' project was troublesome since they had to provide a 'life' for the twelve pairs, but this wasn't the only problem. Within the first few years, the candidates went down by half. By the time they reached the stable age of 19, only 3 pairs were still alive under the indirect induction.

Fortunately for the passionate researchers, pregnancy itself wasn't a problem. After another 9 months of waiting, the three 'mothers' were ready to deliver. Only…

'Is this where all my luck went?'

The first delivery was an unavoidable miscarriage, while the second baby was underdeveloped that it died within minutes after its birth. Only the third baby was born safe and sound! That was the day Arthur came to this world!

With only one living 'seed' left, the research group had to tread with absolute care. Keeping their 'treatment' to an even lower minimum. However, they still failed to consider a very important aspect.

Even if they treated them as test subjects, Arthur's parents were still human. Seeing their child grow up completely awakened their natural instincts to protect. As someone who had experienced this life, they could never let their child suffer under the same pattern!

It was unknown how they did it in the end, but the pair actually managed to escape the facility they were locked in with little Arthur!

'Thanks…'

This page seemed like the part where good would prevail, but as someone who already knew the end of this story, Leo could only silently thank his deceased parents. He didn't have to glance at the next page to understand that they died under pursuit.

Since they were smart enough to escape, Leo knew that these parents of his knew that they wouldn't survive. Yet, they still did it, all in order to let him escape the researchers' clutches.

"...And this explains being the protagonist's 'brother'."

He had no memory of anything before the Orphanage, but Leo understood that it was likely his mind's defense mechanism in action. His parents' diversion let him reach there safely, and that was exactly how the irony worked its wonders.

"I… am the mid-boss."

Everything was blatantly obvious to Leo now. Arthur never really died in the novel, rather, he was taken away by the Fanged Wolves and returned to the Holy Sword School's remnant.

There was no more story to tell, but the following pages contained the rest of the research, and what he was supposed to develop into. They basically contained the answer to a good chunk of the questions that Leo always asked himself.

His 'Blocked Meridians' was just a misdiagnosis, as a 'mutant', Leo's body couldn't accept Sword Breath through natural means. He was supposed to be subjected to the fragment to 'ascend', but the 'Cleansing Sword' managed to break off the barrier that naturally formed in his body, allowing him to return to the normal path.

Needless to say, the 'abnormality' following each ascension was a characteristic of his mutation. Although it wasn't the target of the project, it was an ability that the researchers stimulated for the sake of preparing Leo for the mutation they sought!

Even the Sword Pearl was actually for his sake. In order for the Sword Seed to properly 'sprout', a 'nurturing' item like the pearl was required to act as the 'soil'...

"This changes everything…"

Leo didn't exactly know how to feel when he finally received an answer to a lot of his confusing questions. The plan this time was to stop the creation of the mid-boss and obtain a priceless opportunity, but that was already beyond his reach!

Not only was he the mid-boss himself, but the Sword Seed that he planned to use to ascend the unreachable tenth grade was also his ticket to achieving that status!

The head researcher had similarly blabbered about the Sword Seed's use if not for their project's sake, and Leo had planned to use it for just that. However, the Sword Seed now had a far greater meaning to him.

Unknowingly, he had already 'swallowed' the Sword Pearl according to plan, if he 'consumed' the Sword Seed now…

[ Plot change confirmed, Unique Event occurrence has been detected. ]

[ The Reader's character has managed to successfully uproot the Holy Sword School's remnant before the Epilogue's arrival. ]

[ You have received 159 Reading Points. ]

As soon as Leo finished browsing the record, the voice in his head sparked off once again.. However, he didn't pay it any heed. The only thing that monopolized his attention whole was what hid inside the small glass tank as his hand already extended to fish it out…