Don't Derail The Plot

4. System Contract

A/N: Prepare thyself for an information dump. Tanzu was a lawyer in her former life and has read a lot of transmigration novels. She will not be one of those characters who dive into a mission with only a basic understanding of her job. The girl is gonna read the fine print and ask deh big questions. If you have no interest in knowing so much about what she can or cannot do as an agent, you can skip this chapter. The story arcs will still make sense...probably...( ｰ̀εｰ́ )...Okay, maybe read the first 5 paragraphs first. For those who are interested, bless your lovely hearts for being such a good sport. I hope I don't bore you too much.

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From the contract, Tanzu understood that agents of the Cupid Catalyst System are sent on missions to worlds in realities that were derived from fictional stories. An agent's mission consisted two objectives; performing 'catalyst tasks' and fulfilling 'client wishes'.

The 'catalyst tasks' serve as the primary purpose of Cupid Catalyst agents. This objective is meant to ensure that the Plotline of the mission world have their intended Romantic Ending. 'Catalyst tasks' can take many forms, but they are either scenes agents that must be performed at a specific point in time of the Plotline, or situations that must be orchestrated to ensure certain Plotline events occur.

Before their first mission, agents must choose to be locked into one of two character tiers; Rounded Character Tier or Flat Character Tier. This will determine the nature and number of the 'catalyst tasks' the agent will perform for the rest of their time with the System. Agents cannot change their Character Tier once they enter their first mission.

The Rounded Character Tier consists of secondary characters in the Plotline. Agents under this tier have more presence in the story and must perform more involving 'catalyst tasks' to keep the Plotline in check. As a tradeoff, Rounded tier agents receive a very detailed description of the Plotline to use as a reference for their missions. The Flat Character Tier consists of characters with a nonessential role in the Plotline. Agents under this tier have fewer and easier 'catalyst tasks' to perform, but receive a very simplified description of the Plotline to use as a reference for their missions.

The fulfillment of 'client wishes' serves as the secondary purpose of Cupid Catalyst agents. Clients are the characters the agents possess while performing their missions. Clients may have a maximum of 3 wishes, but an agent is only obligated to fulfill one during their mission unless required to do more due to a penalty. If an agent completes a mission while fulfilling all of their client's wishes, they have the privilege to choose a client from a selection of candidates in their next mission. This privilege only applies to clients that have more than one wish they want fulfilled and agents who are not required to complete multiple wishes due to a penalty.

The System will notify the agent when they have completed any objective of their mission. Once a mission is complete, agents may leave the mission world, provided their exit does not derail the Plotline. If an agent dies before completing their 'catalyst tasks' objective, they may request to be revived into a soulless character within the mission world. The soulless character will have no memories or client wish necessary for the agent to fulfill.

At first, Tanzu was excited to know that her indenture contract has a minimal requirement of completing 5 missions, but after learning about the penalties, she felt like she had been scammed. Her dream of early retirement was looking bleak.

According to the contract, agents are subject to penalties should they fail to complete their mission objectives and/or derail the Plotline to an irreparable state. If an agent fails the primary 'catalyst tasks' objective while in the body of a client, they will owe the System an additional mission multiplied by the outstanding number of failed primary objectives accrued during their indenture. If an agent fails the secondary 'client wishes' objective, they will owe the System an additional mission multiplied by the outstanding number of failed secondary objectives accrued during their indenture. If an agent deliberately or negligently dies while in the body of a client, the residual soul of the client may file a claim against the agent. If the Department accepts the residual soul's claim, the agent will owe the System an additional 3 missions multiplied by the outstanding sum of failed secondary objectives and premature client deaths accrued during the agent's indenture. If an agent fails either mission objective while residing in the body of a soulless character, they will owe the System an additional 3 missions multiplied by the outstanding sum of failed missions and premature client deaths accrued during their indenture.