Deadmeat Saga

Intermission – How to counter Plot-Armored Protagonists

Qold, sleeping to digest her sumptuous buffet, suddenly found herself in a dreamlike familiar glade. Looking around in a daze, Qold understood what happened as she looked toward a particular spot. Sure enough, she saw a fog-like female figure calmly sipping tea beside an intricate table, a vacant chair opposite her.

"Qold, come and sit," Xenova said, pointing at the opposite chair.

"Yes, Mistress Xenova." Qold respectfully replied, sitting on the chair.

As soon as she sat down, Xenova spoke.

"I take my eyes off you for a few days, and you are already a Greater Succubus. What did that ridiculous master of yours do to you? Give you a tier-7 Elixir?" Mistress Xenova said, looking at Qold curiously. But then, her expression changed into disbelief. "No... that smell. Unholy hells, you- You just ingested tier 9 semen? And entire liters of it?! You lucky, wasteful skank! Do you even know the value of that?! No wonder you evolved so fast! A liter of it is enough to make a Greater Succubus your slave bitch for ten years or employ a Succubus Queen for a month as a bodyguard! Even the Succubus Ancestor, the highest succubi below my Succubari Guard, would willingly make a move. Heck, that reaches my drinking standards!"

"I... tier 9 semen?" Qold blinked in shock. She just got some of her master's semen. Why did it sound like her mistress categorized it as a treasure?

"Yes, tier 9 semen. Although only the lowest tier 9, it is still tier 9. Us succubi treat semen as a magical ingredient and commodity due to its uses and trade with other demons or races. The lowest tier of semen is tier 0, which belongs to weaklings, such as Lesser Imps, sickly drunkards, or lowly goblins. That stuff is just foul crap only the Lesser Lust Imp sluts would swallow. From there, the tier generally corresponds to the ranking system, from F to SSS, tier 1 to tier 9. You may compare it to adventurers. Healthy villagers can yield tier 1 semen, an E-rank adventurer can yield tier 2 semen, a D-rank can yield tier 3 semen, and so on. That is, you drank the seminal worth of hundreds of ejaculations from an SSS-rank adventurer or someone of a highly specialized divine sexual bloodline- FUCK!" Xenova suddenly widened her eyes as she looked at Qold in disbelief.

"You- Your master- what the heck happened to him? Did he awaken the fabled Epitome of Masculinity of the Kerus Dynasty? No, he even reached the Beginner stage and the 100% Golden Marrow standard!? Teriluberath's Spiky Balls- that hasn't happened since the Era of Separation and Decline! My predecessor wouldn't have ever left this zone if it weren't for this!" Xenova exclaimed.

"Erm... I am confused..." Qold blinked, not understanding half of what her mistress was talking about.

Xenova seemed to have calmed down a little, "As expected of a Chosen of an Outer God, he even revived the dying Tyrant Bloodline to such a profound level. Little skank, whatever happens, don't let anyone learn of your little master's situation, or the most powerful Echoes, those ancients that lived in the darkness for thousands of years, would come and slaughter him at all costs."

Qold's expression turned serious, "I understand."

"Good. Now, then. Onto more pressing matters. A little bird whispered your master killed Ma Yang and even an Echo? Is that true?" Xenova asked.

"Yes, mistress." Qold nodded. There was no need to hide it.

"As expected. Good job on killing that little bastard. He would have hit my income hard. I am even more pleased about killing the Echo. Although you likely killed a youngling, it saved future cancer from your world." Xenova smiled with satisfaction.

"Thank you for your kind words, mistress, but I don't believe you have summoned me just for this." Qold lowered her head and reminded.

"Correct. I am here to inform you that Ma Yang's replacement already appeared." Xenova's smile disappeared, replaced by a severe look.

"Replacement? Isn't it over after killing them?" Qold was shocked.

"Yes. The good news is that the one summoned is a gentle soul who wants to save lives. She is a pure-hearted and selfless saint. For now, I cannot find fault in her." Xenova praised.

"Then she isn't trouble for the time being, right?" Qold asked, feeling somewhat relieved.

"I said for now. People change, Qold, and a saint can become a devil if the right conditions show." Xenova said but didn't deny Qold's words. "What troubles me now is her potential."

"Potential? Is there a difference between otherworlders?" Qold asked.

"Certainly. Otherworlders that get summoned receive two talents from the gods on default- Translation and Analyze Status. It is so they can acclimate better to the world. In addition, they can receive up to ten talents from the Universe upon being summoned based on their achievements in their previous life. Those who start with good conditions but make a minimal impact can, at most, receive three Otherworlder talents, one of which allows them to grow through specific actions. Only toddlers, society's trash, snub nobles, or geniuses with misused talents receive such low ratings. Ma Yang was allegedly the third type. While he might be a genius, as an otherworlder, he is mediocre." Xenova explained.

"So we only handled the weakest of enemies, hah?" Qold warily smiled.

"I am afraid so." Xenova nodded.

"Then what of this new otherworlder? What is her potential?" Qold curiously asked.

"She has top-tier talent. I am unsure about her story, but one of my spies glimpsed her Status. Her name is Himeko, and she has all the ten theoretical talents possible, five of which are Otherworlder Talents. She is a top-of-the-line Saint talent with unlimited potential." Xenova said with a deep look.

"Doesn't that just make her more talented? How is this a problem?" Qold failed to understand.

In her opinion and understanding, the Otherworlders can't advance faster than Gerhart. Gerhart was on an unstoppable path of ascension.

"You don't understand. It isn't just about talent. The gods greatly favor her, and the heavens protect her as its darling child. She is a plot-armored protagonist, created by the heavens playing favorites." Xenova explained, her lips twitching.

"... I don't follow?" Qold blinked her eyes.

"I mean, she has extreme luck that can warp reality itself. If someone above what she can handle targets her, the world would magically alter reality so that something distracts, forces the other party back, or kills the aggressor, even sending a meteor at them. If a world-ending natural disaster happens, a portal to another world might emerge, dragging her inside. The moment she came into being, the world started revolving around her. I already vaguely felt it." Xenova explained.

"That's- ridiculous! How can something like this exist!?" Qold exclaimed in shock.

"Universe shenanigans of the highest order, no doubt. Don't bother reasoning with it. Take it as it is." Xenova scowled.

"How are we supposed to counter THAT?" Qold said with a horrified look.

"I will be honest. I didn't expect your world to succeed in summoning someone of this caliber. The chances are too low. I only wanted you to deal with regular ones. As for how to counter Himeko- I am afraid it is out of your league. If you try anything, you might get burned." Xenova replied.

"Well, there must be something we can do, right?" Qold carefully asked.

"There is. You can steer Himeko's direction. Although plot-armored, she is like an aimless, indestructible ship in a raging ocean. The temples would inevitably try to guide her to their narrative. What you need to do is somehow steer her to where you want her to go and do. The sooner you do it, the better." Xenova said.

"And how are we supposed to do that, mistress?" Qold asked.

"Simple. Plant a spy among her closest followers. The more she values the spy, the more she will listen to his advice. Ideally, he should become her lover or control and manipulate her other followers. Of course, this spy must integrate into her group as organically as possible, or it would backfire." Xenova guided.

"I will convey these words to master. Thank you, mistress." Qold thanked.

"As I said, I should be the one thanking you for helping me deal with this mess. Goodbye." Xenova smiled as the dream collapsed.

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