He stepped through the door and instantly felt like he had been yanked into another dimension. The first thing he saw was the night sky—a vast, endless expanse of black velvet dotted with twinkling stars. A massive full moon hung in the sky, shimmering like a diamond, casting an eerie glow over everything. There was no ground beneath his feet, no sense of direction. Just the sky, stretching out infinitely in all directions.
Before he could even process where he was, his foot touched the air—solid one second, but the next he was plummeting. His stomach lurched as gravity took hold, and he began falling. His scream tore from his throat, panic surging as the moon and stars blurred around him. He didn't know what was happening or where he was going, only that he was free-falling into the unknown.
As he hurtled through the sky, a screen flashed before his eyes, stopping him mid-panic.
Welcome to the World of Despair
Your task: Protect the child born in the slums of the Western Union.
Name: Rade
Rade possesses the constitution of the Ethereal Moon, granting him otherworldly powers on every full moon. His senses heighten, and his strength skyrockets. But he is just a child.
Your mission is to protect Rade from 'The Baby,' a cruel organization that captures gifted children and babies for unspeakable experiments. These experiments are beyond human imagination. Help the young hero destroy this organization and save every child from a life of misery and doom.
Time limit: 1 month
Failure will result in your dismissal from the Plot Armor Agency and immediate banishment to the Abyss. Rade will live a life of suffering and die if you fail.
Reward: 1,000 Int Coins and a Save Pass
Note: You do not currently have a Save Pass. Without one, failure means there are no second chances. Tread carefully.
His mind raced as he read through the mission details. The name "The Baby" sent a chill down his spine. He was supposed to protect a child named Rade, who was apparently some kind of superhuman on full moons. But this wasn't just a baby story—it was far worse. Children were being experimented on, tortured by an organization that was as cruel as it was twisted. This was way more than he had bargained for.
He was still falling, but something changed. His panic began to fade as his mind sharpened. Another window popped up in front of him.
Plot Armor Genius Activated.
Suddenly, everything clicked into place. His brain worked on overdrive, processing his situation with crystal clarity. He could do this. He just had to protect a kid and destroy the organization. As horrible as it sounded, maybe it wouldn't be as impossible as it seemed.
The wind that had been roaring in his ears suddenly went silent. He blinked, his mind pulling him back to reality. His body had stopped falling. Confused, he looked around, realizing he wasn't plummeting through the air anymore. He was standing on it—floating as if the sky had turned into solid ground.
He hesitated, carefully stepping forward. The air held him, firm beneath his feet. "What the hell…" he muttered to himself, still trying to comprehend what was going on. But there wasn't time to think. He had a mission now.
Save Rade. Destroy The Baby. He had one month. No plot armor to save him, no backup plan. And failure meant far more than just getting fired—it meant being tossed into the Abyss.
But for now, he was alive. The world waited below him, and the story was just beginning.
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As he floated there, trying to make sense of what he'd just been thrown into, another window popped up in front of him.
"Here are the Skills you'll need to add plot armor to Rade and help him survive this hellish world," the message began.
He blinked, his heart racing. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. The system seemed to be giving him something. He read on:
Time Freeze : "You can stop time to add plot armor. While time is stopped, only you can move and act. You are completely invisible in this world. No one knows who you are, and no one can see or notice anything you do. However, you cannot stay more than 500 meters away from the MC, Rade. You can move freely in the world during time stop to add plot armor as long as it makes sense within the story. Remember, plot armor only works if it follows some logic. If it completely contradicts reality, the plot armor will fail."
He smirked at the sarcastic tone in the last sentence. "Of course, I don't get the all-powerful plot armor," he muttered. "It's gotta be grounded in some form of reality." He imagined himself giving Rade the ability to fly just because he felt like it—yeah, that wouldn't fly. Literally.
The window continued:
Additional Features: (Locked due to temporary employee status and low authentication.)
You'll unlock more Skills once you prove you're not an utter failure.
The sarcastic tone of the system rubbed him the wrong way, but he couldn't deny that having time-stopping powers gave him a leg up. It wasn't much, but it was something. Now, all he had to do was rewrite Rade's story in a way that didn't contradict the "reality" of this messed-up world of despair. If he failed, not only would he lose his job and get tossed into the Abyss, but poor Rade would face a life of unspeakable torment and eventually die.
"Great," he muttered. "Just perfect."
He glanced at the floating window again, his mind racing. He could move through time and space while being invisible, but only if he stuck close to Rade. And plot armor only worked if it made sense within the story's twisted logic. That meant no pulling off stupid, godlike saves unless he could somehow justify them.
"Okay," he whispered to himself. "I just have to rewrite the story, make it fit, and not get caught."
Another sarcastic message flashed:
Now, please rewrite the story in a way that suits you best. Don't screw it up.
He gritted his teeth. "I get it, okay?" He closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts. This was his story to rewrite now, whether he liked it or not. Time to make it work—before everything fell apart.
As everything clicked into place about what he had to do, he stood there for a moment, absorbing the weight of his mission. He had to protect Rade, the child with the Ethereal Moon constitution, from the terrifying organization known as "The Baby." His job? To stop them from capturing and experimenting on the child.
He had plot armor abilities, sure, but there were strict limitations. He could stop time, move unseen, and remain invisible—but only if he stayed within 500 meters of Rade. If I can't go far from him, then Rade must be nearby, he thought as his Plot Armor Genius trait kicked in, his mind sharpening like a blade.
The air smelled fresher here, nothing like the city smog I'd been used to. No hint of exhaust fumes or the staleness of modern pollution, just a cool breeze carrying the scent of something old, natural—like wet earth after rain, mixed with the faint sweetness of wood burning somewhere far off. It was almost peaceful, which was a weird contrast to everything else going on. The cobbled streets were neat, and the flickering gas lamps bathed everything in this soft glow, making the place feel kind of serene—if you ignored the tension bubbling underneath.
I floated through the air, taking it all in. It was like stepping into a period drama set in Victorian England—minus the plague and grimy teeth, of course. People bustled about, minding their own business, hopping in and out of taverns, and filling the quiet alleys with drunken laughter. There was something almost… charming about it. It was like the kind of place you'd read about in a storybook, where the most exciting thing was some scandalous affair or a midnight duel. But the energy here was something else—like there was a layer of chaos just itching to break loose.
And then, one building caught my eye.
It wasn't just another tavern. No, this one had way more people coming and going—packed to the brim, like the kind of place you'd go for a bit more than just a pint. Something about it seemed off, though. Curiosity got the best of me (as usual), and I floated toward the second-floor windows, trying to get a peek at what was going on inside. That's when I heard it.
Soft. Rhythmic. Sounds.
I inched closer, trying to figure it out. And then… it hit me.
"Ahh… ahh… haaa…"
His face flushed red in an instant. Wait… is that—? He couldn't help but move closer to the window, and what he saw made his eyes go wide. Inside the room, bodies were entangled in an unmistakable act, their movements slow and deliberate, accompanied by soft gasps and moans of pleasure.
"Oh, come on," I muttered, my face heating up like a furnace. Those kind of sounds. The unmistakable gasps and groans of pleasure, echoing through the night. And it wasn't just one room either—nope, practically every window on the second floor had the same show going on. A brothel. Just my luck.
I tried to back away, but the noises only got louder, more detailed. My brain? Scrambling. My body? Betraying me in ways I did not need right now. Seriously? Now's the time to have a "moment"? My face was burning as I clutched my lower half, mentally screaming at my body to stop.
"Focus, man. You've got a job to do." I muttered, shaking myself out of it. I needed to find Rade, not get tangled up in some sleazy side quest. But it was like my brain was playing tricks on me, replaying every little sound, reminding me just how human I still was, even in this weird floating ghost form.
And then, out of nowhere, I heard something that made the whole situation about ten times worse—a child's voice. Clear. Innocent. Completely out of place in the middle of all this debauchery.