Chapter 01

 “Saintess, the team you treated yesterday has requested an audience. They wish to personally express their gratitude.”

The tall, broad-shouldered man in a tailored suit bowed deeply. His deliberately softened voice carried a careful restraint, as though he feared disturbing the girl within his sight.

Inside the vast church stood an enormous gilded statue. The robed figure held a sword aloft, its presence thunderous and awe-inspiring. Even as a motionless sculpture, it compelled reverence.

Yet the man in the suit did not spare the statue a single glance. His gaze remained fixed upon the petite figure kneeling beneath it.

Light flowed across the girl’s loose black hair, imbuing her with a holiness that was both pure and mysterious. Even seen only from behind, she was enough to stir the hearts of those who looked upon her.

When she turned her face slightly to the side, her jet-black eyelashes trembled faintly, as though an exquisitely carved statue had been granted life. In that instant, Charlie felt as though he were Pygmalion, his wish fulfilled.

“Have them leave,” she said softly. “Healing the wounded is my duty. It has nothing to do with gratitude. There is no need for thanks.”

Her light, ethereal voice made Charlie’s heart quiver. As expected of the Saintess, she performed good deeds without ever seeking recompense.

“Understood. I will dismiss them immediately.”

Charlie exhaled in quiet relief. That team hailed from the lower district, a group of impoverished and ordinary ability users. Receiving healing from the Saintess was already the highest honor they could hope for. He did not wish for her to have any further involvement with such people.

The Saintess should remain untouched by dust, flawless and pure. After the man in the suit departed, the immense church was once again left with a single figure.

Ye Zheng, still kneeling, glanced around before finally releasing a breath she had been holding.

The holy and dignified Saintess slowly struggled to her feet. Even though she knelt here for four hours every weekend, her body stubbornly refused to adapt.

Her legs were numb, yet Ye Zheng maintained a steady and composed gait. As the public face of the church, she could not allow anyone to glimpse an unseemly moment.

Fortunately, once the four hours of kneeling ended, the remaining time was relatively easy to endure.

『The protagonist team is about to leave. Hurry and go speak with them to build bonds.』

A strange voice echoed within her mind. Ye Zheng halted mid-step, her brows knitting together.

“A mental-type ability user?” she said coldly. “Do not play tricks within the church. Leave now, and I will refrain from reporting you.”

The moment her words fell, a blinding white light engulfed her entirely. When Ye Zheng opened her eyes again, she found herself in a boundless, pure-white space. Floating before her was a single book.

A book?

She reached out and took hold of the vividly colored volume. Its cover depicted various characters.

At the very center stood a black-haired boy with an expressionless face. One of his arms had transformed into a massive greatsword, poised as though he were perpetually ready to strike. Clustered around him were others, each displaying distinctive ability traits. Flames, ice, vines, and more intertwined in a dazzling display.

Ye Zheng’s gaze abruptly fixed on one corner of the cover.

There stood a girl dressed in white, long black hair cascading along her slender form. Compared to the others, whose abilities radiated aggression, she appeared quiet and gentle, utterly out of place.

Even though the girl’s eyes occupied nearly a third of her face and the art style was far from realistic, Ye Zheng recognized her instantly.

It was herself.

And the man at the center of the cover was the captain of the ability team she had healed the day before. A sense of foreboding crept into her heart. Her eyes lifted to the bold title printed across the cover.

“Throne of the Aberrant Realm.”

[T/N- I took tooo much Liberty with the name , Literal translation kinda would be Weird Domain King.]

『That is correct. You are the female protagonist of the manga “Throne of the Aberrant Realm.”』

The strange voice sounded once more.

“A manga’s female protagonist?”

Ye Zheng was no stranger to manga. The church had long produced illustrated works featuring the God of Hope as the protagonist, spreading doctrine and glorifying the deity’s acts of salvation.

Because of this, Ye Zheng disliked manga. To her, such stories were laughable, little more than shallow praise for the deity, the church, or the imperial royal family.

Boring and absurd, she thought irreverently.

『In the world that created your manga, manga is extremely popular, with a wide variety of genres. However, the most popular remains hot-blooded shonen manga.』

Ye Zheng’s interest was piqued. “What is hot-blooded shonen manga?”

『In simple terms, it follows a male protagonist who grows stronger, rises from adversity, battles monsters, gains friendship and love, saves the world, and ultimately becomes the strongest.』

“Then it should be called hot-blooded young male manga,” Ye Zheng corrected calmly. “‘Shonen’ refers to an age group. Your description is imprecise.”

The voice faltered. 『Most shonen manga protagonists are male. That detail is not important.』

『What matters is you. As the female protagonist, your popularity is too low. You are about to be forcibly written out of the story.』

“Popularity too low?” Ye Zheng frowned slightly. “My reputation among the public and within the church has always been excellent.”

Calling it excellent was an understatement.

Ye Zheng had been named the church’s Saintess at fourteen. Now seventeen, she had never committed a single error. Even the imperial family, which stood in opposition to the church, openly praised her.

If asked who the most perfect woman in the empire was, Ye Zheng would undoubtedly win by an overwhelming margin.

『That is precisely the problem. You are too boring.』

『In a manga centered on ability battles, you have no combat presence. You possess only beauty and noble status. Your gentle personality is mediocre even within the second dimension.』

『Male readers find you less interesting than powerful and fiery female characters.』

『Female readers despise you even more, because you abandon your family and Saintess status for the male protagonist. You are exactly the kind of love-brained character they hate.』

Ye Zheng caught the crucial point, her brows furrowing deeper.

“Me? Abandon my status for that man?”

She recalled the captain she had healed yesterday, his face smeared with blood. She had not even remembered his appearance.

“What does ‘forcibly written out’ mean?”

『Due to reader dissatisfaction, the author has decided that you will die while blocking an attack for the male protagonist during an ability battle.』

『This serves to stimulate the male protagonist’s growth, heighten conflict with the antagonists, and satisfy the readers.』

Ye Zheng’s flawless, almost unreal face revealed genuine bewilderment.

“Do they truly hate me that much?”

The mechanical voice fell silent. In its place appeared a translucent screen filled with densely packed text.

【1L: Honestly, who is the most hated character in “Throne of the Aberrant Realm”?】

【2L: Why ask? Obviously Ye Zheng.】

【3L: I do not dare say it out loud. I will get labeled misogynistic, and the female fans will come after me.】

【4L: Ye Zheng is useless. Her healing is not even better than her younger brother’s. She keeps dragging the protagonist group down by trying to save people. Another day wishing Ye Zheng would go offline*.】

[T/N- Offline is slang term for characters getting sidelined/killed off before their predetermined time.]

【5L: Ye Zheng exists purely to cater to weeb fantasies. As a woman, it is normal to hate her, right? She is the embodiment of a male fantasy Saintess.】

【6L: Even as a guy, I dislike her. Weakness is the original sin. There is no need for her in the protagonist group. She should just stay home.】

【7L: Ye Zheng fans are annoying too. So what if the official pairing is broken? Who actually likes such a soulless female character? It is just self-inserting fans using her as a shell.】

【8L: Caught someone shipping Xi-Se again. Strong male-male is supreme.】

✧✧✧✧✧

Many of the terms were unfamiliar to Ye Zheng. She pressed a hand against her chest, a dull ache spreading within. Even without fully understanding, she could feel their hostility.

『Do not be sad. I will help you change your fate, reverse your popularity, and become a qualified female protagonist.』

『These are evaluations from the later stages of serialization. Right now, you have only just appeared. There is still time to change the future.』

Ye Zheng lifted her gaze blankly. “How will you help me?”

White light flashed once more. She found herself back in the empty church, the colossal statue’s shadow looming over her.

『I will provide spoilers for future plot points and reader feedback.』

『You may adjust your actions accordingly to gain better evaluations.』

『Altering the plot requires action points. Popularity can be converted into action points.』

『Current action points: 1.』

Ye Zheng understood immediately. She needed to change the unfavorable plot developments, increase her popularity, and avoid her predetermined death.

“I understand. I should return to my room and think carefully.”

Her ankle-length black hair swayed softly as she walked down the corridor, smiling and nodding politely to passing church staff.

They returned her greetings with shy smiles, flustered by her presence. Today’s Saintess was as radiant as ever.

Yet if one looked closely, they would notice a trace of restrained emotion hidden within Ye Zheng’s gentle eyes.

“This is not the way to my room,” she murmured.

“I should not be walking this direction.”

『Your plot has already begun.』

『The protagonist team is currently waiting for you.』

『According to the original storyline, you will blush and fall in love at first sight once the male protagonist has cleaned the blood from himself.』

Even the system found this strange. Ye Zheng had refused to meet the team. That should not have been possible. Based on her original character setting, she would have greeted them kindly without hesitation.

Though readers criticized her for being excessively gentle, her kindness was unquestionable. Had the system’s arrival caused a butterfly effect? Perhaps Ye Zheng felt unwell today, or perhaps something unexpected had occurred.

“So in the future,” Ye Zheng asked suddenly, “I will often be forcibly controlled by the plot?”

『That is the power of a higher dimension.』

『You may use action points to alter certain events.』

『For example, the upcoming love-at-first-sight scene is far too love-brained. It severely damages the Saintess’s dignity.』

『You could change it to gifting useful items instead, thereby increasing both the male protagonist’s and the readers’ favorability.』

The system spoke with confidence. Given Ye Zheng’s limits as a healing-type ability user, dramatic battle scenes would be difficult. Supporting the team effectively would be more beneficial.

『I can spoil the items needed in the next dungeon.』

『You can spend an action point to add a scene where you give gifts.』

Ye Zheng lowered her lashes, appearing docile. She nodded lightly.

“Alright. I want to use the action point…

To refuse the meeting.”

『?』

『???』

✧✧✧✧✧

“Throne of the Aberrant Realm” was one of the most popular manga on Blue Star, with countless readers eagerly following its updates. Every chapter sparked heated discussion.

The story told of how, five hundred years ago, Aberrant Realms descended upon the Sacred Citadel Empire*. Wherever appeared, monstrous creatures and mutated plants ran rampant. At the same time, humans awakened supernatural abilities.

[T/N- Again I took a bit(alot) of Liberty with the name , literal ones would be Shengsai Empire or Saint Sai Empire.]

Ability users became the guardians of humanity, tasked with eliminating weird domains and protecting their homeland.

One of the manga’s most compelling elements was its level system. Only one in ten humans could awaken an ability. After awakening, each ability user underwent a talent assessment.

Talent grades ranged from E to S. The empire distributed resources accordingly, prioritizing those with higher talent.

Strength levels ranged from 1 to 10, and the Ability Guild assigned missions based on these levels.

Low-talent users usually possessed weak strength as well. Their starting point was far behind that of high-talent users, and their cultivation resources were pitifully scarce. Most lingered between levels 1 and 5.

Yet the male protagonist of “Throne of the Aberrant Realm,” an E-grade ability user from the lower district, defied all expectations.

Assigned to the worst ability academy, his strength evaluation surpassed that of S-grade talent users his age.

Leading his academy team, he cleared weird domains far beyond their level, humiliating the elite Royal Academy of the upper district.

A perfect counterattack.

That was Li Yixin’s overwhelming feeling while reading the manga. As a high school student buried under academic pressure, such stories were exhilarating and stress-relieving.

Another feeling was admiration. The character designs were exquisite, especially the male protagonist and supporting characters. Powerful, handsome, and charismatic, they often became her phone wallpapers.

Recently, the protagonist team had endured a brutal battle. The author delivered a classic wounded-protagonist scene, and the vulnerability of someone so strong made Li Yixin both heartbroken and thrilled.

Thankfully, the church intervened at the critical moment, healing the team. Li Yixin sighed in relief.

The previous chapter ended on a cliffhanger. A mysterious high-ranking church figure had saved them, leaving her restless with anticipation for an entire week.

Surely it would be a new handsome character, a powerful and enigmatic healer perfectly suited to the male protagonist’s metal abilities.

When Friday finally arrived and she reclaimed her phone, Li Yixin opened the new chapter with eager excitement.

The chapter served as a transition after the dungeon. It opened with the male protagonist awakening in bed, his brows tightly furrowed.

Several days later, as the team recovered within the church, they were mostly healed. Hoping to express their gratitude and present a gift, they requested to meet their benefactor.

Unexpectedly, the church refused. To be precise, that esteemed individual simply did not wish to see them.

…And quite unceremoniously, they were bundled up and thrown out of the church.

“Huh?”

Li Yixin was momentarily bewildered as she read this development. Soon, however, her brows relaxed. What could she do? Her anticipation for this character only grew stronger.

Such decisive behavior suggested someone with a strong personality and clear boundaries.

With so much mystery deliberately left unresolved, the author was surely preparing something significant.