The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper, #7 a LitRPG (ATS) Read online

“I did too!” Alice said. “You showed me the…” she placed her head down on the table. “Don’t tell him.”

  “Too late!” Natalia said as she dove into Alice’s embrace. “Mmm, you smell nice, Highness. You really did go with the perfume that prophet girl suggested. Just because Clyde would love it.” Natalia inhaled again. “You may attract women with this too.”

  Alice shot her a blank glare.

  “Alright enough of that, go take your seat.” She squeezed her friend’s loving embrace then urged her into a nearby chair. “You guys have something to reveal to me, right?”

  Yuki walked in.

  “To think you’d abandon my cooking lesson,” she said to Melody. “Did you not want to learn how to be a bride?” She pinched the redhead’s cheeks.

  “Ow! Sowwy!”

  Yuki let go.

  “Why was I brought here again? I’m trying to prepare a dinner to put that fox girl in her place.”

  “We tried to gather everyone,” Alice said, “but they’re too busy. Anyway, Tear, I’m curious.”

  Yuki sat. Saki walked in, a faint blush on her face.

  “You needed me, High Lady Tear?”

  “Just take a seat over there,” Tear said, pointing at the empty seat next to Yuki. When the ex-dark priest was settled, the succubus continued. She revealed a red scroll to them. Yuki and Alice’s eyes widened. “The territory among demon and supernatural politics, the Lot City scroll now belongs to Clyde.”

  Melody blinked.

  “I’m not against it, but are you sure that’s a good idea? I don’t want him to gain any unnecessary enemies.”

  Tear poked Melody’s forehead.

  “You’re just too sweet for your own good. He needs this to prevent any additional demon lords from taking root.”

  “It only makes sense,” Natalia said. “I volunteer to become pervy-nii’s wife to help represent it all.”

  Alice laughed.

  “The only thing you’ll do is get him arrested.”

  Everyone burst into laughter. It felt good, at Natalia’s expense. Even she gave in to the amusement.

  **

  A building in Lot City…

  The Oyabun stood up to sneer at his minion.

  “How hard is it to assassinate some kid? Seriously? Fuck! Never mind, you know what, I’ll send Her on it.”

  “Sir, please don’t invite her to this city. You know something’s not right about her. And with all of the demons and monster—”

  “SHUT THE FUCK UP!” the Oyabun snapped. “You idiots had one job. Seriously one job. And now these days, that’s all the public talks about. Team Stone, the so-called monsters, and now some kind an elf queen trying to make public relations with our prime minister. I don’t even know what’s going on with the world anymore. I’m supposed to have all the darkest, deepest information. I knew about this questionable shit for a long time…but why now? What happened to the barrier that protected mankind? Fuck. Make sure you buffoons pick up my darling daughter and take her to that little anime shop she likes going to. Don’t be late.”

  “Yes sir,” he said. “I’ll personally do it.”

  “Good. I’d rather pay you in cash, not splatter your brains across my walls. Now hurry.”

  The minion hurried off, leaving the Oyabun by himself to make the phone call.

  “My elite assassin has other shit to be doing. To think my idiotic men can’t off one simple kid. We can’t even find information on him.” He shook his head. “What does it all mean? Disaster? I’ll have Her find out about him, just in case killing him fucks us in the ass.” He dialed the number. “Hopefully my darling daughter never runs into that sort.”

  **

  Clyde’s House…

  When Clyde got home, he showed the genie to her room.

  “Why can’t I just sleep with you, Master?”

  The young man shot her a flat stare.

  “Anyway, I’m going to get some crafting done. The others will help you settle in.”

  Kanako hugged him once more before he left. He supposed before crafting, he should speak with Harumi about cooking and recipes but halfway down the hall, bumped into Maki. “Sorry.”

  Her yandere eyes lit and she pulled him into an empty room, closing and locking the door behind her.

  “Yuki’s out, but she wants me to continue to help you with training,” Maki said then smiled, undressing. “And believe me, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

  Episode 37 (Part 5)

  Somewhere…

  “I will kill you all,” Dark said softly, eyes glowing red. The crusaders laughed as they slowly ascended on the wyvern, preparing to fly away.

  “Get mad all you want, kid, this was the easiest way to prevent the spread of a monster virus,” one of the men called down to him, his voice humorous.

  “With absolutely zero proof,” Dark said. “To set the entire wyvern thing up…”

  Dark summoned a special weapon from his inventory. Warned about the risk of using it, the young man mostly kept it as a trophy.

  [You have found the Bow of Souls . Item class: *Tainted *.]

  “So many innocent people lured into that trap.” Dark said then snarled, aiming the bow. “Die.” As he released the magic-made black arrow, he murmured to himself, “Guess it seems like I’m now truly walking on the path of darkness.” He chuckled. “The normie would definitely call me out for those words.”

  The crusaders tried and failed to control the wyvern. They didn’t know the bow’s special effect. The giant dragon-like creature eagerly dove toward the arrow, allowing it to slide cleanly through its skull. Black blood splattered all over the crusader riders. “To make some creatures willingly give up their souls,” Dark said softly. “But the drop alone won’t kill you.”

  His eyes beamed an even brighter red. “Good thing Selkie stayed back, so she doesn’t have to see me like this. She wouldn’t see the item I recently obtained during her absence.” He watched as the crusaders fell from several dozen feet, many of them utilizing skills, unperturbed. Exactly what he wanted.

  “Reverse,” he said. “Pain to power becomes power to pain.” He thrusted a hand forward.

  [You activated an Evil skill attached to the Bow of Souls: Shatter of Crimson. This is an unblockable skill.]

  The red magic he released from his palm shot at all thirty-six crusaders.

  “Your levels may be high,” Dark said. “But when the wyvern’s blood touched you, even with your armor in this area, due to the Dragon Sorceress’s curse, every ounce of your defenses have been reduced to zero.”

  [Enemy defenses dropped to zero. Enemy inflicted with severe weak blight. Enemy will take 100 times the damage on any attack.]

  When the magic touched them, they exploded into bloody mist. The young man didn’t even blink out of pity.

  [You have killed 37 crusaders! A dying message was sent beforehand. Your wanted reputation with all crusaders is 5/5 and a blood hunt.]

  [Warning: from this point on, you must be as cautious as possible, without room for error, else you will die.]

  [Battle Completed! Victory! Reward—]

  Dark ignored the prompts as he walked back to town, cold inside. He would never be the same again. Fighting for his life against a giant dragon-like monster only for the entire quest to end up being a crusader trap. Crusader researchers.

  “I’m fucking done,” Dark said. “Fuck this game, fuck these quests. Fuck everything.”

  Red aura blasted around him. His time in Satovia wasn’t all bad—but the bad bits weren’t forgettable. Well, beside the minor tidbits, like how the first girl he thought he had a shot with turned out to be a trickster demon. One of their kind almost killed him back in the early adventuring days. Selkie once again bailed the young man out of trouble. He sometimes wondered why she even put up with him? What was her game?

  None of that mattered anymore, because he’d no longer follow any rules. Rule-following by the little guy is why fuck factions like the cru
saders got away with anything. Why did people obey them as if they were law enforcement? Where were the adventurers? A half-elf once told he and Selkie about ranked adventurers solving all of the problems the governments let happen. They kept villages, towns, and cities safe. Now there were only a few left, as if many vanished, threw in the towel, or… some of the men were probably captured and taken as husband by monster girls. Dark doubted that last bit. Every monster girl he encountered never had a husband, but they didn’t kill either.

  So, what happened to the adventurers as a whole? Dark saw the town coming into view and released his aura, changing it back to normal.

  “I need to accomplish something that could help the Stone win,” he said softly. The idea came to mind—what Selkie was doing the entire time. No…she directed the young man toward something known as a World star fragment. The reports…she searched for the Falcon, the world star fragments, and probably information on this Iron Maiden.

  How could he miss this? She wanted….him to gain experience, the power to fight whatever guarded the fragment. Could that be why she constantly insisted on him finding a group. Fuck it, why not? If the great lord of the dark had to party up, he’d do so. Anything to help bring this world to peace. And kill every single crusader fuck out there.

  “I am Dark for a reason,” he said. “And I’m tired of playing this game.”

  He casually tackled the thunderbird that was behind him. The girl laughed.

  “Are you going to plow me with your—”

  “Shut up,” he said. “I need a favor…Myriad.”

  “How do you know my name?” she said.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Dark said. “The great lord of the dark needs a favor, that is, if you hate crusaders. Also, I’m the Leaf.”

  “I’m listening,” Myriad said, eyes widening a bit. He bet she sensed his “strange” spirit energy beforehand. Otherwise, the monster girl would’ve proceeded to the raping or even shocking him with lust-induced electricity.

  “Make a consenting pack with me,” he said. “Lend me your power. Also, I’ll need you to come with me.”

  “And this is to kill the crusaders?” Myriad said.

  Dark’s eyes glowed red.

  “Damn right. I really, really hate crusaders.”

  “You and I both have something in common, human,” the thunderbird said, eyes seeming to recall a dark encounter. “Well, if you know how we make contracts, let’s get started.”

  She wildly stripped Dark while kissing him, but the young man made sure to maintain control. And the contract formed, albeit through sex so wild that Myriad’s clutch one mile away sensed it.

  Dark obtained the power of a thunderbird that day. And a new party member. Selkie…would just have to get over it.

  “I think I’ll be taking you for husband,” the thunderbird said.

  “Please don’t,” Dark said in a deadpan voice.

  “Too late!”

  Dark sighed.

  “The great lord of the dark does not marry.” He thrusted his hand to the right, only to quickly retract it when Myriad licked it. “This is going to be a long campaign,” he said tiredly.

  **

  Clyde’s house…

  Clyde barely escaped from Maki’s grasps, but the moment he coated himself in soap and the let the first spray of hot shower water hit him, she was there. He only closed his room door when Natalia roamed about.

  Naked and longing, the purple-haired young woman gave him no chance to make up an excuse. She ended up bent over while he delivered a pounding that did make his shower ten times better. Of course, the young man washed himself of the soap first then turned off the water. Just because he was a millionaire did not mean he’d start being wasteful.

  Maki was tight. He played with her breasts as the ride intensified, he, the conductor of the power-train.

  They came simultaneously, he pulling out in time, releasing onto the girl’s leg. The prompt presented Clyde with some good news after the shower. Maki laid her head on his shoulder.

  [Ki increased! +1 to Ambition, Command, and Submission.]

  [You met the requirements of Dragon Breath level 1! Congratulations, you’ve learned your first Ki skill. You can now detect and sense Ki during battle. Dragon Breath level 1. Think like a dragon. Inhale and exhale either Ki or Fire. This can also be used with your fist: It will become Dragon Fist. You will lose 20% Ki damage in favor of 20% physical damage. Use is situational.]

  Clyde felt thrilled. At last, he learned a Ki-based skill. This made him feel less naked—although he wasn’t sure why he knew that learning Ki was highly important. He needed more than just an in-battle Ki sense.

  “Maki, I’ve got a favor to ask you.”

  “Sure,” she said. “What is it?”

  “Do you mind using your Ki-sense skills to tell me everyone’s crests,” he said. “You don’t have to do it right away, but just write them down on a notepad or something.”

  “Will I get a reward?” she said.

  Clyde shrugged.

  “I’ll give you a day off.”

  “I—”

  “The day off it is,” Clyde interrupted. Maki gave him a pouty face.

  He looked at his “to-learn” Ki skills and some saved notifications.

  [You have started learning Basic Ki ward level 1. Requirement: Radiance 4. Strength: 2. Desire 1.]

  [You have started the learning of Area sense 1. You will be able to detect all enemies within a vicinity. You will gain a Mini-map to accompany your mental navigation system. Your foes will show up as red dots. Level this system up and you’ll gain more details and range. Example: yellow dots indicating tougher enemies and much more. Requirements: Energy: 2 Love: 2 Focus: 1]

  [Let it be known that having sex with a succubus under the Ki system will fully restore all Ki. If you’re married to her, your stats will be increased by 200%.]

  This served as a simple reminder that the young man had a long way to go. He wondered if the Viper had it this way. Knowing his luck, his nemesis was probably insanely overpowered just to fit some “final boss” criteria. Or come from a planet of super beings with natural, unbelievable strength. That would be hilarious. What is he, a Saiyan? An esper? He let the thought tickle him before dropping it.

  It took him some effort to elude Maki, so he could craft a little, but he ended up at a table in the backyard. Not that he wanted to screw and ditch, the purple-haired young woman had changed a lot.

  Crafting required a lot of concentration—and served as a place of peace for him. Maki wanted to be lovey-dovey. Not happening. Thankfully, his life was easier not having her as an official party member of Team Stone. He wouldn’t have to worry about some bond. The young man took a look at his quest log while crafting.

  Quest log:

  Main story.

  -Defeat Dark in a Real game (Stone-Token quest.)

  -Wait for Melody to come to you

  -Craft 1 complicated item. (MS)

  -Get to know Sazuki over time.

  -Take all female party members on one date.

  -Investigate the Dragon threat.

  *World Objectives:

  -Slay the demon lords: 3/15. Reward: *World star fragment* .

  -Receive special training. Reward: Stone magic line access.

  -World side objective: learn more about this world. Current knowledge of Satovia: 1.8%

  System opinion: you suck! Get on it, godling.

  Well, he’d at least attempt to craft a complicated item. Although, the exploding blow-up doll was a one-of-a-kind item. Why didn’t this count? The system didn’t respond. Fair enough , Clyde thought.

  Receive special training… That reward. Just where could he find it? Classic system, telling him things and not clarifying.

  Early evening, the sound of arguing pulled Clyde out of his nap. The disappointment of not being able to craft the complicated item filled him. The collar he made the other week somehow didn’t count, which just sucked. Fuck.

 
He followed the noise, which led him to the kitchen. Yuki and Harumi were passionately debating about ingredients. Upon noticing Clyde, they both grinned evilly.

  “I challenge you to a cookoff,” the women said simultaneously, pointing at each other. They looked at Clyde. “And you will be the judge.”

  Clyde grinned.

  “Fuck yeah, I’m down.” The two best chefs in his house were about to go at it. The other household members joined the audience, curious. Alice sat on Clyde’s lap, giving him a sweet freshly bathed smell of soap. She was in her nightgown, which felt amazing—the young man’s boner threatened to replace the world’s tallest mountain.

  The half-demoness giggled. She leaned back, soliciting some eye rolls and glares or flat stares.

  Yuki and Harumi’s cook-off begin. Clyde was in his happy place.

  Although, he did note to himself, the dick-move of not inviting the party members who didn’t live with them. Still, it was eight. They’d be fine.

  “We’ve got some news to reveal to you tomorrow,” Alice said to Clyde. “Tear will tell you when she arrives after classes.”

  “Alright,” Clyde said. “Can I get any hints?”

  “Nope,” Alice said lowly then stuck her tongue out at him. “You’d better be at the top of your game in bed tonight. We’ll be rougher than those stupid sports shows you love to watch.”

  Clyde laughed, gaining the confused stares of the others. Harumi and Yuki were about to get started.

  Episode 37 (Part 6)

  Clyde’s mouth dropped as he saw the two go at it in the large kitchen—mixing ingredients, chopping, pan-flames bursting and amazing smells flowing into the air. He even sensed Alice’s mouth watering through the bond. He observed the cook off through a venue that resembled his combat log.