The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper # 1, a LitRPG. (ATS) Read online

  "Women are standing in front of me in this manner too often," Clyde said.

  "Don’t be a sexist. Who are you? I’m Kitomi."

  "I’m Big Daddy four six two," he considered saying, but decided not to reference his friend’s old XBOX username. Instead he told her his name. She could’ve just analyzed him, right? Then again, the same went for Harumi, but she didn’t…. or possibly, couldn’t. Main character stuff? "So…magical girl," Clyde said with snicker. Kitomi flushed.

  [Your relationship with Kitomi has changed from dislike to neutral.]

  "Clyde."

  He turned to see Harumi and Toru walking toward him.

  "You’re somehow less injured," Toru said, "despite the level difference." He glared at Kitomi. "That one has an unreasonable temper spark and the only way you can get through to her is by bribery with sweets."

  "Not true," Kitomi said then folded her arms and glared back for the dramatics.

  Clyde sighed.

  "So, how many people know about…well, this," he said.

  "Only a handful, Toru said. "A weakling like you, wielding rare abilities. That’s…different."

  "You know, I’m really not in the mood for anybody’s shit," Clyde said. "If you don’t need anything from me, I’ll be taking off."

  He started to go but Harumi grabbed his arm.

  "He didn’t mean it like that—please wait," she said. "He agreed to help speed-level you because of the dangers. We could use as much help as possible to free this city from its demon lord."

  Clyde turned back to them.

  "Fine, but we don’t need that berating shit. There are reasons…behind my powers, but I can’t say. Let’s leave it at that."

  "Now the mystery just makes me more curious," Kitomi said.

  Toru nodded.

  "Fair enough." He held out a hand. Clyde accepted the handshake.

  [Your relationship with Toru has changed from distaste to neutral].

  Clyde figured a mutual understanding was the best he’d get from this guy. So be it.

  Clyde’s stats. You may skip to the next chapter.

  Name: Clyde.

  Level: 6

  Type: Main character/ Stone.

  HP: 75% /100%

  MP: 80% /100%

  Attack: 14 (+5)

  Defense: 12

  Speed: 16

  Luck: 11

  Will: 14

  Intellect: 19

  Form: 0

  Special: ???

  Special Abilities: none.

  Hidden stats revealed:

  Special Defense: 7

  Paranoia: <varies>

  Charisma: 12

  Composure: 6

  Evasion: 5

  Skills:

  - Athlete: 10% bonus to speed and Will. [Passive].

  -Hostile Detection 2: detects hostiles within a certain range of you. [Passive].

  -Heart Protection 2: you’re 28% less affected by unwanted mental magic or skills from enemies. You gain a 13% bonus to your ability to convince others to do anything that would protect their hearts. [Passive]. 5% chance to break from any magic or charismatic hold.

  - Secret sword and martial arts combination. Random unknown increases to speed, defense, and will during battle. Chance to critical increases by 2%. [Passive].

  - Crafting 1: enables you to craft items using everyday objects. [Passive].

  -Round house kick. [Attack] – does physical damage. Change of knockdown at 5%.

  -Precise Slash 1. [Attack] – does physical damage. Chance of critical at 5%

  Combat level:

  basic. Combat style: basic.

  Magic:

  -Energy Ball. Type: spiritual. Class: mysterious.

  Talent:

  Main character stuff.

  Bonus:

  10% boost to relationship stats with Harumi and her friends.

  +5% damage for a physical attack.

  Inventory:

  $ 243

  -Map of Lot City, Satovia.

  -Smartphone.

  -Key.

  -Reminder for practice- note.

  Equipment:

  -Beginner’s sword- +5 to attack.

  -School uniform or casual clothes.

  -School shoes or casual shoes.

  -no accessory.

  -no rings.

  Classes: (year1).

  -Satovia History 1.

  -Romance Literature 1.

  -Sciences 1.

  -Crafting 1.

  Phone numbers:

  -Chika.

  -Harumi.

  -Naomi

  Quest log:

  -Find a printer. Optional step: raise money.

  - Meet with Harumi at 8.

  Episode 5 (part 1): Mysterious Candy-loving Girl...Relatable.

  Sound suddenly vanished around him, plunging the world into an eerie standstill. Everyone stood frozen, their expressions remaining in the fragile timeline with them. Objects, and vehicles, and even the wind succumbed to the same static fate. A chill rolled into the young man’s spine.

  "You’ve done well, not talking too much," a familiar voice said. Mortem manifested a few feet in front of Clyde. The young man’s eyes widened. Mortem smiled then said in a sing-song voice, "ta-da!" The creature inspected Harumi and the others, nodded, then turned back to Clyde. "Through the power of friendship." The little man laughed.

  "Oh fuck off," Clyde snapped, his face burning of embarrassment. "Which one of your masters is behind this joke?"

  "Beats me," Mortem said with a shrug. "Look, puny human, I’d love to stick around and hold your hand like a whittle baby-waby, but I’m just here for a quick check-up. I have no intention of stopping the timeline longer than it needs to be."

  Clyde noticed that the red aura from before wasn’t around the creature. Red aura…almost like a hostile enemy. He analyzed Mortem.

  [Entity unknown. It is imperative not to engage this creature. Let the meaning of its name be your hint.]

  Mortem shook his head. Suddenly the most excruciating pain sent Clyde to his knees, holding his head, screaming. An impossible headache which felt like boulders smashing against his skull threatened to incapacitate the young man. He fell to his back, convulsing.

  [Your HP has dropped to 10%]

  Just as quickly as the pain came, it vanished, then Mortem was hovering over Clyde’s face.

  "Next time, I won’t be so lenient when you analyze your better. Remember the saying, don’t shoot the messenger. Well think of it backwards. And my fingers are quite twitchy."

  [Your HP has been restored to 25%.]

  Clyde stood up, but still stared at Morten with defiance in his eyes. He wasn’t going to let a cheap trick like that cause him to act like a pansy in front of this creature. That’s what he wanted. Clyde still felt the fear deep within his gut but did his best to keep it at bay.

  "Anyway," Mortem said, "you’ve passed the checkup. It may be a while before I come back but do try to be past level fifteen or twenty—you’re embarrassing me. The Viper will wipe the floor with you if you goof off. Take your school and friends more naturally and seriously and you’ll probably earn more experience." Mortem shook his head. "Damn puny humans. Annoying. The lot of you. Sheesh." The creature shimmered, vanished, and time returned.

  Clyde dropped to a knee, gaining the shocked attention of the others surrounding him. Harumi knelt to his side, closed her eyes, and chanted, her delicate hands pressed against his chest. She gave him a worried look upon when she opened her eyes.

  "Healing wave."

  The warmth breathily surrounded him like a coat then he felt vitality return to him.

  [Your HP has been restored to 55%. Your HP is slowly restoring over time.]

  "You were fine a moment ago," Toru said. "Kitome hardly put a scratch on you."

  Kitome gave the nonchalant rich boy a glare of daggers. No effect. She harrumphed anime girl-style then pinched his cheek. Toru stared back at her blankly, which seemed to make the blue-haired gir
l angrier.

  Clyde shook his head, let out a breath, then stood.

  "Thank you," he said to Harumi. He forced his thoughts to remain in check. He totally didn’t notice the nearly-adorable glistening eyes the pink-haired young woman gave him out of worry. That’s what he told himself. "So, we’re doing this thing at eight, right? And you too, magical girl?"

  Toru snickered, then put on a blank expression when Kitome looked at him.

  "We were going to wait at my place," Harumi said, but seemed to regret her phrasing. Clyde wasn’t dense but didn’t care. He knew what she meant. If it wasn’t for Toru’s blank expression, he would’ve cracked a risky joke.

  His phone buzzed. He struggled to hold his laughter at Chika’s joke about a certain history teacher, but a slight snicker escaped him. He cleared his throat.

  "I guess I’ll see you at eight." Everyone stared at him. "What?"

  "We’re headed the same way," Harumi said.

  "I’ve got one more stop," Clyde lied.

  "Shall we go with?" Kitome said, soliciting a glare from Clyde.

  "I can do without the chaperone," he said.

  Somehow, Harumi ended up shopping for supplies with him, despite Clyde’s protests. Toru explained that certain things such as medicine, foods, and drinks could restore health on the spot. As much as the guy annoyed him, he had a point. Too bad that reminded Clyde about the printer. He needed to find a way out of this situation and fast. His answer didn’t take long to appear.

  A familiar redhead girl blabbed to a guy in a suit with a voice that made him want to melt into his happy place. A happy place with waffles and bacon and sushi and—Clyde shook himself out of the trance. To think the charisma girl had an effect so far away. He analyzed her.

  Name: Melody

  Level: 10

  Type: sweet talker.

  Relationship: utter hatred.

  HP: 100%

  MP: 100%

  Stats: Relationship isn’t high enough. You better hope this girl doesn’t decide to kill you.

  Special abilities: Relationship isn’t high enough. And it will never be. Try having sex with her? Hahahahaha, yeah right, kid. She’d chop it off. And it may be the only way to fix this relationship.

  Skills: You know, you could always program me to just display what’s necessary. Masochist.

  Magic abilities: see above. Idiot boy.

  Clyde was reaching his limit with the sassy prompts. Hell, they were starting get creative with their rejections. A little too creative.

  "I’m not dealing with her again," Clyde said. "That charisma is too much."

  The young man watched as the suited man handed the redhead a wad of cash, eyes moved with false joy.

  "Let’s confront her," Harumi said, grabbing Clyde’s arm right as he mustered the energy to step back outside.

  "I’m just going to stay out of the way."

  "You!" the redhead pointed at Clyde and then laid on the dramatics, radiating a wave of nearly unstoppable charismatic energy. Clyde wasn’t sure if this was how charisma actually worked. "That’s the man who was really mean to me. Embarrassed me in tears."

  Three large, muscle-heavy men started toward the young man, eyes full of mania. Clyde quickly analyzed them.

  Episode 5: (Part 2)

  Common street thug.

  Level: 14

  Type: enemy of the city.

  Work under: Your hostile detection isn’t high enough for this nor do you know the information to fill this in. So yeah.

  Special: Your hostile detection isn’t high enough for this. A pity.

  Resistances: See above.

  Secret: Your hostile detection, luck, and will isn’t high enough for this. A Shame.

  Extremely deadly murder-crazy thug.

  Level: 35

  Type: enemy of the city.

  Work under: Your hostile detection isn’t high enough for this nor do you know the information to fill this in.

  Special: Ha. Ha. Hahahahaa. See above. [Just a warning…you may want to run.]

  Weakness: See above.

  Resistances: See above. You’re dead.

  Secret: Your hostile detection, luck, and will isn’t high enough for this.

  Snuggly-Wuggly Teddy Bear shop owner.

  Level: ???

  Type: Honest merchant

  Work under: Your hostile detection isn’t high enough for this nor do you know the information to fill this in.

  Special: See above. Kind of feel sorry for this entranced guy.

  Weakness: See above.

  Resistances: See above.

  Secret: Your hostile detection, luck, and will isn’t high enough for this.

  Clyde attempted to flee again, eyes widened in both horror and confusion, but Harumi held onto his arm.

  "Let me go—I’m not trying to die here," Clyde said.

  "Come ‘mere ya punk," said the murderous guy. "We’re going to fuck you up. Blend ya, ya here. BLEND YA!"

  The cashier cried something frantically over the phone, Clyde assumed had to be the cops.

  Harumi stood her ground, raised her other hand, while holding Clyde’s arm.

  "If they kill me, I’m haunting you," he said to Harumi. His heart threatened to blast out of his chest. The thugs continued forward, grinning, and wiggling their tongues at the pink-haired girl.

  [Harumi has activated Refresher!]

  [Enemy status effects removed x 3!]

  The men grunted then gave confused looks.

  "Why in the hell was I about to beat the shit out of some kid? I need a drink. Come on Bernie."

  "Let me join you two," said the Teddy Bear shop owner. And just like that, they were gone.

  "Let’s get going too," Harumi said. "That stupid girl got away."

  Clyde’s heart dropped. Having a menace of that magnitude on the street was just too fucking dangerous. He needed a way to prevent himself from getting sucked into that charismatic AOE (area of effect) or he’d be either broke or dead. Or worse: both. Clyde secretly vowed never to die broke.

  The duo returned to Toru and Kitome then explained the situation.

  "We’ll need to do something about her later," Toru said, "but for now, let’s focus on making mystery man here less embarrassing."

  Clyde’s glare combated against Toru’s defensive, but somehow playful, blank look. He shook his head.

  "Freaking rich boy types," he muttered as he pushed past Toru.

  [Toru and Kitome have temporary joined your party!]

  The group decided to hang out at Clyde’s apartment, against his protests. He didn’t feel any joy from impressing Toru, but the girls were fine. Chika’s texts came a bit more frequently. She even asked to call, but Clyde lied, stating it was a bad time. He considered inviting the silver-haired young woman over, but came to his senses, realizing this was a battle party, not a regular party. At eight, Clyde received a welcoming prompt.

  [Quest completed. You have earned 20 EXP and $20]

  [Quest: Explore the dangerous, super deadly night city. This quest is mandatory and cannot be refused. Reward: $50 and 150 EXP.]

  "Let’s get moving," Toru said.

  "Who died and made you leader," Clyde said but was met with a blank stare. "I’m kidding. Let’s go."

  "Your sense of humor is lacking, weakling," Toru said then stepped outside. Clyde muttered a few choice words under his breath then followed. He pulled his sword out of his inventory, causing everyone to flinch, jump back, and stare at him open-mouthed.

  "How did…you made a sword appear out of thin air," Kitome said then touched the handle. "It’s real. How did you do that?"

  Clyde’s eyes widened. They knew nothing about inventories. Should he tell them? Would that bring Mortem down on him? Oh well, Clyde thought.

  "You mean you don’t have an inventory?"

  "Inventory?" Harumi said.

  "I guess this is one of my abilities," Clyde said. "I can store items in a separate dimension and view them as a list in my head. W
henever I need something, I select it and pop, summon it."

  "Oh, that is so cool!" Toru exclaimed, surprising everyone. He cleared his throat. "Go on."

  Clyde gave him a victorious smirk then said, "that’s pretty much the gist of it. I can’t go telling all of my secrets." The starry eyes of Harumi and Kitome made the young man frown. "Let’s go before I grow old standing here."

  The group nodded at Clyde, which made him sigh, then off they went. It didn’t take long for the first enemy to show up, two blocks away. A creature with blue skin and pointy ears spawned from seemingly nothing. It stood at a height of three feet. It glared at them with large yellow eyes the size of softballs, irises as dark as midnight. Clyde found it funny that it wore a dark brown loin cloth. He analyzed it.

  Generic Imp

  Level: 10

  Type: monster.

  Clyde canceled out the rest of the prompt, not in the mood for the sass. He decided to beat everyone to the punch and attack.

  [Your party has entered combat!]

  He dashed at the imp, activating Precise slash. The imp dodged, laughing.

  "You humans are ballzy, I’ll give you that," it said in a comical voice. "Let me repay your kindness." The imp kicked Clyde in a spot that lowered his chances of having kids, just a bit. The young man squealed and collapsed, holding his groin. "I call that attack, the nutcracker." The imp laughed.

  [Clyde took a critical hit!]

  [Clyde’s HP remaining: 78%]

  [Clyde is stunned!].

  Toru shook his head.

  "Clyde if you’re going to be the man of mystery with a cool ability to store literally anything in a pocket dimension, please try not to embarrass yourself."