This magic, Clyde thought. It was unnerving to say the least. No. Repulsive. It made the young man sick and somehow angry, even slightly murderous. But why? Fortunately, it faded along with the wind.
That’s when someone casually walked in the center of the battlefield, expression passive. A…kid with long silver hair, dressed in a plain white gown.
She blended in with the repulsive shockwave. Or did this power come from her? No, he couldn’t deny its origin, but why did the kid connect with it? The Viper wasn’t a loli—that, he was certain.
He wanted to analyze the giant fucking dragon, but felt compelled to risk it on the kid instead. She simply stared up at the elder dragon as if searching for something. Someone tapped on his leg, child-like. He turned to see dual-colored eyes staring up at him.
“Onii-chan, that one is too dangerous for us,” Naoko said in her soft-spoken voice.
He analyzed her.
Princess Dire, Successor of the Viper
Level: ???
Type: witch, ???
Work under: Viper
Special: Judgment of the Underworld
Weakness: absolutely none.
Resistances: all magic.
Secret: she is the catalyst of the Princess Dire curse.
So much to take in. Successor of the Viper…The feeling of dread coursed his muscles. Why was he so misinformed?
“It couldn’t be,” Tear said.
“Do you know her?” Clyde said as he allowed what he analyzed to process.
“I don’t know for sure. It’s just an old rumor.”
“Princess Dire,” Clyde said, gaining a stare from the succubus.
“They said she disappeared,” Tear said.
“We’ll discuss this later,” Clyde said, “right now, all you need to know is that she’s the successor of the fucking Viper. We also need to do something about the dragon. You know, the one that’s inhaling.”
Tear nodded. Fly still active, Clyde lurched into the air, deciding it was best to ignore the loli for now. She simply stood there, staring up at the dragon. Or…was it at the person on the dragon? No, that wouldn’t make sense.
“Chika, if we make her fall, go for it!”
Bloodlight aimed, he quickly analyzed the giant dragon.
Risa Soulless, Youngest Elder Dragon of the Soulless Family
Level: 666
Type: Dragon.
Work under: Soulless Family
Special: Elder Dragon Fire (Does Super-Extreme Fire, Dragon, Volcanic, Magic, and Wyvern damage.)
Weakness: Dragon Slayer, ???.
Resistances: +30% resistance to all physical and magic attacks. Unaffected by Negative Ki.
Secret: is secretly afraid to be sexually touched by a man.
Clyde almost burst into laughter, but forced himself to concentrate. Now wasn’t the time to become dead weight to the team. Especially with that ridiculous level and even resistance to magic and physical attacks.
[Clyde activated Bloodlight’s special, Solar Reckoning.]
[Clare upgrade: Solar Reckoning. You can fire an enormous amount of solar magic, capable of vaporizing enemies. Does Intense solar damage. Chance to blind at 4% Chance to mute at 11% Chance to roast every cell in someone’s body at 1%]
The sword vibrated and chimed as it unleashed a torrent of bright white solar magic at its target. Clyde flew high enough so that the dragon wasn’t aiming a fire blast at him. Bloodlight’s attack stayed true to its aim, right in the face.
The inhaling stopped as Risa’s giant reptilian eyes focused on Clyde.
[Risa’s HP has dropped to 11,900%]
“Eleven thousand health,” he said softly, but this was something to be expected of even the weakest elder dragon.
The large roar in response didn’t give him confidence. Sure, thanks to God of Wisdom mode, the young man had the ability to damage it, but… this wasn’t enough. A flashing giant claw confirmed that thought.
Clouded with thoughts of pain, Clyde saw the sidewalk approaching him very quickly. Something stopped him just in time. He shook himself.
“Are you okay?”
He looked up to see Alice, then realize she caught him via the force. A small thought made the young man wonder what level was her telekinesis.
“Thanks,” Clyde said, quickly righting himself. A giant stream of flame shot at the main group, but no one was stupid enough to just stand there and get roasted. Except…the kid. Dire. The fire…curved around her, as if hitting an invisible barrier.
Clyde checked the combat log for his current HP.
[Your HP has dropped to 350%]
A single impossible-to-see claw strike did that much damage. The young man was sure the dragon didn’t put much force into the blow, seeing him as simply a nuisance, not a threat.
A roar from their side caught his attention. Kimiko’s elder sister, Chiyo, shapeshifted into her draconic state—and holy shit the titan of magic and power made the man involuntarily shudder. The giant beam of white dragon fire solidified his feelings.
“Clyde, get moving,” Airi said, hurrying to his side. “Melody and Tear are still fighting the dragon.”
He looked up to see the demi-goddess and succubus unleashing intense magic with varying damage output due to the dragon’s natural resistance. They also dealt with swipes and small bursts of fire and fireballs—dodging what they can and receiving damage from connected attacks.
“Alice, Airi, fire the biggest goddamn beams you’ve got. Everybody else, fire sparingly, but make sure you conserve your magic so that you can go all out when the dragon’s brought down.”
He looked at Kimiko, wavering at what to do, watching her sister. The young man walked over.
“Are you okay?”
“Of course I’m not okay,” she snapped. “Risa has lost her goddamn mind! Now she’s fighting…with her best friend. And for what? To burn up a city like a so-called twisted work of art?”
“Are you going to stand here or fight,” Clyde said. “Will you help protect the people?”
After what happened to Lot City, the young man couldn’t help but feel very adamant about preventing the same fate for Ring City.
In an offhand thought, if he survived this, Clyde had one hell of a story to tell his future children.
He didn’t wait for Kimiko to answer, choosing to get on the move. With Chiyo’s fire countering the yellow dragon, he found it easier to survey the situation.
Princess Dire suddenly aimed two hands at the giant dragon. Sensing the possible danger, the elder monstrosity attempted to crush her. Of course the dragon wasn’t stationary—it made circles in the air and then dove toward the group, streams of fire raining down.
Chiyo couldn’t counter them all, but the hits she landed seemed to do some decent damage.
[Risa’s HP has dropped to 7400%]
This felt like a raid boss, just without the raid.
[Fly has worn off.]
Clyde was more than glad that he hesitated to get back into the air. For now, he’d rely on Tear, Melody and Chiyo to bring down the yellow bitch of a lizard.
“Natalia hurry the hell up,” Clyde said as he cast his next skill.
[Clyde activated Tier 1 skill: Star Storm!]
[Tier 1 skill: Star Storm 1 : Type: light, earth. Class: very rare. Summon a shower of light and earth energy upon your enemies. Chance to inflict repentance at 2%. Chance to paralyze at 1%.]
As the giant magic rained down on the dragon, Clyde took notice of something interesting. The Falcon leapt off the dragon to evade the Star Storm. Someone spoke at his side, hugging his leg.
“Nice job, mister!”
He looked down to see Dire smiling at him. Before he could say anything, she bolted after Sol.
“Oh shit,” Clyde said. Was she after him? Why? The young man had to know. He dodged a giant claw. “Oh fuck off!”
The yellow dragon didn’t have the luxury to keep focus on the young man—Kimiko finally made her decision. She shifted and joined the battle.
She was a lot faster than her giant elder sibling, flying around the giant, taking pop shots with her own bursts of fire. At that moment, Clyde figured…dragons were also weak to their own element.
He wanted to go see how Sol would respond to his newest bundle of joy. Stopping him in his tracks was the voice of Ming through telepathy.
“Clyde, she’s aiming for Harumi! Seth and Toru are down and no one is close enough to back her up—I’m sorry! ”
Clyde did not hesitate, the sound of an extra-large inhale meaning one thing.
[Clyde activated skill fusion: Flash Step + Cosmic Shield! Warning, this will severely drain your MP and leave you very vulnerable.]
Clyde didn’t care—he released the magic….and barely made it on time. The shield strained against the full might of the dragon’s fire. The young man pushed the God of Wisdom’s half-strength to the limits.
Then a terrible prompt flashed into his vision.
[You have been inflicted with Serpent blight.]
[God of wisdom was forcefully deactivated due to Serpent’s blight.]
“Harumi, run!” he shouted.
Another telepathic voice, one which he didn’t recognize laughed into his head. It didn’t take him more than a second to figure out where it came from.
“The Kitsune is mine! She will not escape—the Disciple will surely endorse me after this. Then maybe…”
Clyde couldn’t see the others over the constant stream of fire, but he noticed that Harumi wasn’t just standing around.
“It’s ready,” she said, thrusting her hands forward. “With her stationary like this, I can finally hit her.”
[Harumi activated KITSUNE GODDESS TIER SKILL: RE: World Destruction Hellstorm! This is an unblockable skill.]
The familiar waves of lightning and fire stormed from Kitsune-form Harumi and when it hit, Clyde figured out the dragon’s second weakness. Of course! Their natural enemies.
[SUPER CRITICAL! TECHNICAL!]
[Risa’s HP has dropped to 4500%]
Breathing hard, Harumi collapsed to her knees.
“Casting that right after healing so many. Even Alice has switched to healing duty, but this isn’t enough.”
Clyde nodded.
“Kanako.”
“Yes, Master!” the genie said as she hurried over, saluting.
“Good, if you have energy like this, you can heal.”
“My healing skills aren’t that great, but I’ll do my best,” Kanako said.
“You got this,” he told the genie as she dashed back into action.
It was then that he finally looked back at the dragon, its squeal making it hard to ignore. It fell. He didn’t have to say anything, Chika was on it first, her movements nearly impossible to see. Her dagger slashes infused with bright magic gave her away. Seth and Toru were up again, headed back in Clyde and Harumi’s direction. Neko and Ako, observers stood afar…casting. They were actually breaking their own rules, firing magic at the dragon, serious looks in their eyes. Ashard and Yusuke slashed at the dragon with swords. Kitome rained heart bombs, Alice fired radiant magic, Yuki and Noona utilized strong demonic magic, Ruri and Matsume alternated between magic and raw hellhound strength, Airi used druid magic—even though the young man could tell she wanted to know what happened with their connection. Still inflicted with the blight, Clyde knew returning to the mode wasn’t going to happen.
He was glad he sent Misaka and the other trainees away, but regretted leaving Undine behind to guard the safehouse. Maki and Sophia couldn’t stay there just in case the dragon blew it up. The reaperess would, in theory, be able to go in tangible or instantly escape. But her power could be useful right now, he thought.
“Natalia, what’s taking you—”
The yellow dragon interrupted Clyde with a sky-piercing roar as it rose into the air.
“I’ve had enough of this,” Risa said telepathically. “You all will taste death .”
[Risa is charging DRAGON GODDESS TIER SKILL: All Shall Perish. This is an unblockable and undogeable attack. Warning! This attack may wipe the entire party!]
“Tear now! Get us the hell out of here—dragon sisters too.”
[Tear activated Jump, targets: Team Stone and the Rose Dragon sister—]
[Tear’s magic has been negated by Elder dragon pressure.]
Clyde’s eyes widened as he leapt into motion. He couldn’t touch the power, god of wisdom, and even wiseman’s calm was on cooldown. He switched to the Executioner’s staff.
[Executioner Staff of Merlin. Item class: *Legendary, One of a Kind *. Does Dragon and Volcanic damage. You may trigger its special attack: Balinor’s Havoc, after filling the weapon’s soul bar to 100%.]
Kitome’s necklace glowed for the first time since he had it. Holy shit . A new strength surged through, adding needed power and speed to his next spell.
[ Necklace of Her Devotion . Item class: *One of a kind* This necklace was made with love. Unknown benefits. Has a 1% chance of triggering Enlightenment mode 1 during battle. All stats will increase by 100% during the mode .]
[Clyde has invoked Enlightenment mode 1. If you were married to Kitome, you’d trigger mode 2. All stats increased by 100% for five minutes.]
A one hundred percent boost—this would do , Clyde thought.. Kitome just unknowingly saved their asses.
[Clyde activated Silver tier skill: Meteor!]
[Silver tier skill : Meteor. A powerful skill with highly destructive capabilities. Send down a giant meteor to destroy your enemies. Just…don’t accidentally blow up a city with it. Does cosmic, colossal fire, explosive, and earth damage.]
The giant rock of cosmic energy smashed into the dragon so fast, Clyde barely saw it before it burst apart. Alice caught the shards of rock with her telekinesis and peppered the dragon with them as she fell to the ground.
Unfortunately, the combined efforts just weren’t strong enough. Risa quickly recovered, possibly weary of an oncoming all-out attack. That’s when she focused her streams of fire on Clyde and Harumi. The duo stayed on the move, dodging and firing magic in retaliation when possible.
The yellow monster soared high into the sky and then dove at them, surrounded in fire.
[Risa activated Dragoon meteor rush.]
They dodged the nosedive, but a sudden tail bashed them both into a building.
Harumi’s healing prevented the young man from falling to the way of the blackout.
“This is really dragging,” Clyde said, “no pun intended.”
Harumi sighed.
“Here she comes.”
“Yep, to target us again,” Clyde said, standing in front of his fiancé. He threw up the Cosmic shield to block the fire blast. Thankfully, it was a short bust—Risa most likely anticipated movement, not stationary defense. She flew by. The young man wanted to be long on the move before the dragon circled the area.
“Let’s get going—”
Clyde’s vision was filled with Sol stopping in front of him, grinning, then diving to the side. He couldn’t react in time—it happened so fast. All he saw was light, then blackness.
When he came to, Clyde felt the warmth of Harumi’s healing. He could tell she was fairly low on MP.
Sol had got him caught in an incredibly powerful attack.
“That was almost a one-shot kill,” Seth said. “Are you okay, dude? I saw what that asshole did.”
Clyde sat up.
[Your HP has increased from 3% to 130% as a result of Harumi’s healing. Healing effects on you remain reduced due to Anti-healing Blight.]
The young man scoped the scene. He had a feeling if this dragged any longer, the yellow monster would become enraged.
“Quick question,” Clyde said. “Is Natalia still charging her spell?”
“No, she’s fighting,” Harumi said. “I think she can hold the charge.”
He sighed.
“Okay, good. A spell with a fifteen minute charging time is shitty in terms of usability in battle. And if it misses, well, let’s
not get into that.”
Clyde shook his head at the thought of Piccolo’s first special beam cannon in Dragon Ball. He sighed. If he had time for silly thoughts like that, he could come up with some way to kill the dragon.
He checked his log.
[Soul bar: 100%]
[MP: 200%]
[Ki: 300%]
Clyde stretched, righting himself both physically and mentally.
“Let’s get back into the fight,” Clyde said. “Knock the dragon down and Natalia will unload.”
“She’s a lot harder to hit,” Toru warned, his aura shining with Zen Mode.
Clyde, Seth, Harumi, and Toru hurried to rejoin the others, several meters away, struggling with the murderous yellow serpent.
The dragon took notice of Clyde and Harumi the moment they made it to the scene. Before it could start firing again, Clyde raised his staff.
[Clyde activated the staff’s special attack: Balinor’s Havoc.]
The sudden speed of the weapon’s magic seemed to catch Risa off guard—the fire, light, magic, and lava mixed into one spiraling beam exploded on her muzzle. To the team’s favor, she actually fell.
“Natalia go!”
“Haye pervy-nii!”
Natalia aimed her golden staff, following up with one hell of a release of black magic, green lightning, and other essences of energy the young man couldn’t quite understand. There were also…spiritual, creepy hands in the mix.
[Natalia activated Void tier skill: Re: The Mistress’s Last Cry. Dying Alone.]
10.The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper, #10 a LitRPG (ATS) Page 19