The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper, #8 a LitRPG (ATS)

by Alvin Atwater

  The sky continued to be a clear vessel of beauty with maybe a few tiny clouds here or there. Mild temperatures warmed to upper seventies and with that, a gentle breeze nestled every now and then over the festival site. Many people moved about, getting food or hurrying to their interested event. Ming’s autograph line reemerged after an hour, a lunch break even for the hardworking.

  Kitome let out a frustrated breath. So close! So goddamn close, but their leader still somehow took the win, even with all of the odds seemingly stacked against him. The blue-haired young woman tried to ignore the feeling deep in her heart. The feeling that she was secretly glad that Clyde won. She would still try to stop the stupid private dinner—but that didn’t means she’d enjoy any of his losses. Just why—why that big-boobed blonde of all people. One who wasn’t a part of their circle. Noona couldn’t be allowed a free pass—dense or not, that meal…would surely turn into…

  The young woman stormed off toward the food stands, ready to drown away her troubles with a chocolate banana and taiyaki.

  After obtaining her food, she joined Kiko, Melody, and Matsume at a table. They ate in silence first, before Kitome broke the ice.

  “Who came up with the events?”

  “Seth,” Melody said with distaste.

  “Why am I not surprised,” Kiko said.

  Kitome shook her head.

  “Natalia too,” Matsume said. “She mostly pulled from the normal events, while Seth…well, you saw for yourself.”

  “Five events,” Melody said softly. “We’ve got four shots left to take him out.”

  Kitome blinked when she noticed someone familiar walking toward them. She was a green-haired woman with larger than average breasts, a curvy body, and stood maybe five foot, five or six inches tall. Hair done in a single tail, dressed in a dark purple and floral cheongsam, Selkie attracted the eyes of the men around her, which annoyed the hell out of the blue-haired young woman. Life was just unfair.

  “Well, hello, long time, no see,” Selkie said to the group. Her eyes seemed to turn to ice at Kiko, Melody, and Matsume: Vampire, trickster demon goddess, and hellhound. But seeing how they looked damned peaceful, even cute while eating, she didn’t bug them.

  “Selkie, what brings you back to…this side of the world,” she said, accepting the hug. The feeling of being outclassed didn’t make Kitome happy. In fact, she poked one.

  “You suck,” she said softly. Selkie smiled sadly as a drop of sweat fell from the back of her head.

  “Wait, where’s the creepy dork chuuni guy?” Kitome said.

  “Somewhere with his…Somewhere out there, doing chuuni things and geeking out,” Selkie said. “I’m here to pass on something important to Clyde, both a message and a special object. I can’t say, not while I sense a group that calls themselves crusaders, around here.”

  Kitome’s eyes widened.

  “So you know about them,” Selkie stated. “Good, now I don’t have to explain.” She cheerfully bit into her crepe. Her face revealed happiness seconds later. “Mmmmm.”

  “I would ask if you were sure, but after what happened recently, I know you’re right,” Kitome said softly. “Do you have any idea why the crusaders are such ass fucks?”

  Selkie sighed.

  “Not only have you met them, but I assume the worst kind. The researchers.”

  “One,” Kitome said. “And he received justice for what he did. That’s all I’m saying.”

  Selkie nodded.

  “As long as the researchers continue to pull in their power, we’ll always end up dealing with some of the worst shitheads, especially if you’re far from civilization.”

  Kitome could only imagine. The last thing she felt like dealing with, were those fuckers. And Fumi was definitely at the festival—she saw the cute young woman eating with a few other girls earlier. If there was a researcher present, who he or she see through Fumi’s human form? And if so, would the crusaders attack a girl right in front of everyone?

  “Don’t worry,” Selkie said. “I’m keeping an eye on them. There’s no researcher here. These particular crusaders are nothing more than a bunch of humans, roughly your age.”

  Kitome allowed herself to relax.

  “There’s a certain friend of mine that I don’t want to see hurt.”

  Selkie nodded.

  “Take me to Clyde after we finish eating, if you don’t mind.”

  “Sure,” Kitome said. It still felt a little surreal seeing the entity after all of the things she and her party went through. How much strength they gained…

  Episode 43 (Part 1): Unforeseen Circumstances…

  Main grounds, Cultural festival…

  Clyde felt himself blush as Harumi fed him in public. The surrounding students were like tomatoes, even the dark-skinned students. Of course, the jealousy from both men and women, stirred. And the fox girl…she was close, almost silently declaring that the young man belonged to her.

  “Aah,” she said, exactly the way the girls did in the animes.

  “Harumi—”

  She shoved the food in his mouth. When he chewed, her face changed from the Gin smile to almost glee. Maybe even perverted.

  [Your relationship with Harumi…has evolved to Absolute Cherished, level 3.]

  The surrounding men at their table radiated enough fiery, jealous aura, that Clyde was almost worried that they’d set the whole damn school on fire. The poor bastards. Naomi looked a bit uncomfortable, but deep within, she probably wanted to tell the fox girl to knock it off. Toru, used to his friend’s harem, paid no attention, texting.

  “I’m going to meet up with Fumi,” he said.

  The second Clyde opened his mouth, Harumi stuffed it with a cube of meat. He chewed, but still gave Toru a wave.

  “Good luck,” she told the brown-haired noble.

  Suddenly, Alena sat by Clyde, pulling his head to her chest, suffocating him. The booby trap.

  “Finally, my dear son-in-law, found you,” she said. “I saw your win back there and I must say that was truly magnificent.”

  Clyde quickly pulled back, his heart pounding. He also felt the heat of Harumi’s jealousy aura. Harumi, actually feeling jealous? He wiped the tiny nosebleed. A little of it could be attributed to the amazing…He pushed away those thoughts. Never think of your future wife’s mother like that…Sure, I’m only a man, but I mustn’t! He hoped the perverted look on his face vanished.

  “Look, your kind can have as many…” she whispered so that Harumi couldn’t hear, “wives and lovers as you want—but especially you. A wife’s love adds to your power. I would give you the threat, but seeing how happy she is and that I can sense your own love for her, I won’t. Just keep my daughter this happy.” She pinched Clyde’s cheek. “She’s so cute—and did you know you look quite adorable when forcibly stuffed with food to prevent your resistance.”

  Clyde shot her a blank stare that only rolled off her. Harumi sighed.

  “You do realized she heard all of that,” Clyde said.

  “She’s not the problem, but those jealous men at this table…well,” Alena gave him a sad smile.

  “Oh,” Clyde said.

  “Protagonist, treating the civilians like background characters,” Alena placed a finger on his forehead then started to move closer to him. Harumi sat between the two just in time.

  “Alice is over there, angel,” she said coldly. “So I’d kindly ask you not to tease him. Keeping his ego in check is a lot harder than it looks.”

  Alena laughed, then gave Harumi the Gin smile.

  “Fine, fine. Don’t get your panties twisted, fox. Or shall I call you Fox-sama?”

  “Please don’t start a bloodbath here,” Clyde said softly.

  Alena’s gin faded.

  “She’s cute when jealous.” She pinched Harumi’s cheek. “And I love her just as much as my daughter.”

  As she walked away, Harumi muttered some colorful, choice words directed at a certain angel.

  “I’m guessing y
ou’re not the biggest fans of angels?” Clyde told Harumi. She blushed.

  “She’s. She just irritates me,” Harumi replied.

  An announcement over the speakers caught the duo’s ears.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, please come to the track for our swimsuit competition,” a male student, most likely the vice-president, said. “The winner of course will receive a ten thousand dollar gold card, plus this impressive trophy. Her picture will appear on the cover on Sato Academy’s magazine. Participants, please enter the raised tent at the center of the track.”

  The air warmed up. When Clyde turned to see why, his mouth dropped. Naomi was pissed. Her adorable innocent cuteness changed to…what the young man would picture for a sexy biker gang leader.

  “Sometimes I get reminded of how much I hate snobs,” she said in a deadly voice. Her expression softened again as she turned to Clyde and Harumi. “I have to get my camera.”

  The duo nodded and off she went, coated in fury.

  “Let’s go check it out,” Clyde said.

  “I—”

  Clyde didn’t give her the chance to object, standing up, and offering a hand. She grabbed and held on as they walk toward the gathering point. Holding hands.

  [Your relationship with Harumi…has evolved to Absolute Cherished, level 4.]

  Clyde wished he had a ring or even a necklace, anything to symbolize a proposal to Harumi. He got lucky with Melody. The system gave him the time to find or craft something due to his lack of knowledge about soul-oaths.

  Harumi’s hand was soft and delicate. When they stopped, he looked at her, taking in the cute innocent blush. And…someone this amazing was his. The Watchers granted him a gift with his Satovian life, but they still wouldn’t get off the hook for the shitty parts. Pairing him with Mortem, abducting and basically tossing him to soul-eating demons to fend for himself. But now wasn’t the time for those thoughts.

  No, his head had to make room for the swimsuit competition.

  “I’m entering,” Harumi suddenly said, causing his mouth to drop.

  “Are—”

  She hurried off, determination surrounding her like a palpable aura. Sure enough, a billboard announced the competitors and Harumi’s name was on it. And Kitome’s…Oof! She somehow got herself sucked into a surrounding pit of bad luck and possible goading. Well, she may be virtually flat, but held a nice feminine and athletic body.

  The participants, besides the random students he gave no shits about, were: Tear, Yuki, Harumi, Kitome, Airi—how did she get in—and even Selkie. Clyde felt hyped as the announcer started the event.

  “First, we have the lovely, Airi! Since we didn’t limit this to students, and she has friends of the academy anyway, we permitted it.”

  Dressed in a purple bikini to match her dark hair, the young woman walked out of the tent and received cheers. Clyde allowed himself to daydream about the sex he had with her—her soft, well-toned body pressed against his. Her breasts were normal-sized, but still amazing—because Clyde loved all boobs. Milk-chocolate skin to compliment the dark purple hair. That bikini…He wiped away the nosebleed.

  There was nothing wrong with complimenting her for a job well done in the healthy department.

  Clyde paid no attention to the scores—he was pretty sure no one did. There were lesser claps and cheers for some of the randoms, louder for others. But Team Stone’s women got the loudest, stadium-shaking applauses.

  When Tear and Yuki emerged for their turns, the young man felt like his eardrums burst. They were beyond the other contestants. Tear…

  She nearly pulled Clyde’s heart from his chest as he saw her walk, her billion dollar smile gracing the crowd. The succubus effect felt so strong, he kept his eyes on her, afraid that if he inspected the crowd, he’d spot a marching band of erected horns.

  Long, midnight-dark hair with the bluest of eyes, a bust that matched Harumi’s, and a rather provocative black bikini, Tear was a dream girl walking. Perhaps even literally.

  Yuki’s bikini, giving the competition a yin and yang effect, was white and just as provocative. However, her bust…that bust was slightly bigger. She matched Tear in the dream girl department. Nosebleeds spouted. Cheers and gasps and applauds raged. The judges were worried, unsure of how to select. It didn’t get better for them when Harumi emerged.

  And not just any kind of way, but with her fox ears and tail out, flexing an impressive dark-pink bikini. Clyde felt his own blood betray him as it rushed out of his nose, joining the others. He felt an overwhelming urge to play with her ears, goad for a reaction.

  In the end, the judges settled for a three-way tied and a split of the prizes. Money divided, all three getting photos on the cover, and the trophy replaced with three smaller versions.

  There were some highlights to the contest—Kitome coming out for instance. Her blushing and outputted innocence increased her score dramatically. And of course, there was the “flat is justice” crowd arguing for her victory.

  Selkie took second place, although Clyde believed her a strong contender for first. Only a succubus, a competitive, busty and kuudere demoness, and a fox goddess could beat her.

  Overall, the swimsuit competition was so successful, that the rich fathers of many of the students pledged to donate to the academy.

  As Clyde decided to approach Tear with a congratulation, as she already made the kind of eye contact that demanded his attention, a feeling of intrusiveness flooded his psyche. It wasn’t exactly a wrongness, but he just knew that that presence wasn’t native to Satovia. The Wind. The girl he saw not too far from her was strikingly beautiful. An elf? Forest green hair with ears that would probably make her loved one, nibble at them, an average height, and casually dressed. Were there elves in other worlds? Well, pointy ears didn’t automatically mean elf, same with beauty, but…

  She made eye contact with Clyde as if sensing his stare, then started toward him. He analyzed the young woman just in case she turned out to be one of THOSE players.

  Name- Tessa, the Wind.

  Level: 103 (potentially masked.)

  Type: Venus’s Chosen, adventurer.

  Relationship: Neutral..

  Potentially masked, huh? That of course wasn’t what put the young man on high alert. What the fuck did the system mean by Venus’s chosen? He already knew nothing good could come of this. Instead, motioned toward the front of the school. No one should be present. The Wind nodded her response, eyes still neutral.

  **

  Cultural festival…

  Eating area…

  Dark’s newly upgraded system sounded an alarm and the message received, shifted his eye color from golden to red.

  [Warning. Crusaders walk the festival, dressed in casual clothing; however, they still retain their weapons. The one and only *crusader champion* walks among them. Your Mental Navigation System will be set as to your desire to locate her.]

  An image was revealed in his head, causing his mouth to drop. The beautiful girl from before…SHE…SHE WAS THE FUCKING CRUSADER CHAMPION? The great lord of the dark’s luck showing itself like usual.

  “What’s wrong?” Myriad said. “You’ve got that scary glowing red eye thing going on again.”

  “Crusaders,” Dark said in a deadly voice. “And the champion is here.”

  Myriad put on her game face. Dark felt their consenting pact raging through his veins. Her strength combined with his, giving him the power to access thunderbird magic. Thunderbirds, a subspecies of harpy with the ability to wield special lightning. And this lightning combined with Dark’s magic would eat through any light and holy magic alive. “Stay in your human form, but don’t let any of them escape, that is, if they try to run.”

  The young man allowed red aura to blast wildly around him, which auto-cast all of his buffs. The students around weren’t paying attention to some random loser, not at first. Not until he stood with a murderous look in his eye.

  He knew Selkie would sense this. Not only her, but the others too, a
s well as any wizards and sorcerers, or magic users among the students or staff. They would witness the end of the crusade. The great lord of the dark showed no mercy to the false defenders of humanity.

  Dark blurred toward the peacefully eating girl, without fucks to give, launching the attack. Her eyes widened as she barely moved out of the way of a fist that shattered the table. Students bolted off, some screaming, some calling for help, some yelling, “holy fuck!”

  [You’ve entered a Super Boss fight!]

  [Life and Death! KILL THE CRUSADER CHAMPION!]

  Dark roared, red aura changing to purple. At this time, the crusader group rushed to the girl’s side, swords drawn. One of them gave her a blade that contained so much power that for a moment, the young man wondered if he bit off more than he could chew.

  “You crusader scum will pay for all of your crimes,” Dark said in a voice that didn’t sound too much like his. But as he remembered the innocent people slaughtered because of their trap, he snarled, consumed by fury and sadness for those who lost their lives for no fucking reason.

  He aimed a hand at the group.

  [Dark activated a Silver tier skill: Loki’s Bolt of Utter Destruction!]

  As the super powerful energy emitted from his hand, almost destined to completely obliterate the targeted group, the crusader champion jumped in front of them, blocking the magic with her sword. A flicker of red light glittered around the girl.

  “Counter!” she yelled.

  [Chizuru activated Counter.]

  [Your magic has been reflected.]

  And Dark found himself blasted a dozen yards backward, crashing into three tables. Food and plates were splattered and shattered in all directions.

  [Dark’s HP has dropped to from 250% to 100%]

  [Dark’s passive skill activated. Pain to power!]