The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper, #12 a LitRPG (ATS)

by Alvin Atwater

  Asu: My great lord of the hidden lewd, I’ve created a prototype magical droid that should be undetectable. In theory. It will take pictures, send messages, and beam it directly to your phone. Please fill me up as a reward! Ta-ta! I would say I’m going to bed. But I don’t need sleep.

  Clyde blinked.

  “She’s got things under control.”

  The young man reflected on the repentance status alignment. Permanent, unremovable, but incredibly difficult to inflict. Most creatures easily resisted it. Since Asu already believed in the Stone, the alignment encouraged her to follow up on that belief. The lich herself blew it out of proportion. Not that it surprised Clyde - her personality was exactly the same as when they first encountered the lich, the object of worship being science and experimentation, rather than him. His quick thinking to take a risky gamble in recruiting her paid off greatly.

  “She’s a hot whack-job,” Yusuke said, “but she really helped us out when the inquisition had us backed in a corner.”

  “Let’s not forget that she stopped a deadly assassin from that idiot wizard’s group,” Tear said. “I’m not sure why she let him live. Odd for a lich.”

  “We’ll discuss our non-murderous lich girl later,” Clyde said. “Let’s go knock out this patrol. We finish this, get Palona to take us to the princess, then we’re out of here. Well, with a plan. Remember, this is the same bitch who sent the inquisition after Tear. And it was HER inquisition that cost the lives of many.”

  A glow flashed brightly in the young man’s eyes. Time and space briefly bent around him, as if caving to his will. The pressure he released plunged fear into the entire city. “When I catch her, I’m going to put an end to this shit.”

  He let out a breath, his aura receding, allowing the party members to relax and breathe easier. Alice swatted Clyde’s arm.

  “Ow,” Clyde said. “What was that for?”

  “You’ve really got to stop doing that. Naoko and Nattie didn’t train you like crazy only for you to exert your power in a way that shows a lack of control,” Alice said.

  “Sorry,” Clyde said, then smiled. “It’s just the blood-shedding beast within. It’s even worse to stomach than when the Watchers did absolutely nothing.”

  “I bet there’ll be nutcases defending them,” Tear said. “The bullshit excuse of them being Watchers, not interfering in the world, yet watching a city of innocent people die horribly when they could’ve stopped it with a thought.”

  Clyde shrugged. “At least we’ve got three from their realm on our side.”

  “Who?” Yusuke said.

  “Selkie, Venus, and Naoko,” Clyde said. “Four, if you count Alice’s mom.”

  He pushed away the thought of Alice’s striking mother. Now wasn’t the time to let the pervert within dance about.

  [Your relationship with Asu has increased to Worshipped, level 8. Super-Extreme sexual interest. Your faith level has increased to 21. Yes, one person alone actually increased a faith level. The system is unsure if that is more scary than impressive. You have gained 100 faith points for the odd level increase. Total number of faith points: 110. Remember, the last Sunday of each month gives you access to the faith store. The items may or may not change. Then again, you probably love random item systems.]

  [Ahahahahaha.]

  System, why do you torment me? Clyde thought tiredly as he led his party outside the hotel. The first thirty minutes sucked. Cold as balls was an understatement due to the annoying wind. Misaka didn’t seem affected, a suspicious orange glow surrounding her during the entire walk. His party with him didn’t complain aloud, though Harumi looked as if she slowly reached a boiling point. Kitome, a member of another group, texted him every ten minutes or so, expressing just how cold she was and where Clyde could shove this patrol. Out of pettiness for that remark, he told her to suck it up. They were Team Stone and needed to learn how to operate in the chills. Sure, an equivalent of Earth’s thirty-six degrees Fahrenheit or two degrees Celsius mixed with heavy wind made the young man want to dive into a lake of boiling water, but if they couldn’t handle this now, they wouldn’t when it actually mattered. He recited those thoughts to all of Team Stone. That stopped Kitome’s vicious texting and Harumi’s explosive build-up, the cannon aimed at him retracted.

  Their break came when they noticed seven blue-robed wizards, armed with drumstick-like wands, walking toward a technological institute, purpose in their steps. One of them carried a gray sack. Clyde analyzed him.

  Wizard- Frodo.

  Level: 164

  Type: human, spellcaster.

  Work under: Kindas Wizards.

  Special: Desperate Call of Mary the Goddess.

  Weakness: Water.

  Resistances: Fire.

  Secret: his girlfriend pegged him after he drank half a barrel of strong ale. He still feels it with every step. A sad existence, hahaha.

  His name is seriously Frodo…

  “Alice, use your telekinesis and go secure that bag,” Clyde ordered. “Everybody else, attack. Don’t kill them. We’ll leave that to the androids that will conveniently show up after the fight is over.”

  “Why does it sound like you’re mocking a common trope from a TV show?” Alice asked.

  Clyde just chuckled, then gestured for his party to proceed to the ass-kicking.

  [Your party has entered combat!]

  Frodo ordered his fellow wizards to fight back the moment Alice swiped the bag away from him using the Force. A growing crowd of civilians watched from afar, excited at the sight of the wizards and the group of random foreigners attacking them.

  Snarling, Frodo gave his wand a wave, taking aim at Clyde. “You will burn for interfering in our important affairs! Siding with those who only hinder the growth of this Nation. You cannot see what’s happening.”

  [Frodo activated Tier 1 skill: Eruptos Del Fire Beamo.]

  In one quick motion, Clyde switched from Bloodlight to the Executioner’s Staff.

  [Executioner’s 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%.]

  [Clyde activated Tier 2 skill: Neptune’s Water Edge.]

  [Tier 2 skill: Neptune’s Water Edge. Type: water, holy. Class: very rare. Unleash a sharp blast of water blessed by Neptune himself.]

  He easily dodged Frodo’s beam of fire and watched as the slash of water magic smashed the wizard to the ground. Thanks to the weakness and his own stats and bonuses, the tier two skill did a lot of damage.

  [Critical! Weakness exploited. Frodo’s HP has dropped to 35%.]

  “I won’t let you do whatever the fuck you want,” Frodo snapped, raising his wand.

  [Frodo activated Special tier skill: Desperate Call of Mary the Goddess. This is a suicide skill.]

  Clyde wasted no time and countered.

  [Clyde activated Binder’s Hand.]

  [Binder’s Hand 6. Type: spiritual. Class: mysterious. Bind your enemies with tendrils of spirit energy. 46% chance to bind 1 enemy. Does no damage unless you will it. If willed, will do 14% damage per second. Able to will it to hold allies. Cannot damage allies.]

  The skill was a success, grabbing hold of the wizard, preventing him from casting his spell. Within seconds, Team Stone knocked out his accomplices. The surrounding crowd cheered.

  [Battle completed. Victory! Reward: 20,000 dollars. 600,000 EXP. Special Portable Forger’s Anchor. Item class: epic.]

  Clyde accessed his Ki, utilizing his newly obtained Area Sense skill.

  [Area Sense level 1. You will be able to detect all enemies within a vicinity. You 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.]

  The area was good to go, all enemies secured. As predicted, the androids showed up, took custody of the terrorists, and left
without so much as a thanks. At least the civilians were happy, which mattered. From observation, they were a mix of monster girls and normal humans. Not a crowd of rich people or corporate overlords, seeking to make their wallets fatter with cash. However, what the wizard said still bothered him.

  “Siding with those who only hinder the growth of this Nation. You cannot see what’s happening.”

  What did he mean by that? Was there something going on that Clyde or the party missed? Even Airi and Tear? He’d have to push those words aside as misguided terrorist dialogue until spotting evidence of such a claim. After all, the wizards were the ones attacking and breaking shit. If not for them, the young man could finish this quest and get moving.

  His phone buzzed, indicating a text message. Tetra.

  Tetra: there is supposed to be a large gathering of wizards, set to attack the palace in about an hour. Get your ass over there now.

  Clyde: copy that. We’ll get to the place as quickly as possible.

  Hinako: be careful. I don’t know a lot about magic, but I don’t want to see any of our own hurt.

  Clyde turned to the others, each of them putting away their phones after reading the group text.

  “Their leader has got to be among the crowd. If we can bring him down, we may finally be in the clear. I don’t know about you guys, but not being able to buy a lot of shit because of the lack of having a bullshit license is making me eager to leave,” Clyde said.

  “I kind of like it here,” Misaka said. “Besides the license thing, I mean. The technology is nice.”

  “It’s definitely impressive, though something seems off,” Alice said.

  “I agree,” Clyde told her.

  “After what the blue-robe said, there might be more than what meets the eye,” Yusuke said.

  “Let’s just find out first,” Clyde said, his mental navigation system marking the location. “Holy shit, that’s far. Harumi, do you mind calling up a cab?”

  Harumi nodded.

  “I’ll make sure to get one that’s nice and toasty.” She winked. The other girls expressed their agreements. Yusuke simply grunted his acknowledgement.

  Episode 60 (Part 2)

  Nation’s Seat of Alon…

  “I can’t believe he’s treating me like a fetch girl.”

  Dire muttered angrily to herself as she seamlessly flew across the city like a wingless angel. Su Yang trailed her, smirking. Sometimes she’d alter her appearance to look really scary, enough to bring tears to the eyes of even the silver-haired girl. She finally admitted deep within herself that she was afraid of Su Yang. She was always afraid of her.

  Su Yang looked exactly like her mother, just without the eyes of hatred. Dire didn’t want to admit that. She… took out her hatred on an innocent person and now paid for it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t escape her. She couldn’t escape the abusive memories. She was terrified to turn around, knowing that Su Yang would show a scary image or lunge at her. Her mother’s doppelganger. They looked alike, but were different. Dire thought that much was supposed to be obvious. Then why did she let…

  Dire froze when she noticed someone familiar, walking with two other girls. They seemed to be chatting happily, except the emotionless elf kid. She saw Loli Saga mangas in their hands. Their smiles brought a sense of loneliness to her… a pain in her chest. It made her miss the Forgotten Party as a whole. Momo always being nice, Olivia cooking. Su Yang laughing, then being jealous of Master Aunder flirting with the waitresses that served him funny-tasting drinks. Broody Julius sitting at a table by himself, glaring at the world. Dire herself would still be innocent. She’d still be carefree - if only the memories didn’t return. Everything was gone now… everyone.

  Master Aunder didn’t talk to her much anymore, Su Yang’s ghost haunted her - even made fun of the girl. Dire’s sheer craving for revenge against her family just barely kept the silver-haired girl together.

  Tears threatened to flow, but she forced them back. The last encounter with the witchling in the middle of the group below resulted in a fight because Dire lost her temper after the Falcon escaped. She had no animosity against the witchling nor her friends. She… didn’t want to be a bully.

  Abruptly, an android woman dressed in a blue and green police uniform aimed a large gun at the hovering girl. Before Dire could react, it released a searing laser.

  Something like this shouldn’t be able to hurt Dire, but that was no ordinary android. And the weapon she carried…

  The girl felt her muscles give up as she dropped to the road. Su Yang’s worried expression from fifty feet above… confused her. Didn’t she hate Dire? The silver-haired girl’s time to think on the subject matter, the surrounding warm liquid beneath her, and the intense pain, faded as an enormous speeding vehicle approached. It… was time to go. Unable to move, she closed her eyes. Yet, death didn’t come.

  Dire opened her eyes to see the witchling standing over her. In her right hand was a golden staff, stretched out toward the large truck. The tears finally erupted.

  “Why… did you… save me?” Dire managed to get out, despite the pain. “I tried to… hurt you, remember?”

  The witch shrugged.

  “You probably don’t remember me. Not ever since that mean lady cursed us and a bunch of people.” The witchling shook her head, then smiled. “You’re not allowed to die unless it’s by my hand.”

  A burst of healing magic shot from the hands of the green-haired girl with different eye colors and coated Dire. The broken bones healed and the pool of warmness vanished, along with the pain.

  “My name’s Natalia,” the witchling said. “Remember that.”

  Dire could only stare at her backside as the other girl and her friends walked away. The feeling of… sadness and maybe desperation swirled within the confines of her mind. She… wished for friends of her own. She wished she could be friends with Natalia... anything to wash away her loneliness.

  Dire stood, eyes downcast. She glanced at… the now-destroyed android that attacked her without provocation. Then she noticed the No-Fly Zone sign. This city was just too much. Death without warning for flying in this area, even for tourists who didn’t know the rules.

  This place wasn’t safe. Eyes were watching her. Government eyes. Maybe Natalia was headed to the royal palace. But why?

  For now, Dire would have to finish her fetch quest. Her training lectures about honor would drag on even longer if she didn’t hurry. She noticed Su Yang following again, worry in her eyes. Eyes… that her mother would never have.

  Natalia’s words flashed through Dire’s mind.

  You’re not allowed to die unless by my hand…

  She chuckled. That was a promise to see her again. Dire would rather play than fight, but if she wanted a rematch, then she’d get one. Or maybe a cookie-eating contest.

  Her stomach growled. Cookies sounded nice right now.

  Nation’s Seat of Alon…

  Hotel…

  Tessa pouted, then resorted to texting Clyde. She winced at the possible reason for him not answering the phone being… intimacy with those women. Why did the goddess have to send her here to face the madness?

  She took a deep breath and let it out along with some of her anxiety. Her old friend was free to live however he chose, same for her. Who wouldn’t, being granted magic in an anime universe?

  Maybe I should explore the city a bit, she thought. Her body would thank her for the exercise, anyway. Maybe she’d find some place that sold items.

  Lot City, Satovia…

  Unknown hidden office…

  The Oyabun knew he shouldn’t be alive, but as the man who held the knowledge of many dark and forbidden secrets, the supernatural community would not easily keep him down.

  He looked up at his elite assassin.

  “Good work, preserving my body,” he said softly. “I managed to find out a few things about the spiritual world.” He eyed the woman. “Thank you for not betraying me and for keeping this org
anization running. Six years passed in that particular spiritual plane, so I dearly miss my wife and daughter.” He stood up. “How many respawn dolls do we have left?”

  “Only one,” the woman said. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was going to work at first, since some time passed and the circumstances of your death.”

  The man flinched.

  “That’s right, those damned inquisition bastards.” He inhaled and exhaled. “But seeing you in nice clothing, the office in perfect condition, the amusement in your eyes, and the sun shining brightly outside, means someone or something actually defeated the inquisition. Or did the Watchers actually step in for the first fucking time of their infinite lives to help a dying city? I didn’t see nor sense my wife and daughter’s spirit over in death, thank goodness.”

  “Sir, the same group you ordered me to watch, saved the city,” the elite assassin said.

  The Yakuza leader nodded.

  “I just wish those bastard Crusaders didn’t hypnotize you that day. The moment you shot one of their friends, it cut away any chance to establish a relationship with them.”

  “Sir… well.”

  The Oyabun gave her a skeptical look. “Get on with it. You never hesitate with sentences.”

  “Team Stone left,” she said.

  The Oyabun sunk back into his chair, expression grim.

  “And took your daughter with them.”

  He jumped up. “IMA KILL ‘EM!”

  “Calm down, sir,” the elite assassin said. “Your wife gave your daughter THAT task you’ve been attempting to talk her into for so long. She encouraged Misaka to get help from Team Stone. They actually agreed.”