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

by Alvin Atwater

  [Your party has entered combat!]

  “Get ready,” Clyde said. “We’re going to take them out with no injuries. Be tactical or something. Don’t be stupid. I won’t be using Stone Mode except as a last resort. Got it?”

  Everyone nodded. Alice smiled. “I can see your ideas in my head,” she said.

  “You can?” Clyde asked, surprised.

  [You have unlocked Soul Mate Passive- Duo Sync. Type: spiritual. Class: ??? You may send combat strategies to Alice directly from your head during or even before battle. This will be automatically extended to any wife. And only wives. Chances of duo-attacks increased by 10%.]

  Sheesh, at this rate, Seth and Toru and any non-harem member would end up on the Support Team. Although Seth on support wasn’t a bad idea. He’d found their headquarters. They’d raid it after learning as much as possible. The police were useless against the enemy. Nevertheless, that’d be for a later discussion. The blond’s reliability was just too high.

  Clyde smiled at the revelation of utilizing Alice in his strategy. Then he frowned. He couldn’t make her do something too risky, not while pregnant. The reality sunk in again: Alice was pregnant.

  Clyde and the others slowly crept from their hiding places, Chika in stealth, preparing to pick off a few. They wouldn’t be killed of course, just knocked out and secured. More androids were on the way. Team Stone had to make sure the wizards were no longer a threat to them nor the innocent civilians around. Also, he just wanted to fucking sleep without these bastards retaliating.

  “Tear, did you find us a new hotel yet?” Clyde asked.

  “Not yet,” Tear replied. “So many are full. I booked this one ahead of time and got lucky enough to reserve us all rooms.”

  Clyde observed the enemies. There seemed to be at least thirty or forty. A dozen of them succumbed to the traps. Chika and Yusuke started their jobs. The young man and the team moved a little faster, knowing that the mist wouldn’t go inside the building.

  The wizards were a mix of blue, red, and even some newly green robes. A man wearing gold appeared to be their lieutenant, so Clyde analyzed him.

  Wizard, Gold Robe: Jerret.

  Level: 166

  Type: human, spellcaster.

  Work under: Kindas.

  Special: annoying wizard teleportation.

  Weakness: physical.

  Resistances: his magical barrier makes him resistant to all magic.

  Secret: he secretly wishes for a world of monster girls. He’d call himself a harem king.

  A man of culture or a lunatic, the world would never know. Taking notice that Chika and Yusuke did the best that they could while most of the wizards’ guards were down, Clyde started his new combat plan.

  “Take out any that fall from this,” he said to Alice. She nodded. While incredibly powerful, the twin-tailed half-demoness knew not to accidentally kill them.

  [Clyde activated Giga Death Scatter Shot.]

  [Giga Death Scatter Shot [evolution 2]: Type: spiritual. Class: mysterious. Shoot a flurry of energy balls at multiple enemies. 8% chance to stun or paralyze an enemy. Does gun, metal, and glass damage. 1% chance to instantly kill enemies ten levels or more below you. You can will the energy balls to explode upon contact.]

  Good thing they weren’t ten or more levels below him. A one percent chance…

  Six balls of deadly energy launched from the young man’s hand and knocked each of their targets over like bowling pins. Clyde grabbed a few more with Binder’s Hand, yanking their legs and dragging them across the ground to end in a nice, classic wall smash. To make sure anyone conscious didn’t easily get up, the young man pulled out his Executioner’s Staff and aimed at the ground. Alice took out a mob that bolted at the duo from a different direction with multiple beams and bursts of pink radiant magic.

  [Clyde activated Tier 2 skill: Blizzard.]

  The wizards were fucking miserable. Some of them launched fireballs in the young man’s direction. He quickly responded with multiple bursts of Neptune’s Water Edge. Then to make sure they had no luck with the ground, refroze it. By this time, the gold robe had set his sights on Clyde.

  Anticipating the first teleport, the young man positioned Alice right in the perfect place. The second he appeared, the young woman delivered an upper knee that broke some of the wizard’s ribs. Clyde knew because he felt the cracking vibrations through his mystic senses.

  The young man took a look around the battlefield. All forty wizards were down, many injured, all unconscious.

  And there wasn’t a single scratch on Team Stone. Clyde took mental notes to improve the strategy, figuring this wouldn’t work every time. But holy shit. They were all level one hundred fifty and higher, although the gold robe was the strongest.

  [Outstanding! Battle completed, PERFECT! Reward: 320 million EXP, 40 million dollars, and Elroot Wand part 1 of 3.]

  [Congratulations, you have reached levels 151-155. Stats increased! Random skill levels increased. Some have become enhanced skills.]

  [You have earned the title, Strategist in the Making.]

  As if on cue, sirens filled the air. Clyde motioned for the hotel manager to explain things, while Alice, Tear, and Fuyoko rounded the wizards up with telekinesis. Thankfully the androids took their tipoff very seriously and brought in an army of police and what appeared to be some kind of SWAT team.

  “This is going to take a while,” Clyde said, but the results made him happy. Now he’d have to turn simple strategies into complex mechanisms.

  Abruptly, Clyde’s mystic senses flared into overdrive. One of the police officers had fired, but the bullet failed to penetrate the young man’s aura. Not that it needed to. It fizzled gray gas and exploded.

  While he took absolutely no damage, the force of the blast spiraled him backward to the wall. The fake officer blurred toward the young man before Team Stone knew to respond.

  [You have been dragged into a *Sub-Boss fight!]

  [Due to the Luedium gas, your defenses have dropped.]

  Rage barreled through the young man, but he forced his body NOT to jump into Stone Mode. The excess aura and wind slowed the advance of the terrorist, giving Clyde enough time to stand and right himself. He analyzed the newcomer.

  Witch, Gray Robe, Zila.

  Level: 200

  Type: human, spellcaster.

  Work under: Kindas.

  Special: ???

  Weakness: ???

  Resistances: holy.

  Secret: blocked.

  Clyde Flash Stepped toward her, dodged her three dagger thrusts, then socked the witch in the face with a Stagger Punch. He immediately moved into a Roundhouse Kick, but she used magic to hold her ground. A spellcaster choosing to fight at close range set the young man’s mental alarm bells at maximum. Was she going to suicide on him? Frodo had such a skill, so it wouldn’t be a surprise.

  Why did the wizards do this to themselves? If they wanted some kind of change in this Nation, they had to go for it in a manner that didn’t threaten lives. Otherwise, what if the spellcaster accidentally killed someone who was beginning to take their message into consideration?

  Still, they were willing to go this far, but for what end… hell, judging by the crazed look in the woman’s eyes, her so-called leadership did something… the young man… needed to know the other side of the story.

  [Zila’s HP has dropped to 150% of 200%.]

  Zila aimed a hand at Clyde, laughing. “Eat eat eat eat, you interfering bastard!”

  [Zila activated Tier 1 skill: Gauntlet Magic Bolt. This is an undodgeable skill.]

  Clyde put up a Cosmic Shield, blocking the magic, then Flash Stepped in front of the witch. Tapping into Mystic Combat, his fist left green trails of magic as he went from a Stagger Punch, to a kick, then finishing off with an upward dagger strike. He jumped backward when he noticed she attempted to grab him.

  Whatever the fuck she had planned, the young man wanted no part of that.

  [Zila’s HP has dropped to
125%.]

  Her high level and maybe defense prevented his physical and generic attacks from doing much damage, but if he used magic in the wrong place, she’d possibly explode.

  Wait… the young man had a fun spell for creative occasions. MP-costing, sure, but worth a shot.

  [Clyde activated Special Tier skill: Energy Materialize. Boosted by Naoko. The energy will last longer.]

  [Special Tier Skill: Energy Materialize. Type: light, deity. Class: epic. Form weapons and objects made of energy in your hands for a short time. The more MP invested, the larger the object. Be careful of overdoing it. The magical backlash can daze you in the middle of a fight. Chance to inflict light blight at 4%. Chance to burn at 2%.]

  Clyde briefly glanced at the kuudere loli, nodding his thanks. Zila was charging recklessly again, probably hoping to kill the young man off, Yamcha-style.

  First, he created a steep slope right in front of her, catching the witch off guard. She tumbled backward. Clyde surrounded her in a super-thick coffin of blue magic, then packed on layer after layer, being careful to leave airholes.

  [Your MP has dropped to 200% of 680% from this battle. Be thankful for the buffs!]

  [Clyde activated Tier 2 skill: Blizzard.]

  He froze the coffin over with ice, sensing that the energy from his materialize skill was preparing to dissipate.

  “Quick, Natalia, trap her in something,” Clyde said.

  “You got it, husbando onii,” Natalia said.

  “Husband?” Clyde heard an android ask. “Should we be arresting him too?”

  “No, I think she watches too much anime,” another cop said.

  Natalia surrounded the ice into one giant chamber of solid, unbreakable magic.

  “Can anyone here disarm the magical bomb inside her?” Clyde asked. “If you fail, she’ll explode into many pieces, but the blast will be contained.”

  Undine stepped forward. “Leave it to me.” She walked up to Natalia’s barrier, placed a hand on it, then closed her eyes. Some kind of… not-magic seeped through like a black smog. It entered Zila’s mouth and there they waited for thirty tense seconds. “There. All of her explosive magic is gone. And wow did she have a lot in there, but under too much pressure. I doubt she could hold you on the ground long enough to make it go off.”

  [Undine ended the battle!]

  Clyde nodded. “Now we’ll let the police handle this. Also…” He turned to the androids. “How did she fool you? Do you not know your own?”

  “Our sensors couldn’t pierce her illusion magic,” an android replied, then she looked down. “She killed our commander and took on her form. We… we have a job to do, so we can’t mourn our officer. Someone who guided our hands and taught us how the world works.”

  The android joined the others into miserably cuffing terrorists with anti-magic handcuffs then stuffing them into the armored vehicles.

  Clyde turned to look at Dera, who seemed to slump, eyes sad. Amina placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

  Either the princess or Palona or the queen needed to explain this shit. Clyde wished he could meet whoever or whatever created the androids.

  Episode 61 (Part 3)

  Night…

  Palace…

  Princess’s balcony…

  Andrew’s hand, which flickered with magic, was aimed at the defiant princess. He had pulled off his black dragon mask earlier, hoping to see eye to eye with her. The words… the revelation she just poured on him…

  “You are the creator of the androids?” Andrew asked. “And how much of our Nation’s money are you throwing away?”

  “None,” Princess Kaguya said. “I make them with magic and special metal my sister mails to me from abroad. I even use magic to give them realistic synthetic skin to be as close to human as possible. My sister’s big in adventuring, so she sends me a lot of things on her quest for knowledge.”

  Andrew shook his head, the magic in his hands intensifying into a red and black glow. “You’re not lying to me, are you? Then why the high taxes? Why the unbalanced system? What do you plan to do about the other cities who have been begging for improvement for years?”

  “Mother is trying,” Kaguya said, her voice infused with a trace amount of anger. She seemed to deflate. “She’s trying her best, but the structure of our government isn’t as black and white as you think. We aren’t dictators. Mother can propose some universal law for our Nation, but the mayors of the provinces can impose province-local laws. Many times, we have offered to upgrade other cities. Many times, but the mayors who sit on their backsides getting rich and looking down their noses at even us, reject the offers, stating that they wish to keep the costs down. What can we do? We cannot force our laws on the six mayors, as without their support, we cannot hold together the government.” Kaguya seemed to wilt. “Not to mention the provinces fighting each other for power. Raids, scandals, and election manipulation.” Tears streamed down the princess’s eyes. “And then your group comes in, devoid of the facts, and makes things harder.”

  Andrew gasped.

  “I know it isn’t your fault,” Kaguya said. “We know who’s pulling the strings, hiding behind his power, connections, and even money that surpasses what we have left in the treasury. We hate putting out the taxes, making those in this province cover for the others that use loopholes set up by their ancestors to pay as little as possible. We tried so hard to change, begged the money-hungry mayors to work with us. One tried to reach out, only to get ridiculed by the others for being weak and giving in to the federal level. He retracted his support, deciding not to update his city nor improve it, even a little, in the name of costs. We are battling and compromising. Mother and her lawyers are working on a loophole-free bill designed to impress even the provinces. But the more your leader keeps ordering attacks, the more time it takes away from fixing the Nation. I know… I know he’s misled you. He claims to want change, but is handling things the wrong way.”

  Andrew’s hand was down, magic dissipated, as he listened and nodded. The princess continued.

  “Did he tell you that before he began the attacks, we offered to bring him in as an adviser? He declined, despite having the qualifications, degrees, experience as an ex-mayor, and even taught politics in major colleges for a while. Mother, Palona, and I reached the same conclusion. Maverick is seeking control of the Nation and the provinces are backing him.”

  Andrew’s eyes widened, mouth agape. Kaguya sighed.

  “We don’t have all of the evidence up front yet to make a claim. Once the people see this, they can collectively voice their displeasure. At that time, Mother and I will have the power to remove them from their offices on the grounds of corruption and arrest them. Mother will fill those positions with people that she knows deserve those spots. Some even lost due to dirty, underhanded tactics and false scandals.” Kaguya stood. “I’m glad you came here; you may be able to stop this. Please take some time to think about it… if you’re not here to kill me.”

  Andrew shook his head. “No. But you’re right, I’ll need time to think. Do you mind if we meet tomorrow afternoon? If what you’re saying is true, then I will do everything in my power to reverse what Maverick has done.”

  Kaguya nodded. “Thank you. I mean it.”

  Andrew nodded once, feeling legitimate sincerity in her voice. Of course, he’d always known the princess was kind and caring, but Maverick’s teachers only demonized the queen and the government as a whole. He spoke on things that looked true due to the many problems across the provinces, but now that the young man had time to think on it… Maverick had never mentioned the mayors. Not once in the five years Andrew had been his apprentice. But… he seemed to genuinely care for the country. He often said he could do better. The young man agreed, due to the circumstances.

  And Maverick was right. He could do better. But how could the queen do anything if the provinces had secretly turned against her with a plan to overthrow the royal family? Why hadn’t Andrew seen this earlier? What
was Andrew’s role? Maverick often spoke of him being the key to this plan, the public face…

  But… he was also the scapegoat in the case of anything going wrong.

  Andrew leapt off the side of the balcony, making a Jump to his apartment.

  Princess Kaguya hoped he’d do the right thing. Her mother and the lawyers could not stand against the provinces without enough evidence for the accusation of corruption, no matter how obvious. Maybe the Black Mask could do something.

  As for needing the blessing of the legendary hero, Kaguya had requested that Palona take it upon herself, for they could not risk drawing the Stone deeper into their political affairs. She didn’t want the world to look at him in a negative light. Without him, everything was doomed. Palona had foretold it.

  Kaguya sighed. Ironically, the gargoyles may be just as big of a problem.

  Hotel…

  Saturday. Week 4. Month 2. Year 1. Season: Late autumn. Last day of the month.

  [Satovian Universal Calendar: Nova, 46389]