After Harumi briefly inspected the magnificent wand, she threw her arms around Clyde in a warm hug. Except …everything hurt. He groaned.
"Sorry," she said, pulling away. "This is amazing. I’m really looking forward to seeing what else you could make happen."
Clyde shrugged.
"Who knows? Anyway, eh, good night Harumi. To the shower, I go."
He thought he heard her mutter an innuendo as he unlocked his door. Soon after his shower, he cooked himself a burger. Nothing like a simple dinner after fighting for his life against deadly monsters.
That night, he smiled at his stat increases. And best of all, he could finally buy the damn magical printer. That would enable him to checkout new areas without getting utterly lost.
His thoughts fell back to that mysterious candy-eating girl…who was she? She was too cute to be a lacky of the demon lord. Clyde knew better. It’s anime. That girl felt no threat from his group whatsoever. If that Meta-pumko housed immense strength, there was no telling how much the girl had. Ah well. Another bridge to cross when he arrived. He could…try befriending her. Maybe without telling the others.
[Quest: guess what?]
"Oh fuck, please don’t, you evil system. You can’t do this to me."
[This quest is mandatory and cannot be refused,]
Clyde’s stat sheet. You may skip to the next chapter.
Name: Clyde.
Level: 13
Type: Main character/ Stone.
HP: 100%
MP: 100%
Attack: 28 (+6)
Defense: 26 (+1)
Speed: 30
Luck: 25
Will: 28
Intellect: 31
Form: 0
Special: ???
Special Abilities: none.
Hidden stats revealed:
Special Defense: 21
Paranoia: <varies>
Charisma: 19
Composure: 16
Evasion: 11
Free points: 6.
Skills:
- Athlete: 10% bonus to speed and Will. [Passive].
-Hostile Detection 3: detects hostiles within a certain range of you. Detects enemy information. [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].
Unarmed attacks:
-Round house kick. [Attack] – does physical damage. Change of knockdown at 5%.
Sword attacks:
-Precise Slash 2. [Attack] – does physical damage. Chance of critical at 5%
-Deep Slash 1. [Attack]- does physical damage. Chance to cause bleeding at 6%. Chance to stun at 2%.
Combat level:
basic. Combat style: basic.
Magic:
-Energy Ball. Type: spiritual. Class: mysterious.
-Scatter Shot. Type: spiritual. Class: mysterious. Description: Shoot a flurry of energy balls at multiple enemies. 1% chance to stun an enemy.
Talent:
Main character stuff.
Bonus:
10% boost to relationship stats with Harumi and her friends.
+5% damage for a physical attack.
Inventory:
$ 783
-Map of Lot City, Satovia.
-Smartphone.
-Key.
-Reminder for practice- note.
- Mysterious book.
Equipment:
-Beginner’s sword- +5 to attack.
-School uniform or casual clothes.
-School shoes or casual shoes.
-Necklace of strength. (Uncommon)- +1 attack +1 defense.
-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(completed).
Episode 6 (part 1): Cake to a Woman's Heart!
Thursday. Week 1. Year 1.
Clyde found himself up early despite last night’s near-death dilemma. He willed the log to show up in his mind’s eye then selected the printer quest.
[Congratulations, you have unlocked access to Sacred Store I-D. You can only access the interdimensional store once a week and if you have the money. You must also meet hidden requirements. This time will be a freebie due to the quest. The store will provide you a list of items, which change every week. You will only be able to purchase one non-quest item, so choose carefully. Would you like to view the store?]
Clyde selected yes, smiling wide as a new menu appeared. Then he frowned.
[Items available: Zelt’s Printer (300). Lightning gun (3300), Super Magic Book (65,000), God’s Sword (94,000,000,000,000), Health Potion (200), MP Potion (350), Book of Fire (900), Nooby equipment set (550), Mystery box (100).]
"These prices are ridiculous," he said. "What the hell, system? First, you’re pushing annoying anime tropes onto me, now this?"
He especially glared at what apparently was God’s sword. How in God’s name was he supposed to get that kind of money? The system even kicked him while he was down by making the store’s inventory one hundred percent RNG. With a defeated sigh, he decided to just get the important thing first.
[You have purchased Zelt’s Printer. Item class: Rare. You can now print out area maps that will sync to your mental navigation system. You may upgrade it with free points to unlock additional features. Currently, is it level 1/25.]
Clyde nodded as the item appeared in his inventory. Five hundred thirty-three dollars remained in his inventory. A health potion would be nice, but how much did it revive? The system seemed to have read his thoughts and displayed a retractable description beneath it.
[Health Potion: revives 25% of your HP and continues to restore a small amount over a minute.]
He decided to pass on this. Only one purchase per week. Harumi’s healing would have to do. Then he saw something—an obvious trap. The mystery box. Everything else was just too expensive—yet this turned out to be dirt cheap. Well…dropping one hundred dollars wasn’t—but it was by far the most ridiculous item on the list.
[You’ve purchased the Mystery Box. Thank you for purchasing! Bye!]
The menu vanished but his box did not appear. It also wasn’t on the menu. A knock on the door briefly stopped his anger. When he opened it, there it was, a large cardboard box addressed to the wrong person. He shook his head at the lack of a delivery guy to confirm things then pulled the box inside.
Clyde’s mouth dropped when he opened it. There was a little anime girl inside the box, sleeping. A loli in a box.
He pulled out his phone to call the police when another knock caught his attention. Another box addressed to him this time. When he turned around, the one containing the little girl was gone. His eyes widened as he pulled in the real box.
Just to be sure, he checked his apartment. Completely empty. The douchewads running the game had played a joke on Clyde. Great.
Inside the box was a bunch of junk. Random metals, screws, bottles of glue and even Gorilla glue, and crap Clyde didn’t feel like identifying. One hundred dollars. Gone. He nearly had an aneurism until realization struck him like the back end of a slap. Crafting materials.
Clyde accessed the crafting menu. Selecting a ruler, a spike, and glue, willed the menu to show him the item.
[Would you like to create the Enemy attracter?]
Clyde shrugged then selected yes, curious.
[You ha
ve received Enemy attracter. Item class: uncommon. Consumable. By waving this item around like an idiot, you have a 25% chance of attracting a small force of enemies, eager to kill you.]
A brief shimmer of intense light covered the room. The ingredients fused into his new item, which appeared in the inventory. The low item class was probably why it crafted so fast.
The attracter looked like a wooden wand of some sort with a spiked tip made of metal. Clyde couldn’t understand for the life of him why it attracted enemies.
[Your crafting skill has reached level 2!]
Clyde nodded, deciding to craft one more thing. He planned to obtain better objects afterwards. The next fights needed to be smooth, easier, and contribute to leveling him up, faster. He willed the system to reveal all possible items.
[A list cannot be shown. You are the inventor. You must utilize trial and error.]
Clyde shook his head, selected a few items and his sword. Nothing.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" he barked. "I have to do something with this sword. Help me out here, system! Please."
The system didn’t respond. He eyed some of the metals and a bottle of weird gray powder.
[Would you like to create Natzo hand bomb?]
Clyde gulped, hoped the SWAT team wouldn’t burst into his apartment, then selected yes. Like before, all three materials fused into one intense glow, before the item appeared in his inventory, all in the span of a full minute.
[You have received Natzo hand bomb. Item class: rare. A horrific mini explosion of death that causes fire and metal damage on enemies caught within the blast. 40% chance to cause burns, 20% chance to deafen. 30% chance to stun.]
Clyde nodded then closed the crafting menu. First, he plugged in the printer. To his surprise, he saw its interface through his mind’s eye. There were several maps, grayed out except for Libado Grasslands. He selected it and watched as the map appeared in his inventory.
[Quest completed!]
[You have received Map of Libado Grasslands.]
He rode the city buses to several stops, buying a few cheap trinkets and snacks, but with his low funds, he really couldn’t get much. He’d have to grind it. Grinding in real life—what a mess. Maybe Clare could offer him a decent discount on a useful item.
Clare glared, her blue eyes seeming to peer right through him. Clyde did his best to keep eye contact. Don’t look at her boobs. Don’t look at her boobs, Clyde. Don’t do it.
The shopkeeper smirked, possibly catching onto his resolve. She leaned over the counter, revealing cleavage that made the young man happy to be alive.
"Maybe I can show you some daggers," she said. "In the back."
Clyde felt the buzz of his phone, signaling the text from Chika. He ignored it, following the busty anime girl into a back room, the door closing behind them.
"These daggers are for the hardcore collectors, said to have blessings of ancient deities," Clare said as she led him to a large, gold-framed glass display. In it were daggers that looked expensive enough to make Clyde turn around. Only Clare pressed against him with enough boob to make the young man melt.
He accidentally analyzed her in a feeble attempt to compose himself. To bang or not to bang, that was the question.
Clare
Level: 22.
Type: maiden.
Relationship: Curious- teasing.
HP: 100%
MP: 100%
Stats: Relationship isn’t high enough. Idiot boy.
Special abilities: See above, see-see, above. Idiot boy.
Skills: see above. Idiot boy.
Magic abilities: see above. Idiot boy. Idiot-idiot, boy.
He didn’t know what to make of her level. He supposed she was skilled with every blade or practiced some kind of self-defense. Or…maybe she also had power. Note to self, get Clare in his party, he thought.
Episode 6 (Part 2)
"Let me give you a starting recommendation," Clare said as she unlocked the gold display. "You’re the first collector I let back here in a long time."
"I mean I like the daggers, they look amazing," Clyde said, "but I won’t have much use for them…" he paused realizing his big mouth. The shopkeeper had his eye contact.
"It’s fine," she said, "if I hadn’t made it obvious enough that I know you have the gift, then I’m dropping the ball here."
Clyde sighed.
"How strong is the demon lord?"
"Very," Clare answered in a deadpan voice. "And I hope my adorable customer isn’t planning to undertake a foolish mission to get himself killed. Collectors are a hard sort to keep interested. Don’t go throwing your life away."
"If I get strong enough, maybe, but it’s going to take some time," Clyde said. What he really meant was that this demon lord thing wasn’t his problem. Only killing the Viper and getting the fuck out of this dimension mattered.
Clare gave him a look of pity then picked up a dagger that had a shiny steel blade and a leather-like handle. It took Clyde only a second to notice a tiny outline of blue aura surrounding it.
"A dagger is a weapon of close combat. Closer than the sword. If your weapon is battered away, then switch to the dagger. Don’t fight a demon unarmed unless you have the training, the combat skills. Even basic skills can go a long way. Let me show you how to use the dagger."
And so, for the next two hours, Clare taught Clyde how to use the dagger, techniques, hiding it, and even showed him how to properly use throwing knives. The young man wasn’t perfect, but he caught on quickly. Clare’s teaching was as clear as day to him, almost as if she injected the skills into his skull. They spent a lot of time pressed against each other, she sometimes grabbing his arm, directing it to a proper form. She was very touchy feely, especially on Clyde’s chest. At the end of the two hours, the young man received a prompt for his troubles.
[You have learned dagger combat 1 and knife throwing 1. Your combat level has reached basic 2.]
"I’ll let you take one of the steel daggers," Clare said. "When you have the money, you know, from killing monsters and all, you can upgrade."
After he left the shop, a little disappointed that he let Clare’s teasing nature decide things for him. Chika’s text cheered him up and he wasted no time replying. And they said silver-haired anime people were dangerous. How ridiculous. Chika was like the friend she needed in this world.
Just then, Clyde spotted Kitome and a blue-haired young man wearing the academy school uniform, arguing in front of a restaurant. He considered walking somewhere else, uneager to interfere with their quarrel, but it was too late.
"See, there he is. We can do it, Yasuke."
"I never asked for this gift thing," Yasuke barked, without looking at Clyde. He stormed off in the opposite direction. Clyde analyzed him in time.
Yasuke.
Level: 11.
Type: ninja
Relationship: stranger.
HP: 125%
MP: 75%
Higher HP and lower MP, now this intrigued Clyde. Most base stats from what he seen so far resonated a balance between the two. No…that wasn’t what hyped him. No… a real-life ninja. Jealousy ran through Clyde’s blood like currents of a raging river.
Kitome smiled sadly at him as he approached. The blue-haired anime girl, who looked to be just five feet tall was dressed in casual clothing—jeans and a designer shirt. She had her long hair in curls this time. Clyde actually felt bad for the hairdresser.
"Your boyfriend’s a ninja," Clyde said.
"That’s my brother," Kitome said. "And like me, he transforms."
"Into a ninja," Clyde deadpanned. "That’s not fair."
Kitome shrugged.
"So wait," Clyde continued. "You’re a brother-sister duo of magical girl types."
Kitome sighed.
"That’s one way to put it," Kitome said. "If only he didn’t reject his power so much. He’d be really helpful at taking down the demon lord."
"His level is only eleven. Remember that metal pumpki
n thing?" Clyde said. "He was at twenty-five. The demon lord is going to be a fucking killer. Either your brother’s in or not."
"I’ll...try harder to convince him," she said with a twinkle in her eye. Clyde forced away the thought of a certain anime trope that came to mind.
"Yeah…just don’t do anything weird," Clyde said as he started to walk way.
Kitome followed.
"What do you mean by that?" she said with a tiny bit of anger.
"Nothing," Clyde said. "Do your best. And get him to train. Anyway, I’m off to the dojo, bye."
Kitome still followed him.
"I don’t like the hidden meaning in your voice. And you know, it’s a cloudy day. I don’t mind walking with you to the dojo."
He gave the young woman a blank stare, a once-over, then shrugged.
"If you have nothing better to do," he said then continued walking.
Kitome harrumphed anime-girl style. His phone buzzed. Chika sent a photo of her and the most magnificent-looking sundae ever. It looked to be the size of a melon, decked with chocolate fudge and nuts. Sweets. The enemy of Clyde’s athleticism. He wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to deny them in this word. The silver-haired girl sent him another message.
Next time, I’d really like to share it with you. Not my annoying father.
The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper # 1, a LitRPG. (ATS) Page 8