Streets of Lot City….
"Oh, and it gets even worse," Clyde said, continuing his explanation. They had just got off a bus moments ago to follow the remaining meters of his mental navigation system. "She said pineapple is better on pizza."
Alice gave him a brief look of horror.
"You humans with these weird eating habits," she said, shaking her head. "I’ll have to keep you in check, make sure you don’t stray to the wayside."
"Says the sweets-eating girl," Clyde said. He halted, his jaw dropping from the enormous house in front of him. Surrounded by fancy gates and a fancier driveway, Clyde wanted to turn around. Despite teasing Toru about being raped by a slime girl, the pretty boy still was leagues above him in life. Privileged.
He shrugged. Maybe he’d pig out on some luxury foods. Clyde, expecting to have to be buzzed in, found the button at the front gate. Moments later, it opened, and they entered. The unimpressed look Alice had, made Clyde chuckle inside.
Toru met them at the door. He went pale at the sight of the demoness but bowed slightly.
"Oh knock it off," Alice said. "Remember, it was you guys that attacked first."
"True…but, if you don’t mind me asking." He looked at Clyde. "What’s going on?"
"You do know that we’ve been friends this entire time," Clyde said.
[Your relationship with Alice has changed from friend- closer level 1, sexually intense craving, to friend- closer level 2, sexually intense craving. Her demoness nature will continue to radiate a sexual craving around you due to compatibility.]
Toru shrugged.
"You’ve got a guest. And here I thought I was the best at picking up girls."
"You’re the best at having money," Clyde muttered under his breath. They followed him through some kind of huge main room of shiny marbled floors. Two sets of stairs spiraled from both Clyde’s far left and far right. There were rose patterns in the architecture. The typical, maybe, clichéd large paintings paraded the walls, as if they were a requirement by the rich. The rich club demands it, Clyde thought.
Eventually, Toru led them to some kind of waiting room where a girl with long white hair slept on a fancy couch, giant TV playing a movie about cat superheroes. She indeed had cat ears that matched the color of her hair. She was a pretty, slender girl, dressed in a simple purple shirt and blue short shorts. Clyde’s eyes didn’t miss the white tail that dangled from her behind.
The moment they stepped into the room, her ears perked up. Soon, Clyde found himself staring into blue eyes. In other words, she was face to face with the young man in one leap—a leap so fast, Clyde’s brain processed it a second later. He flinched.
"And they say the Flash is the fastest," he said. "I’m Clyde. Toru said you wanted….what are you doing?"
Alice stepped in between them, not allowing the girl to sniff further.
"He’s not food," Alice said with ice in her voice. "I suggest not sniffing him."
"It’s a habit," the girl said. "Nya. And by the aroma deep within, he’s who he says he is." She cut the demoness from her attention, smiling at Clyde. "I’m Neko. You’ve been a pain in the tail to locate for the past few days."
Clyde allowed the fact that she used "nya" in her sentence to fade from his mind. A quick analyze confirmed the girl’s identity.
Neko
Level: 27.
Type: beast kin/ catgirl.
Relationship: very interested.
HP: 100%
MP: 100%
He stopped the prompt early to avoid being insulted. The "very interested" was a first, but he assumed it had something to do with being the Stone.
"So how can I help you?"
"Nya." She was in front of Clyde again, taking a long whiff.
"Not in here," Toru said. "Go rape him at his house."
"Sorry," Neko said. "Your scent is intoxicating. It’s just heat season for us. I’ll try to tone it down now."
Clyde took a silent gulp, actually taken aback. He regained his composure—probably due to a slight glare from Alice.
"Anyway," Neko continued, "there’s a door in the city that appears at night and can only open by your touch. In it takes you to the path of unlocking more of your power. My family was against the idea of getting involved with what you do—but I wanted to help the Stone. Help you."
"What’s going on?" Toru said. "What do you mean by that—him being a stone."
"Nothing important for you to worry about," Neko said. "Think of that title being his powers. I cannot tell you any more than that." She turned back to Clyde. "I shall take you to the door tonight."
"It’s going to be a group," Clyde said. "The Leaf will be there too."
"The what—wait, that’s here in this city? Oh my, that’s interesting. Two protagonists…How long will he be in town?"
"No idea," Clyde said. "But are the guides allowed to just hang around us like friends?"
"Nope," Neko said. "As far as I know, there’s no interference allowed. He or she won’t be able to come with us tonight."
Tuesday couldn’t come fast enough for Clyde. He needed to at least know about this world. Asshole Mortem gave him the blind protag treatment.
Just then, Clyde felt something glide across his cheek. It took him a second to realize Neko licked him. She giggled.
"We’ve got a few hours—"
"Go rape him somewhere else," Toru interrupted.
Alice gave Neko a death glare.
"If you do that again—or anything that remotely looks like you’re tasting him, I’ll kill you," she said. "You may be of the so-called peacemakers, but you’re still a demon."
Neko laughed.
"It’s not tasting when I’m in heat."
Clyde realized the meaning behind that and fell into a short coughing fit. Toru laughed.
"Oh don’t you start, slime bait."
"Slime bait?" Neko said.
"Long story don’t ask," Toru quickly said. "Anyway, I’m going to start preparing for tonight’s patrol. I suggest you do the same, Clyde."
"Yeah, you’re right. I’ll be taking off," he said.
"I’m coming along."
Alice opened her mouth to protest, but Clyde injected with a soothing whisper in her ear.
"Just deal with her for now. We’ll stop for sundaes, my treat. I know your dad’s a lousy payer and all."
The ice cream bribe worked, judging by the cheerfulness in the demoness’s eyes. Neko knew about the stone-viper game. Clyde needed her around.
Episode 9 (Part 5)
[Dark has temporarily joined your party! Ha. Hahahaha, have fun with that.]
"I am Dark, the most powerful being you’ll ever meet!"
Clyde groaned. He was just a dozen yards from the group and could hear Dark already making an idiot of himself. He wondered if Selkie just wanted to be rid of him for the night. The way things appeared between the two, Clyde felt like Dark was the one who needed the break from the green-haired entity, but not in his group.
"Clyde, what the hell?" Kitome said running to him. Harumi softly facepalmed. Neko simply smirked. Without Alice present, the catgirl would probably try something. He looked forward to it—no, he was the leader. If someone degraded him in front of everyone, they’d probably lose faith. Kitome grabbed Clyde’s collar and shook. "Is this your idea of a joke."
Clyde pulled the blue-haired girl’s hand away, giving her the most tired expression, he had.
"Just put up with it," he said. "He has the gift just like us and could probably wipe the floor with you. Tonight’s very important. See my guest?"
"A cosplayer?" Kitome said.
Toru shot her a blank look but said nothing. Kitome nearly lunged at him but he danced away with a smirk.
"Hi Clyde."
Chika dove into his arms, almost inhaling his scent like Neko. Clyde set a mental note to check the ingredients of his shower gel. Maybe something in it could help out those that were struck single, clasping onto hope.
"Hey Ch
ika," he said, hugging back briefly. He made a resolve the previous night to overlook her yandere as long as she didn’t allow it to take control of her. She was virtually his favorite friend and the choice for girlfriend, until the previous day. "Alright, listen up," he said, addressing the entire group. "Our guest, Neko here is going to lead us someone important. A door or something that will bring us one step closer to beating the demon lord. But stay on guard because if this is a trap," he smiled at the cat girl, "I’ve got Alice on speed-summon."
Neko stuck her tongue out.
"Nya, a man of caution. I like it. I can assure you that it is not a trap. I also should warn you that I’m being pursued by the demon lord’s minions. Strong ones too. You’ll probably die if you take them lightly."
Everyone briefly paled, eyes widening. They quickly covered up their expressions with game faces. Neko continued to smile innocently.
"Good to know," Clyde said with tightened anger. "Well, we’ve been fighting them nightly. No point of stopping now. But…. if you guys feel over your heads, run the hell away. This is not worth dying over. Yell for help too."
"You can always call for my protection," Dark said. "The power of my right hand will answer to all who need me."
Pained expressions briefly flashed on everyone’s faces, including Clyde’s.
"Let’s go. Neko, lead the—stop doing that."
He flinched from the lick she gave him on the Neck. Chika’s aura flared up. Clyde raised his voice to take control of the situation. "Lead the way before the stronger minions catch us."
"Nyaaa, let’s go." She winked then started off in a direction, seemingly by nose. Everyone followed, though Kitome, Harumi, and Seth gave Clyde skeptical looks.
Clyde’s mouth dropped when the first enemies showed up. Two slime girls and …one that was dark purple. Like the other two, she had the form of a busty woman. He analyzed the enemy.
Dark Slime- Vera.
Level: 28
Type: Monster
Work under: Zeth, Hidden Lotus
Special 1: Gyro Beam [Chance of Severe damage 4%]
Special 2: Infinite Rape [Chance of becoming bonded to the slime at 2% Your HP and MP have a 50% chance of halving. 35% chance of exhaustion. Warning: a female caught in this has a 1.5% chance of getting turned into a slime girl.]
Weakness: Your hostile detection isn’t high enough for this.
Resistances: See above.
Secret: Your hostile detection, luck, and will isn’t high enough for this.
Vera looked right at Clyde as if she felt his analyze skill scan her. She stared for at least three seconds then turned to her minions. Her level twenty-five minions.
"They are of the hidden lotus," Neko said. "And—"
"Grab the beast kin," the dark slime ordered in a voice that sounded like a normal human woman. "I’ve got a date with someone who’s been darting under our lord’s radar, far too long."
"Well, Toru, you’re the slime bait," Seth said to Toru. "He’s the only one who banged a slime woman."
The two slime girls looked at Toru. The young noble glared daggers at Seth.
"Everyone battle formation four! Protect Neko," Clyde said. "Dark, lend me a hand because here she comes."
Vera leapt toward Clyde. The others launched into the ordered formation, beginning a defense against the two slime girls.
[Your party has entered combat!]
Clyde dodged to the side then took aim. He didn’t get the chance to launch the energy ball. A tendril of slime grabbed his arm.
[You have been inflicted with bind! Bind is still holding!]
Vera smiled.
"Have you experienced what is like to mate with my kind? You’re the stone and their leader…Hmm, bond with me! I’ll make a husband out of you."
Clyde struggled furiously against the slimy tentacles, but they simply multiplied into enough to secure all of his limbs. All of this done from ten yards away.
"Great power—slicing dark bolt!"
Dark’s black lightning cut through each tentacle, allowing Clyde to move again. He didn’t waste any time to engage the surprised Vera.
Too bad the level twenty-eight slime girl didn’t remain surprised long enough. When Clyde fired his energy ball, she smacked it to the side with a single hand.
"Great power—shadow ball!"
"Are you joking?" Vera said, her voice calm as she smacked that attack aside too. "Hmm, oh! Oh my! You’re the Leaf." She grinned. "Come mere!"
"You underestimate me," Dark said as he did an exaggerated movement with his right arm. "Let me show you what happens to those who take me for a fool."
Clyde sighed, but he couldn’t let the chuuni face the dark slime alone. He examined his skills, searching for something useful. The idea came to him right away. Why not help everyone out?
[You activated Scatter shot!]
He held up his hand, allowing energy balls to fly all over the place, nailing the targets. The grunts of the enemies and thanks of his friends confirmed it. He set his prompt to focus on Vera.
[Enemy HP has dropped to 184%]
"You know, I should’ve partnered up with Chika," he said. "No…if that rape attack land, she could be turned into one of them."
Dark tried to unleash another attack, but Vera moved onto the offense. With one hand aimed at Dark, she fired a giant beam of yellowish energy. Clyde watched his combat log.
[Enemy has used Gyro beam!]
[Dark was inflicted with severe damage!]
[Dark’s HP has dropped to 13%]
Wait for it….
[Dark’s passive skill activated. Pain to power!]
The dark slime didn’t see the red beam coming. It struck her so fast, Clyde barely caught sight of it.
[Enemy HP has dropped to 34%]
Clyde laughed.
"Holy shit man, that’s broken."
Dark pulled out a small bottle of red liquid from midair—Clyde knew was his inventory. The chuuni took a long swallow then tossed the bottle to the side.
[Dark has used Super Health Potion!]
[Dark’s HP has increased to 90%]
Clyde gaped.
"Where’d you get that?"
Dark laughed.
"You think I’m telling you? You have your destiny, I have mine. Let’s leave it at that. Besides, with a skill like mine, one must be able to heal constantly—I don’t have a healer. Well, Selkie, but she can’t interfere."
Vera suddenly laughed and laughed and laughed. Her hysterical laughter sent chills up Clyde’s spine.
"Talking as if you’ve won," she said.
[Enemy hidden attack. Binding of Last Resort.]
The flash of electric light blasted the young men to their backs. If it weren’t for enhanced stats, Clyde was sure the concrete would hurt way worse. He tried to move but couldn’t. Suddenly, he heard a squeal from Dark.
He was able to move his head to see Vera caressing the chuuni’s face and chest. She pulled off his clothes until the young man was stark naked.
"You—you can-can’t do this!" Dark said, his voice full of nervousness. "This is combat! How dare you insult me. No—I can’t lose my—I mean get done by a slime."
Vera laughed.
"I’ve only started with you to save the best for last."
Clyde had a choice here. Let this happen to see, but risk whatever the bonding was or… He decided not to be a dick.
Movement of his magic should be possible. This would be over in a flash…except that his magic didn’t budge. No summoning for him.
The slime girl giggled then kissed Dark.
"A virgin? Oh wow."
Clyde turned his head when she mounted the chuuni. Forcing himself to ignore her loud moaning and Dark’s grunts, he focused on the paralysis icon in his head. Five minutes left—holy shit. What kind of magic price did she pay to unleash this level of stun?
Suddenly, a screech from the air made Clyde flinch. As if his situation couldn’t get any worse, the flapping of l
arge wings hovered right over him. He looked up to catch the sight of women with wings. He recognized them from the just about any legend, video game, anime—whatever. Harpies. Fucking huge Talons grasped his shoulders and soon they launched him several feet into the air. Vera screamed angry snarls at them, but it was too late.
This couldn’t be happening, Clyde thought. To end this way. He watched the timer as the flight seemed to last forever. Where were they taking him? Why him? Did it have something to do with the stone?
Chika couldn’t save him from this one. Neither could any of his other friends. He’d have to somehow make it out alive on his own.
Harpy
Level: 25
Type: Monster
Work under: Eastern Harpy Clan.
Special: wind cutter. [Chance to stun at 13%].
Weakness: Your hostile detection isn’t high enough for this.
Resistances: See above.
Secret: Your hostile detection, luck, and will isn’t high enough for this.
Five fucking levels higher. Two on one. The last stretch of paralysis ended as soon as the harpies landed, but not before setting Clyde down back-first. They ruthlessly undressed him, then tossed his sword off the side of the building. Off…Clyde let the fact that they were on one of the tallest buildings in the city, sink in.
"You keep watch," one harpy dressed in a short black dress, told the other. "Let the reproducing burden fall on me."
The harpy shrugged, her green dress fluttering in the wind.
"I mean if you like laying eggs, that’s your problem. Are you going to make him stay and father?"
"Of course," she said. "I may need a husband. Nothing’s more suitable than the Stone. That’s what the slime bitch called him, right? The legend himself."
The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper # 1, a LitRPG. (ATS) Page 17