Harumi looked weary of Alice but approached Clyde anyway. She seemed to glance at him with a healer’s eye, nodding at what she saw.
"Most people don’t come back unharmed, if ever," Harumi said.
"I’ve had to use this to get out of some of the craziest situations," he said, placing a finger on the side of his head.
"You sure you have no idea where that redheaded girl went?" Kitome asked.
"No and why aren’t you transformed yet?" Clyde said. The blue-haired girl sighed but complied without complaining.
"Is this what you go through, often?" Dark said, his voice without any of his wannabe edge-lord tones.
"Don’t worry, Toru lost his virginity to a slime too," Clyde said, "but if it makes you feel any better, I’m willing to pretend it doesn’t count."
Dark looked like he wanted to argue but stayed silent in defeat. There was no way Clyde would tell him that he got done in by a honeybee girl. Looking back, Alice remained as the best experience, though he’d never admit it. The demoness didn’t need the extra ego.
Dark gazed at Alice. And he flushed.
"Who…I mean…" he couldn’t finish his babble.
"Alice," the demoness said simply.
Seth nodded.
"Is that your girlfriend, dude, not that I’m asking out of intense jealousy or anything."
Alice laughed then winked at him. Seth’s blush almost made Clyde protest. Protest for what? He hoped it wasn’t jealousy.
"Enough talk," Neko said. "We’ve got a door to find and most likely more demon lord minions."
To Clyde’s surprise, the only monsters encountered were ions and imps. The party mowed through them with ease. Clyde even gained a level out of it, but no new skill. Still, unarmed combat sucked. He couldn’t make killing blows without expending his MP.
"Neko, I need to—"
Alice placed a hand on his shoulder, gaining his immediate attention.
"It’s finished. Remember when I told you to get equipped. I’ve gathered enough demonic energy to form this." A steel sword surrounded with a reddish black aura appeared out of thin air, into Alice’s grip. "It’s nothing amazing, I’m no demon smith, but it’s better than your old one."
[You have received Basic Demon Sword level 14. Item class: rare.]
"You are just too amazing," Clyde said as she examined the weapon. Alice handed him a black sheathe with pins and straps for his side.
Harumi rolled her eyes to the young man’s surprise.
"Men and their swords."
Chika’s jealousy flashed like thunder. Dark looked like he wanted one too, but Alice only stared ahead, smugly.
Another half hour of walking and few encounters and a fair share of complaints, Neko’s cat-like ears perked up.
"We’re here."
"Near the town hall?" Clyde said.
"Yep andddddd there are guards," she responded, giving the young man an innocent look as he glared. She stepped forward, probably to give him a lick, but Alice blocked her path.
"We don’t have time for your games, cat," she said. "If anything happens to my Clyde, I’ll turn you into a rug."
Neko still held the innocent smile, showing no fear whatsoever to the demoness. Way too much amusement danced in those eyes.
Clyde unsheathed his sword.
"I don’t see anything."
That’s when the area, yards ahead flickered. He saw two large, heavily muscled lizard-like creatures standing in front of a translucent-blue door. A door that had no building behind it.
"Nya, let’s take ‘em down," Neko said. "And by we, I mean you."
Clyde’s glare had no effect on the catgirl. She slipped past Alice in a blur then took one long whiff on the young man.
"You know what I want," was her whisper before she danced away from the demoness.
Dark sighed.
"Clyde, go kill yourself."
Clyde gave him a surprised look then laughed. He said nothing else as he led the charge against the guards.
Lizard Guard
Level: 23
Type: demon lord spawn.
Work under: Zeth, Hidden Lotus.
Special: None.
[Your party has entered combat!]
Clyde activated Scatter shot. The barrage of energy balls served as the distraction he needed. The others rushed in to engage the creatures. Hearts, black lightning and even regular lightning seemed to fly in all directions. Alice and Neko remained kept a distance away from the fight, observing.
In what felt like no time, they wiped the creatures. Clyde nodded, giving himself a mental pat on the back for taking no damage despite fighting on the front lines with Toru and Seth. His new sword was incredible! Basic level fourteen? A leveling sword. The gamer inside jumped for joy.
"Well, let’s see what’s inside this fucker," Clyde said. He waited for a few seconds to see if his trap detection skill would go off, then opened the door when nothing happened.
[Warning: you are about to enter a dungeon. Dungeon type: hall of power. Difficulty: Normal.]
Clyde wanted to relax as it seemed like this was the easiest difficulty he received since coming to this ridiculous world. He wouldn’t let his guard down, knowing damn well that it would probably rise in secret.
A hall of power.
Didn’t feel impressive at all. It was simply a narrow hallway, dimly lit. It eventually led into a circular room made of stone. Three metallic pedestals rested in the center of the area. Three symbols, a rock, a leaf, and a snake were engraved atop of the four-foot-tall hexagon pillars. It didn’t take Clyde more than a few seconds to notice three stony objects on to his left that matched the ciphers. They easily snapped in place.
The pillars shook, sinking to the ground. Moments later, a large glowing white door appeared in front of the party. Something about this door felt right to Clyde. It pulled at his psyche, beckoning him forward. He opened the door and led the group in.
They found themselves in a large ballroom, devoid of windows. The glossy floor felt endless. Ahead, Clyde felt it. A flow of raw…something. Power? A piece of himself? It continued to call for him, feelings of longing and strength and safety and purpose. It was a sweet voiceless whisper that made him happier the closer he got. An enormous sphere of golden light floated several yards ahead. It looked like the sun, but Clyde knew the object. Something that would do more than just help him defeat the viper.
Someone blocked the path. He stood up, reptilian-like gaze on them. Flanking him were two lizard guards.
He was a tall man who looked to be in his early thirties, with blue skin that seemed to faintly glow, and black and silver hair. Dressed in shining silver armor, he gave off a vibe of pure danger.
Clyde analyzed him.
Zeth, leader of the Hidden Lotus.
Level: 37
Type: Demon.
Work under: Demon lord. Left Eye of the demon lord.
Special: Negative Raid Ender. [This attack can inflict heavy damage to affected party members.]
Weakness: Your hostile detection isn’t high enough for this. Shit-for-brains.
Resistances: See above. Ding-dong-head.
Secret: Your hostile detection, luck, and will isn’t high enough for this. Idiot stool.
So this guy is the leader of this Hidden Lotus I’ve been seeing, Clyde thought. He was glad that the system didn’t give him a warning to run like it did with Alice. Unsurprisingly his level stood higher than Clyde’s but at least it wasn’t as untouchable as the abyss.
"I figured you’d eventually show up with your adventurer, Neko," he said in a smooth voice, "but Princess Alice. What is this?"
Alice simply shrugged.
"I wouldn’t miss your death for anything."
A flash of rage briefly jolted through his eyes.
"No matter. This is perfect," the man continued. "Once I kill off these so-called gifted, I’ll take the Omen’s sphere and you back to your father. Of course, you’ll be obeying me, traitor."
Zeth shook his head.
"Just like your pathetic mother, liking humans. Disgusting. Enough of this talk. I’ll slice off the head of your Clyde and shove it where it matters."
A booming blast of rage rushed through Clyde’s veins.
"Fuck you!" he barked. "I won’t be easy meat."
Zeth looked surprised when he gazed at Clyde, as if for the first time. Then he smiled.
"You…" he laughed. "Guards, kill them. Let’s do this dance, gifted, who is beyond a gifted."
[Your party has entered a Boss fight!]
Episode 10 (Part 6)
[Your party has entered a Boss fight!]
Zeth pointed his sword at Clyde.
[Boss has used Beckoning challenge! You can only focus on him and him alone.]
Clyde sneered, aimed a hand, unleashing an energy ball. Zeth batted it to the side then charged the young man. Clyde blocked his first strike, then second. Upon the third block, he took a graze to the shoulder.
The Hidden Lotus leader continued to push him back. That pulled anger into the young man. He wouldn’t be easy meat.
[Your HP/ MP: 90%]
Clyde roared then swung aggressively. Zeth laughed, easily parrying, easily pushing back.
[You’ve activated Spirit slash.]
[Zeth activated Lightning evade.]
To Clyde’s relief, he didn’t have to yell for help. No one could expect him to take on a freaking boss enemy solo. Not yet.
[Dark activated Black scattering strike.]
[Zeth activated Flash step.]
Clyde’s eyes widened when the boss was right in front of him, grinning. Dark’s spheres of magic hit the ground, dissipating harmlessly.
[Zeth activated Crimson slash.]
[Zeth’s passive skill activated Heated boost!]
[Zeth’s passive skill activated auto-knockback.]
The bloodred sword slash cracked Clyde’s invisible armor and he felt himself on his back, weightless. Pain and sticky warmness on the wound accompanied him on the trip to the ground.
[Your HP: 23%]
[Harumi activated Flash heal!]
[Harumi activated Mass light heal!]
[Your HP: 78%]
Clyde struggled against the remaining pain to stand. Zeth aimed a hand at Dark but didn’t bother to attack when the chuuni quickly retreated. Seth, Toru, and Kitome finished off the Lizard guards, putting a smile on Clyde’s face. They could take this fucker together.
[Your heart protection has cancelled out Beckoning challenge.]
Zeth stepped forward toward Clyde then pointed at Seth.
"Pop."
[Zeth activated Tier 2 magic: Abyss pillar]
[Seth’s passive skill activated: Emergency magic shield.]
A geyser of blackness poured on top of Seth, shortly after a greenish bubble surrounded him. It may have saved his life, but judging from his screams, still dealt damage.
[Seth’s HP has dropped to 12%.]
Harumi aimed her wand at Zeth’s head.
[Harumi activated Lightning blast.]
As it collided with the boss, Toru gave the party a needed buff.
[Toru used Brawl shout!]
"Fuck this guy!"
[Party attack boosted by 15%. Party fighting spirit increased by 20%]
Zeth aimed a finger in the path of Harumi’s amazing beam of lightning. It flickered out.
[Zeth used Spell cancel.]
Clyde shook his head, frustrated. How were they going to beat someone like this?
"Alice, we could use a hand here. One-shot him."
"Would if I could," she said, stepping beside the young man, "but he’s a lot different than before. You’d better find a way to break his defenses or catch him by surprise."
Zeth started toward Clyde, ignoring the others.
[Toru activated Axis flash!]
Toru rushed forward, bright white light outlining him, only to receive a bitch slap with a single hand. The backhand sent the noble spiraling at least twenty feet.
"Don’t mimic that," Alice said.
"To think Toru would turn out to be…so useless," Clyde said.
"Don’t count him out yet—his attack succeeded," Alice said.
"Oh rea—"
A glowing white mark in the shape of a tiger appeared on Zeth’s arm. The size of a baseball, it quickly duplicated multiple times then froze in a fierce glow. The Hidden Lotus leader tried and failed to get rid of the mark. Abruptly, the lights flickered then exploded.
[Boss HP: 460%]
"Five hundred percent again," Clyde said. "Alright guys, we’ve got to hit him with every—"
[Zeth activated Sonic Speed.]
Alice blocked the sword block with one she seemingly formed from midair. Zeth laughed.
"You’ve got to do more than lead, Clyde," Alice said. "Be on guard. He’s a tricky one."
[Kitome activated Lovey-lovey spiral.]
[Seth activated Brawler’s faith.]
Zeth dodged Kitome’s spiral of heart bombs. Seth almost got in a glowing swing from his bat, only to have it parried away. Seth danced out of the way of the demon’s blade, while receiving small healing waves from Harumi.
[Activated Scatter shot.]
Two of Clyde’s energy balls managed to hit.
[Boss HP: 430%]
Well, at least there’s progress, Clyde thought as he prepared to reengage the demon.
"Battle formation two," he shouted.
Everyone obeyed then unleashed skill after skill. Zeth blocked and parried away everything.
[Zeth activated Crimson slash.]
Clyde felt a little guilt at being glad that he wasn’t on the receiving end of that attack. Toru seemed to take it in stride, supported by Harumi’s healing.
Clyde knew the party needed to do something quick, as Harumi’s MP wouldn’t last forever. He reached into his inventory and pulled out the steel dagger Clare gave him the previous week. His felt stupid for not raising the dagger combat level.
"Alright stats, don’t fail me now." He placed the dagger in his sword’s sheathe, utilizing extra straps to make sure it held.
Alice looked at him with unreadable eyes but nodded.
[Alice activated Radiance!]
[You are the only one in your party compatible enough to receive Radiance. You are surrounded with Radiance. Unknown stat boosts to both you and your weapons.]
Pink aura surrounded Clyde as he walked toward Zeth. The demon noticed him right away, grinning, walking to the challenge.
The two engaged again, sword to sword, steel upon steel. Clyde still stood no chance, but his boosted stats allowed him to keep up with the boss.
Suddenly, a black beam struck Zeth hard enough to knock him to the ground.
[Dark used Getsu Gen Beam! Critical! ATTACK ONCE MORE!]
[Boss HP has dropped to 400%]
"Dark you son of bitch, awesome man," Clyde said as he stabbed his sword into Zeth’s neck. He expected death, a boss explosion or something, but the demon only laughed. With a flash of light, Clyde realized he was thrown off him like a used tissue paper. Zeth shrugged and smacked off everyone else’s attacks with too much ease.
[Boss HP has dropped to 360%]
[Your HP has dropped to 65%]
Zeth stood up, dusting himself off. A cloud of mist briefly oozed from his mouth as if he let out the thick breath of smoker.
"Enough of this."
He held up a finger. A light formed then began to expand in a familiar giant death sphere. Suddenly, it winked out, causing the demon’s eyes to widen in surprise.
[Alice used Raid Canceller. Zeth’s Negative Raid ender has been negated!]
Zeth sneered.
"You traitorous bitch!
Dammit, what a pain in the ass cooldown."
He charged Clyde. What he didn’t know was that the young man stood ready for him. He activated Precise slash at the same time Kitome fired two heart bombs. All of it hit.
[Boss HP has dropped to 315%]
[Alice activated All calm.]
[All party members restore 20% HP , 20% HP, cure of all status effects, including hunger and thirst.]
Zeth jumped backward with a hand aimed at Clyde. The young man dodged the ball of magic as he proceeded to rush forward. Radiance continued to empower him.
Seth and Toru fought alongside of him like a vanguard, but the demon was just too good. He dodged, parried, and blocked.
Clyde knew the range attackers awaited an opening, but what good would it do?
[Neko used Night shadow.]
A sphere of violent magic suddenly surrounded Zeth then exploded in a display of many colors.
[Critical! Boss HP has dropped to 240% ATTACK ONCE MORE!]
"Nya, I’m not supposed to interfere," Neko said. "Only this once. Now go. You owe me for the risk."
Clyde shook himself to snap away the awe of that attack. What kind of power did she possess? He took aim. So did everyone else, sensing the chance.
The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper # 1, a LitRPG. (ATS) Page 20