[Noona’s LF has dropped to 125.]
Micky appeared back on to the field, causing Clyde to frown.
“And of course, I will be activating her effect,” Noona said. “You can only activate that field action card once per turn.”
Her attacker’s effect didn’t activate. “Why didn’t it work?”
Clyde smirked.
“Did I forget to mention that Amina’s Dimension cannot be removed from the field once per turn. And if I control a magic user attacker, it cannot be targeted by cards or effects period.”
“Well that’s…heartbreaking,” Noona said, “do your worst! I still have more attackers than you. And they’re stronger.”
[Noona’s Field: SG- Ina, Kari, Shogun Tusella, Micky.]
[Clyde’s Field: SC- Diviner Mena.]
Clyde grinned.
“After this, you may feel ill. I’ll discard one magical weapon from my hand to use one of the dimension’s effects. Which I just found out existed, because you know, I stopped being an idiot and read my cards. This enables me to summon one Sorcerer’s creed attacker directly from my deck, but I have to make its power and defense zero. I can’t bring out the deck leader this way, but that’s fine. Druid Karla, in defense.”
The druid woman appeared from burst of light, carrying her trademark spell book. The brown-haired beauty was dressed in wizard purple robes this time.
“Please tell me you have a good reason for nerfing my power to zero?” she said to Clyde in an accented voice, which sounded Irish.
“Whoa, she talked!” Noona said. “Mine never talk to me.”
“It is because they aren’t ordinary Stone-Tokken summons,” Lily said. “I mean Lord Stone himself is right before you. Did you know, Karla once had red hair?”
Clyde sighed.
“I need your effects,” he said to the druid then turned his attention back to the demon lord. “Karla allows me to add one Sorcerer’s creed card from my deck to my hand, then if Amina’s dimension is on the field, I can shuffle a card from either player’s graveyards into their decks. I’ll be adding my deck leader.”
“I don’t I’ll like that, so let’s try to stop it,” Noona said. “Tusella, let’s go. During your turn, I can pay either half of my life force or discard one card to deactivate your effect, exile your card, then inflict fifty damage to you.”
“Goddamn, that’s obsessive,” Clyde said, “but it won’t work. Karla’s secondary effect activates. When an opponent activates a card or effect, she can deactivate and destroy it. It’s a once per turn instant and kicks ass.”
“If Shogun Tusella were to be destroyed, I can send a card I control or one attacker from my hand instead,” Noona said. “Then inflict fifty to your life.”
“Wow,” Clyde said then braced himself as a huge lightning bolt struck him from the sky. He roared in pain—the agony, sorrow, and breathless moment felt like it lasted an eternity. The young man collapsed to his back, panting.
“Clyde!” cried the voices of his team.
“You can’t interfere,” Lily said. “But it’s fine. He’s okay.”
[Clyde’s LF has dropped to 60]
[CRITICAL! Clyde’s HP has dropped to 90%]
“Are you okay, Leader?” Karla said, kneeling next to him. Mena helped him to stand.
“I’m not dead yet,” Clyde said, wheezing a little. He took a deep breath and exhaled. Note to self, invest in armor that could provide a better barrier against Stone-Tokken card effects, he thought.
He noticed the worried expression on Noona’s face, but knew she couldn’t apologize or say something softhearted. His card effects were going to do the same to her.
“I don’t like this game,” Noona said. “Father never told me it hurts people. Can we stop?”
“Nope!” Lily said. “Real games cannot be cancelled, well, you can, but you won’t like the method. I sure don’t. I don’t want them to kill either of you.”
“As I was saying,” Clyde said, doing his best to ignore Lily’s unsettling response to Noona’s request. “Adding the deck leader. By the way, despite what it looks like, that was one hell of an effect.” Noona said nothing. The deck spat out the card. “If I control Amina’s dimension, I can bring out Sorceress Amina as an additional summon. Here she comes.”
A giant solid gold book crashed, centerfield, from the sky, which would’ve probably dented the road if not for the environment change. It opened. A beam of golden light the size of the skyscraper, erupted. Someone he met only once stepped out of it. Long blonde hair, golden dress and golden eyes—beauty on steroids. And she rushed right over to Clyde, sticking her finger on his nose.
“It’s been over a month and you haven’t called, summoned, or visited me,” she snapped. “Is this how you treat your deck leader? Ignoring her? Because I won’t let you.”
“Long story,” Clyde said. “And I can do that?”
“You didn’t know?” she shook her head. “I guess the entity that was with you at the time didn’t bother to explain all the perks to you. I’ll forgive you this time. Now what are we dealing with?”
“Samurai girls,” Clyde told her. Amina looked directly at Noona’s deck leader and grimaced. “She’s a vicious one.”
[Clyde. SC Sorceress Amina. Power: 30. Defense: 27.]
“I won’t give in,” Noona said. “I’ve got an action card that can end this. When there are two deck leaders on the field and while I control Shogun, I—”
“Don’t bother,” Amina said, raising a hand. Noona’s card stopped glowing and vanished.
“What—what happened?” she said, eyes watery.
“She can deactivate cards, effects, and attacks once a turn as an instant,” Clyde said. “Then exiles the card. When she does this, her attack power permanently increases by twenty.”
[Clyde. SC Sorceress Amina. Power: 50. Defense: 27.]
“I’m going to equip her with the Forbidden wand,” Clyde said. “It costs half of my life force to use, but well worth it.”
Electricity sparked around Clyde briefly as he activated the card, enduring the pain of the cost.
[Clyde’s LF has dropped to 30]
[Clyde’s HP has dropped to 80%]
“The forbidden wand gives my deck leader fifty more to power, at least on today’s effect,” Clyde said. “She can also attack all over your attackers. No card effects can be activated and all current effects, even the continuous ones are disabled for the rest of the turn.”
Noona sighed.
“I was so close, but…it seems you’re the one with the heart of the cards,” she said softly. Amina aimed her wand. As the golden magic struck all of Noona’s field, the screams of pain erupted into the air. One by one, her attackers exploded into ash.
[Noona’s LF has dropped to 0]
[Noona’s HP has dropped to 49%]
[Duel completed. Victory!]
[You have unlocked access to the Raid Boss.]
Clyde’s eyes widened. Noona wasn’t the raid boss? But they raided HER skyscraper?
“Nya, it’s time to heal up and get going,” Neko said. “The Omen’s sphere is in the cult headquarters.”
“We’ve got to go back there again?” Clyde said, frustrated.
Neko walked over to Noona and helped her stand.
“I trust you’ll honor your commitment, Nya,” Neko said. “We came here to solve the city’s problems. When a demon lord is in power, the city’s law and order goes away. Nya, you’ve got to step down.”
“Are you sure, my lady?” One of her guards said as he hurried to them.
“I have no choice,” Noona said. “I made the wager. Besides, I’m no good at running a city.”
“Nya, good girl,” Neko said. “But the good news is, you’ve got a new friend.”
Noona blushed.
“I…I don’t know what it’s like to have friends, beyond servants and guards,” she said. Amina walked over and placed a hand on Noona’s shoulder. “Neither do I.” She giggled. “But
I don’t care about those things. Clyde will take good care of you.” She whispered. “I magically slipped his phone number into your contacts.” She turned to Clyde, glaring. “We have to go now, but you’d better call me. Summon or visit me, I don’t care.” She harrumphed anime-girl style, then vanished. The other attackers nodded to Clyde, vanishing a second later. The environment shifted back to normal, as if time reversed for the area.
Harumi’s healing magic smothered the young man as he sent the mass text to his party members.
“Thank you,” he said to Harumi. She walked over, inspecting him with a healer’s eye then surprised everyone by kissing the young man.
“Whoa! I want to kiss him too,” Natalia said.
Clyde hid behind Harumi. Noona stared at them skeptically.
“Harumi, Natalia’s bullying me.”
Everyone laughed.
**
Sophia, loyal maiden of the Viper, loyal maiden to her sisters had enough of Niyoto. Someone as great as her should not be sitting around, accomplishing nothing.
“I’ll destroy this city. And capture that man.”
She never made it out the door. As Sophia fell backward, knife buried in her throat, the crusader chuckled.
“I figured you were a bad sort,” he said. “But this man…hm, I think I’ll wait here for him to arrive. No…I have a better idea.” He waved a healing hand, catching Sophia right before death could take her. “Let me sing for you. Do-do-do-do, Mind controllllllll.” His voice made Sophia cringed and wish for death. “Do-dah, do-hah, YEAH YEAH, you belonnnng to us .” He stopped singing to the girl’s relief, but she felt the bond slam onto her magic like the snap of a lock. “Kill them all, including the man you want. In fact, do what the monster girls do. Try and rape him, if you get the chance.” He chuckled and sung again. “I always wanted to experiment , experiment. La-la-la-la, experiment, experiment.” He spoke in a normal voice. “Allow me to introduce myself, my puppet. I am a respected researcher—and you should know my name. Did you know my nephew’s among that pathetic group that’s headed this way? To think Toru would waste his time here. If I would’ve known he had the gift, I’d snatch him from his father and raise him up to be a model crusader.” The crusader chuckled then spit next to Sophia. “Filth, planning to blow up the city. If you’re going to kill people, then put in the work and do it one by one, but don’t nuke the city. I’ve got important things riding in the underground, thanks to a certain demon lord’s lackey I broke. Fed him to some tigers afterwards. Should’ve heard his screams.” He laughed in Sophia’s frightened face, spittle covering her forehead. “You should be grateful to be captured by one of us. Because the demons would have no problem raping such a pathetic excuse for a woman right now. Calling yourself a Viper maiden. A disgusting piece of filth. But an interesting experiment. I’ll nickname you…raid boss. Like one of the games kids are into these days. Well, ta-ta, and good luck. My spell will make sure you fully introduce yourself as a Viper Maiden. Kill or be killed. Most likely be killed.”
The giggling crusader leapt to the rooftop, leaving Sophia on the ground, trembling. The bloody knife was at her side. She wished she could stab herself with it. This man’s spell…She’d just end whatever party approached. Sophia wasn’t afraid of some ragtag group of gifted.
But the crusaders…Oh , she did NOT like them.
Episode 36 (Part 8)
Noon...
[Reward for defeating Demon lord Noona in a Real game: 5 million EXP, 10 million dollars. The rest are pending after completion of the raid.]
[You have established a relationship link with Noona.]
[Your relationship with Noona was auto-adjusted to friend. It is very important to take care of her. Her loyalty is unbreakable.]
[Warning: difficultly of the raid has changed to very hard.]
Clyde was not surprised at the difficultly change, but couldn’t the system give him a break? He followed Neko without much enthusiasm. That didn’t mean he wasn’t curious. Who or what could be the raid boss, if not Noona? And good thing she wasn’t…He couldn’t imagine laying a finger on her. Like Harumi, she housed a soft heart.
[Your HP: 210%]
[Your MP: 180%]
The others waiting Clyde and his division in front of the Cult Headquarters. The giant church-like building looked and felt creepier for some reason. Chika anime dove into him.
“You’re not hurting from any strain, are you?
“Relax,” he said. “I didn’t use the power.” A flash of love and yandere lust shown in those eyes, promising more later. The young man glanced at the party. The numbers were a bit obsessive, but he knew raid bosses required it. Or maybe world bosses? Oh well. He’d take this as preparation for when they would inevitably have to face giant monsters or other creatures from the books.
“Notice me, senpai,” Natalia said to Ming, soliciting her glare. Alice whacked her on the head. “Ow!” She escaped the half-demoness’s protective grasps and hopped onto Clyde’s shoulders.
“Let’s go in, kick some ass and get going,” Clyde said. “We’re going to shut this damn cult down for good, because I’m tired of hearing about it. Also, Noona has agreed to send guards to search for the minotaur camp, if it exists, and clean up. Now, everyone stick to your assigned teams. After this…let’s double-up on Sazuki and Kiko’s training—”
Airi anime-dove into Clyde.
“Did you really fight the demon lord here? What was it like? Did you find anything interesting in raiding her skyscraper? Any goods? I have stuff to trade. I’ll even trade my virginity—I mean my top tier items for any relics or artifacts.”
She had her arms wrapped around Clyde’s waste, face looking up at him. He struggled for a few seconds to pull off the anime girl. Good thing she didn’t share the breast trait with Harumi or he’d be raging for sure.
“This is the raid,” he said tiredly. “Don’t worry about anything pertaining to Noona, my new friend.” Airi’s eyes continued to gleam until Harumi whacked her on the head. Clyde gave the pink-haired girl an appreciative look.
He started into the headquarters, followed by his armed party.
[You are about to enter the final section of this raid. There is no returning beyond this point, unless the raid boss is dead. Enter?]
The party hurried to the very back, utilizing Clyde’s mental navigation system. Eventually they stepped into a large assembly area empty of bleachers or chairs, as if someone whisked them away. A familiar feeling of strangeness and repulsion struck the young man, causing him to slightly shudder. So, they were about to face the person Ming warned him about. The voice of a woman echoed through the room.
“So it’s your group, he who opposes my master. If this is all the crusader wanted, I would’ve volunteered to kill you. I suppose they all prefer compulsion.”
A woman appeared from a sudden burst of light in the center of the room. Long white hair with green eyes and a curvy body, she looked amazing. Her red dress seemed to cling to every curve, breasts highlighted.
“She’s hot,” Seth whispered.
“There sure are a lot of you,” the woman said.
Clyde analyzed her.
Sophia, Maiden of the Viper.
Level: 160
Type: Viper Maiden.
Work under: Maidens of the Viper.
Special: ???
Weakness: none.
Resistances: none.
Secret: she wants to lose her virginity badly, even if to the Stone, enemy of her Master. She has never actually met the Viper. She tries and often fails when it comes to cooking.
“You’re a maiden of the Viper, but never actually met him,” Clyde said, triggering his buffs. “And strong as fuck.”
“She’s a maiden of the Viper?” Tear said.
“Nya, worst of the worst,” Neko said.
“Power level of one hundred sixty,” Seth said. “And unlike that thing we fought, she’s not weakened.”
Airi cheered.
�
��Out of the way noobs,” she said. “This is a job for anyone with raid experience and the right level.” She got into a combat stance. “I can finally stop holding back. Then afterwards, we can see what they’re hiding in this place. It may be treasure.” Her eyes gleamed.
Tear sighed.
“Leave the front fighting to Clyde, Airi, me, and Chika. Natalia, you know what to do. Everyone else, support.”
Noona stepped forward, surrounded with A LOT of golden aura.
“Leave weakening her to me. And…thanks for being my friend.”
Clyde nodded, no argument in him. Her level matched Tear’s.
“The pleasure is all mine,” he said, wiping away the tiny nosebleed. He wondered if she was secretly some kind of goddess—because everything, her movements, her attitude, was just…cute? No wonder why her servants were so protective of her.
[Secret objective completed: Ally with Noona. The raid difficulty, which was set to jump to Super-Extreme, has been locked to Very hard.]
[Noona’s blessing has engulfed the party. Your party is unaffected by instant-kill, party-wipe attacks. This buff is permanent. Your party has gained an unknown temporary boost to all stats.]
[Alice’s Prime Radiance has engulfed the area. You have been surrounded by Radiance. Unknown stat boosts to you and your weapons. Evasion increased.]
[Airi activated Graceful Heart Shield. Your party’s defenses have been increased by 50% Unknown extra defense boosts, varying by the Will stat.]
[Yuki activated a new skill! Set Rotation. All stats temporarily increased by 30%]
[Toru activated Zen Brawl shout. Party attack boosted by 45%. Party fighting spirit increased by 40% Speed increased by 25%]
The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper, #6 a LitRPG (ATS) Page 21