He shook his head, pus.h.i.+ng away hilariously disturbing thoughts . He checked his inventory, frowning when he spotted a certain item .

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"f.u.c.k! I forgot to read the mystic book . " He looked at the time . "Is it technically night? Or just evening?"

[Yes . It is 7:55 PM . You cannot read Path of the Mystic at this time . ]

Clyde shook his head again . "That's so stupid . " His new magic skill turned his frown upside down .

[Spirit wave . Type: spiritual . Cla.s.s: mysterious . Description . Shoot a wave of concentrated spiritual energy . Chance to cause spiritual blight at 3% . Chance to do double damage on dark creatures: 15% . ]

He set off into the cool night . The crisp wind refreshed him, almost better than the shower he took earlier . The others were waiting at the usual spot, Chika included . Toru immediately pulled Clyde off to the side .

"How?"

"What?" Clyde said .

"How did you convince…her to join?"

"I asked her to be reasonable," Clyde said . "Everyone wants to be able to go outside at night again . "

Toru shot Clyde a blank glare .

"Harumi and I couldn't get that girl to budge for months . "

"Look, it's a long story, Slimeo," Clyde said . "She's here and it's time to kick some a.s.s . "

Toru sighed then nodded .

"Fair enough . You see, this is why you're the leader . "

"Pssh, you just don't deal with the complicated bull," Clyde said . "In fact . "

He announced aloud, "as the leader, I now declare Toru battle trainer and strategist . "

Toru glared at Clyde as everyone nodded, approving . Clyde smiled .

"It only makes sense, dude," Seth said, hands clutching a baseball bat . "He drilled me like h.e.l.l yesterday on battle formations . " He shook his head . "To think we have… . things crawling around our city at night . Are the cops not going to do anything about this? Maybe bring in the military . "

"Only those with the gift can fight them," Harumi said .

"It's kind of unfair for all of that to get lopped onto us," Kitome said .

"Speaking of unfair, how far are you with convincing your brother?" Toru said, giving the blue-haired anime girl a fixed look .

"He's at least listening," Kitome said . She gave a brief longing expression then sighed . "I'd love to fight with him . See who's better . "

"You really love your brother, don't you?" Chika said .

"Of course," Kitome said, cheerfulness in her voice .

Clyde tried not to facepalm as his anime trope senses tingled . He'd not look into that grim path .

"Perhaps a little too much," he said under his breath, then aloud, "alright, let's do a simple patrol, get Seth and Chika used to the rhythm . And mow down a little of the demon lord's forces . We're a team . Watch each other's backs . Remember that . "

That got a nod of approval from everyone .

[Toru, Seth, and Kitome have joined your party, companions to fight with you even to the end . ]

[You have unlocked the pa.s.sive skill, Party Loyalty . Your companions will be able to sense if you're in danger whether in or out of battle . Anyone nearby will be given a boost in stats to provide a.s.sistance . ]

The first encounter of the night faced the party against grey humanoid squid-like creatures with large black eyes the size of grapefruits and brown spots that dotted across their faces like freckles . The squid-like heads seemed elongated . Rippling muscles engulfed their chests like bodybuilders . They hosted six tentacle arms, each equipped with jagged daggers .

One of them smiled at Kitome, revealing a mouth of razor-sharp teeth .

Krakkedon

Level: 18

Type: Monster

Work under: demon lord sp.a.w.n .

Special: Ink slash . [Chance to stun at 3%] .

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 .

[Your party has entered combat!]

"Toru, you double up with Kitome," Clyde said . "I don't like that look . Battle formation three . Go!"

Clyde couldn't believe those words came out of his mouth but just rolled with it . He bolted toward his squid target, sword out, and engaged the creature . He started off with a Precise Slash . The krakkedon blocked it with two daggered arms then slashed across the young man's chest . Clyde's armor barrier blocked physical damage, but the pain made him grit his teeth . He swung at it once more, his level three combat forms driving him forward . The monster blocked every strike, then slashed through Clyde's barrier with an ink slash . A shallow cut with blood oozing set the young man to his defenses . He allowed himself to briefly check his health .

[Your health has dropped to 79%]

"Enough of this," he barked . "I will not be held up on one enemy . Especially one cheating with six arms . "

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Clyde dashed toward it, kicking on a Deep Slash, but missed . The krakkedon laughed .

"Pitiful human . "

The monster backhanded him to the ground hard enough to solicit a brief moment of dizziness .

[Your health has dropped to 72%]

It bolted for Clyde in an attempt to finish it . The young man smiled, aimed a hand at it, then allowed the energy ball to flow .

[Your MP has dropped to 88%]

The monster squealed as the ball bashed him to the ground . Clyde didn't hesitate to get up and stab the krakkedon in its neck . When the light left its eyes, he turned to see Chika staring at him . He shrugged then observed the street . His judgment call to double up on the monster that smiled at Kitome was spot on . Harumi electricity fried her foes—Clyde noted it as a possible weakness . Not that it mattered now, since most of his magic was of the spiritual element .

"What was that?" Chika said . Clyde did not let her silent sheathing of her knife go unnoticed .

"Just another form of my gift," he said then addressed everyone as a whole . "Let's get going . "

Harumi healed them all before they set off .

[Battle completed . Victory! Reward: 2300 EXP and $100 . ]

They rounded the corner as a group, searching for monsters and police . What Clyde noticed about this predicament is that the cop cars seemed to avoid areas that contained higher level monsters . d.i.c.k move, Clyde thought . Way to leave your citizens to the frenzy . He needed power but didn't fool himself into thinking it was possible to take on the demon lord alone . Parties were there for a reason .

Clyde noticed a shadow standing on the rooftop, looking right at them, but by the time he opened his mouth to warn the others, it was on top of them . On top of Toru .

"Agh! Get it off, get it off!"

He was struggling with a woman? She appeared to be a busty frog-like humanoid creature with short green hair, green skin, and some kind of slime covering her body . Clyde a.n.a.lyzed her .

Mucus Toad girl- Imba

Level: 26

Type: Monster

Work under: N/A

Special: Special Kiss . [Chance to cause l.u.s.t and stun . ]

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 .

"Another G.o.dd.a.m.n mutant, dude," Seth said . "Well, she wants to bang Toru . I say we just go and come back after they finish . "

The monster girl gave Clyde and the others a thumbs up then ripped off Toru's sweatpants .

"All in favor?" Clyde said, raising his hand, grinning evily .

"You motherf.u.c.kers! You better help me . She's strong as s.h.i.+t . "

Harumi gave Clyde a no-nonsense look .

"Alright, alright," he said, smiling . He wasn't sure how to stop this monster girl anime trope . Maybe kill the demon lord?

"Wait!" Imba, the monster girl said . "We'll find a hotel . "

Clyde heard Chika mutter under her breath, "must be nice to not be bonded by human rules . "

He shook his head . Crazy yandere girl .

The monster girl seemed to be seconds from starting her business when streaks of electricity showered her in a yell of pain . She turned to them, eyes glowing red like embers .

[Your party has entered combat!]

The toad girl stood up . A purple aura blasted around her in a tornado-like outline .

"You interrupt the lovemaking, you die," she said, then blurred toward Harumi . The pink-haired anime girl wasn't prepared for that kind of speed, one which was a half leap, half run . She knocked Harumi down then aimed a hand at Clyde .

[Secret sword and martial arts combination activation . Speed . ]

Clyde dodged the bubble of slime…or mucus? He returned fire with an energy ball but missed . The monster girl was just too fast . Kitome's heart bombs missed too . Clyde shook his head, sensing that this fight was going to be another cl.u.s.ter f.u.c.k when Chika made her move . She hurled a knife so fast, fire trailed from it . The monster girl didn't see it coming, however, something strange happened . What should've been a piece right through the stomach was instead caught into a river of slimy armor .

[Enemy HP has dropped to 189%]

The toad girl ignored Chika, maintaining eye contact with Clyde .

"You know, I tried not to go for the handsomest one in the party . I was pretty sure no one really cared much for the pretty boy, but I'm wrong . "

"Man, what is up with you creatures and ****," Clyde said . "Toru has a thing for monster girls anyway . You—"

He paused at Harumi's glare and smiled apologetically . He supposed someone in the party had to fully care about everyone . The healer . The gentle spirit .

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"Anyway, I'm not in this," Clyde told the monster girl, except to kill you .

She laughed .

"You say that now, but once we're in the act, you'll never want to stop . You humans are too caught up in your sh.e.l.ls . Let me break yours—fitting for the leader of this ragtag group of puny humans . "

Clyde blinked and Imba was there . And he stood, ready—no point of being the next Toru . He didn't get the chance to activate his magic .

The monster girl pushed him to the ground with lightning speed, back first, sword flying away .

"Let me show you what—"

The words never came out .

[Enemy HP has dropped to 43% CRITICAL!]

Chika kicked the toad girl to the side, knife still the monster's neck, then attended Clyde, worried look in her eyes .

"Are you okay? She didn't do anything weird to you . "

"No—you saved my a.s.s just in time . " He laughed . "She's not dead yet, so keep your focus . "

When he got up, the toad girl knocked Seth to the group . Toru's punches did nothing to her . Seth struggled, yelling curses, and maybe even a beg for mercy .

[Enemy used Special Kiss]

"Uh oh," Clyde said . "Harumi you'd better fire some lightning or something . "

"My magic's low," she said . "I've been healing and casting at the same time . "

Clyde shook his head, knowing that the attacked succeeded at its status effect . The toad girl rode him wildly and Seth sounded as if he enjoyed it . The s.e.xual rhythm was so loud, the young man swore the entire city could hear it .

"These creatures must all be rapists," Clyde said as he stood . He did his best to tune out the moans and grunts . He thought he saw a jealous look in Toru's eyes, but dismissed it . They only teased him about monster girls . There was no way he truly had a thing for them…right?

"I'm ending this," Clyde then took aim with a hand .

[You activated Spirit Wave . ]

The blue-white energy erupted from his hand as a large beam . Imba, the toad girl, ended on a happy climax .

[Battle completed . Victory! Reward: 12000 EXP and $500 . ]

[You have reached levels 18 and 19! Stats increased!]

[You have learned Binder's hand 1 . Precise Slash has increased to level 3 . Deep Slash has increased to level 2 . ]

[You have received 3 free points . Total FP: 9]

Clyde let out a breath .

"Well, we all know what the real threats are . "

His grin brought shamed frowns to Seth and Toru . "It's cool . n.o.body but us will know . Harumi . " He emphasized her name . "Kitome, myself, and you guys . "

Seth sat up .

"For a mutant…" He stopped his sentence . "Never mind . "

Toru gave him a look showing that he understood . There was also a remembrance in those eyes . Clyde's laughter dropped in his throat when Alice came to his mind . She may look one hundred percent human, but technically…He waved that off . It didn't count .

He let his thoughts drift for a bit . Maybe they were ready to start seeking out the eyes of the demon lord . Shouldn't that deal a major blow?

Were there other cities with demon lords? Could this be how things worked… Fight and train at night, then take on the demon lord's army when ready . Or were there main story quests that were on the way .

The fact that the system started cla.s.sifying the quests this way alarmed him .

Maybe the demon lord's eyes needed to be challenged too . Maybe some kind of letter of challenge… He'd ask Alice to deliver but not until his team fully agreed . And trained .

That night, Clyde reviewed his stats to see his improvements . He felt stronger and faster and surprised himself by maintaining this nightly city crawling .

Form, a stat, was still at zero . What did it mean?

[Form is the number of transformations in reserve . Upon gaining a transformation, the details will be listed . Transformations are special states, each with their own perks, but they can vigorously drain your magic . Maybe someday you'd obtain one . ]

Clyde's stat sheet . You may skip to the next chapter .

Spoiler: Spoiler

Name: Clyde .

Level: 19

Type: Main character/ Stone .

HP: 100%

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MP: 100%

Attack: 38 (+6)

Defense: 36 (+5)

Speed: 42

Luck: 35

Will: 40

Intellect: 41

Form: 0

Special: ???

Special Abilities:

Flash Step: Briefly move at the speed of light . A high, speed stat will increase the critical chance of any attack combined with this ability .

Hidden stats revealed:

Special Defense: 31

Paranoia:

Charisma: 29

Composure: 28

Evasion: 18

Reputation: Lv . 1 . Noob- Never heard of that guy .

Endurance: 36

Misc:

Free points: 9 .

Skills:

- Athlete: 10% bonus to speed and Will . [Pa.s.sive] .

-Hostile Detection 3: detects hostiles within a certain range of you . Detects enemy information . [Pa.s.sive] .

-Heart Protection 3: you're 34% less affected by unwanted mental magic or skills from enemies . You gain a 17% bonus to your ability to convince others to do anything that would protect their hearts . [Pa.s.sive] . 11% 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% . [Pa.s.sive] .

- Crafting 3: enables you to craft items using everyday objects . [Pa.s.sive] .

- Dagger combat 1: does physical damage . Enables dagger combat . Chance to critical at 1% [Pa.s.sive] .

-knife throwing 1: does physical damage . Enables knife combat . Chance to stun at 1% [Pa.s.sive] .

Trap Detection 1 . You will be warned by the system automatically on things your mind would consider a trap . Your will stats dictate this! [Pa.s.sive] . Range: 5 meters .

Party loyalty: Your party will know if you're in danger and need help . A boost of stats will be provided to anyone who's able to provide you a.s.sistance .

Unarmed attacks:

-Roundhouse kick . [Attack] – does physical damage . Change of knockdown at 5% .

Sword attacks:

-Precise Slash 3 . [Attack] – does physical damage . Chance of critical at 9%

-Deep Slash 2 . [Attack]- does physical damage . Chance to cause bleeding at 8% . Chance to stun at 2% .

-Spirit Slash 1 . [Attack] – does physical and spiritual damage . Chance to cause dizziness at 1% . Chance to cause spiritual blight at 2% .

Combat level:

Basic 3 . Combat style: somewhat skilled .

Magic:

-Energy Ball . Type: spiritual . Cla.s.s: mysterious .

-Scatter Shot . Type: spiritual . Cla.s.s: mysterious . Description: Shoot a flurry of energy b.a.l.l.s at multiple enemies . 1% chance to stun an enemy .

-Spirit wave . Type: spiritual . Cla.s.s: mysterious . Description . Shoot a wave of concentrated spiritual energy . Chance to cause spiritual blight at 3% . Chance to do double damage on dark creatures: 15% .

-Binder's hand 1: 20% chance to bind 1 enemy . Does no damage unless you will it . If willed, will do 1% damage per second .

Talent:

Main character stuff .

Bonus:

10% boost to relations.h.i.+p stats with Harumi and her friends .

+5% damage for a physical attack .

Inventory:

$ 1420

-Map of Lot City, Satovia .

-Map of Libado Gra.s.slands, Satovia .

-Smartphone .

-Key .

-Reminder for practice- note .

- Path of the Mystic (book) (item cla.s.s: mysterious) .

- Enemy attractor . (25% chance of attracting a small force of enemies) .

- Natzo hand bomb . (Does Fire and Metal damage on enemies caught within the blast . 40% chance to cause burns, 20% chance to deafen . 30% chance to stun . )

- Zelt's printer . Level 1/25 .

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 .

- Basic armor set . (Uncommon) . +4 to defense .

>Cards:

Attackers:

The Sorceress Amina . Power: ??? Defense: ??? Effect: ??? Type: ???

Wizard Otus .

Action cards:

Fever Draw . (Action card)

King's Last Hold . (Action card)

Cla.s.ses: (year1) .

-Satovia History 1 .

-Romance Literature 1 .

-Sciences 1 .

-Crafting 1 .

Phone numbers:

-Chika .

-Harumi .

-Naomi

-Toru

-Seth

-Kitome

Quest log:

Main story .

Investigate the mysterious cards . (MS) .

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