He slowly opened his eyes, heart pounding, muscles aching, and trembling. He lied on his back, silently praying for the pain to just go away.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you," Alice said as she looked down on him. There was only one gamble. Her weakness. His secret weakness.
"I'll…give you cake," he said softly then coughed. Tears threatened to stream from his eyes. Then suddenly it all went away, as if pain didn't exist at all.
[You have been fully restored. Count your blessings to be shown mercy by an enemy as powerful as she.]
"I didn't want to hurt you," Alice said as she sat by Clyde. She lifted his head and placed it on her lap. "Your idiot friends brought out the worse of me." She gently caressed his cheek. "Now tell me more about this cake."
[Alice ended the battle.]
Clyde laughed.
"Yes mam! You see, where I'm from, we ordered large cakes and celebrated birthdays." He told her about parties and food. The demoness's eyes sparkled, face full of joy, throughout the entire tale. When he finished, she instantly healed the entire party with just a slight wave her of finger. Clyde could not deny the reminder of just how strong she was.
[Your party has been restored. Will to fight has been decreased by 5%.]
Clyde didn't think that was enough, so he sat up and asserted his voice.
"Keep cool and don't attack Alice. She will defend herself."
"You know my name?" Alice said, amusement on her face. "Another one of your abilities I see. Well, I know yours. Demon mindreading and all." She gave him a wry smile.
"Toru, I need you to order a cake. Get it to my apartment immediately, then you can go home. Don't question it."
Toru nodded, fear of Alice pulsing in his eyes.
Clyde wasn't sure if they were all dead or just at one percent HP like him.
Two minutes later, Toru put down the phone.
"It will be there when you get home," he said then placed a hand on Clyde's shoulder. He whispered, "I'm sorry you have to carry this burden for us. We'll talk tomorrow at school."
Toru motioned for the others to join him, even Harumi who lived next door to Clyde.
"Let's head to my place," he told Alice. "We've got cake to eat."
[Your relationship with Alice has changed from opposite sides but neutral to friendly, curious, teasing, and sexually interested.]
[Quest completed!]
[Hahahahaha]
Clyde wanted to punch the system but bit off his temper. Toru was true to his word, as a boxed cake wrapped in a protective bag awaited them, along with a receipt. He thanked the stars that Toru went for a normal birthday cake and not something fancy—otherwise, Alice would probably expect the max quality every time. Quality that only rich people could afford. Ignoring his ancient instincts, he allowed the demoness inside his apartment.
And they had cake. A good cake. He offered the demoness as much as possible, but she insisted that it must be shared, as she was but a guest in a fine home.
"I need to use your bath," Alice said after they finished eating. "My shift isn't over, so I can't go home."
"Help yourself." Clyde said, "just don't eat my soap."
He gave her a smirk. She chuckled.
"I'll try not to."
He let out a breath as she closed the door. He…had a fucking demon in his apartment. Sure, she was incredibly beautiful, but that didn't mean jack shit in a life or death situation like this. She wiped Clyde's party with little effort—and now…Clyde couldn't hate nor dislike her. The woman just wanted sweets. She made no threatening moves except when Kitome decided to be an idiot. What was she thinking? He'd make sure Toru teach her how to read the situation before charging into battle. He was no battle expert, but at least he knew that much.
Alice reappeared nearly twenty minutes later with a refreshed look on her face. She was dressed in her same clothes, but somehow, they looked brand new. He passed it off as magic and thought nothing more.
The demoness pulled out a bracelet from her pocket.
"Here, as thanks for the cake. I'll grant you a single favor. Just channel some magic into it."
Clyde accepted the bracelet and gave her his thanks.
[You have received Summoning Bracelet of Alice, demon lord's eye. Item class: Epic. You may use this bracelet to summon Alice once. A favor from her is worth more than gold.]
Clyde did his best to hold down his excitement.
"Thank you for this," he said. She nodded.
"Well, it's a shame you didn't join me in bath, but I've got to go. We shall have cake again sometime. Oh more thing, I need to activate that bracelet."
She caught Clyde off guard by kissing him. A tinge of power shot through his body. Before he could ask, the demoness vanished.
Seconds later, there was a knock on his door. He answered, a little surprised to see Harumi.
"Are…you okay?" she said. "She didn't do anything weird to you."
"I'm fine," Clyde said then smiled. "She really just wanted cake. After we ate, she left. I won't lie, I was nervous as shit, serving food to a demon. But she's kind of sweet."
Harumi nodded, relief on her face.
"We have got to coordinate some fights together, especially with Kitome."
They both laughed. "Let's discuss this tomorrow, maybe after classes. I'm dead tired. Just going to let the shower take me."
He waved the anime girl off then closed the door. Before heading to bed, he texted Chika.
The next morning, he felt something soft next to him. Smooth skin. He opened his eyes and turned to his right, to see a fully naked demoness snuggled against him. His anime trope senses rang. Alice's eyes opened, and she gave Clyde a sly smile.
"My apartment was too far," she said, "so I crashed here."
What could he say? What the fuck are you doing in my house? How well would that go with a boss enemy?
"Anyway, I need morning sex and you are the only one very compatible with me. Up-up-up. Haven't had any in years."
His alarm rang, but the demoness looked as if she had zero fucks to give.
Clyde's stat sheet. You may skip to the next chapter.
Name: Clyde.
Level: 14
Type: Main character/ Stone.
HP: 100%
MP: 100%
Attack: 28 (+6)
Defense: 26 (+5)
Speed: 32
Luck: 25
Will: 30
Intellect: 31
Form: 0
Special: ???
Special Abilities: none.
Hidden stats revealed:
Special Defense: 21
Paranoia:
Charisma: 19
Composure: 18
Evasion: 12
Reputation: Lv. 1. Noob- Never heard of that guy.
Misc:
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 2: enables you to craft items using everyday objects. [Passive].
- Dagger combat 1: does physical damage. Chance to critical at 1%
-knife throwing 1: does physical damage. Chance to stun at 1%
Unarmed attacks:
-Roundhouse 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 2. Combat style: somewhat skilled.
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:
$ 550
-Map of Lot City, Satovia.
-Map of Libado Grasslands, Satovia.
-Smartphone.
-Key.
-Reminder for practice- note.
- Mysterious book.
- 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:
The Sorceress Amina. Power: ??? Defense: ??? Effect: ??? Type: ???
Classes: (year1).
-Satovia History 1.
-Romance Literature 1.
-Sciences 1.
-Crafting 1.
Phone numbers:
-Chika.
-Harumi.
-Naomi
Quest log:
Main story.