by John Nest
'So, all of them are the Prime Wizards of Vitzytl and the current Magietrois Florissant,' surmised Smoke.
"That was not a long story," interjected Trottel, flipping his long orange hair covering his tiger Lioumerean face. "And you don't have to be proud in defeating Credule. He was clearly the weakest of all the Prime Wizards. He was so weak, that he didn't even bother to enter the competition."
"What's going on here, Faux?" Eleve asked Smoke, ignoring the ramblings of Trottel.
However, King Kajou screamed, interrupting Smoke's chance of answering Eleve. "We're under attack by the Ork Horde!" exclaimed the King.
"Under my orders, I've asked Faux here to investigate on the Ork Horde," blurted out the King. "As you all know from Ouragan's adamant reminders, the Orks have largely grown in size. Thankfully, my foresight and quick thinking allowed us to prepare for their incoming attack."
King Kajou then turned to Smoke. "Faux, why don't you take it from here, and explain what you found out."
Despite wearing his Paradox Mask, Smoke's mouth fell open. He could not believe the audacity of the King to claim all of this, but he let it pass and turned to the gathered Prime Wizards and Magietrois Florissant.
"I stumbled upon the Ork Summit..." began Smoke, and retold his discovery a second time.
After a good hour of explanation, everyone of the room was caught up-to-date.
"So, what do we do now?" Smoke asked both Eleve and Ouragan.
The old HighElf Prime Wizard was the first one to speak.
"I actually knew of an Ork Summit happening, but my men and I never found out where and when it was going to be," began Ouragan. "Due to this, I have gathered 10,000 Warriors from Vona City and 20,000 Wizards, Mages, Elementalist and Summoners."
Trottel quickly chimed in. "I also have prepared for such an event like this," said the tiger Lioumerean. "I have 2,000 Warriors and 4,000 Mages, Wizards and of folks of the same sort."
"But isn't that the standing army you have when you become a Prime Wizard?" asked Chrys. "I know because I was so proud when I received the notification."
"That doesn't matter," said Trottel. "All that matters is, that I have a standing army ready and willing to fight for your Highness," he said to the King.
"Then, I have that same army as well," Chrys added and faced the King.
"I did not give you permission to talk to me directly," King Kajou said to Chrys. "I guess Sonstwelters just don't have any manners."
"Anyway, what about you, Magietrois Florissant?" asked the King. "What do you have to offer us?"
"Ahem," Eleve cleared her throat. "As the 16th Magietrois Florissant, I have 40,000 Automaton Iron Knights at my disposal. Unfortunately, I don't have any mages to offer. Well, Except for Faux, he is the only one other than myself who is a student of Magietrois Florissant."
"So, that's where you got your Fire Powers," said Chrys out loud. "Nice!" he added, and gave Smoke a knowing nod.
"No, I have other plans for Faux," said the King.
"I'll issue a royal proclamation summoning both Zectians and Sonstwelters a like to sign up in the service of the kingdom," began King Kajou. "Next, I'll assign Magietrois Florissant as the Prime-General of this army and the other Prime Wizards as her Vice-Generals."
King Kajou then turned to Smoke. "Faux, according to my Grandfather, we only need three Vice-Generals, but he is already dead and the times have changed."
Smoke's eyebrow raised, confused at what Kajou was getting at.
The King then turned to Smoke and said. "Faux, you are going to be my fourth Vice-General."
+ Kingdom Quest: On Call Kingdom Guard
Protection Quest
Level: S
King Kajou of Vitzytl Kingdom has asked you, Ouragan, Eleve, Trottel, and Chrys
to protect Vitzytl Kingdom from the invading Ork Horde.
Once the Orks have been defeated, you may return and report to the King.
Note:
> Any major damage to the Kingdom's cities will result in a high decline of Intimacy with the King
[Quest Forcibly Accepted]
Smoke instantly lowered his head and said. "Thank you, your Highness, I promise not to disappoint you."
'Looks like getting that slight Intimacy boost with the King paid off after all,' thought a relieved Smoke. He was hoping to actively take part in this war. He feared for the safety of the ordinary Zectian residents, but most especially for the OrkElves scattered in the pomegranate settlements.
"Alright then, all of you go out and make preparations for the Orks arrival!" exclaimed the King, and dismissed all of them.
Both Eleve and Ouragan pulled Smoke towards them, wanting more explanation on what he knew about the Orks' invasion.
As they were about to leave the throne room, Smoke heard the tiger Lioumerean lamenting. "Pfft. What a lucky guy to be made Vice-General just because he became a finalist," spouted Trottel.
Smoke stopped, and excused himself from Eleve and Ouragan.
"Sorry, I'll catch up with you two," said Smoke. "There's something important I forgot," he said and walked back towards the Monarch.
"Oh, Faux, what is it?" asked King Kajou. "Is there anything else?"
"Actually, yes," replied Smoke. "Your Highness, how do you feel about interracial marriages?"
King Kajou raised both his hands in confusion. "What? What does that have to do with the Ork invasion?"
"It's not really connected, per se, but I think it could help increase the morale of my men," replied Smoke.
"Hm. Well, if you must know, of course I approve of it!" declared the King. "I am born from a Human Father and a Gnome Mother, but I do not hold it against my father."
Behind his Paradox Mask, Smoke let out a wide grin.
"Great! Then, let me tell you something about an ordinance created in Vlahui City," began Smoke, and told the King of Trottel's stand against interracial marriages.
Chapter Ten:
A Sea of Green Giants
An excited Nash spent thirty-minutes cleaning up his room. The bed was made, his laundry were out of sight, and his Zectas game pod polished to a shine.
Sherry was going to arrive anytime soon. It was her first time to visit his house, and they planned to watch his battles in the 999th Magi Gagnant Tournament.
Also, he wanted to ask her opinion on what to put up next for his video, as he was running out of ideas.
"Nash! Sherry's here!" called out Seth from downstairs.
Sprinting down the flight of steps, taking two of them double-quick, Nash arrived in their living room in record time.
"Hey, I thought you won't be here for another five minutes," said Nash. He came in for a tight hug and a quick peck on the lips.
"Oh, sorry. Were you still doing something?" she asked.
"Nah, not really. Just wanted to be the one to greet you, is all," replied a giddy Nash. "Anyway, let's go up stairs."
As they walked up the steps, they heard Seth's voice. "Don't do anything foolish, you Two. Remember Mima is right down the hall!"
Nash and Sherry laughed, and headed into his room.
"So? What do you want to watch first?" Nash asked Sherry.
"The very first one, of course!" she replied. "Who was your first opponent, again?"
"The Prime Wizard of Vlahui City, Trottel," answered Nash. "He's a cocky tiger Lioumerean, who uses Lightning."
Nash pulled his computer chair for Sherry to sit on, while he stood and watched from behind her.
One by one, the two of them reviewed his matches in the Tournament. Until finally, they saw Ouragan freeze him in a block of ice.
"That was a great battle! And that Fire Manipulation ability… looks really powerful," said an excited Sherry. "Bet it costs a lot of mana though."
Nash gave her a sheepish smile. She was right, he still had a long way to go in order to use his Fire Manipulation more naturally.
"Anyway, what really happened when I called you during the Tournament?" asked Nas
h, changing the subject. "I've been asking for a while now, but you still haven't told me anything."
Sherry let out a deep sigh. "I don't know how to say this, but Mamelon lost a lot of her Avendre Mercenaries."
"What! How?" asked Nash with a stricken expression. "Exactly how many did she lose?"
"She lost a little less than seven-hundred men," she replied.
"How could she have been so careless?" asked Nash. "She should have known better than to take any unnecessary risks! How else could she have lost that many!"
"Nash, calm down," said Sherry in her softest voice.
"How can you say that!" he asked, enraged. "And why did you keep this from me, for this long?"
He then walked over to his game pod. "I have half the mind to call her right now."
"Nash calm down!" she shouted and sprang up from the computer chair. "Don't you dare start throwing your tantrum at me! You're not a kid!" she said, as she pointed her fingers at him.
Nash fell silent, and subconsciously backed away from her. "Of course, I'm not a kid. Why would you say that?"
"Every time something like this happens, you always blow things out of proportion," began Sherry. "I thought you already had that hot head of yours under wraps?"
"Do you want me to leave? Is that it?" she threatened. "Because I will."
"No, no. Of course not..." said a calmer Nash. "Sorry, it was just..."
He paused and walked closer to her.
"Please sit down," he begged. "I'm calm, see?" he said and helped her take a seat.
"So, what happened?" he asked with restraint.
"First, you should know that Mamelon was not being reckless with the lives of the Avendre," began Sherry. "She was out capturing dirus wolves when it happened."
She took a deep breath, and clenched her fist. "She was ambushed by Macher and Sagen."
Nash's eyes fully opened. "Sagen? You don't mean—"
"Yeah, the same one," replied Sherry. "Apparently, he didn't learn his lesson from last time."
She paused and looked at him.
"What?" he asked, confused.
"Nothing, just checking your reaction," she said. "His guild members have grown theirs numbers too."
"Numbers don't matter, if they're all made of lousy members," replied Nash.
"Oh, and there's one more thing," she added. She faced the computer screen, and quickly browsed through the Zectas website. "Now, this is sort of an iffy news."
Shin: Anyone here saw the Magi Gagnant Tournament in Vitztyl? It looked great, but almost all the fights were obstructed.
Cashew: Where did that happen? Never heard of that Tournament. Is that for Knights?
PentaKiller: It's in the Sawtorn Continent. Like @Shin said, the Vitzytl Kingdom. I would have participated, but I can't leave my village alone. Orks are running rampant in those part.
ErcleX: @PentaKiller, you own a village? Or does your guild own it?
Edel: I wish there were Tournaments for Knights in the main cities. Vitzytl is a good place for Mages, but not so much for Knights.
Manita: Ha! Shut up Edel! I know how you've monopolized the guild leaderships between you and your fellow Paladin Lords!
KSKing: @Manilta, I don't understand? What do you mean?
Manita: You too, KSKing! I know all about you guys. You exploit the weaknesses of the Mages' against melee attacks, and tax them insane amounts of zecs.
Edel: Anyway, Have you guys heard about the new DarkElf in town? Smoke is now a thing of the past, along with that Tristan jerk!
KSKing: You're talking about Faux, right? Yeah, I saw his fight. I must admit I was cheering for him to lose, but the guy surprised me. I bet if he made videos, the views would go through the roof!
ProfessorXectas: Wait, let me get this straight. You're saying that Smoke and Tristan are out of the running and Amahan is the only one set to be number 1?
Edel: Hm. I don't think you could consider Smoke to be in the contest. He was just some flavor of the month who made some interesting videos, and even that he's been falling short lately.
Baskog: I'll give you that one, Edel. I think Amahan and his Decane guild are a league above everyone else.
ProfessorXectas: I wouldn't go that far, @Manita. Remember how Amahan made such a big fuss about getting that Djinn of his? Well, I've personally seen his Decane Guild and I haven't seen them with a creature over five meters tall.
Manita: That was the statue of the Djinn you idiot!
TriTank: Ha! You're one of those ignorant bastards that don't know anything. Tristan is now stronger than ever. Only a fool would show his cards this early in the game.
KSKing: Going back to the topic on Knight Tournaments in Vitzytl. The closest one I could think of is the one in Nightro village, and the prizes are fairly decent.
Faux_Fan#1: Made this account just so I could comment on this thread. I used to be a fan of Smoke, but now that he's been lying low. I'm converting to being Faux's number one fan! I think I was the only one in the entire Pulper Arena cheering him that day.
TriTank: @Faux_Fan#1, guess he has you to thank for losing that day, then? Didn't he lose the finals?
SmokeDisciple1093: @Faux_Fan#1, it's people like you that give us Smokers a bad name! Stick to the one you think will win in the end. Smoke even got Ilad, the Flame Knight to work under him! What has your Faux ever done?
Faux_Fan#1: I know that, but seeing as Smoke is in Chayotl Kingdom and I'm in Vitzytl, then it will be useless for me to even try and apply for his guild.
TriTank: Smoke, Amahan, or even this Faux character... in the end the one who will win will be Tristan! Oh, and, @Edel, come to Thanotl Kingdom. It's more diversified than Vitzytl. We have tons of Tournament for Knights here.
"So? What do you think?" asked Sherry. "On the bright side, there are still a few loyal fans."
Nash grinned. "This is great! They've completely neglected Smoke."
"But what about your videos?" asked Sherry. "Don't you make your money from those?"
"That is, a problem," he replied. "And I have to make one soon, too."
"Well, you can't make a video about your adventures in Vitzytl," reminded Sherry. "Wish you could insert your own video of the Ifrit Quest."
"You and me both," agreed Nash. "But I still have a little over six months in Zectas time before I could retake that Quest."
Both of them ogled blankly at the ceiling, thinking up of what to make for his video.
"And if you showed that you had the Fire Manipulation ability, people would get the connection that you're actually Faux," said Sherry.
Nash stared at her with furrowed eyebrows. "Fire Manipulation? No, I can't show that, but I think you just gave me an idea," he replied and kissed her on the cheeks.
* * * * * *
Hidden inside a forest patch near the outskirts of Votl City, Smoke glanced at the displayed time on the opened appointment window. It displayed eight in the morning. He nodded and grinned, as he still had an hour before needing to meet with Eleve and the rest of the Prime Wizards.
'Alright, time to put her idea to the test,' he thought, and took out two black metallic rods.
Equipped with the Florissant Journeyman Emblem, Aral's Lightning Rods were lined with red flames as it received Xantico's Inheritance.
He removed the Paradox Mask, Serval Shoes, and modified Wings of Cologus, as they were a clear give away of him being Faux.
GROWL
'Looks like it finally caught scent of me,' surmised Smoke, now looking like his old self again. He bookmarked the scene to record for his next video.
From within the woods, Smoke saw two large yellow eyes and an even larger striped body of his prey.
He had asked Perdant if he knew of any ferocious monsters here in Sawtorn that were also found in Wysteria. The old stout Merchant hastily replied with one such beast, the lemurcat!
Smoke recalled how he had trouble fighting with a group of them before, even with the help of his albino Simiavulg friend, S
aru.
'Well, here goes nothing,' he said in his head, and synergized with Igniz.
Forthright, smoke came out of his purple skin.
'Oopps, better edit that out later,' he thought as he charged the three meter long monster.
With his Agility of the Horned Rabbit now in Master level, Smoke delivered sixteen swift strikes to the lemurcat's head. On each strike, he delivered a small explosion which dealt 10,000 damage points. As the black metallic rods made contact with the beast's fur, its life bar dropped down by 5% of its maximum capacity.