[X] [The Five Dark Wishes of A Madman]
[X] Attack on the Slane Theocracy
-[X] Give Kenny permission to use the name Cybertron in his and Remmy's party name.
-[X] Inform Ainz of what you found in the Bifrost experiment.
-[X] Start a farm with those flame chickens you created a few days ago. Also have the ice fish you created around the same time breed with other fish to see if it can breed with other unaltered fish and the potential results from such a pairing.
-[X] Attend the dinner with Calca. Bring a gift, maybe something like a cute bird or fox with a holy element attunement.
-[X] For the trade deal proposal between Re-Estze and the Holy Kingdom have Gilmore write up the suggestions for it.
-[X] After the dinner with Calca and the end of the trade agreements end the trip to Hoburn teleport to back to Re-Estize to finally begin the attack on the Slane Theocracy.
***
The night was dark, but the breezy air wasn't humid. Atmospherically, it made for a comfortable night. The torchlights in the city of Hoburns illuminated all of the major roads, and gave a minimal insight into alleyways or smaller paths between building blocks. The royal castle rested atop a small hill, sequestered by relatively low walls. Despite that, the portcullis were open for all arriving noble carriages, provided they stopped by and showed proper documentation.
Even out in the open streets, the commoners were indulging in simple pleasures and available merriment. They sat in tables outside taverns, out in the open, slurping alcoholic beverages and cheering to each other, drinking for the name of the Holy Queen, and sending their thanks to the Four Gods.
The hushed speech of the citizens sharply contrasted the wild behavior of those in the Re-Estize Kingdom.
When there was a festival in the Kingdom, people cheered, sang, and danced, on the streets, out on their balconies, or even on accessible rooftops. It was like looking at molten steel under a microscope, where every molecule vibrated intensely at one-million hertz.
Here, even the drunkards were calm.
For Wizzomatic, whose mansion's northern second-floor wing was blown into debris by a drunk magician, this was a refreshing change of scenery.
This vacation paid off, to put it in simple terms.
He had the servants pick an appropriate outfit for him, without downplaying his status as an archmage. They selected a silky red vestment, with golden trim and cuffs. It was an elegant, slightly garish presentation, but the length of the robe wasn't too ceremonial, though it was just flashy enough to make people think 'yup, this guy is a mage, alright.'
On top of it, he wore some jewelry. A purple treated topaz was the crownpiece of the necklace he wore, with extensions of blue spinels carved in curved and twisted triangular shapes, giving the symbolic impression of angel wings. Wizzomatic also wore a gold ring for each finger, with colorful gems on every one, to give the impression that he had an abundance of magic items to spare.
When mages and rings were combined, people's thoughts instantly jumped to thinking the rings were magical gadgets. They were here just to reinforce the thought he was a powerful magic caster. He had appearances to keep up, after all.
After dressing up, he and his servants went into the wagon and set off toward the palace.
***
Many commoners wish they could walk among the higher classes.
It's difficult to achieve noble status within one lifetime. Often, rising through the ranks of society is an arduous process taking numerous generations of effort passed from father to son.
However, after the process is over and one is a noble, surely, life becomes easier. Right?
... Wrong!
Those fools are not even aware of how difficult it is.
As soon as Wizzomatic walked in through the foyer, he could tell from all the stunned silence that everyone was glancing his way. They returned to conversation moments after, ignoring him, but aware of his lingering presence and thus careful.
Soon, he was approached by countless aristocrats. Offers of alliance, trade, and marrying the daughters of the family heads came up many times, but so did more esoteric topics from a few more tactful nobles, like what Wizzomatic thought about magic, or when the academy would open.
Answering the obvious questions, like 'Will you marry me?!' became dreadfully dry, even if the answer was one word. This was because of proper decorum that a noble had to maintain at all times.
He couldn't just say 'no.'
He had to think his actions through carefully.
'Milady, forgive me, but I refuse,' wasn't a good answer either.
He had to engage her in witty banter for a moment, then say with exquisite language, 'I will allow my thoughts to dwell on it, milady.'
Even that kind of answer was the bare minimum for nobility. Anything below that would be taken as outright disrespect.
That's why being a nobleman was difficult. The over-formality that everyone had when talking to each other could be said to be socially crippling, and inciting anxiety in those not used to it, like Wizzomatic.
In contrast, even interacting with Floor Guardians was easier. They didn't trouble him with saccharine words and obeyed his orders without question as soon as they were spoken. Besides some fundamental royal aura he put on around them, he didn't have the need to overexert himself during interaction with them.
After intermingling with the party guests and drinking some wine, Wizzomatic paused as someone appeared on the staircase to the upper floors, coming down with appropriate trumpet music. The Holy Queen stood there, in an exquisite white dress.
She was beautiful and young, like a lonely swan in a dress from snowflakes and diamonds. Her skin, even from far away, looked smooth and well-tended, and her shining blonde hair was clearly carefully brushed and groomed. She drew everyone's attention toward her beauty. Even Wizzomatic couldn't help but stare with his lips parted open in awe; he finally understood why they called her 'The Jewel of Roble.'
Then, he realized he would be dining with her, and he could feel his bowels turn around in distress.
'
I will definitely screw this up!' he thought.
Wizzomatic was competent in his Illithid form, because it pushed aside emotion and fear, allowing him to act with perfect rationality and without distraction. Some of these tendencies passed onto the form he was possessing, but as a human, he was susceptible to his passions.
Wizzomatic clung to the safety of his psionic powers, enabling telepathy and skimming through the web of surface thoughts surrounding him.
It was his 'go-to' mental defense when he felt vulnerable. Somehow, the idea of knowing what other people are thinking removed any insecurities he felt about himself.
He was aware he was encroaching upon other people's privacy in a very morally ambiguous way, but he couldn't cope otherwise. In a way, one could say he was addicted to mind-reading and came to rely on it in conversation and social interaction. If this handy ability were to disappear, he'd probably be in quite the pickle.
Each person's thoughts were like little crystals of data, stars in the night sky surrounding him. He could tune in with all of them at once, letting him get a general impression of the mood, or focus on a specific one like adjusting radio waves, and reading that particular person's moods, impressions, and thoughts.
Reading the nobles' thoughts and impressions about the Queen, he even chuckled when one of the noblemen internally fawned over her. It made him feel safer and gave him confidence.
Strangely enough, the Queen seemed to feel very joyful tonight, and those thoughts were tethered to him, somehow.
Was she excited to get the trade deals going?
After the Holy Queen's grand entry, she approached Wizzomatic, flanked by a female paladin and mage, both of them with black bob-cut hair; they looked like twins, or at least sisters. Remedios and Kelart Custodio, both were attendants of the Queen, and one of them was one of the Nine Colors. Remedios was a skilled paladin, and Remedios was a divine magic caster.
Calca held her hand out, and Wizzomatic, after drilling himself on higher-class etiquette, knew what he had to do even without reading her mind.
"Your Majesty," Wizzomatic nodded, bowing down with his head down, as he took her hand and placed a kiss upon it. He let go of the hand and introduced himself, "My name is Wizzomatic of Cybertron, I am a Margrave of the Re-Estize Kingdom."
With her permission, he lifted his head to look upon her with his eyes.
His eyes went dead.
Wizzomatic's chest went numb when he saw her face and heard her thoughts.
'
Aaah, he kissed my hand~ But Wizzomatic-kun, shouldn't you aim for the lips?' He saw that she was blushing lightly, smiling with glee, and staring at him in a dreamy way. '
No, wait, we shouldn't do that until the wedding, right?... Though, I wouldn't mind losing my virginity to Wizzomatic...'
'
This is Kaori two-point-oh!' Wizzomatic thought in panic, then reassembled himself as he cleared his throat audibly.
"I-It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. This selfish archmage thanks you for your invitation from the bottom of his heart," Wizzomatic threw profuse gratitude her direction, hoping she'd latch onto it and look at him favorably, though this seemed to already be the case.
Perhaps she wasn't some kind of madwoman who fell in love at first sight, and her thoughts were just a random stream of thoughts. You know, the kind of thoughts you have, but don't intend to carry out? For example, one can imagine hitting a kitten with a shovel, but one wouldn't do that action due to it being immoral.
Maybe this was one such case?
"There is no reason to stoop so low!" she protested openly, raising her voice just a tiny bit. "You are very affluent, too!"
Was he?
"Thank you for your kind words, My Queen." He spoke the only words that came to mind and that wouldn't incite an argument or conflict.
Her thoughts went elsewhere. '
He called me his Queen! Kyaaa~'
'
This girl is dangerous!'
***
The dinner date event was uncomfortable. The two were in a large, poorly-lit rectangle-shaped chamber, the only sources of light being the romantic candlestick at the side of the table. At two ends of the same wall, there was a pair of open double-door passageways, from which the Custodio sisters peeked in and observed the situation to make sure the date went smooth.
Although they were far enough, that even if Wizzomatic spoke loudly, all they would hear was a murmur, he still felt uncomfortable with this degree of...
How to say this?
Separation, from anyone other than the Queen.
Fiddling around his food, he avoided eye-contact as he conversed. He wasn't hungry, but ate anyway, to keep up the pretense. When he chewed food, after all, he could neither answer nor talk to her, giving him a small excuse. They had already discussed the trade agreement, so he had no reason to stick around other than to please her.
"Wizzomatic-san, can I call you that?" Calca asked, a hand under her chin. She was looking at him with a smile on her lips.
From the way she stared, she gave the impression she didn't care about the food, or about trade, and came here just so she could look at him as if he were a rare painting on display.
"O-Of course, Your Highness! Call me anything you like," he replied, trying his utmost to please her. Souring international relations would be bad at this stage.
Haah, she sighed heavily, closing her eyes. "You don't have to be so formal with me, you know? I wouldn't even mind if you called me by my first name."
Naturally, Wizzomatic knew what she was really thinking.
'
Call me Cal-chan! Or Ca-chan! Give me a cute nickname and-'
'
She's really yearning for attention, huh...?'
Wizzomatic was a dense man, who couldn't read the mood and often botched situations like these. One could say he didn't know how to handle the delicate thing that is a woman's heart. But this time, he thought to himself, that if anything, he should at least cultivate his relationship with the Queen as to not disappoint her.
If he rejected her here, it would worsen their relations. But if he went along with her intent, political issues would surely arise.
The only middle ground would be to lead her on, stay far away enough from friendship to not create a strong bond, and not close enough to romance to force a situation where he'd have to reject or accept her feelings.
It was cruelty at its core, but it had to be done, for the good of his mission.
"Hey, Cal- I mean, Calca-san...?" He paused, testing her response to the use of the 'san' honorific. Her smile widened, so he took that as a yes.
Inside her thoughts, she went 'kyaa,' but Wizzomatic ignored this.
"I thought it'd be preposterous to come here without a present to give to the Holy Queen, since I've already given plenty of gifts to the people in Re-Estize, so I brought something which I thought you might like," Wizzomatic told her, anxiety thrumming through his voice.
At that moment, he stood up and walked a little bit to the left. The Custodio sisters became wary and prepared to move in, but they stopped when they saw Calca mouthing the words: 'It's working!'
Wizzomatic's guildmate, Bon-Bon-Totaldigiama once said, '
The way to a woman's heart is a long road, but shortcuts are made from cute animals and chocolate.' Today was the time to test that hypothesis.
He walked up to the window, and it seemed to open up with a strong breeze. Calca stared, and so did the Custodio sisters.
Kelart Custodio's eyes opened wide. She cast a spell to confirm her worries, and when she detected that he didn't cast any spells just now, her eyes went even wider, as large as saucers.
Something flew toward Wizzomatic in the distance. He held out his hand with one finger, and a golden light settled on it.
Calca focused her eyes and saw that it was actually a tiny bird, chirping a quiet tune.
The little creature moved across Wizzomatic's forearm, up his arm, and sat on his shoulder. It jumped above his head, landing on the other shoulder, then went down to the other hand. He smiled at it, in a way that could only be described as angelic.
Wizzomatic retrieved a pack of vintage chocolates made from special ingredients from his inventory, then turned around and gave them to the Queen, who accepted it with her own hands. He then yielded the small songbird to her.
"This songbird is a holy creature," Wizzomatic explained with a smile. "I thought it fit you. It's quite strong, and could probably fight a Silver-rank Adventurer using its magic, but its specialty is in aiding the owner's holy spells by supplementing their power with its own. You are a magic caster, after all," he said.
"I-It's beautiful!" She cuddled the small, fluffy creature in her hands, grinning like a little girl that unwrapped her Christmas gift. She lifted one hand, gently stroking the songbird's head with one finger, causing its eyes to blink as she did.
"Is it a boy, or a girl?" she asked in the meantime, her grin not disappearing in the slightest.
"A girl."
Wizzomatic, when gifting pets, generally gave males to males and females to females. He wasn't sure if this improved owner-and-pet synergy, but it was a safe belief to back upon.
"Then... I'll name her 'Wiz-chan!'" she said excitedly, then looked up to see Wizzomatic's reaction.
From her thoughts, Wizzomatic knew that had he said 'boy,' all that would change was that the suffix would be 'kun' instead of 'chan.' Frankly, the name letters sounding similar to his own name weren't a coincidence.
The small Wiz-chan went 'piyo,' blinking curiously as it pitter-pattered across Calca's hand, tickling her with the fluff on its belly.
"She's so cute!"
'
Bon-Bon-Totaldigiama-san, consider yourself validated. It seems cute animals are more effective than chocolates, though,' Wizzomatic analyzed the situation aptly.
In the end, the dinner night was rather successful. Wizzomatic skillfully teetered on the careful circus rope of a woman's feelings, managing to get to the other side, and knowing he might have to repeat the arduous task in the future. The only issue, if it could be called that, was that he made Kelart Custodio extremely wary of him.
Well, at least he knew who
wouldn't support the marriage, if he ever decided to go with it.
***
He was escorted to the exit by the Queen's bodyguard, Remedios. At the exit gate, outside the palace and surrounded by gardens, she stopped Wizzomatic and gravelly said, "Wizzomatic-sama."
"Yes?"
He turned to her, flicking on telepathy to predict what she'd say, but found that he couldn't. She was the kind of person that, instead of thinking about what to say, she just spoke instantly. The emotional type, rather than a thinker. This was fine, since he could still gauge her general emotions.
"Thank you, from the bottom of my heart," she told him, bowing at a large angle. He was so used to it at this point he didn't even try to correct her behavior. "You have made Bessarez-sama very happy tonight, and for that, I thank you... You know how she feels about you?"
Wizzomatic kept quiet for a second, then said, "Yes, I do, but I'm not certain if conforming to her feelings is the right thing to do. If we were to marry, problems would arise."
"I, I see!" Remedios said, clearly stunned at Wizzomatic's ability to figure out Calca's feelings. Moreso, he surprised her by putting so much thought into it. "As expected of Wizzomatic-sama, the feared archmage! You've clearly thought about the issue extensively."
"Feared archmage? Do you fear me?" he asked, curiosity in his voice.
"Not currently," Remedios said, smiling in a way that reeked of 'come at me, bro.' "Paladins aren't allowed to feel fear."
"Heh, I've already dueled Pavel Baraja. Perhaps one day, we too, will get a chance to spar with each other?" he asked in a challenging, but friendly tone. Frankly, Wizzomatic found the idea of using just ten percent of his spells and true power to humiliate the greatest warriors of the New World to be funny, if cruel.
Then again, these were good people, so he'd avoid humiliating them. He'd let himself take a few hits, let them dodge a few times. Make it seem like it was a hard-fought victory for him. Maybe even lose once or twice to select people at select times to keep up the performance.
"But of course, Wizzomatic-dono. You are welcome to challenge me anywhen you like!" Remedios boisterously proclaimed.
"That's good to know, but I'm afraid right now I have to return to the Re-Estize Kingdom," Wizzomatic said, almost sadly, as he looked out into the starlit sky. "It's looking like war with the Theocracy."
"War?" Remedios said, having not heard of this development before.
"It's a national secret, actually," Wizzomatic told her, further shocking her. "But it's not a big deal I'm telling you this, since it'll be publically unveiled tomorrow. Still, I'd appreciate if you kept this between us until that happens."
"Of course! I swear as a paladin to keep this conversation secret!" Remedios put a hand on her heart.
Wizzomatic smiled in that harmonic way of his, making Remedios feel weirdly at ease from looking at him. Perhaps it was his handsome face, or just his easygoing personality, but being around him really made one feel tranquil.
"I'm afraid the Sunlight Scripture trespassed on the Kingdom's lands," he explained. "I've discovered this, and discovered they killed many people and burnt many villages to draw out the Warrior Captain, Gazef Stronoff. Naturally, this is unacceptable, so I've put forward myself and my people as volunteers in the war."
"Volunteers?" Remedios blinked. "I'm sorry, I don't quite follow..."
"Ah, allow me to clarify. The Kingdom's army won't mobilize for this war. Only I, and a few of my select allies will fight in the upcoming battles."
Remedios' jaw fell down. She had seen great warriors in her time, but never someone who could beat entire armies on their own. Especially ones such as the warriors of the Theocracy, which was considered a continental superpower by the other nations.
The Slane Theocracy was an extremely old culture, and had items from the age of the Great Gods. They had crystals with 8th Tier Magic sealed in them, demigod descendants of the Great Gods, and many magic caster experts in their ranks. Their nation had more magic caster than any other, in fact, and they were more skilled than those of other nations.
She doubted even someone like him could take them down.
"Hu, I think I said too much. Good night, Remedios Custodio. Give my regards to Her Majesty," Wizzomatic said, giving a nod of the head to Remedios.
She replied with a confident nod. "I will, and I wish you safety in your travels, and good luck in the war."
Perhaps Custodio wasn't a big thinker, but her thoughts sure gave away some interesting ideas about the Theocracy.
He cast [Greater Teleportation] and was out of there.
***
REPORT STATION -- (Current Date: 46th Day Post-Transition)
MAJOR EVENTS:
- Kenny and Remmy made a party called "Scions of Cybertron."
- Ainz has been informed of what you found in the Bifrost experiment, using [Message].
- You have begun a farm with elemental chickens and elemental fish. Breeding attempts produce predictable results, with offspring having diluted elemental potential, though some offspring manage to work it to a higher potency over time.
- Wizzomatic attended the dinner/banquet of the Holy Queen and brought her a LV19 Holy Songbird, which has support skills suitable for combat. By itself, it could probably take out a Silver-grade Adventurer.
- Gilmore suggested to import: Foodstuff, Spellbooks, and to export: Animals (Exotic/Magical), Pelts (Exotic/Magical), and Potions.
- Wizzomatic returned to E-Rantel and is preparing to fight the Slane Theocracy.
MINOR EVENTS (unrelated to vote)
- Shale Gilmore's Glorious Goods made a revenue of 13 gold coins today. Gilmore predicts sales will fall considerably for the next season.
PLANNED EVENTS
- 41st to 48th PT: Agatha's Holiday in the Dwarf Kingdom. (Ongoing)
- 47th PT: Strategy Meeting with Kaori, Lord Adorable (unavailable, replaced by Serpentireon), Demiurge, Albedo, and Ainz; see Repeating Actions.
- 49th PT: Transhuman surgery appointment with two Silver-rank adventurers and a Gold-rank adventurer.
- 50th PT: Meeting with Vrillian Boyard Egil Boundera, third son of Marquis Boundera, regarding his newly obtained magic talent.
- 62nd PT: Meeting with Avacyn Krose Roy Harloy, second son of Count Harloy, regarding his newly obtained magic talent.
- ~182th PT+: The experimental Data Crystal tree saplings will grow up.
- ~190th PT: The Educational District in E-Rantel will be mostly finished.
- ~200th PT: The Magic Academy, as well as the Adventurer School in E-Rantel will both be ready to open.
***
WIZZOMATIC - ACTIONS & DASHBOARD
Vote by Plan.
[] Direct Action - The character attempts to carry out the described action the closest to how it is described.
[] Add Repeating Action - Character automatically carries out a certain action when certain conditions are met.
[] Remove Repeating Action - Removes a repeating action.
[] Timeskip Until (When) - Automatically pass time until the specified time, condition, or event. (This will not skip important events.)
[] Side-Story: (Character) - Next update includes a side story or element written from the perspective of a character other than Wizzomatic. Players can have some involvement in what the characters in service of Cybertron are doing in these side-stories. (ie: "Kenny: Goes On A Quest.")
-[] Minor Interlude - A short self-contained story. No longer than one "part" of a chapter.
-[] Major Interlude - A longer story about the chosen character. As long as a full chapter, and will either precede or follow the next chapter. Expect it to take some time to write.
[] Write-in - (Something else?)
Repeating Actions List:
- Perform biomantic experiments with flora and fauna.
- Meet with the strategists from both Guilds regularly to discuss important topics.
- Assist Carne Village when other, higher-priority matters aren't pressing. If they are likely to be attacked and/or wiped out in the near future, better to live under Cybertron's protection than die under the false protection of their previous patrons. If they disagree, help them invisibly anyway. A living village can be studied indefinitely, a dead one is merely a snap-shot of this new world. Even if our assistance taints the viewing somewhat.
- Every time a New World Religion is learned of, have a document prepared for our perusal informing us of how it works and its leadership. Subtly infiltrate religious organizations over time.
- Every time a new large government is discovered, have a document prepared for our perusal informing us of how it works and its leadership. Subtly infiltrate Governments over time.
- Attempt to recreate Earth tech, or magical technology that can imitate Earth tech.
- Continue work on the Mega-Brain and the bio-mecha meant to be used alongside it.
- Call Ainz using the "dono" or "sama" suffix in public, and vice versa.
- Have your NPCs spread rumors that Wizzomatic of Cybertron has heard of legends of ways to surpass human limits. If any accept the 'quest' set it up so that they end up in Cybertron where you will try experiments to increase the limits of natives. Try to be humane about it as possible. Whether successful or not send the natives back home in as perfect condition as possible.
Vote Duration: 24-72 hours.
[AN: Hey, look! An early update! How nice.
]
