Huaaaaaaaah~ I'm sleepy. However, it is that time. The sun is setting. I actually kind of like waking up to the sunset. It's beautiful every time that I wake up. When I go to sleep the sun is rising too, so it's also beautiful. I don't miss out on either as opposed to when I was on earth. I would wake up and the sun had already risen. I would still see the sunset, though. This is nice.
As I was being sentimental, Goblin Chief noticed that I woke and began to prepare the fire. This time, no one is looking so I don't need to rely on my claw marks to transform. The fire is outside the hut, and the guards usually stand outside the entrance anyways. It's safe. Putting on my new clothes, I feel somewhat preposterous. This outfit is not a disguise. It's a full on beacon.
The black panther fur coat is bodacious. The black fedora with white lace ribbon is also quite eye catching. Pairing it with the yellow scarf, silver hoop bracelet, and catchy sunglasses is just obnoxious. I'm in a child-like body and it's a wonder how any of this even fits me. They actually might not. The fur coat reaches down to my feet and feels like a trench coat. The fedora fits wholly around my head and sits rather straight and proper. The yellow scarf seems puffy because it's wrapped around my neck so many times, and the silver hoop bracelet dangles as I walk. I'm a pimp child. If I ignored the overly fashionable statement-setting pieces of clothing like this, then I would be left wearing serious Halloween costumes.
As I strut my stuff on down to the fire before beginning to eat my daily Fish, old soggy lab coat in hand; Cloaked Hunk #2 starts talking.
"You look ridiculous. I've never seen such strange clothes." [Cloaked Hunk #2] prattles.
"Oh yeah? Jealous~? You know… I was thinking about giving away the remaining clothes that I'm not wearing as a charity to the great Villagers of the Goblin Village. First, I was going to give you guys the pick of the bunch though... I suppose you don't LIKE them?" [Nero] said in a teasing manner. To which, Cloaked Hunk #2 quickly began to shuffle around while avoiding eye contact. Nailed it.
"Oh well~ How very kind of you, Nero." [Village Chief]
"Haah! The other clothes aren't too bad, but what you're wearing is just weird!" [Cloaked Hunk #2] says as if trying to hide his emotions. Tsundere, are we? When did this start?
"Very well, please take what you wish and distribute the remainder for the Villagers on my behalf." [Nero] said triumphantly while puffing out his chest and adjusting his fedora.
Cloaked Hunk #1 and Cloaked Hunk #2 both looked to the Village Chief for approval. To which, they simply received a nod. Quite quickly, they began scouring the piles of clothes. Haaah! Village Chief seems to be waiting his turn fine while preparing the fire. I'm more concerned about food too, bro. Yosh~!
After about 15 minutes, it seems that they finished choosing their clothes. The Village Chief and I are eating Fish while seeing what they picked. Cloaked Hunk #2 is wearing my old striped zebra leather pants, and also has a blue samurai outfit on top. I can just barely see the striped zebra print because the samurai outfit covers most of it. He doesn't seem to have changed his shoes though. He also has a grey bandanna on his head, covering most of his hair. Cool. Cloaked Hunk #1 is wearing something more basic. It's just a clown costume. Seriously. He also now has a mask. It's a red devil mask. It's quite a strange choice of style, but I'm not against it. The clown costume is mostly red anyways, so it's appropriate-ish?
Village Chief began looking through the pieces but only came out with my old straw hat, some jean overalls, a white shirt, and brown leather boots. Hey! Do you know something?! That's a totally normal countryside/farmer outfit! I know for a fact that you dont farm, sir! There are no farming fields anywhere near here! The Prairies fields just grow naturally and you guys only make use of it for your straw huts! The Goblins all just hunt, gather, and build. There's no farming!
Well, like that... My 3 friends now all have extremely strange get ups. I might need to change their names. I can't call then Cloaked Hunk #1 or #2 if they aren't cloaked hunks. From here on, they will forever be known as Devil Clown and Punk Samurai! Yes. Village Chief is Village Chief, you can't ignore that. HEY! STOP CHEWING ON THE PRAIRIE GRASS! Oi. He knows something.
Soon after having their fill of Fish, Devil Clown and Punk Samurai began hauling clothes to nearby Villagers. Village Chief is glaring at me hard while chewing on Prairie grass as if he's got somethin' to say. Without letting go of his glare, he spit off to the side leaving me flabbergasted. Then, he took a hard bite out of his Fish and chewed for a solid five minutes without breaking eye contact. This guy is too much. After swallowing his bite, he started.
"So. While you were asleep, I heard some birds chirpin' about trouble." [Village Wheat Farmer Sama] said while looking off into the distance.
This guy. He's always hearing some shit. And what's with this role-play?! Here goes~ Adjusting my sunglasses,
"Hoohhh? Is that so? Please, don't spare the details." [Nero] said nonchalantly.
"It would seem that problems are stirrin' in the north east side of the Lost Kingdom." [Village Wheat Farmer Sama] said while dramatically reconnecting the eye contact with Nero before continuing.
"If it's there, the problems may involve the Lizardmen Tribes or the Human Kingdom. It's unclear of whether these issues are happening because of the residents in the Lost Kingdom or if they're being brought about by outside forces." [Village Wheat Farmer Sama] said while slamming his fists down on the table which definitely wasn't there yesterday.
"Well? What are the issues, anyways?" [Nero] inquires while lifting his head with his fists.
"Monsters of the Lost Kingdom are shuffling. There were sightings of vast numbers of monsters fleeing the northeast side of the Kingdom. It would seem that something big has arrived there, perhaps a monster with a dangerous haki or an army laying waste to the land." [Village Wheat Farmer Sama] stated with a grave tone while looking down and audibly sighing.
"If monsters are fleeing, then they'll begin living closer to here. Is that correct?" [Nero] inquired, while lowering his sunglasses off of his head and tilting it to the side.
"Maybe. The monsters which flee may choose to live nearby here out of fear for our haki. However, if there were monsters more powerful than us who lived there and still fled… They may choose to trample through our Village or attack us so that they could take this place as their own." [Village Wheat Farmer Sama] said frivolously while making numerous hand gestures.
This is bad. This is dangerously bad. Just what could be causing all of the monsters to flee the northeast? If I think about it, the northeast is also connected to the Dragon Mountains, and Lizardmen Tribes. Would the Human Kingdom actually try to take the Dragon Mountains in order to push against the Forest of Fae and in turn, the Demon Kingdom? The Lizardmen Tribes are close enough to the Human Kingdom that they would barely need to enter through the Lost Kingdom in order to reach. It's way too foolish of a goal to go for the Dragon Mountains. That's way too lofty. There's probably a good reason why the literal dozen territories here have not given away much ground in the last 300 years. Except, maybe the Lost Kingdom. It's foolish to actually try and take one of them on. So, if it's not an Army... What is it? I need to know! I can't help it. He roped me in.
"I'm leaving immediately to figure out what's troubling all of the monsters. Please stay here and protect the Village while I'm gone." [Nero] said while standing up, puffing out his childlike chest, and grabbing his Broom and Candy.
"I wish you luck on your journey, brave traveling Cat... Nero, I pray that you save our endangered Village and restore the Lost Kingdom to its former glory!" [Village Wheat Farmer Sama] said while trembling in anticipation and on his knees, looking up and praying to me; who was flying away into the sunset. Jeez. That guy's too much.
After about five minutes of flying, I promptly realized that I was flying in the wrong direction. Epic. It was more dramatic to fly off into the sunset. It was intended. I stealthily did a loop back around while staying close to the trees to ensure I went unnoticed.
Even with my higher AGI, it still costs the same MP to fly the same speed. So, like... I can go way faster now, but it's a huge drain on my MP. It's honestly not worth flying faster unless someone can literally pay me in gross amounts of Candy. I could probably only fit an additional one or two small people on this Broom though? One large person, but two small people. It might be more heavy to fly them, causing me to spend more MP to travel the same speed though. I'll make a mental note to test that later.
After about 20 minutes of flying, I can now see the fleeing monsters. There are quite a lot of monsters in this Kingdom, huh? I rarely see them, but yeah. There are a lot of Bears down there too. I'm glad I don't see them often, but I wanted to train today. Dammit! How did I get roped into a scouting quest on a training day? The role-play was unforgettable. The lore, god dammit. The LORE!
I see a lot of Rabbits, Deer, Bears, and Foxes. This is pretty much expected for these forests. Oh? Caterpillars and Butterflies too~ They're kind of big though. It looks like the Caterpillars have a nest underground and come up only to turn into Butterflies. I see. They're actually naturally here though, because they have a nest underground nearby. They aren't moving. That's good. The Rabbits seem to just run along as they please, but also have tunnels to sleep in. I wonder if they're gathering for something? The Deer are acting like herbivores, so I guess they're prey through and through... Oh! NOPE! That Deer just full on dive-charged into a Bear. I guess if the Deer rely on numbers then they can take on the Bears who are usually separated while looking for Fish. Does that mean the Bears are hunting for the Foxes and ignoring Deer? The Foxes are hunting the Rabbits. Everything's fine over here. This might not actually be what the Goblin Chief was referring to. While it looks like a genuine barbaric land from above, this is actually the daily routine over here. Everyone's gotta eat, and I'm seeing a very sustainable ecosystem going on.
Moving along~ About 15 minutes flight away, I feel like I've entered an entirely different ecosystem from before. This one might actually be what the Goblin Chief was mentioning. There's a pack of wolves running to the west, if they continue on their path... They will probably run into the ecosystem I just was watching. If not, they'll run into the bandit camp. In a different direction, I see a mess of Snakes travelling at an alarming rate southward. If they continue, they might reach the other side of the River that I usually Fish in. Both of those packs are fleeing from the same place. This sucks.
Those Wolves are predators, and I think they'll be able to wipe out the Deer who are currently the alpha pack of the ecosystem. I think they were previously feeding on the Snakes. Something definitely pushed those two apart from each other. I won't mind too much if the Wolves take out the bandits, but after that; there's nothing stopping them from going for the Deer. The bandits wont recoup their population at all, and will just disappear. The Deer will recoup their population at least a bit, but I'm still worried.
The way the Deer fight like a pack, and with how the Wolves also fight that way... The Deer may all wind up dying in just one fight out of sheer stubbornness. The Snakes have a huge population to support being pecked off by the Wolves. The Deer do not. For now, as the Wolves are probably going to eat the bandits first, I have time. The Snakes might not even cross the river towards the Goblin Village, so it's fine. I don't think anything really lives around there except maybe some rogue Bears.
It's time to get to the bottom of this. What is causing all of these monsters to panic? I continued my flight for about another 10 minutes to find it. It's just one thing. One monster, just as the Village Chief said. Is haki really that bad? Think about it for a second. If I leave things as they are, there are bound to be several battles between the monsters of this Kingdom. This usually questionably peaceful Kingdom will be forced towards a turning point. The Wolves who kill the bandits will level up and grow more powerful. They'll kill the Deer, or the Deer will flee towards the Goblin Village. The rest of the monsters will too, running away from the terrifying Wolves. The way I see it, the Wolves will get hungry again and just simply follow them. This battle will force the Goblins to level up and grow in power, or they will also die off.
Someone will come out on top. Whoever that is will effectively hold the power of the Lost Kingdom. Is this not what the Village Chief wanted when he said that he believed the Lost Kingdom would rise up, unify, and take revenge against the Demon Kingdom? I'm at a moral loss here. Surely, keeping things to their usual, semi-peaceful state will eventually result in the same. Thinking about it, there's a constant battle already happening in the Lost Kingdom. The Wolves constantly kill the Snakes. The Foxes constantly hunt the Rabbits, etcetera. Due to that, all of the races will slowly gain individuals whom Evolve above the rest. The only difference now is that the ecosystem might not be able to sustain the battle over a long course of time. There's too much happening now in one place for it to work properly. The Snakes which are always prey are now taken out of the picture, leaving nothing but the predators.
I guess, the longer that you prevent the inevitable power struggle by trying to have each of the races progress at the same rate, the better off you are when you finally claim the power of the Kingdom. All of the Kingdom gains more power the longer that the questionably peaceful, yet sustainable ecosystem goes on than just one person or group could achieve by immediately wiping them all off the board. We're better together, huh? Okay. Fine! Having convinced myself that stopping the power struggle and returning it to normal is for the best, I will now face that monstrosity which started it all. Face to face, albeit about 20 metres away for safe distance~ I now glare at a large Python, which has emerged from a home in the ground. This hole in the ground seems to be where the Snakes usually live. If the Python chased the Snakes out, is it perhaps that this Python is actually a much stronger... Evolved Snake?
Did this Python perhaps kill one too many of its brethren in order to fight off the Wolves? It's a brave gesture, but you took the wrong means to do it. Now all your brothers are afraid of you, stupid! There are several dead Wolves nearby, and it's eating them. I can't lie. I'm kind of scared. This guy probably has poison attacks. He's about the same size as Mr Scarecrow. I have 3 buckets of Candy on hand, so I might be able to heal Mr Scarecrow through the poison. But like, will I need an antidote? I cant heal him forever, you know?! This is bad news. What do you do when you're living in a third world kingdom and you desperately need antibiotics? The most intelligent monsters I have met here are by far, the Goblins. I don't think Goblin Shaman Sama is secretly hiding a medicinal business. How was this even a Kingdom before?! All of the monsters here seem far too primitive!
Maybe the previous strong inhabitants of this Kingdom fled and merged with other Kingdoms, or maybe the Goblin race is but a shadow of its previous self in terms of power. It's understandable that if something bad happens, everyone would try to get revenge in their own lifetime. Maybe all the strong guys left and died in the war, leaving this sorry state of affairs? It's no use thinking about it. I need something to stop poison. Think… THINK GOD DAMMIT! You know what… this might be out of my hands here, guys. Can I leave it like this for awhile? Do I have time to go back to the Village and come up with a plan? Wait... Can Mr Scarecrow even be affected by poison? He's a freaking stalk of hay. I think it actually might be fine. I need to make sure that my Crows stay a safe distance away though. Yeah.
"Come forth, my Clansmen! Fight for me and slay this foul beast! Crows, stay a safe distance until you get an opening, Scarecrow thrash to your stalk's content!~" [Nero] yelled while holding forth his Lantern before continuing,
"[Barrier]!" [Nero] finished and began to sit down as he started to chomp on Candy.
I have to say, being a Tamer Class is handy, but nothing comes close to the perk that is [Daily Candy]. It doesn't seem to be getting any better as I level up, but it's still the only reason why I can even fight at all. Being a Halloween Cat and neglecting to choose that one ability may have been my downfall. I need to give myself props when props are due. [Disguise] is also quite helpful given that this is a third world Kingdom where even just armor is out of the question... Impossible to attain.
Mr Scarecrow is thrashing as good as ever, and each strike genuinely seems to knock the Python off balance. It has a pouncing bite attack, but as expected... Poison doesn't seem to be an issue. My Crows are playing it cool and waiting until the Python bites the Scarecrow to come in with their [Aerial Dive]. The team play is brilliant. Mr Scarecrow's barely taking any damage, and it's clear to see how this battle will play out. I don't even need to eat that much Candy!
The Python is completely ignoring me who has no Tier, and cant even reach the Crows so it only focuses on Mr Scarecrow. My Barrier may have been in vain. It's fine though, because it doesn't require anything unless I receive damage. After about 20 minutes of battle, the Python finally fell. It may have been incredibly tanky, but it was no match for the undefeated ScareZerker Clansmen of mine! He holds an eye-catching 2/0 Win-Loss Ratio, I'll have you know. Shortly after Mr Scarecrow returned to Halloween, I leveled up~
[Level Up! You have reached Level 6!]
[Level Up! You have reached Level 7!]
[Level Up! You have reached Level 8!]
[Level Up! You have reached Level 9!]
[Level Up! You have reached Level 10!]
I notice that my Crows choose to remain outside. It's a nice night, so I'll let them be. They probably just enjoy flying, but they could also be helpful in keeping lesser monsters away from me. Choosing to ignore them, I decided to check my status!
Name: Unnamed Monster (Nero Miki)
Race: Cat (Halloween)
Weapon: Lantern (Poor Iron Lantern)
Mount: Broom (Common Wooden Broom)
Class: Halloween Cat (Sub Class: Witch/Tamer)
Level: 10
HP: 50/50
MP: 204/204(+4)
SP: 76/100
FP: 89/100
P. DEF: 31
M. DEF: 39
STR: 40
INT: 102(+2)
DEX: 30
LUK: 10
AGI: 60
Titles:
[True Halloween Cat], [From Another World], [Fish Mongerer]
Abilities Learned:
[Flying Broom], [Soul Merge], [Clansmen Capture], [Hallowed Gate], [This is Halloween], [Wailing Keep], [Language Comprehension], [Shapeshift], [Barrier], [Daily Candy], [Claw Fishing], [Disguise], [Recovery by Sleep], [Enhanced Meditating], [Swim]
My MP and INT are truly next gen in terms of development. Perks of being a double mage-type class and race, I guess? My race is literally specified to be perfect for my class, and no one who isn't my race can be my class. Honestly, the bonus from my Lantern pales in comparison by far. I wonder if my Race is fine to just wield basic weapons? It seems that I also gained a Title for having become a [Fish Mongerer]. I think it came with the ability to [Swim]. I already knew how to swim, but it's there now. Showing loud, and proud. Okay. That Python gave a lot of experience. It must have been truly terrifying for those poor Wolves. Was the Crab from before giving off a similar level of terror for the nearby Monsters? I'll need to redirect the direction for the mess of Snakes back to their den to entice the Wolves toward coming home.
On that line of thinking, I decided to get on my Broom and ride south to where the Snakes were fleeing. It took me about 40 minutes to catch up with them, they're actually sitting just where I thought they would be. On the other side of the River across from the Goblin Village. They don't seem to want to go to the Goblin Village, so that's good. They also don't seem to want to go back. Yikes. Trauma, huh? Having an idea, I decided to call forth my Clansmen once more~
"Come forth, Scarecrow! Display why you were given the name Prairie Horror to these mere Snakes and chase them back home to their Den!" [Nero] yelled in a mischievous and frightening tone.
Moments later, the familiar orange glow reached out from the Lantern and became the Tier 4 Scarecrow. Standing there, towering over the bundle of Snakes; it let out a roar loud enough to cause every single bird in the nearby proximity to leave its tree immediately. The scene was breathtaking. In mere seconds, the bundle of Snakes restlessly scrambled to return the way they came from while being chased the entire way back by the Prairie Horror. I followed from above on my Broom while being confused as to why the 5 Tier 1 Crows were brave enough to stand against the Scarecrow, yet not the massive mess of Snakes.
The Scarecrow beautifully stayed almost within thrashing reach of the Snakes while whipping the ground to convince them to move faster. It was horrific to watch, but I'm aware that he's trying his best knowing full well that the night is almost over. We're running out of time, and I still need to move the Wolves back to wherever they came from. The night is NOT young. Hurrying along, it took us about 30 minutes to reach the den of Snakes. While terrified, they peeked out from beneath their dens... As if they don't know where to turn if we pursue them further. Ahhhh, they're almost cute.
"Thank you, Scarecrow. You have performed admirably this evening. Please return to Halloween at your own leisure before dawn." [Nero] said while tipping his fedora from atop his Broom.
"Yes, master. I will accompany you back as long as I can." [Mr. Scarecrow]
OH MY GOD! IT SPOKE! Mr Scarecrow actually talked to me! Who knew that Scarecrows could talk?!
"Very well, shall we?" [Nero] said while beginning to depart back towards the Goblin Village.
To that, the Scarecrow only nodded and followed me as I flew back. We traveled at a pace where I wouldn't lose MP, but about halfway through... He and the Crows had to return to Halloween. They did well. I'm happy to say that we're one step closer to having our Wailing Keep. At this rate, I'll need to be level 25 to cast [Wailing Keep]. I'm excited to see it with my own eyes, but I know that I can't expect just that to solve all my problems.
I'm still not very safe during the day time. Goblin Chief is more or less the strongest individual in this Kingdom, as far as I can tell. That Python may have been stronger, actually. I don't understand why we needed to kill the Python, the strongest individual in the Kingdom in order to save the rest of the Kingdom though. It just doesn't seem fair. He gained power, albeit through questionable means... But wouldn't it have been better to have him join us somehow? I should try reasoning with people next time. I don't think I really tried to reason with him. Really though, there's not much to do when your haki is too terrifying for any of the nearby wildlife even from your own race to want to be near you.
Back to thinking about the Goblin Chief, being friends with him and getting to stay in his hut basically means I'm being protected by him while I sleep. I'm thankful for that, but even Mr Scarecrow is probably considered stronger than the Goblin Chief. I would like to be protected by someone as strong as me, no offense. Hurry up and Evolve! That won't happen though, because he's a total shut in. The more I think about it, wasn't this like his time to shine and gain power to help him Evolve? Why did I get thrown into the middle of this scenario to begin with? Don't tell me he's actually throwing the future of this Kingdom into my paws. Coming up to me with his 'Oh brave travelling Cat, please save us!' act as if he couldn't have handled it himself. Pfft. That guy.
Maybe the Goblin Chief would have been a bad match-up for the Python? If the Python really did deal poison damage, all of the Goblins would have probably needed to be revived numerous times. The effect of the Goblin Shaman revival however, is kind of drastic. The ability can first and foremost, only be used on fellow Goblins. When the Shaman casts it, the revived Goblins gain the Enraged Status Effect. They deal more damage, but also lose the ability to rationally think. The effect does not disappear until they win. It's terrifying. They all lose the ability to think of escape, and continue to fight until the bitter end.
The Goblin Shaman himself also undergoes a similar effect, but it has a somewhat different nature. He who revives the dead goes hysterically mad and deranged, hellbent on outlasting the opponent. If the Shaman runs out of MP, it becomes especially sour. The Shaman can continue to use more MP, but spends HP instead. If any opponent can outlast the Goblin Shaman, it's the end of the line for the entire battle. All of the nearby enraged goblins won't realize that their Shaman has fallen, and will die yet again; but to never be revived.
I learned this all a while back while chatting with the Village Chief. He said it in a tone of it being lighthearted, but it was indeed a serious conversation. He must have wanted me to know the dangers of him waging battle. If he's outmatched, it could spell the end of a lot of Tier 2 Goblins alongside the one and only current Tier 3 Goblin. The Village would be decimated by the other nearby Monsters. No doubt about it. He might very well be putting the fate of this Kingdom, or at least his Village into my paws. He's getting old. There aren't any other Tier 3 Goblins to become his successor. I command a Tier 4 Monster. Theoretically, I could produce a haki even stronger than his own to ensure the Goblin Village's safety if he were to die. However, I can't do that during the day time. I don't think I have the strength to handle this Village, let alone this Kingdom?!
While panicking about the reasons why the Goblin Chief made me take on the role of balancing the nearby ecosystems, a considerable amount of time passed and I've now returned to the Goblin Village. It's after dawn and quite frankly... I'm exhausted. I'm going to sleep as soon as I get into the hut! On arrival, Devil Clown is passed out, but Punk Samurai greets and lets me in. He seems more friendly now that we've drank together. Goblin Chief is still asleep. Yep, I feel the same way. [Daily Candy]! Lets sleep~