Nyaaaaah~ The soft scent of sweet, sweet, Fish fills my nose. It's sunset. Looking at our supplies, we're running out of Fish. Tonight, we Fish! I still need to go handle a few things, but Fish comes first. I'm the Fish Mongerer, so what I say regarding Fish goes. After getting dressed and returning to my human form, I looked around the campfire to see the whole squad was here. Everyone is present and accounted for. My followers seem quite evil for the most part. White Wolf Lady seems fine until she assumes human form, at which point she looks strange. Mr Scarecrow, his spouse and Crowli are absolutely horrifying. My large mutant Bat is also quite terrifying. The Weeping Angel is beautiful, but ominous. It can't be helped. They're Halloween monsters, after all.
It also doesn't help that Bloody Jester chooses to adorn himself as a red clown, or that Cetilla always seems to have some mischievous smirk. Goblin Village Wheat Farmer Sama seems horribly out of place, but he always looks so comically serious that it also feels right to have him here. Goblin Viking is by far, the most average fantasy like setting character among us. He'd look natural if placed next to White Wolf Lady's Wolf form. Moving on~ I said 'good evening' to everyone and told them that I'd be spending the night Fishing. I also told them that generally speaking, my Clansmen being nearby me while I Fish doesn't actually help me Fish... So they can do whatever they want tonight. See ya~
When leaving, I received some visibly happy looks from my Clansmen. Jeez. You guys act like I never give you any spare time! I guess I never directly say that I'm going to give them the next 12 hours of free time in this world though. Usually I'll just call them when I decide that they're needed. I assumed that they would have used the off time however they pleased, but instead they just acted as if it wasn't off time at all? The heck? From here on out, should I deliberately have a selection of monsters on duty while giving others time to do their own thing? Fine. I'll try my best!
After arriving at the River and beginning to Fish, I trailed off into deep thought. I wonder what other intellectual races stood alongside the Goblins during the times of the Monster Kingdom? It couldn't have just been Harpies and Goblins, right? There must be at least one other race. If so, I wonder where they went? I've explored everything in the Lost Kingdom from an aerial point of view. Did they go underground? Did they go extinct? Yikes. I should ask about this later. For sure!
Now that I've got those three new mouths to feed, I feel even more certain that the population of Fish in the Lost Kingdom is going to be strained if I don't do something about it soon. Next time, I'll make sure to go Fishing elsewhere. There's a River in the Beastkin Kingdom, so I can do that. If the numbers there are already low, then I'll just need to deal with returning to the Demon Kingdom for a short visit. I'll not be heading anywhere near Orpia again though. Wait a second. I never learned the actual city name of the Castle City in the Beastkin Kingdom! I should ask Cetilla when I get back. Jeez. I must be pretty stressed if I don't even bother to ask about something as simple as a City name.
I wonder if all of the 'Kingdoms' only have one prominent city. It feels strange for me who is from earth to venture to places claiming to be countries when those places only have one major city. Also, this planet seems much smaller than earth. I've made the conclusion that this entire continent might make up about a quarter of this planet's surface. I've witnessed another island or continent in the distance as well, so I know for a fact that there are other land(s). I made my judgement based on the fact that the Demon Kingdom is a jungle, and the fact that the 'Savage Lands' north of the Human Kingdom are extremely cold, but I don't know how far north they reach so it's impossible for me to know the actual full size of the planet.
Speaking of the planet, I haven't witnessed any seaports for boats at either the Demon Kingdom or the Beastkin Kingdom. I know that the Demon Kingdom would actually be rather difficult to begin sea travel from. The Beastkin Kingdom however, had a full on beach and could potentially begin to travel over the sea... Given that they actually invest time and effort into developing ships. Even if they did that though, I have no idea how bad the monsters of the Ocean are. I've gotten a taste of a single monster at the bottom of the Lake in the Lost Kingdom, and it's a whole bag of NOPE.
While Fishing, I decided to do it. What am I doing? Seeing where these Fish are coming from. I went to the place where the River joins the Lake, and watched it very closely. I stood by for about 15 minutes and then saw it. One small common Fish was forcefully pushed by the tide of the River into the Lake. Getting somewhat frantic, I rushed to the waterfall leading from the Forest of Fae which joins into the River leading to the Lake. I stood by for about 20 minutes and then saw it again. One small common Fish was swept by the tide of the waterfall and fell into the River.
I'm pretty sure that the Lake monster became that powerful because the Fish of the River leading into the Lake are actually coming in from a waterfall spouting out of the Forest of Fae. That waterfall is slowly spitting out Fish from the Forest of Fae into the River. The Fish which are not caught by Bears, Squirrbits, or me are then directly spoon fed to the disaster monster in the Lake. It's like a never ending feeding. I don't get stronger from these Fish; but I have no idea about the laws of the ocean. It might be different for Fish type monsters. It might be intentional. I have my doubts that these Fish are just accidentally falling out of the Forest of Fae. I think she might be inciting this.
But… why? Why would you feed your Fish to monsters of another Kingdom? What could you possibly get out of this? Hold on. Were the Fish monsters in the Lost Kingdom always this strong... So she decided to feed them, or has she been purposely making them this strong? Without her help, they would certainly be starving. But was it always like this? Noticing another Fish fall, I shamelessly grabbed it and added it to my pile. I don't like it. As far as I can tell, the Fish of the Lake may be an extremely high stat monster but I don't think it can speak. It might have [Appraisal] at this point due to how it always purposely aims for the fire type Werewolf, but I don't think it can communicate.
I can always try listening to it from beneath the water, but I wouldn't be able to respond with my mouth closed regardless. I wouldn't even be able to start the conversation to let it know that I can understand its language. It's somewhat hopeless to attain unity with the monster of the Lake, even if it can speak. Even if it can speak, it still requires a stupid amount of food to survive. Even if it has food being fed to it by the Fae Queen, it still cant leave the small Lake to actually be of any real help to this Kingdom after having been unified. We truly can't ever achieve unity with it if it's like this.
Well, having learned of a much simpler way to Fish... Waiting for the Fish to be dropped from the waterfall, I stayed and gathered more Fish for a considerable amount of time. If the Queen of that Forest could see what was happening right now, she'd probably be fuming. Mwhahahahhaah! You've been caught! I found the se-cret~ After five hours, I caught 24 fish! 18 were common, 4 were pink and 2 were yellow and gray. That wasn't including the Fish that I caught prior to finding the waterfall cheat.
After returning to the Goblin Village, it was already nearly morning. I'm going to sleep, [Daily Candy]. Oh. Cetilla seems to have something to say. OH! I almost forgot. I have plenty of things to say! Brutally cutting Cetilla off, I asked her what the name of that Castle City was called. She laughed at me for not knowing yet, but it was known as Reygid. Strange. I vaguely remember that name. Maybe I learned it while I was drinking but forgot? After answering me, she asked me what we'd do next. Honestly, the answer is simple. We're off to see the Witches. But, we can do that tomorrow. Or in a few more days. I only have 4 buckets of Candy right now. I finished healing all of my Clansmen, but 4 buckets is nothing compared to what it would take to heal all of my Clansmen even just one time.
I'm pretty sure that the Witches only actually create Scarecrows once or twice every year. So, it shouldn't be a major issue if I hold off on it for a little while. It's more safe for me to hold off on it a little while. We don't know how the Witches will react to my proposition, so it's best to go fully loaded incase we need to make an escape. Explaining to the eternally confused Scoreceress that we're heading to the Forest of Witches next but need time to prepare and finish up other loose ends, I went to approach the Goblin Trio. I need information, old man.
My Clansmen were busy partying all night, so everyone is thankfully still awake. Getting back on topic, I asked the Chief exactly which races were prominent in these parts during the times of the Monster Kingdom. His response? Turning on his lore dial to the max. Looks like we're going into full on quest mode. Oi! It's way too late in the night for this nonsense! Cut to the chase already, bro!
"Over 300 years ago, the Monster Kingdom stood just as prominently as all of the other Kingdoms of the continent. In those days, we would unify the most elite of each of our races under the banner of the Monster Knights." [Goblin Village Wheat Farmer Sama] said while staring off into the distance, taking a long pause before continuing.
Oi! You weren't even born yet! Stop acting like you were there!
"The Monster Knights were aided by the common monsters of every race. These common monsters would scout the Monster Kingdom day and night, oftentimes going without food or drink to ensure that they gained as much information as they could. When returning, if they learned of any peculiarities then they would bring that information to the Monster Knights. The Monster Knights would use the information to solve the peculiarities, maintaining a natural balance in the Monster Kingdom. The common monsters were the backbone of the Monster Knights who fought for the balance of the Kingdom." [Goblin Village Wheat Farmer Sama] said with a voice filled with admiration.
Hey! Are you telling me that I'm taking on the burden of being a Monster Knight here?! What does this have to do with the other races, anyways?! Get back on topic!
"Long ago, the Monster Knights were once annihilated by the Demon Kingdom army. With them, fell the hopes of the common monsters. Due to that loss in hope, many of the proud races which once made up the Monster Knights were driven into hiding. Others remained and were captured by Poachers. The even less fortunate were erased from the face of the Kingdom entirely." [Goblin Village Wheat Farmer Sama] said in a grave voice while looking dejected with tearful eyes.
"...So about the other races which made up the Monster Knights? What were they and where are they now?" [Nero] asked, having become fed up with the fact that it's already dawn and he accidentally started a quest.
"The Harpies fled to the Chasms. The Goblins stayed and managed. The Lamias Devolved into Snakes or fled to the Beastkin Kingdom as refugee immigrants. The Fox people Devolved into Foxes or fled to the Beastkin Kingdom as well. The Mer fled to the Lake. The Bears, and Rabbits lost their voices, probably having Devolved. The Flutter Fairies Devolved into Butterflies, and the Butterflies only give birth to Caterpillars. The Wolves, Squirrbits, and Deer are entirely new arrivals and were not here during the times of the Monster Kingdom. The Arachne devolved into Spiders, and the Weeping Angels Devolved into Golems. One Eyed Lizards, Bats, Slugs, and Drakes are also entirely new arrivals and were not here during the times of the Monster Kingdom. They might have simply been within the Chasms this entire time. The Minotaurs, Dodori Birds, and Mantillions went extinct. The Harpies, Goblins, and perhaps the Mer are the only races to have not Devolved past the point of losing their intellect." [Goblin Village Wheat Farmer Sama]
Woah. What?! Monsters can Devolve?! What do you mean?! Also, that Spider was totally going to Evolve into an Arachne, god dammit! Huh. To learn that one of my Clansmen races... The Weeping Angels were part of the Monster Knights. Interesting. Also, what the heck are Flutter Fairies, Dodori Birds, and Mantillions? I want to meet a Flutter Fairy! Dang! Why did they all have to go and Devolve like that?! Three of the freaking alpha races went extinct? Moreover, Minotaurs went extinct?! Of all things?! Minotaurs went extinct but GOBLINS are more or less okay?!
"Ahem, Devolve?" [Nero] asked.
"Monsters may Devolve if they are not being fed enough food. If they are not gaining enough food when their eggs are generating within their body, then their offspring will simply result in a lower Evolution form." [Goblin Village Wheat Farmer Sama] explained.
Oh... So that's it. So you're basically saying that of the 13 races, only 3 of them managed to properly feed themselves. Even then, the Goblins and Harpies probably are not unscathed. They definitely did undergo Devolving, but it didn't become as bad as it did for their peers. He doesn't think that the Mer devolved, but he also has no idea. Yikes. Wait! If the Mer were part of the Monster Knights, then does that mean that they can leave the Lake if they need to?! Hey! Get out here! It's been 300 years! The world isn't over, you know?!
Jeez. So maybe the Forest of Fae Queen is actually casually dropping Fish to help feed the starving Mer? It's possible, but the Mer can't be the only ones down in that Lake. There was a huge monster at the bottom of it the last time I checked. I didn't see any Mer? Maybe that huge monster actually devoured the Mer hundreds of years ago? It's possible. I'd like to think the Mer are alive and well, but why didn't they return to the surface in all this time? Is it because that huge monster is blocking the way? If that's the case, wouldn't it be beneficial for us to try and starve it out?
If we stopped the Fish from arriving at the Lake for about a week, we could probably kill off the lochness monster just by obstructing the food source. It would be a massive waste of experience to let such a huge monster die simply by hunger though. Well, I guess I have no choice but to let it live for now. I don't think my Clansmen could take that thing on in a fair fight and I also don't think I want to let it die at the hands of hunger. If the Mer are trapped down there because of the lochness monster, then it's honestly their own fault. They did choose to go down there, after all. They could have stayed and braved it out with the Goblins, but they didn't. Sure, they may have avoided Devolving due to their Decision... But they still aren't the least bit honorable. Mer? We don't need her.
I made the conscious decision that if the Mer could survive for 300 years beneath a Lake, then they can survive another 300 years without my help just fine. If I ever feel as though I can take down the lochness monster, then I will. Until then, I'm not lifting a paw to stop their problem. That is, if they're even still alive down there. Imagine me starving out the lochness monster for literally days only to find that there's no one even waiting to be rescued. NOPE!
Anyways, now that I've finished my conversation with the Goblin Chief, I've decided to go to sleep. Goodnight!~