I'm awake. I feel pretty refreshed. After getting dressed, I made my way to the Throne Room and created some new pieces of clothes to add to the pile. Aiming for level 20 pieces, I was able to manifest 8. Leaving them with the pile, I continued on my way to the Kitchen. No one's here, but I smell Fish. Cooked Fish. I think I might have woken late, so I'm heading to the Dining Hall. Sure enough, the whole gang is up before me. Everyone is accounted for.
Grabbing myself a plate and taking a seat, I decided that it would be a good time for me now to confront Weeping Angel. She has some explaining to do. After summoning her, she dejectedly appeared a whopping 3 minutes later. Oi! What was keeping you?! Do you have any idea how embarrassing it looks to summon a monster as a Tamer and only get a response 3 minutes after the fact?! EVERYONE saw that!
"Weeping Angel, I had a question for you. Last night, I came across you practicing a song in the Throne Room. That's fine and all, but I recognized the song and would like to know where you heard it?" [Nero] inquired while chewing on a piece of Fish.
"...I apologize for touching your belongings. It will not happen again." [Weeping Angel] said dejectedly while visibly sobbing... More than usual.
Oi! Why is she apologizing?! I just asked her a question? I'm not mad! I just want to know, god dammit!
"...I think there's been a misunderstanding. I'm not angry with you. Please inform me of where you heard the song." [Nero] said with determination.
"I heard it from your tool in Halloween... I didn't realize that it was your belonging at first… But I continued to listen to it even after I came across 'I Put a Sp*ll On You' regardless." [Weeping Angel] confessed without making eye contact.
"Please take me to this tool. I had previously misplaced it and could not find it." [Nero] explained while pretending to know what was going on.
"I will await you in Halloween." [Weeping Angel] replied while wiping her face.
A tool that allowed her to listen to my songs? They aren't my songs… But I wonder what the tool is? An MP3 player? A CD player? A boombox? A smart phone? A computer? What?! I simply must know now! I had never actually tried exploring the homes of my Halloween Town, but maybe I should? Jeez. Finishing up my Fish, I made my way to the Throne Room. Following me are Cetilla and Vana. Vana has never been in Halloween, so I guess that she's curious. Cetilla just loves Halloween for whatever reason, and is always looking for a way to score extra time in it though.
Maybe it's because my Halloween Town is like a super rare city? Not a lot of people live here and it's a pretty gloomy looking place, but it's kind of elegant in its own way. Maybe venturing into Halloween is like the equivalent of an adventure for Cetilla? Getting a rare chance to explore an unknown land and meet rare creatures whom would normally probably be trying to kill you? I say that, but my Clansmen are genuinely quite friendly towards my comrades. It might be due to them being my Clansmen, but I don't know. Halloween Clansmen normally want blood if they can't procure Candy. I can't imagine it being very easy for a Clansmen to obtain Candy, so it's probably just all blood if there aren't any Halloween Cats to tame them.
Well, we're now in my Halloween Town and are being led around by Weeping Angel. After around a minute or two of walking, we were able to reach what appears to be the northeast side of town. There's a house seemingly bigger than the rest, and it has a sign on the wall. The sign is just the outline of a ghost lit up by white neon light. It looks like it's an electronic sign intended for a convenience store or gas station. Due to its size and the sign, this building stands out among the rest. Making my way inside, I am met by what appears to be an arcade. It's not a big arcade, but it's an arcade. It has 6 different arcade game machines, each fitting for one player. The games seem pretty old, but I don't recognize them. Strange.
Aside from the 6 arcade game machines, there are two tables each with booth seats. The booth seat leather is orange, but the frame of the seats are purple. The tabletops are orange, while the metal bar holding up the table is purple. The entire establishment takes on this color palette, and it reminds me a lot of my Kitchen. Aside from the tables, away from the arcade game machines there is also a Karaoke machine. Further down the room, right beside the Karaoke machine are a few sofas and a coffee table facing a flat screen TV propped up onto a wall. The Karaoke machine appears to be plugged in to the TV. On the coffee table lay 6 Orange and Purple Microphones. In the corner of the room, there's a box of extra microphones and a strange amp cord. I say strange, because one end is regular but the other end is just a wall plugin.
Picking up the amp cord, I began to look at the sides of the Karaoke machine, and sure enough… There was an amp input. Looking around, there is even a wall outlet in range. It appears that the amp can be plugged in at the same time as the TV. Interesting. Pressing the power button on the Karaoke machine, I am met with a logo reading 'Scaraoke'. Shortly after, a menu popped up with quite an extensive list of songs. They cover multiple genres, and I'm well aware of all the songs. I know them all. Be that as it may, this list is incomplete. It does not hold every song that I know of. What makes a song plausible to be in this list?
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I see a lot of Halloween theme songs, but there are others that make me wonder whether or not it's even related. Is 'D*rk Horse' really a Halloween theme song? Like… genuinely? I guess I'll lose if I think about it. Regardless, it would appear that I now have the capability to teach my Bandsmen a plethora of songs with ease. After choosing a song, the TV screen began to display the lyrics. The Microphones magically turned on, and the instrumental of the song perfectly played loud enough for the entire Town to hear. It was loud.
Stepping outside, it would appear that each jack-o-lantern adorning the ground is emitting the noise. I don't understand how, but I can visibly see the flames within each jack-o-lantern spontaneously burning along to the beat of the song. At the same time as the intensity of the flames escalates, the jack-o-lanterns begin to vibrate as if they're a speaker. The Scaraoke machine is way too powerful. That is one high Tier monster if I ever saw one. Being able to masterfully possess this many jack-o-lantern speaker monsters all at once with just the help of a magical amp cord is unfathomable, even for me. The Scaraoke machine monster is definitely a first rate possession magic user if I ever saw one.
With the Scaraoke machine monster's help, we could throw concerts in Halloween Town! Halloween Town isn't very spacious on its own, but the middle of town where the allegedly trick blood fountain is has a sort of 'town square' vibe. The circular brick pathing surrounding it is large enough to hold an entire [Hallowed Gate] towards the edge of the circular town square without it even making the town square feel cramped. The allegedly trick blood fountain is also quite large. We could probably use the allegedly trick blood fountain as a stage for the singing Bandsmen to stand on, and have the crowd flood around it. I estimate that we could hold a total of 400 to 600 people in the town square, but could reach beyond that by having further people of the crowd standing in the nearby streets leading towards the town square. Due to the jack-o-lantern speaker monsters adorning all of the streets, we could theoretically have a rather massive venue; but the number of front row seats with a view is limited.
We could try and alleviate that by having the Bandsmen move around the city as they perform by jumping from roof to roof, but not all Bandsmen can do that. Weeping Angel definitely can not move from house to house. She's too heavy and doesn't have the AGI to handle it. Mr and Mrs Scarecrow can probably manage running along the tops of the houses. Crowli, White Sheep Lady, and Vana could fly though. We could also try adding special sound effects to the songs by having my lesser Clansmen perform as well. Ofcourse, special effects won't be heard by everyone in the Town as it's relative to your location. But what about serving food? If we have a Meglacommon, we should serve it somewhere that people can still listen to the music, not in the Goblin Village. If we set up serving the Meglacommon towards the outskirts of Town, then perhaps it would help incentivize people to not all just flock around the main event. Yosh! Our next festival is going to be the best one yet!
Explaining the plan to Cetilla, she seems totally on board. She's not all that into performing herself, but she's willing to help perform 'I Put a Sp*ll On You' another time for the opening of the concert. Yay! All paws on deck, people! I decided to assign some homework to my Clansmen. I want them to try and learn a few new songs. Particularly speaking... I want them to learn 'This is H*lloween', 'Z*mbie', 'I Want C*ndy', 'Sp*oky', 'Boog*e Monster', 'Freaks C*me Out at Night', and 'Sc*ry Monsters (and Super Creeps)'.
I want 'This is H*lloween' to be a group project performed as a finale or as a second opening song. It's going to require everyone's participation at least once if it's going to work. I made sure to tell them to try learning it after every other song, as it's probably going to be the most challenging one. I asked Weeping Angel to learn 'Zombie'. I assigned 'I Want C*ndy' to Vana, and 'Sp*oky' to White Sheep Lady. I gave 'Boog*e Monster' to Mr Scarecrow to lead with Crowli as backup, and left leading 'Freaks C*me Out at Night' to Crowli with Mr Scarecrow as backup. Mr and Mrs Scarecrow both have the same voice, so they're both trying to learn the same parts together. With that in mind, I decided to give a bonus song just for them. One that they could perform together without needing to swap out mid song. I decided on 'Sc*ry Monsters (and Super Creeps)', as at certain parts of the song there are echoes of the lead singer which sound identical to the main role. The Bandsmen seem ecstatic. Weeping Angel in particular due to not having been reprimanded for touching 'my belongings'. It's my town, but you're the ones living in it. Honestly, just enjoy yourselves and try not to trash the whole place. I don't know the extent of regenerative abilities for Halloween Town monster sama, so we shouldn't test them.
In order to help Vana practice, I kept the Hallowed Gate open after assigning homework to everyone and ensuring that all of the Clansmen knew where the Scaraoke machine was. To my dismay, they all already knew of the machine and used it regularly for fun. They didn't know about the amp though. I wish they had informed me sooner, but it's fine. Cetilla decided to stay behind and watch the group practice. I'm currently making my way to visit with Vigi. I would like to begin our mining expedition meow, please~
Finding Vigi took me some time, as I had originally thought to search in the basement rooms. Later, I found that he had been near the fireplace the entire time. Epic. Thankfully, he's prepared for the task at hand. Sadly, Vigi might be a little too big to sit comfortably on my Broom; so I decided to float beside him as he walked. He's a Minotaur. This is but a simple Common Wooden Broom. Even if it were a high grade Broom, he'd be more comfortable with me extending a paw and literally carrying him as he dangles into open air like a key dangles from its keychain. It just wouldn't be plausible for a long period of time, even if my STR is decent. I'll need to have Crowli help me carry him to the bottom of the Chasm.
As we travelled, I learned that Vigi possesses a magic bag. It's a cheap spacial magic device, but it's spacial magic. I believe that some of my abilities possess spacial magic traits, but I don't actually manifest space from nothing. I think that I just connect space between two different worlds. I believe that my [Wailing Keep] is like me temporarily distorting the space on this world and replacing it with space from Halloween. I think that the [Wailing Keep] monster was originally a monster located somewhere in Halloween, and I just brought it here. I can teleport individuals from within Halloween to this world or vice versa but I don't just create space like Vigi's magic bag, so is my space magic fundamentally different?
[Wailing Keep] certainly has some sort of ability to manipulate space, as it appears larger on the inside than the outside. Does that mean that I actually do have some sort of ability to create space? I feel like I should have attained some sort of magical Candy bag before I obtained [Wailing Keep], but I can hardly complain. It's like I skipped directly over low rate spacial magic of manipulating space and started off with high rate spacial magic by being able to freely teleport my Clansmen and I to and from Halloween. Then, I started incorporating low rate spacial magic of manipulating space into my high rate spacial magic [Wailing Keep] summon.
I'm going to stake my theory on the entire Halloween Cat race being exceptional dark attribute spacial magic using Witch Tamers. As Cats, we gain additional hidden passives. The same goes for being Witches and Tamers, but the Halloween aspect of us draws out exceptional dark attribute spacial magic. The cost of that high rate magic can only be appeased by Candy or Blood. I'm not entirely sure why, so I'm going to ask my Clansmen about it later. Due to my recently acquired [Pumpkin Bomb], I believe that Halloween Cats might also have a sub attribute of Fire. If I weren't able to increase the impact of the Flames by spending more MP, I would have assumed that I were simply teleporting some random Pumpkin Bomb from the wilderness of Halloween; but it isn't the case. This ability genuinely seems to be being cast by me. I saw several other Witches using [Barrier] abilities, so I think that maybe [Barrier] was just some common spell attainable for Witches. [Shapeshift] may also be the same, but I have no idea.
Arriving at the Chasms took awhile. But we're here~ Calling on Crowli, I asked him to help me fly Vigi to the bottom. His response? He's doing it all by himself because he doesn't need help to carry just one measly Minotaur. I guess being the strongest Clansmen can go to your head. I wonder whether Mr Scarecrow had a similar attitude after having beaten White Wolf Lady in his duel or not?
Reaching the bottom, I asked Crowli to stay around and help me protect Vigi while we were here. Some Harpies came to greet us and asked if we were here to see the Matriarch, but I declined and informed them that I was simply searching for some materials to help me craft a new Lantern. They seemed jealous, but it isn't my fault that the Harpy Matriarch hasn't started some sort of pillow making business. You can't tell me that you guys don't ever shed those feathers. You could be swimming in Coins if you really tried.
For a few hours, we just walked along and looked at the minerals. Vigi was using [Deduction] on them all before deciding on some to use. He wanted to get the best that the Chasms had to offer, and I wasn't about to complain. While we searched, I was making clothes and passing them to Crowli. Over time, Crowli found himself carrying a hefty pile of clothing and accessories but finally... Vigi came to a conclusion. There were two different ore clusters which he remembered seeing that would likely be the most optimal for us to find. They were known as Siberite Tourmaline and Pyrope Garnet. They're apparently both quite sturdy and would be able to fetch a rather suitable price. Procuring enough of the two ore proved to be a challenge and ended up consuming an entire two hours of time. I was forced to cancel my [Hallowed Gate] to reopen it here so that Crowli and I could bring the clothes into the Throne Room.
Siberite Tourmaline was a beautiful purple rock, while Pyrope Garnet was a deep red rock. We gathered a pretty large sum of each so that we would have enough to properly make beautiful weapons. While we did so, Vigi explained to me that he would be smelting the rocks down to obtain Gems from within them. After that, he would use the smelted down rock to form the base of the weapon or armor before adding the Gems as adornments… Or adding them to entirely different pieces. I called dibs on the Siberite Tourmaline on account of it matching my outfit, and he can just keep the Pyrope Garnet as his payment for the mining quest.
Before leaving the Chasms, I decided to pay a visit to the Harpy Matriarch. I asked her how the Chasm populaces were faring, and learned that all is right in these depths. She asked me if I would like to stay for dinner, but I felt the need to decline. I didn't want to force Clansmen into protecting my Hallowed Gate indefinitely seeing as how I just assigned them to learn new songs, but I also didn't want to close the Hallowed Gate and effectively trap Vana within Halloween in the event that she's still practicing. So, I decided to return to the Wailing Keep and bid my farewells to the Harpies. I feel bad because this is my second time turning down an invitation to get to know the Matriarch, so I'll need to make the concious decision to visit her soon. On arrival, I closed my gate and reopened it so that both gates sit within the Throne Room. This is the safest way for me to keep the entrance to Halloween open, so I think that I might just keep it like this for awhile. Whenever I summon the Hallowed Gate, I always summon it with 100 MP. I don't know why, but 100 just feels safe to me.
After having summoned it, if my MP is at full capacity then it will automatically heal itself the same as my other Clansmen due to my own regeneration. It's quite effective. The Hallowed Gate can have a maximum of 1000 MP nowadays. It shares my P./M. DEF so one might even call it a Tier 6 monster. Like the former me, it lacks any offensive capability though. I hope the Hallowed Gate learns to summon its own monsters like how the Wailing Keep does. I say that, but the Wailing Keep won't be summoning any monsters until my maximum MP is over 2500. Even then, it will probably need more than that. That's the bare minimum before it even gains the capability to try. Seeing as how the Hallowed Gate does not keep a permanent leash on some of my MP, there's a chance that it might never learn how to protect itself.
Now that we have succeeded in our mission, I promised to take Vigi home to Reygid at dawn. That's right. I'm going to sleep early tonight so that I can wake up at dawn and go see the Candy man! After my visit with him, I should be fine to go visit the Hag's Hollow in the Forest of Witches. As long as I can keep at least 5 Gold Coins and 150 Silver Coins, then I should be fine. Candy isn't too expensive, so I'm not worried. I'm excited. I also need to fulfill the Lost Kingdom culling but it's such a big deal that it will probably take me a full night or two in order to complete it. So, it's best if I get prepared for any incoming armies beforehand. The culling will probably help us gain new suitable allies to fend off against incoming armies, but we already know that my Clansmen are suitable so long as it's a battle taking place during the night. All they need is more Candy.
Now that I've returned to the Wailing Keep, I'm currently creating new clothes by the fire. Only some of the Bandsmen are currently jamming by the fire, so I guess that they're probably taking turns with the Scaraoke machine and practice jamming out here during their spare time. While making my clothes, I'm also currently eating some Fish and talking with the gang. I decided to ask Milton and Rei about their lives, as there's still a lot which I don't know about them.
Rei was raised by her mother in Reygid, her father had died in a war when she was at a young age. Rei was bullied by some of the other kids as she was growing up, and so she trained hard to become a first rate adventurer. Her father was originally a first rate adventurer who sometimes was enlisted in the Beastkin army. He had a close friendship with Roy Vellisroi, Cetilla's father. They gained their friendship through winning time and time again together on the battlefield. Due to this, she would often get to meet with Cetilla as a child and the two had become friends. Cetilla was younger than Rei, and so Rei saw Cetilla as something similar to a younger sister. When she had grown up, she went on countless subjugation and escort quests with a couple different parties. Rei's father also happened to be a Knuckle Master, so Rei simply took up his mantle and now wears what he left behind. Her silver Knuckles had belonged to her father.
A few years after having become an adventurer, Cetilla followed suit and so the two decided to join the same parties for a while. That went on until Rei got addicted to gambling in Reygid, at which point their party went on less and less quests until all of a sudden... Cetilla vanished. Rei thought that Cetilla took on some serious quest without her, but later found out that Cetilla had actually been lazing around in this here Goblin Village. I had almost forgotten that Rei had a gambling addiction before I met her. It really hasn't come up, but I guess we kind of just clawwed her away from that life and threw her out into the boonies. It's been solved.
Milton on the other hand, had been raised as an orphan by the orphanage of Reygid. He does not know who his parents had been. At the young age of a kitten, he was left at the doorstep of the orphanage without any explanation given. After he had reached the age of 16, he left the orphanage; picked up a large stick and began to live off of the Fish in the nearby River. This is how he became a Spearman, and eventually made enough from his plunders to afford him his current Harpoon. Thinking about it, I decided to ask around how everyone had attained their name; so that I might obtain one myself.
Apparently, Milton and Rei's names are unofficial. Vana and Cetilla are the only ones among us who have genuine names. In order to be named, you must be recognized by a Tier 8 monster or must have achieved becoming a Tier 8 monster yourself. Otherwise, you may attain a temporary name by your master if your master performs the naming ritual. Wondering about the naming ritual, apparently you only need parchment. Then, you write the intended name on the parchment using the blood of the master. The final step is for the master to place the parchment onto the servant, at which point the parchment will apparently erupt into flames and disappear. There are two catches. The master can only give names if he or she themself has already received a valid and permanent name. Also, a master is only deemed a master if their servants are bound to them by magic. Technically, my Clansmen are bound to me by magic, so I'm a plausible master. Be that as it may, I still need a name before I can go about naming my Clansmen. Geez. Thinking along those lines, I asked around if I had a Tier.
The answer is that I do indeed have a Tier. I'm currently a Tier 5 monster. That fact itself is a shocking blow to me who has only knowingly Evolved three times. Also, I'm one terribly powerful Tier 5 monster. I must raise my evaluation of the Halloween Cat race. We're far too high spec, even without genuine combat abilities. Rather than just Crowli, the Halloween Cat race might also be a catastrophe type monster. If I produce an heir, I should make the conscious decision to leave it at just one. Sorry, potential unborn son or daughter who may or may not desire a sibling. Actually, if my heir is only a halfblood Halloween Cat... They might not receive the same amount of power that I have even if my abilities manage to be successfully passed down. I'm a purrblood, so my growth rate might just be optimal.
After having my little chat with the gang, I remembered that I wanted to get to bed early tonight on account of the Candy man. After telling a Crow to wake me before Dawn, I headed off to the Treasure Room. Stripping down and hopping into my wonderfully comfortable bed, I slowly dozed off.