NNNN~ I'm awake. I don't feel amazing though. The festival was fun at least. I had a good time. Ugh... I just wish I didn't feel like this after. Getting up, I slowly got dressed before making my way through the Throne Room and into the Foyeur. My nightly routine. Looking both ways, the Kitchen looks empty, but I also don't smell Fish. Checking around, it would appear that I'm the first awake or the last awake by far. Looking outside, it seems as though it's the latter. I missed breakfast. Everyone else seems to have returned the original fireplace back outside after the festival. Huh. Thank you. While I was checking out the fireplace's reappearance, I came across Miu who thanked me for our hospitality before bidding me farewell. She had classes to get back to in the Forest of Witches. I wished her a safe journey back home, and asked Conrad the Crowli to ensure that she survived the way back. His response? He's carrying her the entire way as fast as he possibly can. He'll probably be finished in under half an hour if it's like this. The dude has a staggering 640 AGI and has no cost for flight in his current state.
After returning to the Kitchen and preparing my Fish, I began to make my way outside. I'm skipping the meet and feast this evening. I have to get back on track of Fishing. We need more food. Riding my Broom as I ate, I traveled to the waterfall. Cancelling my Hallowed Gate and replacing it with a new one near the foot of the waterfall, I called on (Tier 2 Bats) Vivian and Edward to watch over it. After instructing them to let me know if any Meglacommon or non Fish monsters enter the gate or begin to attack it, I thanked them and took my leave. I think I should have Fishing duty be on a rotational shift between my lesser Clansmen. It's a good way for them to contribute on account of their low haki not being disruptive to Fish. We really only need a scout or two for this task, considering that the Hallowed Gate is considerably sturdy; especially if it has the time to regenerate MP. This is going to be an all night task until Milton feels that he has fully recovered.
I don't want him facing the trauma of potentially another Meglacommon arriving. Honestly, he didn't even need to try and hold it off long enough for us to arrive. We probably would have arrived on time with just Crowli's efforts. I appreciate the gesture, but he really should learn his limits. There's no need to push it. I was thinking such things as I rode away, back towards the Wailing Keep through the Gate. I should probably give the Hallowed Gate time to heal, but I also need to produce a suitable shipment for Clive. My next shipment is coming up in three days. I really haven't prepared for it. It should be my highest priority if I hope to continue suckling a weekly 12 Gold Coins from Reygid.
Over the last two times that I sent products, I was sending an upwards of level 14 pieces. They sold fine, but they're pretty expensive to make especially because I was originally aiming for level 20 pieces and those were truly just duds. The last time in particular, I made a whopping amount of income from level 10 pieces simply due to how many of them I was able to produce the time before. I took a break for a bit from level 20 pieces and aimed for level 5 and level 10 pieces for awhile in order to bolster the shipment. I think I should try that again. I likely earned all of those sales from the general public or low rate adventurers. They need clothes just as much as nobles do, and there are way more of them to clothe. It's like that. It's great to earn profit from nobles, but there just aren't enough of them for me to gain consistent profit without improving the quality of my wares. I who has not leveled up and increased the quality of my MP supply simply can't keep up. I'll put an emphasis on level 5 and 10 clothes again, to make the nobles wait a little bit longer. The last time I sent a new shipment of product, I sent the best quality that I felt comfortable with giving them. I didn't put any focus into commoners like how I did the time before. The upcoming shipment is simply going to be intended to bolster the lessened supply of low grade products. Yosh!
I would spend Candy to increase my shipment's size, but I don't really feel that safe with spending any right now seeing as how I'm still waiting on the Candy Man's shipment. I have more Candy than ever before, but I don't currently have funds to spare on getting more to replace it all. I actually have 2 Gold Coins left, and some Silver; but I wanted to save them for the Lumbermill's commission. If an army walks through, I could very well spend half or more of my Candy. If it's a catastrophe monster, I might even spend all of it and still die. I can't risk it right now. The new Monster Knights will surely be helpful, but they aren't invincible like my Clansmen are so long as there's ample Candy to spare. I can't let them go up against an enemy like that. It's way too reckless.
An army is one thing, because if they get injured; we can try and swap them out. But if it's a walking nightmare, it just can't be helped. They wouldn't be of any use in that scenario. They would be of more use to just run away, survive, live on and not feed the monster in the event that they die. I was thinking such things as I made my way to the Throne Room and began to create clothes while aiming for level 10. I was able to immediately create 24 pieces. I say immediately, but it really took me around a minute. It's a start. Making my way to the fireplace, I began to locate each of my Cat Crew(wo)men. Locating Rei, Cetilla, and Milton was simple. They were all together at the fire. Goblin Funk however, was another story. I couldn't find him. Nowhere.
I spent half an hour. I searched every single room of the Wailing Keep. He's not here. This is beyond troublesome, as he is directly involved with what I needed to mention to the four of them. Getting fed up, I decided to initiate a Goblin Hunt. Yep. Everyone is competing in a search for Goblin Funk. The rules? You have 30 minutes to find Goblin Funk before the others. If everyone fails, it's regular old, NOT Goblin Hooch for the next festival. If someone wins, that individual gains exclusive rights to one of the Goldfish in the fridge. They're kind of rare, so it's a treat to have a chance at eating one all to yourself. We usually slice them up.
The Wailing Keep residents were considerably determined, but none of my Clansmen could have cared less. I suppose the win and loss conditions were both irrelevant to them... Huh. After a brief 15 minutes, Budget Dragon returned with Goblin Funk claiming to have been at the Lake. According to them, there's a mysterious monster currently there. Interesting... I'm all in. Lets go! Taking off with the two and neglecting to inform the others that he had been found, we raced to the Lake. I say we, but Goblin Funk was riding on my Broom so it's genuinely just Budget Dragon and I racing. I don't have a lot of MP on me right now, so I'm actually kind of trying.
Arriving at the Beach only took us a few minutes. On arrival, I was met with the familiar scene of the beautiful Lake. Nice and unsettled Delhn Sand whipping around from the wind, some trees hanging over the sand here and there with leaves and branches violently rustling in the wind… Waters appears to be anything but calm… Strange ominous tornado spinning above water… Hang on a second! This isn't my Lake! What's going on here?! What is this absurd weather that we're having all of a sudden?!
Upon further inspection, I found it. It's currently floating above the Lake… Actually, it's floating above the strange tornado currently spinning above the water. I say strange, because it's a rather thin tornado, and it doesn't look like regular wind. It's like… Blue and stuff. It appears to be a ghost of some sort. I don't know. It just appears like it's a body made up of blue wind or something. It's glowing slightly, so I can get a somewhat clear depiction of it… It looks like a female, somewhat older... Definitely humanoid? She's probably not alive if she's Human, but she's certainly got some kind of affinity for wind. Looking closely, i think that the wind is actually being sucked up by her, but it's also definitely her ability. It's like a sucking ability.
Oh geez... After moving closer to get a better look, she's currently attacking the lochness monster. The lochness monster is violently reaching out its mouth tentacles to snatch away at her, but she's out of reach. I think that the lochness monster was seriously just outplayed by this Wind Elemental. I wonder if Cetilla could have managed against the lochness monster… Nevertheless, I can't just let this woman kill that thing. That thing is way too high class to be allowed to go off and die to anyone but me. I called dibs on that experience! I also wanted Goddin Village Neith Sama to take part in that battle as a potential way to help him regain the ability to procreate. Mam~ You must stop this nonsense at once. This matters!
"Crowli! Represent the Halloween Clan to the best of your abilities and stop that woman from slaying the lochness monster!" [Nero] proclaimed while raising his Lantern high.
Moments later, a familiar orange glowing flame emit from my Lantern and launched forward at the Wind Elemental. As the flames dispersed, a Crowli appeared before the woman and began to swipe his claws at it. It didn't appear very effective, as the Wind Elemental continued to ignore Crowli without letting up its attack against the lochness monster... So, Crowli immediately swapped out his method of attack to the [Flock Storm]. Raising his arm forward, a flock of Crows began to endlessly appear from beneath his wings. Barraging the woman with the Crows also appeared somewhat ineffective. Yikes. I think I need Magic to face this woman. Fine! Have it your way!
Soaring above her on my Broom, I unleashed a [Pumpkin Bomb] worth 80 MP. The result? It exploded from her wind but dissipated into the air. Dang. I suppose that was to be expected, but I was hoping that Pumpkin Bomb might actually be useful… It's really the best magic attack at my disposal. Cetilla might be able to handle this… Oh? This lady… She's a Clansmen Candidate. I didn't notice the small grey icon floating on her before because she's a freaking stack of slightly blue wind. I suppose it's fine considering we failed at being capable of killing her, but I wonder what she is~
"My name is Nero, the one True Halloween Cat. I lead the Halloween Clan, and would like for you to become one of my Clansmen and represent Halloween! I offer you a home, food, and friends to spend your days with… In exchange, I request that you serve me until the day that I die! [Clansmen Capture]!" [Nero] beckoned before raising his Lantern and casting the spell.
A moment later, that good ol' orange light came from my Lantern and engulfed the lost monster. Roughly a minute and a half later, the light finally dissipated and I had gained a new Clansmen. I suppose that it was a tough decision. Sorry. I guess that I should have tried harder to convince you. I didn't even bother reading about the success rate. Whatever~ What's done is done. She is an eye catching Tier 4 Banshee. It's impressive to learn that a Tier 4 Banshee can stop a catastrophe monster if the situation is optimal. Checking over her status~
Name: Unnamed Monster
Race: Banshee (Halloween)
Class: Wraith
Tier: 4
MP: 218/480
P. DEF: 64
M. DEF: 8
STR: 16
INT: 192
DEX: 48
LUK: 32
AGI: 64
Titles:
[Wraith], [Sea Stalker], [Halloween Clansmen]
Abilities Learned:
[Soul Siphon], [Wind Manipulation], [Gale Caller], [Return to Halloween]
Huh. It seems as though she wasn't that hungry. [Soul Siphon] is likely the cause for that. Similar to Bats, it would appear as though our little Wraith has the capability of regenerating her own MP without Candy. I say that because even after capturing her, she continued on her own with slaying the lochness monster. Was she just here for a snack, after all? Snacking on the lochness monster? She's a pretty tough monster as far as I'm concerned when it comes to being at Tier 4. She has some interesting abilities as well. She's absolutely not suitable for facing magic attacks though... Aside from maybe Fire Elemental ones...
[Gale Caller] is probably what was causing the nearby area to display such strange weather, though I don't really know how feasible that would be for actual combat… On second thought, it might have been helping her with using [Wind Manipulation]. Causing more wind to appear, she gave herself more wind to manipulate. It's like that. I think she's using [Wind Manipulation] to create her strange tornado vacuums in tandem with [Soul Siphon] to speed up the rate at which she can gain MP. It might also cause some additional damage though, but I have no idea. She's really well versed for her one strategy of attack. I'm impressed. She could easily take on anyone who lacks flight and/or magic with these abilities. She might not be able to take on more than one opponent at a time though. She doesn't appear to be nearly as destructive as she is effective.
Well, I sat around on my Broom as I waited for her to finish healing herself. At that point, I asked that she please stop. Thankfully, she did. If we're going to slay that thing, we need to do it right. That thing is the largest living payday in this Kingdom. I don't know when I'll find another monster like that which is worth waiting around for a chance to kill. One of my largest reasons for setting up shop in this Kingdom has been due to that thing. I wanted to keep a close eye on it. I can't afford that thing dying to anyone else. I also wanted to spend my time obtaining proper companions who could help me stay alive during the day, proper funds for my adventure, and knowledge of where I should probably be heading on that very adventure. I eventually caught feelings and decided to help the Goblin Village in my spare time while devising methods to handle those issues, but still! This thing can't be forgotten about so easily. This thing is one of a kind. I won't get very many other opportunities like this to skyrocket in levels.
The lochness monster is constricted to the Lake. It's immensely powerful, and it's stuck in one place. There couldn't be a better goal to reach than slaying it and skyrocketing in experience points. It's like the cheat of all cheats, bro! If I save it for all of the Monster Knights to help me slay it at the same time, then I can effectively ensure that the future of this Village that I caught feelings for will be absolutely fine. It's like the limited time event raid boss that only one party gets to slay. There won't be another one of these things propping up out of that Lake for several hundred years, and even then... It might not even happen. I really don't know just what that thing Evolved from. It's impossible to say. It could have been an Octopus, but there are definitely no Octopi in that Lake in this day and age. OR, it might have been the greatest Meglacommon of all time for all I know. It has a ridiculously large eye, but only one... So maybe it's a freaking water type One Eyed Lizard catastrophe. Truly, a terrifying existence.
Once upon a time, Goddin Village Neith Sama told me that the Mer retreated into the Lake. They haven't been seen or heard from ever since. That was 300 years ago. You want to know what I think? I think that lochness monster ate all the Mer and they're dead. That's it. That's my rational hypothesis. Be that as it may, I also have one other theory. It's stretching, but it's something that's been aching at me for awhile now. What if the lochness monster is the Mer's chosen guardian to the Lake? What if that… Thing is simply guarding a path to where the Mer live? I don't understand what the Mer would be living off of though. If they were submerged in water, I guess they could be eating seaweed of some kind. Be that as it may, seaweed can't possibly be sustaining a very large number of Mer. There's a chance that if the already far stretching theory is true, that there are very few Mer even alive. They might have Devolved immensely due to starvation as well.
With things as they are, having the potentially alleged guardian blocking entry… All of the Fish being sent from the Fae Queen are either being consumed by us or by the guardian. There's no wiggle room for Mer. None. I just don't see how it could possibly have worked out. I was thinking such things as I returned to the Goblin Village with Goblin Funk and Budget Dragon who had been awaiting us at the Beach. After we arrived and I remembered about the Goblin Hunt, I apologized to everyone who returned after the time limit and was confused about what happened. Sorry~ Grabbing Cetilla, Milton, and Rei aside to talk with them and Goblin Funk; I began to explain the topic that was previously at paw.
"So, my next shipment with Clive in Reygid is coming up in a few days. I need to know who's willing to help me lead carriages for it. You're still kind of injured... Do you think that you're ready to take on that hurdle, or would you prefer if Goblin Funk or Cetilla stepped in for you?" [Nero] asked Milton before looking at each of the other two.
"Uh~ No! He can't be off doing stuff like that yet!" [Vana] rammed into the conversation from across the fireplace.
"I can come along and take Milton's place?" [Goblin Funk] offered.
"..." [Rei] glared at Cetilla with a smile.
"I want to spend time with my family, though…" [Cetilla] said while looking down.
"Hey! Wait a second! You promised that you would handle leading the carriage this time if you lost the game! I actually want to go see my mother too, you know!" [Rei] barked. To which, Cetilla averted eye contact.
"...I should be fine." [Milton] slowly accepted the task.
"No! It's Cetilla's job this time! It was agreed upon and it's settled!" [Rei] jumped in.
"Why should I need to if he's offering?" [Cetilla] laughed.
"Because he's injured!" [Vana] clamored.
"It would be appreciated." [Nero] chimed in with a smile.
"Wait… I want to go, though." [Milton] declared.
"Well, if so… Then we'll have Cetilla around just in the event that you decide you need to take a break from riding in the carriage. Okay?" [Nero] replied.
"...Okay." [Milton] accepted the proposal. To which, Cetilla audibly sighed.
And with that, it was decided who would be accompanying me during the upcoming shipment. We can now slay the lochness monster, but I don't really know how much time it's going to take. I have a feeling that the Banshee might spend several nights trying to widdle that thing down to a point optimal for us all to land a hit on it. I hope that's how the experience system works in this game like world, anyways. It would be a shame if I ended up with a vast majority of the experience, but I honestly couldn't complain. My Clansmen don't get stronger as I do, I essentially steal all of their experience, so it can't be used in the future to wreak havoc after I die. I have no idea if I actually am able to convert it all into my own though. Some of it might be lost somewhere in the equation, exactly like my many other terribly inefficient abilities. I have several abilities with functions that appear to give away unexplainable amounts of MP, while I also have several abilities with functions that appear to draw in unexplainable amounts of MP.
[Disguise] is a prime example. I can spend an infinite amount of MP and still potentially end up with a level 1 piece of clothes to show for it. It's ridiculous. [Soul Merge] is a particularly dangerous example. I can combine three monsters to get a stronger equivalent to just two of the combined monsters. As I earlier learned, [Pumpkin Bomb] can also be a somewhat similar example, but then again... maybe all types of Magic attacks can be. I cast a Pumpkin filled with fire worth 80 MP and watched as it fiddled away into sheer nothingness due to a heavy gust of wind. We can also talk about the [Wailing Keep] if we're getting into the semantics.
That bad boy required that I be capable of easily withholding at least 100 MP from myself. When that point of MP reaches a certain point, the [Wailing Keep] learns how to protect itself better. That doesn't seem so bad, all things considering... Until you look a little bit closer into the details. It requires an additional 400 MP being locked away before it even gains the ability to try. It isn't clear just what the additional up to 400 MP is being used to accomplish in the meantime as it is continuously being locked away. It's not like the [Wailing Keep] slowly got stronger as more MP was being dedicated to it, yet it continued to request more.
As far as I can tell, the [Wailing Keep] does not actually use the MP that it requests of me. But am I sure? Not at all! I am capable of regenerating my MP more often than most. If my MP is full, my Clansmen gain the exclusive right to slowly borrow my ability to regenerate MP. It gets split evenly between them, but I can choose who to prioritize if I'm conscious. The [Wailing Keep] is incapable of being cast for an entire 24 hours after being cancelled. That's a whole lot of time to spend preparing to be summoned again. Why does it need 24 hours to prepare itself if I'm constantly allotting it my own MP while it doesn't even use them? It doesn't make sense. I summon it quite literally for free presumably by drawing on the power of night, it accepts my MP and then does nothing with them. All it asked was that I possessed at least a certain amount of MP. I don't think that it actually requires my MP at all. I think that the [Wailing Keep] has plenty of MP to spare whenever it desires. Perhaps, he only accepts the payment of MP that I lock down for him in the event that he is cancelled; and then later uses that MP to feed himself? What if the [Wailing Keep] slowly steals a piece of MP from me in the event that none of my other Clansmen are injured, and keeps it for himself? It's not entirely impossible.
There's something strange about the [Hallowed Gate] as well. It works in tandem with the [Wailing Keep]. It's unexplainable. Every single time that I summon a [Hallowed Gate], Wailing Keep Sama decides to match me and summon an exact replica of my [Hallowed Gate] if he is already being summoned. Where does that extra power come from? The very first time that I ventured into my Halloween Town via [Hallowed Gate], the duplicate gate did not exist. It's not something that I'm doing. I'm not spending any additional MP in order to accomplish the double [Hallowed Gate] which hosts the exact same amount of MP and resistances of the original. It's not even just a replica. It's like the Wailing Keep is projecting the exact same [Hallowed Gate] within a second location. They regenerate MP at the same rate. It's one gate, yet it's here and it's also there. I can literally watch their status as if they're two separate monsters, but they're of the same tier and have the exact same stats. If I choose to, I can spend up to 1000 MP immediately while summoning a [Hallowed Gate]. Technically, since the [Wailing Keep] is locking off my MP, the max I can summon one with is 976 MP. If I summon that bad boy, and the Wailing Keep matches me... Then even if the Wailing Keep only needed to match the MP and ignored resistances, which it does not... That's already breaking far past his limit of the 244 MP that he is stealing from me constantly. Something's not right here. The [Wailing Keep] must be drawing on its own power. It must already be considerably powerful, and it must be gaining power from me at least somehow. I believe that it's either theft, or it's making use of my other inexplicable abilities which seemingly throw away power and do nothing with it.
I don't even want to get started with [Enhanced Meditation] and [Recovery by Sleep]. They're both extremely helpful, and potentially also extremely detrimental to my lifespan considering Cetilla's analysis. They're probably both killing me constantly. They're like the worst form of addiction, because I can't stop it. I literally can't. Just try and stay standing for the rest of your life without sleep. It probably won't work. It especially won't work for I who relies on a Broom everywhere I go. It was all my choice to pick these abilities, but I feel like elements and additional details related to the abilities should have been displayed in the info tab when I reincarnated. The ability sounds great from a distance, until you learn that it's god damned time magic. Some might say, oh that's fine; pick an immortal race. It's too late. It's far too late. Who's to say that an immortal race can even learn time magic? Maybe it's a proficiency dependent on you having something to lose. I don't know my lifespan as a Halloween Cat, but I know that I lack an [Immortal] title or ability. I have a hard time believing that I would gain a [Fish Mongerer] title for enjoying to slay tons of fish but not an [Immortal] title for being immortal. I casually grant limited immortality to all of my Clansmen so long as I survive, so I guess that me being incapable of attaining immortality might even be the price to pay.
I was thinking such things as I returned to the Throne Room and began creating new clothes while aiming for level 10. I was able to fully regenerate my MP while having an inner tangent by the fire, but I'm still not tired yet. I guess that I'll just spend the rest of my night doing this. I have high hopes for the Banshee's fateful encounter with the lochness monster, but I think the battle will take too long. Thinking along those lines, I decided to ask the Banshee just where she had originated. If we can find more and merge them, then maybe the battle won't take nearly as long? It's worth a shot. I haven't come across a new Clansmen Candidate in a long time. There might just be others of her kind~
"Hello~ If you wouldn't be too troubled, I was wondering about your past." [Nero] asked the Banshee.
"My past? I had come from the Forsaken Isles." [Banshee]
"Where is that?" [Nero] asked while tilting his head.
"...I might be able to show you a general direction? I had roamed the Ocean for a considerable amount of time before coming across these lands. I don't recall the exact path." [Banshee] admits while looking somewhat troubled.
"Well, what can you say about the Forsaken Isles then?" [Nero] asked.
"The Forsaken Isles? It was a horrid place, with barely anything to eat." [Banshee] exclaimed bluntly.
"...Can you go a bit more in depth?" [Nero] replied flatly. To which, the Banshee began to sigh before stepping off into a tangent.
"Once upon a time, there were 6 Islands very close together, but all quite small… On one Isle, there was a Habour Town inhabited by Humans. I was among them. The Habour Town thrived on trade and commerce with other Islands, but was unsustainable by itself. On the other Isles, there were large Potamon Crabs, Birds of many kinds, and even Fairies. The Harbour Town citizens loved their neighbouring races, and rarely ever had any problems with them. A time came when the ships stopped coming... The Villagers either fled the Isles in search of Food or they prayed and later died of starvation, unwilling to hunt their neighbouring races." [Banshee] explained before taking a long pause.
"...Time slipped on and on, as we who stayed went unburned or buried until a Lich came along and rose all of our corpses from the ground, creating starving Banshees, Skeletons, and Phantasms. The Skeletons chose to hunt the Crabs, the Banshees chose to hunt the Birds, and the Phantasms chose to hunt the Fairies. It went on for a while, until the Birds and Fairies fled or died off, leaving only the Crabs and ourselves. I realized that it wouldn't work out, so I fled and survived off of monsters inhabiting the Ocean until I had finally stumbled upon this land..." [Banshee] concluded while appearing to be in deep thought.
Woah. Hold on. This sounds serious. This is intense. A freaking LICH?! How many Tiers might one require before they attain the status of Lich?! I can save the Banshees and get them off the Islands, potentially helping their food shortage issues; but the way I see it… Those Islands are hopeless. The Fairies, Crabs and Birds probably had a very small and untouchable ecosystem. Highly susceptible to change. They just all went loose on that ecosystem, and it's now gone forever. It's the Lich's fault, but they all did it.
They could have also chosen to devour each other, but they decided to take it out on the critters for a change. Letting the critters live didn't work for them in life, so they're trying it a different way in death. I get it. It makes sense. Even so, why didn't they just leave the Islands when they learned how to fly? No one forced the Banshees to stay there after solving their hunger issue the first time. They chose to stay and continue devouring their neighboring races. Asking that, I learned that apparently all of the Banshees are female. The Phantasms are essentially the male equivalent. It's literally the same race of monster, but for whatever reason; females are dubbed Banshees while males are dubbed Phantasms. I suppose it's similar to dubbing female Goblins as Goblinas. It's just all too complex for no particularly obvious reason, is all. So when it all started, they particularly didn't want to fight each other considering that they're essentially the same race, and because they lived among each other in life. The Skeletons are a slightly different story, but also quite connected.
Each Skeleton possesses a portion to the soul which originally made up the living Human. It's a considerably smaller portion than what was taken to manifest the Banshees or Phantasms. Essentially, the Lich split the lingering souls of each fallen individual; making up two monsters for the price of one soul. It's pretty innovative stuff, but it only worked because the souls had been lingering around for so long. The longer that a soul stays tethered to the world without being burned, buried, or eaten, the more powerful it becomes. That was the only reason why the Lich was even capable of claiming the BOGO deal.
Huh. Thanking the Banshee for mansplaining it to me, she returned to Halloween due to dawn's arrival. She had actually ended up staying out past dawn in order to finish her explanation, so this information ended up costing me some MP. Thankfully, I made sure to cast [Daily Candy] when dawn actually started. Every time that it switches from night to day, my lantern flashes before switching colors. The same thing goes for Conrad the Crowli's eyes, and Mr Scarecrow for that matter. I added more clothes to the pile one last time and closed my Hallowed Gate before reopening it within the Throne Room. It was only 6 pieces, but it was something. After heading to the Treasure Room and getting undressed, securing my stockings under the pillow, I began to nod off.