《Diaries of Nero the Halloween Cat》Chapter 21 - Night 22
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Good morning. I feel like I got a decent sleep. We've gotten a decent bit of Fish however we're also consuming more than twice the number of daily Fish compared to before I met Cetilla. I should probably go Fishing again tonight. I have four buckets of Candy at the moment. My meeting with Rudou is in 9 Nights including this one, and my meeting with Clive is in 5 Nights including this one. I haven't had a chance to help improve our intelligence network, but I'm hoping that the Harpies which now have more time on their claws might just lend aide and fill in.
We may not be the Monster Knights, but we still have a considerable number of high Tier Monsters. 2 Tier 1 Scarecrows, 1 Tier 1 Bat, 2 Tier 2 Scarecrows, 2 Tier 2 Bats, 1 Tier 2 Crow, a few dozen Tier 2 Goblins, 1 Tier 3 Crow, 3 Tier 3 Goblins, 1 Tier 4 Werewolf, 1 Tier 4 Drake, 2 Tier 5 Scarecrows, 1 Tier 5 Bat, 1 Tier 5 One-Eyed Lizard, 1 Tier 6 Weeping Angel, 1 Tier 6 Crowli, and a Sorceress Cat. Among us, I think I'm going to start considering the Tier 3 and above monsters to be Monster Knights. Anyone below Tier 3 is now officially a common monster in my mind. Common monsters may go ahead and gather intelligence, while Monster Knights stay ready for any issues that may arise.
With this new set of ideology, we have 8 Clansmen in the common monster rank, with an additional few dozen tier 2 Goblins scattered amidst the Goblin Village. In the Monster Knight rank, we have 7 Clansmen and the additional 3 Goblins, Drake and One-Eyed Lizard-making up a total of 12 Monster Knights roughly 30~40 common monster scouts. 13 Monster Knights if you include me, but I lack a Tier so it's hard to say exactly where I place. If you were to try and guess my Tier based on my stats alone ignoring P./M. DEF because that all comes from my clothing, then you could probably assume that I'm a stupidly strong Tier 5 or less than subpar Tier 6 monster. I guess that makes me one of the self proclaimed 13 Monster Knights, after all. Moreover, aren't I actually a somewhat strong monster? If I'm a stupidly strong Tier 5 Monster, then I'm probably our third strongest monster losing only to Crowli and Weeping Angel.
It can't be helped. Crowli is no doubt a catastrophe monster in the making. Weeping Angel has higher INT than mine, and her MP is also higher but she isn't very balanced otherwise in terms of stats. She has great M. DEF and decent P. DEF as well. Those are her only strong suits though. If you think about it, you could also count in the Harpy Matriarch as one of the Monster Knights. There may even be other Tier 3 Harpies. While saying that, they probably won't be of that much help unless we have a serious issue and a lot of time to deal with it, enabling us a chance to go fetch them from their Chasm to help us. This Village is now many times more safe than it was when I first arrived. Yay~
Honestly I don't really understand it, but even with their size... The Tier 4 Drake and Tier 5 One-Eyed Lizard don't seem to be eating a gluttonous supply of Fish. Are the Fish from the Forest of Fae enchanted to enable additional FP given for eating them? It would make sense if you consider how the lochness monster is thriving off of these Fish. If the Fae Queen is casually enchanting food to be better, and the Forest of Witches are casually creating Halloween Clansmen out of MP then I need to raise my evaluation on magic entirely. None of it really seems to make sense. How do you just give birth to a brand new monster? Moreover, how do you make Fish better?! Where is all this energy coming from?!
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My own magical ability's power source is apparently the night itself. That's the only way I can theorize it, a theory given to me by the coincidences of my eyes changing color and my capabilities to still have my Clansmen fight within Halloween even if it's currently day out here. But where do they get their bottomless pits of power from? My power may be outrageous, but I can only use it half the time. I have a nerf. Where is their nerf? That waterfall spits out Fish incessantly! There is no downtime! At least the Witches only seem to be creating monsters once or twice a year, so they probably have some kind of limitation in place. Where is the limitation on the Fae Queen? There must be something!
While returning my mind to my current surroundings, my Clansmen are performing a beautiful song. The Tier 5 Bat seems to have joined the band, and is shrieking at a fixed interval. This Halloween themed ensemble is truly getting quite unique in terms of sound in song. White Wolf Lady also howls at a much longer fixed interval and returns to human form to continue her conversation with the crew regularly. Do Halloween monsters inherently have a desire to perform music? Wait... It might be that they simply have a desire to perform in general. Thinking back to the mock battle between White Wolf Lady and Mr Scarecrow in the Village while I theatrically recounted the events of the story involving their fight at the bandit camp; those two went all out. The Crows also had a chance to shine in that mock battle, and did as well. I wonder if Crowli will ever join the band? Does he currently lack the abilities to do so?
It's frightening to think that for Crowli to attain happiness and join the band, he needs to get even more powerful. He's already freaking immense! Actually, the lesser Crows sometimes caw during the song; so they might be participating. Does this mean that after Evolution, Crowli lost his chance to perform? I might not be in the band, but I also find myself getting carried away in the heat of the moment when making announcements or striking up deals. Is this as an effect of being a Halloween monster? We all got an inherent flare for dramatics? Ugh. The more I think about it, the more evil of a cult we seem. I swear we're just here to make good music and massacre Fish!
After coming to the conclusion that I need more Fish to feed everyone, I decided to have another Fishing night. Yosh! Everyone has the night off! Enjoy! I've come to another conclusion which is that the lochness monster is eating too much. It will probably Evolve if I dont starve it out at least a little bit. So, I won't even bother going to a new River yet. There's no need! After arriving at the waterfall, I began to wait for Fish to fall. I call it the Fish Fall Minigame! Common Fish are one point, Grey and Yellow Fish are 3 points, Pink Fish are 5 points, and Giant Goldfish are 10 points. Round 1: Start!
After about 6 hours of Fish Fall Minigame, something unexpected happened. A very, very, VERY large Fish fell from the waterfall. It's literally the size of Mr Scarecrow. It's not as big as the lochness monster, but it's massive for a Fish. It literally looks like a giant size version of the Common Fish and I'm calling it Meglacommon. 100 points. Yosh! Sorry Crowli! It turns out, I actually need you tonight. Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to call you in tonight, but it turns out that there's this super long fax that just got sent over and we need someone to file it stat!
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Crowli dejectedly appeared a solid minute after I called upon him, as I was slightly freaking out due to [Claw Fishing+1]'s repeated failures at breaking skin AND the fact that Meglacommon is currently travelling at an alarming rate through the River towards the Lake. I say that, but half of the Meglacommon body is currently exposed to the air and it looks strange to see it swim as if nothing is wrong. Hey! We can't lose this guy! Where were you?!
After appearing, Crowli used [Aerial Dive+2] in tandem with [Sharpened Claws+1] to slash at the Meglacommon. It broke skin, but it wasn't enough to stop the Meglacommon's pursuit for death via lochness monster. Seemingly noticed my nervousness, Crowli cast what I'm assuming to be [Flock Storm] on the Meglacommon. I say that because Crowli simply raised one of his wings and from beneath it, a huge storm of Crows appeared and ravaged the Meglacommon. It's almost like Crowli can summon the Crows which it used to Evolve, but the Crows summoned disintegrate after each scratch given. The result is a seemingly endless rain of scratches being unleashed upon the Meglacommon. Crowli's MP is deteriorating rapidly, and the damage doesn't seem to be enough to actually stop the Meglacommon so I guess this wont work. I didn't bring Candy with me, so I need to call on my other Clansmen in order to stop this guy.
"I call on you, my Clansmen! I need you all to put an end to this Meglacommon before it reaches the Lake! Show me your strength and vanquish the foe!" [Nero] begged while raising his Lantern high in the sky.
Moments later, a large mass of orange glowing light emitted from my Lantern and pursued the Meglacommon before fading... Leaving a crowd of Clansmen surrounding it. In the River ahead of the Meglacommon stands the Weeping Angel with the two Large Scarecrows standing on each side of it. Above the Weeping Angel are my Crows and Bats. Behind the Meglacommon are White Wolf Lady and the weaker Scarecrows. Above the Meglacommon is Crowli, still unleashing a constant rain of Crows upon it.
Understanding the situation, Meglacommon attempts to charge through the Weeping Angel and the larger Scarecrows. The Weeping Angel takes a massive amount of Damage, leaving cracks in her stone. The two Scarecrows avoid the attack, and begin thrashing at the Weeping Angel. After having taken the attack, Weeping Angel used what I presume to be [Weeping Scream] in tandem with [Pebble Storm]. The result was a shock wave being let out by the Scream but I don't know what it did. While that happened, all of the nearby rocks in the River rose up and began flailing around the Meglacommon. I guess it's a similar attack to [Flock Storm], but it makes use of the nearby environment and each rock doesn't just seemingly break after one use. It's probably way more efficient on MP.
I decided to figure out what [Weeping Scream] does, and it effectively causes nearby enemies to bleed more for any attack that they receive. It's highly effective when used in tandem with the two Storm type abilities. The Tier 5 Bat used [Paralyzing Shriek] and immediately after, the Meglacommon ceased to move. After that, it bit the Meglacommon and began recovering MP. It's probably the effect of [Leech Bite]. After around a minute [Flock Storm] ended and Crowli returned to Halloween. And, the effects of [Paralyzing Shriek] seem to have ended. Thankfully, it also seems that we've done considerable damage to the Meglacommon. It's not moving much, even if it can now move. Instead, it is writhing in pain.
Happily, I jumped down from my Broom and began to use [Claw Fishing+1] and join the parade of my Clansmen laying waste to the giant Fish. Another 20 seconds passed, and the Meglacommon perished. With it, I finally reached level 24 and unlocked my [Wailing Keep]! I say that, but I actually reached level 28. This Fish was way too high spec. There's no doubt left in my mind. The Fae Queen must have noticed what I was doing and sent this to try and force the food into the mouth of the Lake. Whether it were intended for the Mer or for the lochness monster, I have no idea. Regardless, it's my Fish now and I'm going to throw a festival with it. Yosh. I need a bath. Having my Clansmen carry the Meglacommon, I returned to the Village while checking out 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: 28
HP: 140/140
MP: 571/580(+20)
SP: 72/100
FP: 94/100
P. DEF: 88
M. DEF: 106
STR: 112
INT: 290(+10)
DEX: 84
LUK: 28
AGI: 168
Titles:
[True Halloween Cat], [From Another World], [Fish Mongerer], [Master of Disguise]
Abilities Learned:
[Flying Broom], [Soul Merge], [Clansmen Capture], [Hallowed Gate], [This is Halloween], [Wailing Keep], [Language Comprehension], [Shapeshift+1], [Barrier+1], [Daily Candy], [Claw Fishing+1], [Disguise+2], [Recovery by Sleep], [Enhanced Meditating+1], [Swim], [10 Minute Makeover]
Yep. It's a status, alright. I've for sure now ascended to being the second most powerful monster in the self proclaimed new age of Monster Knights. Still not as strong as Crowli, though. Honestly speaking, if we just went about it the usual way with claiming the Bats in the Chasm, then my Tier 5 Bat could probably ascend to higher heights than both Crowli and I. When we claimed them originally, I wasn't really showing off any of my Halloween Cat abilities because it was during the day. I was also trying to purposely only recruit half of them to maintain the ecosystem as well, but I never did that with the Crows or Scarecrows. Thinking about it further, Weeping Angel could also be a whole lot stronger if we massacred off the remaining Golems as well.
The weird thing about Golems is that they aren't Halloween Clansmen candidates until they reach the point of Weeping Angel. It's strange. It's like a hidden Clansmen amidst the regular monsters which a Halloween Cat might otherwise ignore. I can't forget this fact. There may be other races similar to this. Maybe the Spiders? Arachne could potentially be a Halloween Clansmen too? It's a possibility. No matter how I think about it though, a Drake is probably going to Evolve into a Dragon. I doubt Dragons count as Halloween Clansmen candidates. If that worked, then the Halloween Clan would officially be the Lil' W*yne of Clans. We'll work with anyone. The One-Eyed Lizard though… I've really never witnessed anything like it. I have no idea where that thing might go in its path of Evolution. It might also be a lost cause for a Clansmen candidate. It's not the end of the world if he can't officially join the cult, though. He can still be a comrade~ Theoretically, he may be of even more use to my struggle due to not being a Clansmen. This allows him to protect me during the day.
After returning to the Village Hut, it seems that everyone is excited for the festival. It's not ready yet! Tomorrow! For sure! I need to go arrange a deal with the Goblin Hooch Distillery, I need to make a bucket load of clothes for donations to the Village, and I need to heal my Clansmen after the battle with Meglacommon. This Festival comes with costs, okay?! We can't just start it all willy nilly without making the necessary preparations first! The last festival didn't even have a post battle healing bill to take care of, and I prepared the clothes before the food. This one is an especially last minute decision. I was originally intending to host this in two more days, after all! Meow, because the food will start going bad; I need to prepare it sooner! Unlike me, who loves any and all Fish; most people like them fresh. Because this Meglacommon is far too large to eat fresh, I need to share it with everyone. Even then, it's still too large and so I'll be feeding the Villagers some as well. First come, first serve!
Honestly speaking, I don't really need to make clothes to donate to the Villagers this time around; but I'm a fan of tradition. In fact, I probably shouldn't be making clothes this time around because I'll have my paws full with making products for the supply drop off coming up with Clive... But I have a plan! What I'm going to do? Aim for level 5 clothes, and give all the duds to the Villagers! That way, after the festival ends I'll already have a decent sum of low grade but yet still better grade clothes compared to the ones previously given to Clive as a test run. Even if the test run failed to fully sell out of clothes, I'll be able to give the slightly better grade clothes to help convince more customers to buy them. What's more, after the Festival has finished I can just keep making more clothes to help bolster the size of my shipment to Clive. I can continue stocking up duds to give to the Villagers, or I can add some to Clive's shipments when necessary.
Even if there are higher grade clothes as options, someone will still purchase the lower costing clothes simply as a means of being clothed. Yosh! Towards the end of my plan, I want to try making actually decent clothes though. I can offer those to Clive calling them high end clothes, allowing him to sell to more wealthy individuals hoping to feel powerful. Certainly, when comparing it to the other clothes being sold; they'd be powerful pieces. However I refuse to sell clothes which have better stats than my own, so we'll be keeping it at a level 10 maximum for now. Of course, I won't be aiming for level 10 as the maximum. I'll be aiming for level 15 now, and will be saving all the level 11~15 pieces for myself and the self proclaimed Monster Knights. I say that, but only the Goblins and Harpies can probably wear clothes. White Wolf Lady can too, but the stat bonuses only apply in human form.
I never did end up learning why her clothes stay on when she transforms, as she told me that a woman must have secrets. I'm considerably irritated at that remark, but she won't budge. Her clothes seemingly disappear when she assumes Wolf form. I think the lesser Scarecrows might be able to fit into a jacket of sorts, but I don't really want to use them in combat regardless on account of them being so weak. Sorry, fellas~ Crowli could probably wear something, but he refused the idea and said that his own natural apparel is suitable. Rude! My clothes are nice, okay?! Well, I'll let White Wolf lady have her pick of clothes next time.
I've now healed the wounded Crowli with my own MP regeneration. I say that, but he's still around half dead. Jeez! If your HP and MP are both the same, why would you go around using such a high class ability to the point that you're on your deathbed?! I understand that I physically can heal any wound for you, but why be so wasteful?! Well, I have a lot to do in a short period of time. It can't be helped. I began eating two buckets of Candy while sitting down and casting [Disguise+2] aiming to create level 5 clothes for the remainder of night. While my Clansmen and comrades made their nightly ruckus around the Campfire, I managed to accumulate a decent pile of clothes. If I had to say, there's probably around 60 to 80 pieces of clothing and accessories.
With dawn approaching, I decided to go to sleep and cast [Daily Candy] to make up for the two buckets I had just consumed. We're back down to 3 buckets now. I want more before I face the Forest of Witches. I'll need to speak to the proper authorities if I wish to put an end to the Scarecrow creation assignment put on to the academy Witches or if I wish to secure intel of exactly when and where the aforementioned assignment will be taking place. Either way, I'll save a lot of Scarecrows from needlessly walking into the wilderness filled with poachers avidly waiting for them. At the same time, facing the authorities of a Territory is dangerous... So I should come prepared lugging a large sum of Candies through the night. Goodnight~
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