《Diaries of Nero the Halloween Cat》Chapter 13 - Night 13 & Night 14
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Yikes. I'm still tired and I overslept past sunset. One wrong move and my carefully adjusted sleeping schedule is in ruin, eh? I see how it is, game-like world. I missed my daily meet and feast with Goblin Chief and he's nowhere to be seen. I'm a mess! I never knew that trying to learn about my powers would result in me feeling so utterly ashamed! I'll never seek full understanding of a topic ever again!
Agh. But not thinking about things would be a pain, what with me being so utterly lonely half the time! My Clansmen! They can keep me company, right?! Wrong. Mr Scarecrow barely has anything to say, ever. He's so unopinionated, it burns. White Wolf Lady is alright, but she's totally a combat junkie and I'm trying to Fish! She tries to help, but she doesn't have [Claw Fishing] like I do so it's more harm than it is good. She scares away all the Fish when she fails at catching them! What's more, if we go near the Lake to try and chase after the Fish she fails at catching then her haki becomes too much and a huge Fish monster starts trying to snatch her up! I think it's because it can sense that she's a fire-type, making her weak prey but also that she's strong and probably tasty.
I never had this problem with Mr Scarecrow, but I guess the extent of his terror is enough to make them leave us alone when we swim. Even so, if you put Mr Scarecrow and White Wolf Lady both near the Lake... The Fish monsters don't care. They still want the White Wolf Lady. She's just too appetizing for them to give up. Honestly, the monster that comes after her is always the same, huge and frightening one; so I flee every single time. I don't think my Clansmen can rule the depths that are this Lake yet. I do, however, think that I seriously need to bathe again. I feel gross. I also feel like this water is too cold to swim in sober, so I think it's time to throw a party.
Yosh. I need to get drunk enough to feel capable of swimming again. This one gets tipsy when in the mood to bathe. It's happening. We're doing it. Last I checked, we got a chest full of silver. We're gonna need to find somewhere to spend that, am I right? Come to think of it, where did those guys get the drinks last time? Is there a Goblin Hooch?! A Village specialty brand only available in this remote, undomesticated land?!
Getting excited over the joys and potential yet ridiculous conspiracy theories over how my Goblin pals secure alcohol, while forbidding my Clansmen to attempt at helping me catch Fish... I unexpectedly took in a record breaking haul! That's right, this one caught an astonishing 32 common fish, 6 pink Fish, 3 grey and yellow Fish, and 1 giant Goldfish! We're set boys, it's time for a feast! A considerable amount of time passed while I was out Fishing, and the night was coming to an end. I was munching on some raw Fish while I came back only to come across a strange creature.
I had never witnessed such a creature around these parts that are called the Lost Kingdom, so I decided to follow it. I want to know where it lives, what it hunts or gathers, and if there are more of them. I've taken the liberty of becoming the night guardian of this ecosystem, and I can't have any mysteries lurking about. Aside from the Lake, that is. That thing is untouchable. It'll be fine. I say that I'm acting as the guardian of the ecosystem, but I'm actually also a [Fish Mongerer]. So, yeah. Can't save em all. I don't know how to farm, okay?! I'm also a freaking Cat, dude! There weren't any potential abilities to choose from that secured food and also didn't murder other less fortunate creatures, okay?!
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I knew that there would likely be other races in the Lost Kingdom, but I never thought that I would find one so close to the Goblin Village. Also, it's quite a cute little critter. This one is by far the most fantasy-like critter that I have encountered in this Kingdom. Ignoring maybe the Goblins and Slimes that is. I honestly don't know how to describe it, as it's unlike anything I had ever witnessed on earth. It's white, and it has blue markings on it. It's a furry little critter, about twice the size of a Slime. It has claws, but they look super cute. It has a similar shape to a Squirrel, but its legs are leaning more toward Rabbits. It hops, but also climbs up trees. It's a very agile critter, I'll give it that.
I'm currently chasing it by Broom, and I've honestly almost lost track of it on several occasions. I've got my Crows helping me tail it, but it's kind of fast and unpredictable. It seems to be gathering, but the night is nearly over and I can't afford to have my Crows out much longer. I'll need to continue following it into dawn on my own. It's got to go back to rest somewhere at some point. Maybe they live alone and rest in the trees? It's always hopping from branch to branch like a Squirrel, but it can jump a considerable distance. It's always accurate on the jumps. I made sure to use [Daily Candy] and added it to the collection of things I'm currently carrying... Mainly Fish. I've become quite adept at riding a Broom while only actually dedicating one finger to straddle it.
It moves in strange patterns, often zig zagging across trees or deciding to continue in a straight line. That's why it's unpredictable. Sometimes, it does a strange jump diagonally backwards towards the way it came. It's impressive. It probably knows that I'm following it, and I can understand how I overlooked such a race up until now. There aren't a lot of bird type monsters in the Lost Kingdom, I've only witnessed Hawks and Bluejays. They have their own little ecosystem, and I try not to get involved. They don't have high birth rates, I mean their eggs take a long time to hatch. Because of that, they generally don't Evolve at all. I haven't witnessed a single Tier 2 bird in the Lost Kingdom once.
Back on topic, after about four hours of exhaustively chasing the strange critter, I lost it. I lost it. It's gone. I can't find it, and I haven't been able to find it for five minutes. My lord. I could cry right now, because it's full on afternoon and I'm on the verge of passing out. I'm totally going to miss the meet and feast again. I'm still carrying the record breaking haul of Fish, and my arms feel like they're about to fall off. I dont have high strength and it's day time. I can't carry these Fish! I can't believe that I lost it. There's no choice, I guess I just need to go back to the Village, and try again another time. Yes. I'll waste my MP to get back as soon as possible, because I'm as tired as possible. Okay.
It only took me a record breaking 3 minutes to return to the Village. When I was flying, I was able to see purple flames emitted from the back of my Broom. Flames probably emerge every time I fly at high speeds, but I never really looked back until now. It was kind of special. Now that I've returned to the hut, I set down the Fish, my Candy, and collapse on the spot back into my Cat Form.
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When I awoke, it was once again, past sunset. Oi. I'm at my limit here. I need to bathe, and I want cooked Fish! I can't make a fire! I feel like sobbing. Perhaps noticing my inner turmoil, Devil Clown offered to start a fire for me. Thank you. You're too kind. I raised my evaluation of Devil Clown once more, on that fateful night. I honestly don't understand it though. Whenever I wake up at sunset, it's like a free pass for the Goblin Chief to laze around, eating Fish and chat with the pals until dawn? He's never this busy when I wake up at sunset! Where has he been these past two days?! Our minds are all out of sync, it seems…
Well, now that I'm happily cooking my Fish with Devil Clown, I guess this is a new chance for me to strengthen our own friendship! Devil Clown is usually the more stoic type of the group, so I never really got to know much about him. Actually, I don't know if it's him being stoic so much as him being proper. Dude has got a lot of honor and stuff. He's the Goblin Chief's right hand man, after all. Actually, that might be me. I don't know, but Goblin Chief totally threw me under the bus to handle things which even he could not. Mainly, the Python. At least, I don't think he could handle it. He probably might have been able to, considering his secret pharmaceutical business. But it's unclear.
Regardless, Devil Clown is still one of Goblin Chiefs most trusted retainers. That much is certain. Most leaders would probably have their retainers swap out in shifts, but this Chief just has them visibly sleep or stand outside of his tent constantly. It's like saying that even if my guards are unconscious, they can still protect me better than anyone else in this Village. It's bold. He obviously trusts them enough to feel he doesn't need any other people to guard him.
While talking to Devil Clown, creating clothes, and eating Fish... I learned that he had a very similar childhood to Samurai Punk. They grew up together and were the closest of friends since birth. They're the epitome of best friends for lifesies. Samurai Punk was the problem child, while Devil Clown kept him in the right. Devil Clown is actually the one who convinced Samurai Punk to stop bullying... Or as I like to call it, training with the Slimes. Jeez.
Devil Clown learned from his ways and decided to no longer do it after having Evolved. Samurai Punk still wanted to do it regardless, because he Evolved. In this aspect, does it mean that Village Chief who Evolved to Tier 3 is actually the most ruthless of them all? Surely, he didn't Evolve to Tier 3 off of Slimes alone, right?! Mr Scarecrow rose from Tier 2 to Tier 4 off of Slimes, so I guess it's not unfathomable. Actually, perhaps Village Chief simply killed Slimes without adding the sick, twisted game of also abusing fellow allies along with it? Yeah, let's go with that.
Well, I also learned from my conversation with Devil Clown that there is indeed; Goblin Hooch. YOSH! I wonder what their payment system is? We need to get on this, stat-mundo; BABY YEAAHH!!! Showing little to no restraint, I avidly inquired about the Goblin Hooch brand. Someone's definitely getting a bath tonight. Which one? This one. It would seem that the Goblin Hooch brewery accepts payment in all kinds. I'm personally dealing in Fish because no one here believes in the value of Silver or Gold. I'm telling you guys, this is actually rather valuable. This currency actually works everywhere BUT here. I swear. They wouldn't buy it, so I lost a substantial amount of my record breaking haul in order to secure 3 large bottles. My soul is crushed.
There is indeed a silver lining, however. Last time, the four of us drank 2 large bottles and were smashed. So this time, I might just get to save an extra one for next time! I need to plan accordingly if bathing is this expensive, so it's better to get a head start on it sooner rather than later. There was also a deal for buying 3 at a time, so it felt lucrative. After returning to the hut, I found that they were still out and about. I guess we'll need to do this another day. Tomorrow, for sure!
For now, I decided to spend the remainder of my night making clothes. I've gained a considerably large stack now, and a lot of the Villagers have been waiting with anticipation. They know what's coming soon. There are actually quite a few Villagers who were able to snag an item from my charity work last time, but everyone only got one piece. Actually, there are probably only about 10% of the population who actually got something last time. Maybe less. But the word got out. I want there to be a day where the Villagers of this town all have their own, unique outfit. It's a nice thought, but there are like 1000 Goblins in this Village. I think. I don't know?!
If there were 1000, I could fully cloth all of them in level 1 pieces if I were to spend 11 buckets of Candy. I've done the math, I've checked the inventory. I don't have that kind of Candy, I have almost 5 buckets. Moreover, I would much rather give them potentially better pieces. Especially if it means that I myself have a higher chance of wearing better pieces. I need to be protected too, you know? I'm the living gate to the Halloween world, okay?! I can't just go off dying all willy nilly so that I can clothe a few extra people! It's not like they're naked or anything, they all have rather cheap cloaks!
Moreover, Candy is fighting power. It's my literal ammunition in this war that we call 'balancing the ecosystem while raising the brute fighting potential of the hopeless scenario better known as Lost Kingdom'. I don't know why Goblin Chief feels responsible to take on this massive hurdle, but because he's my best friend in this world; I've kind of been helping out a lot in this ordeal. I gave up valuable sleep time to go chase a mysterious white and blue critter only to wind up losing it after a 5 hour chase. I'm invested at this point.
Seemingly noticed that I had gone off into an inner tangent, like always; Devil Clown seems to have ditched me. Rude. Also, my Crows are currently flying in the sky. Aren't you ever tired? Oh. That's right. I disabled their fatigue and replaced it with MP. Am I secretly seriously draining on this worlds mana? Just having them fly around out here is totally free of charge. I don't understand where that power comes from. I understand that as per my own theory, I draw power from the night itself. But how does that work? Where does the power of the night come from? The freaking moon? I don't understand?! Is it time itself?! Is the power of time just so immense that you couldn't possibly hope to actually weaken it by any means necessary?! I suppose we'll never know.
Re-immersed back into my surroundings, it would seem that I had begun mindlessly Fishing. Wow. I'm getting too accustomed to this world. I was just near the Village hut, I swear! How am I waist deep into the River currently with a handful of brand new freaking Fish?! I'm not complaining, but [Fish Mongerer] seems to have an adverse effect on the mind. It's like sleep walking but instead of walking, you're Fishing. And I'm fully awake right now, yet haven't even made the decision to come here! It's like I actually have two wills.
A while back, I made the conscious decision that if ever asked, I would say that I'm essentially a Cat God who is currently possessing this small Cat Beastkin. I'm bestowing this body with the powers of a True Halloween Cat, and the fact that I'm here is the product of [Soul Merge]. With that frame of thinking, it would be possible that I do; in fact have two wills. However, that entire concept was just me thinking up a potential lie to explain why [Soul Merge] isn't actually a world-changing skill that could threaten the future of this current continent! It's not real! I don't actually have two wills so how did I just freaking do that?! I'm at a loss for words.
I managed to catch 14 common Fish and 2 pink Fish. It was a small catch compared to last time, but it's probably because I'm over hunting. Bathing is too expensive around these parts for a Cat like myself. It isn't sustainable. I'll need to make the conscious decision to hunt sparingly on the Fish for awhile. It's almost dawn, so I'm excited to try and get back to my normal sleeping schedule. I want to party with the bros! With that frame of thinking, I returned to the Goblin Village.
When I arrived at the Goblin Chief hut, everyone was accounted for and asleep. Yosh! No one was actually abducted or anything, causing the mysterious lack of Goblin Chief in my life! Everyone is safe~ After using [Daily Candy], spending most of my remaining MP on clothes, I returned to my Cat form and went to sleep.
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