“Hello there!” I call out to the shotgun wielding cook by the fire, I try to wave and smile in a friendly manner.

“Huh?!” They pop up with their shotgun ready.

“I come in peace!” I shout while raising my hands.

“Oh! A castaway?” They say while looking me up and down. “We haven’t gotten many of those around here nowadays.” They say while lowering the weapon. A glowing ball of light is tossed my way. “Here, use these supplies to craft yourself some gear.”

“Thank you.” I say as I catch a bundle of wood. I just nod in appreciation.

“You should be able to find some materials down there to make some Pal Spheres. I believe you have what it takes to become a Pal trainer.” They say while motioning down the hill behind them that was filled with Pals roaming about. While sitting back down to watch their cooking, I caught a glimpse of their blank soulless eyes.

“Alright, what about the Towers?” I ask the strange cook.

“This Tower is held by the Rayne Syndicate, and they will kill you, just like the others.” The cook replied while absently stirring the pot. “Craft some Pal Spheres, catch some Pals, and level up before you try to kill yourself too.” The cook sighed as they seemed to become unresponsive.

“Alright… good talk.” I say as I walk away towards a short drop to a nice open section. A few pink furry cats roam about, crawling at the trees every so often. “They can walk on two legs?” I ask in amazement. I jump down the few ledges to the ground before rolling into a crouch. I sneak up behind the Pal while studying it. “What are you?” I whispered.

[Cattiva, XS Pal. This tiny pink fluffy kitty tries to act tougher than it really is. Although a coward by nature, it makes for an excellent helper.] The Paldex chimed up. A picture of the Pal with some extra data I didn’t understand popped into my vision. I tried to stupidly swat it away, only to slap the leaves of the bush I was using for cover.

“Mewrow!” The Cattiva gasped as it turned to dash away. I watched in amazement as the creature glowed in a white haze before speeding away, much faster than I could ever be.

“What a little sprinter.” I say while standing up from my exposed hiding spot. “So, how the hell am I going to catch that?” I say while looking around. “What’s this?” I ask while approaching a softly glowing stick on the ground. The moment I touched it, the item wood was stored into my inventory.

“This works too?” I was happily surprised when a large stone had the same glowing ability as the wood. “Just need to find a few more. Huh?” I gasp in shock at the chime that went off.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

[DING] The chime went off. [Your Essence has Leveled Up. Essence Level is 2. Level 2 Tech is available to unlock.] The Paldex informed me. [Pal Sphere Schematic used. Pal Sphere unlocked.] It informed me.

“So those schematics are automatic?” I wave open the Paldex screen in front of my view. “Tech Menu. I can unlock the fire already, nice!” I poke the fire icon, while not looking at the other choices. “Now I should be able to survive the nights easier.” I close the window as I use up my only unlocking point.

“Wait, how do I make a Pal Sphere?” I wave open the Paldex again. “Which tab is it?” I frantically look all around for instructions, until the tablet comes to my rescue.

[Pal Sphere, Basic model for low level sou-zzsshhhzz- Pals to be captured. It is recommended to lower the health of the opponent before throwing for best results.] The Paldex’s monotone voice slightly glitched out for a moment there.

“So how do I make one?” I repeated to the device. After a brief silence and a simple transparent loading circle later, the chime sounded again.

[Using a Workbench, a Player can mix certain materials to make items and other necessary resources to survive.] The Paldex highlighted a certain tab for me to focus on. [Please build the required work station.] It informed me.

“Good thing I got some wood… how much?!” I chuckled as I opened the building menu. I saw the Workbench option was only 10 wood, strangely the same amount the cook gave me. Yet right before I can do anything, a black hazy glitch scrambles the value and it changes into 50 wood. “You can’t be serious?!” I yell while glaring up at the sky.

[Prices have been properly adjusted.] The voice spoke out.

“At least that’s more manageable.” I say while still glaring at the higher prices someone enforced. I wave the screen closed as I start to walk around the clearing picking up what I can. “Better get some food too.” I mumble while picking all the berry bushes I could see.

“I bet this would be a lot more entertaining, if I didn’t have to gather so much stuff!” I shout out over my shoulder. I pause in my gathering, hoping to get a response. “Worth a shot.” I shrugged while going back to berry picking.

“Bwak!” A battle cry screeched from behind me. A wild Chikipi jumped out from behind some bushes. It had a mad look in its large eyes.

“My mortal enemy, we meet again!” I stood up, hoping my height would scare it off while I tried to look intimidating.

“Bwakak!” It shouted before its body glowed a soft white. I jumped to the side as I saw it crouch down. It flew from its spot like a ballista bolt right into the tree that was behind me.

“I’m outta here.” I mumble as I see the tree pop out of existence, it took me too many hits to count to knock one of those down, so I understood this little puffy chick is deadly. I start to sprint back up the way I came.

“Can you lend me your weapon?” I huffed as I asked the strange cook, when I got back up the ledges.

“You should craft some Pal Spheres, you might have the makings of a tamer. Just avoid the Tower until you level up some.” The cook absently mumbled while stirring the pot.

“Great talk, very helpful.” I stretch a bit. “Let’s try this way, hope there are less killer chickens.” I crack my neck while walking past the glowing statue. “What’s that?”