“AH!” I jumped from my seating position and nearly fell into the fire. “Trouble! Don’t do that…” I huffed while my heat nearly beat out of my ribs. I looked at the freaky cook still stirring an empty pot above the fire, he seemed to ignore us. “You okay my guy?” I made the big mistake and touched his shoulder out of care while trying to look him in the eyes to show I meant only good intentions.

“Bwak!” Trouble cried out while flapping his feathers in a panic.

“What do you mean ‘run’?” I asked my giant chicken with a questioning face, then my reality clicked, just like the sound of a shotgun racking a shell. I dive over the fire for my life as a shotgun blast booms over my head.

“You Syndicate bastards! You won’t get me!” The crazed cook aims his gun at me after reloading. I helplessly stared down the barrel, I wished my life flashed before my eyes, at least I would die knowing who I actually am.

“Bwakak!” A magical cry from my glowing Pal took our attention. Massive burning meteors streaked from above with a purple glow, aiming to crush the cook.

“Syndi-” The cook managed to let off one last shot as the attack fell upon him.

“Oh sh-” The shockwave pushed me back into the rocky walls, and the cold started seeping back in. “Uhhh… shit, the fire.” The fire was destroyed along with the top of the cliff and the cook. “Did he drop his gun?” I tried to joke as I moved forward to collect the glowing materials hovering in the firepit’s place.

“Bwaa…khu.” Trouble’s weak cough made me spin around to see the poor guy laying on the ground with a massive gunshot wound in his gut. “Bwa?..” A weak wing was lifted up.

“You got him, rest up.” I hold my hand out as he shrinks into a glowing sphere before the Pal Sphere manifests around it. “Please survive.” I sighed with worry as his sphere vanished.

[Full Recovery will take a few days of rest in the sphere. Please construct a Palbox to allow for increased recovery time.] The Paldex chimed while showing a simple info screen.

“For near lethal injuries, the Palbox can increase the Full Recovery of all Pals in under an hour.” I tried to whistle in amazement, but failed because my lips started to chatter. “This cold just bites ya! Build a fire, please!” I hold out my hand with the Paldex, nothing happens. “Don’t I have the materials and Tech unlocked? Fire, need it, now, please!” I shake my arm violently, but nothing happens.

[Missing material, unable to build.] The Paldex flashes red. [Recommend using a torch, you have one available in your inventory.]

“What good would this do me?” I hold out my hand as the torch is equipped. Instantly light fills the dark area, more so than the firepit, and the cold is chased away. “I’m too tired to care how this works, I’m just glad it does.” I sit down on the stoney ground as the land repairs itself in a blink.

[Using the workbench, it is possible to construct clothing and armors to resist the cold at night or certain biomes.] The Paldex flashed as two blueprint looking holograms hovered in front of me. [These Schematics you have allow you to create stronger equipment.]

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Ugh, this is gonna take forever to gather all the materials I need to make this stuff.” I let out a large sigh as I stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff, where the cook used to be. “How am I going to gather enough to even survive the next night…” I watch the lights of the Nocturnal Pals wandering around.

[Resource Gathering Stations as part of the Base Tech. Utilizing captured Pals within a Base with this Tech allows for automatic material gathering while you, the Trainer, continues your adventure.] The Paldex chimed out while flashing the screen of the Palbox with some connections to hidden and locked Tech further down the menu. [Work together with your Pals to grow your power.] The screen changed to show Trouble’s info, with some highlighted spots.

“Trouble can lay eggs… like Pal eggs or the chicken eggs I know… would they be edible?..” I start to grow confused trying to make sense of how it's all possible. “Wait, how did he get out of his sphere in the first place?” I hold up my Paldex for answers.

[Due to the state of confusion, you summoned him out of fear of the Nocturnal Pals. The spheres have an Emergency Summon function and a Release function as well.] The Paldex informed me. [Left without resistance to the Nocturnal Pals, you may experience confusion, illusions, hallucinations, or worse.]

“Am I still confused then?” I could feel the panic slowly begin to bubble up.

[The Torch gives you the minimum resistance needed to prevent that. If you begin to feel the cold or heat set in, please equip something with resistance.] The Paldex chimed.

“I do feel better than when I was by the crazed cook’s fire, does that mean my firepit would be the same?” I ask with concern for my future.

[The fire from the Tech has a smaller resistance area than the Torch, yet you are able to use the fire to cook some basic foodstuffs.] The Paldex flashed the screen of the fire. [If built inside a Base, the qualities improve.]

“I get it, I get it… Build a base or else you’ll die.” I wave my hands around sarcastically. “What even is a ‘base’?” I air quoted the word. “Is it like a campsite?”

[Base, is the area within the Palbox’s active zone. This zone resists the natural decaying in this space, allowing you to use the Tech to construct a comfortable, sustainable, and defendable living area.] The Paldex chimed out.

“How would I even manage all of that? Good help is harder to find than sane people.” I turn around to stare at the empty spot where the cook used to reside. “Wish he left the gun behind.” I clicked my tongue as I walked towards some ruins I spotted earlier, but was too busy to explore them.

[Capture Pals to increase your workforce and grow your power. You will need a multitude of different Pals for the required tasks to maintain a base.] Paldex informed me by showing a list of the few Pals I had encountered and lots of info on the one I did capture.

“Ha! This will take forever, you need too many spheres for something like that. What, do you think Pal Spheres are just laying around the ground for anyone to pick up?” I laugh at the outrageous thought of mining all that blue rock and such for days on end just to make those things. “There must be an ea- what’s this?” A sparkly round object entered the torch light as I approached the ruins.

[Due to the distortions from the Ancient Wars, items will sometimes appear for a brief time before the island corrects the error. It is recommended to acquire the items to claim them before they vanish from existence.] The Paldex chimed up as I picked up a mint condition new Pal Sphere.

“Can’t you just say ‘I told you so’ instead of dropping so many information bombs!?” I let out a frustrated breath as I tried to push the curiosity away. “We will talk about those wars later, but for now, free stuff on the ground, grab it, got it.” I sighed with acceptance of the strange reality I’m now in. “Think there might be more laying around here?”