“Is it empty?” I whispered to the large crawling pupper as we inched up the rest of the pathway uphill. My head was peaking over the ridge to spot any enemies, yet the camp was eerily quiet as even the cages were all empty. “Where are they?” I tapped the side of my mount, telling them to move up.

“I don’t like th-!” I yanked back on the saddle’s grips as the camp started to shine in a blinding white light. It vanished the moment I blinked my eyes, it literally just blinked out of existence. In its place was an undisturbed pathway which offered two different ways to go. “That was… unsettling.” I glanced around with my bow in hand, just to be safe.

“Woof?” My mount seemed to be restless while I tried to make a choice.

“Fine, you decide.” I just shrugged before storing the bow to hold onto the saddle.

“Ruff!” The Alpha Direhowl barked out happily as it shot off to the right, we ran past some thin birch like trees as the grassy hills took on a more yellowish hue instead of a natural green. A few small pals tried to fight us, but they were ignored as the Alpha Direhowl just ran through them. I did snicker a bit when a tiny Chikipi was punted like a ball as it charged us.

“I think I see another smoke signal ahe-ah, it just vanished?” I searched the sky in shock as the large pillar of black bonfire smoke was plain as day one moment, but now it isn’t there. “Are the camps just vanishing after not being used for a certain time? Will that happen to my base?” I hold up the Paldex to question it.

[The poacher’s campsite is anchored to this island in a similar fashion as your Base, meaning it will only vanish if the anchor is destroyed, or all party members are killed.] The Paldex beeped out while I had the Alpha slow its pace a bit. [The most likely scenario would be a guild of trainers attacking the camps, or another faction has decided to attack.]

“I’m not liking the sound of those words, so far my experience with people on this island hasn’t been all that positive. I need better gear if I’m going to try and survive in this crazy place…” I sigh while halting my mount, there was no need to go running head first into a dangerous situation while poorly equipped. “If they are other trainers, I’m betting they are all ahead of me in gear, power, and pals.” A glint of sparkling light catches my attention. “What are those?” I squint at some large rusty looking boulders, which are reflecting the sunlight like glitter.

[Metallic ore, which can be processed into Metal Ingots for many upgrades.] The Paldex showed briefly a decent amount of locked windows that required metal to unlock access to, along with a few upgrades to the base and facilities. [Recommendation is to set a Base by these mining resources to allow your Pals to harvest the ores for you.]

“Isn’t there a waiting period or something before I move the base?” I asked the Paldex for clarification.

[The penalty is only applied if you have one Base. As long as there is one Base active, you are free to breakdown and move any extra Base without a strict penalty.] The Paldex clarified for me.

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“So I need to mine this ore, and haul it back home to upgrade my base high enough to build another one just for mining ore?” I asked while the pupper was navigating our way down steep sloping step-like hills with a small flat ledge every so often. We were sliding downhill more than walking. “Makes me wish I had one of those glider pals!” I scream as my mount huffs in frustration before strongly leaping off the slope.

“Awoo!” The Alpha Direhowl howls as we sail through the air and over the landscape. The wind started to drown out the noises as we began our descent to the clearing below. I clench my jaw tight, holding in a scream while watching the ground below get closer.

“Is that?!” I shout in surprise as below us are a herd of bouncing cotton balls lounging on the rocks below us.

[Lamball, due to overhunting and over breeding as a food source, these pals have sunk to the very bottom of the food chain. Their wool is highly sought after while their meat is delicious even burnt.] My Paldex chimed out as the pupper landed softly on top of a few of the Lamballs.

“Magic saddle saved the boys…” I sighed out in relief as the force of the landing of my mount didn’t affect me somehow, I was very thankful not to be in pain.

“Baa? Baah!” The last remaining Lamball was sent rolling away. By the time it recovered and looked for its friends, there was a large Alpha wolf with a pal trainer riding it. The little pal screamed in terror before running for its life while its friends turned into light particles and items.

“So my clothes and bedding are made of their wool?” I asked the Paldex as the Alpha Direhowl bent down to chow on the fallen meat. “I can save on dog food this way.” I mumbled to myself.

[Yes, if you capture a Lamball, they can work at the Base’s ranch to produce wool on a daily basis.] A screen pops up with a circular fenced building that was locked. [You will be able to unlock this upon the next level increase.]

“A ranch? Can Trouble work there, since he’s a giant chicken?” I asked the Paldex as my mount finished his snack, and the other items were stored away without me needing to dismount for them. “I love magical collection tech!” I even managed to grab and store some berries that were physically out of my reach, but were right next to my mount.

[Yes, all Chikipis assigned to the ranch will produce the edible ingredient known as an egg, this is not a Pal Egg which can be hatched, but a food item.] The Paldex opens up a warning type of screen about the two types of eggs, food and pal eggs. One is like the kind you can find at the stores, while the others are unusually colored and start off the size of a beach ball.

“So Pal Eggs are not edible?” I asked to confirm this.

[Pal Eggs are hollow until the moment of hatching, so breaking the shell before they hatch would be similar to popping a balloon. So no, Pal Eggs are not edible by mortal standards.] The Paldex beeped out.

“So why are Pals edible then?” I asked while examining the many large shiny ore boulders sitting in the open clearing at the bottom of a steep hill.

[Why are humans edible?] My Paldex chimed back.

“Fair point.” I nod my head in defeat. “So, how do I get down from here?” I glance over the side of my mount, I can just barely kick the tip of the ore packed boulder from my sitting position. “Magical ladder?”