“So, uh!” I lift the pickaxe above my head and bring it down upon the boulder with a clink as I strike a dot made of light. “How much, ugh!” I grunt while doing it all over again, aiming at the dot’s new position on the boulder. “Ore do we need? Gah!” I heaved the tool up once more to hit the color changed dot, a satisfying crack sounds out as pieces of rock with some ore mixed in tumbles to the ground.

[It will take about two of these ores to create one metal ingot. If you wish to upgrade your tools and base, you will need thousands of ingots.] My Paldex chimed out as I took a short break to rest against the boulder.

“You have got to be shitting me…” I huffed in annoyance as I looked at an empty spot in the clearing. “I’m only on the second one, and I have what…” I open up my inventory to see a measly amount of ore sitting there. “Eleven, I have eleven pieces of this fu-” Before I can even get upset at the long grind ahead, a wild pal jumps out from some bushes aways from my spot.

“Ree!” The green mad monkey began to glow with a light greenish aura.

“Chillet!” I yelled out as I turned back to the boulder I was currently mining, without a care of the attacking enemy.

“Coo!” Chillet answered me from somewhere around the clearing. I heard the whooshing winds as long chilly spears of ices flew overhead before skewering the attacking Tanzee.

“This is taking, gah!” I started to complain as I hefted the heavy stone pick above my head, a few green colored dots appeared on the boulder’s rock face. Picking one out, I swung at it. “Shit!” I yelled in pain as I missed the dot and a painful clunk rang out. The tool’s kickback stung my arms and hands fiercely.

“Guu?” Chillet appeared behind me before bending over and gently blowing some chilly cold air on my sore arms.

“Thanks buddy.” I scratched his chin a few times before patting the top of his head. “Keep me safe for a bit longer?” I asked the big blue furry ice dragon, they cutely saluted me before marching off on their stubby little corgi-like legs while wiggling happily. “This is going to take forever.” I sighed as I turned back to the boulder holding the much needed ore.

[Certain Pals may have a natural trait which can enhance your collection abilities. You can also capture Pals that specialize in mining.] My Paldex beeped at me. [Once you upgrade your Base a little more, you can unlock an Ore Mining Station.] A locked window with a blacked out image popped up, along with something that looked like a small rock garden and tree planter. [First you will need to build a Lumber Station and Stone Mining Station before you are able to unlock this Base Tech.] The Paldex beeped as they closed the screens.

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“Wait a damned minute!” I halted myself from starting to mine again. “Are you telling me that I don’t need to leave the base to find stone and wood? How are these small gardens going to help me do that?” I use the pick as a cane and lean against it while staring down at the Paldex.

[Keeping it simple, the resource gathering stations will never run out of resources and can be worked on by your pals assigned to your Base.] The Paldex chimed out as a window popped up. [Currently your Base holds only a few spaces for available workers to be assigned. Thankfully you were lucky enough to have set up a Base with access to natural stone, lumber, and berry resources, which your pals are currently gathering and processing.] The window showed a task to build some sort of Base Tech to upgrade to the next Base level.

“So I just have to build this to upgrade my Base level, and I build those resource gardens to allow my current base to mine them for me?” I let the thought of sitting back and letting a team of green monkeys hacking away at magically trees all day for me sink in for a moment. “Why do I have a sudden uneasy feeling of disgust at myself… Wait, isn’t that just slave labor?” I questioned the Paldex.

[The bond must follow their master’s orders.] A soft whisper escaped from the face of the dimming Paldex. [You can adjust the amount of labor required by each-] I flick the device to interrupt it.

“Do the captured souls have free will? Or are they forever under my control?” I let out an angry sigh as I turned to watch a happy prancing Chillet bounce around the clearing, playing with some small scared Chikipi running for its life. “Did I corrupt them when I caught-ow!” I yelped as the Paldex shocked me slightly.

[Wild Pals require the assistance of trainers to help them grow enough to evolve their powers to the next stage. The parts missing from a Pal are gained through the bond with a trainer.] The Paldex spoke back to me, before letting out a beep after a short pause.

“Alright, so it’s all on me, either I’m a good boss or bad boss.” I let out a large sigh as I sank to the ground against the boulder. “Wait, is this what parenting is like?” I try to chuckle at my poor attempt at a joke, my Paldex stayed dark and quiet. “I’d like to see you try to crack a joke in this situation.” I huff at the high tech smart watch.

“Guuru!?” Chillet cried out in shock from behind some trees. A flash of bright colored aura attacks later and nothing but silence.

“Chillet? Are you alright back there?” I called out, but got no response. “Chillet?! What is going on-” I stand up and head over to the edge of the clearing where Chillet was last seen.

“Coo!” Chillet’s face popped out the bushes startling me to the point I shouted and swung my pickaxe in fright. “Guu?!” Chillet blinks at me as my pickaxe harmlessly goes clunk on its head.

“Gah!” I shout out in pain from the heavy recoil the tool sent up my arms. I fall on my back as Chillet just rolls around laughing.