Pal Lord: A Different Kingdom Building

[Pino]

Level: Slave Lord LV.3, Bard LV.10

Attributes:

Strength: 5 + 6 (from Slave Lord talent)

Constitution: 5 + 4 (from Slave Lord talent)

Intelligence: 5

Agility: 5

Charisma: 5 + 10 (from Bard)

Free attribute points: 10

"Level up… my main class finally leveled up…" Pino was so excited he almost teared up.

Compared to the Bard, which focused on a single attribute, the Slave Lord class had a massive boost in attributes. Each level-up provided not only 3 points in strength and 2 points in constitution but also 5 additional free attribute points.

Strength: Affects physical attack power, work speed, and carrying capacity.

Constitution: Affects health/stamina, bone strength, muscle power, and skin defense.

Intelligence: Affects energy/mana limits, spell power, engineering, and learning.

Agility: Affects weapon dexterity, running and dodging speed, finger dexterity, and crafting.

Charisma: Affects the number of subordinates one can command, persuasion, talent recruitment, and the chance of defection.

Normally, as a Slave Lord, Pino would focus on boosting strength and constitution. But with his mage-like skills and the importance of charisma for his role as a leader, he decided to allocate points differently.

After some thought, he spent 5 points on intelligence—since construction and engineering tasks would require it—and 5 points on charisma to boost his commanding ability. Strength and constitution weren't his top priorities right now.

This left his attributes as:

Strength: 11

Constitution: 9

Agility: 5

Intelligence: 10

Charisma: 20

While Pino was trying to dismantle the bone cage, a ragged Jack, clutching his dagger, stumbled over to him, wiping nonexistent tears. "Damn liar… you owe me my beauty back!!"

"Stop! Calm down! Let me explain! One: if I hadn't turned you into a skeleton soldier, we'd both be dead by now. At least now you have hands and feet and can still talk—otherwise, you'd have been a pile of shit!" Pino tried to reason with him.

"Second: if you kill me now, once your soul energy runs out and you can't find a necromancer to renew it, you'll lose your motivation and truly die! Listen to me, I have a territory. Join me, and we can make a fortune together!" Pino continued with his pitch.

[Pino is attempting to persuade Skeleton Jack LV.5]

[Checking…]

[Pino: Base persuasion 5 + Charisma 20]

[Skeleton Jack: Intelligence 15]

[Check successful.]

"So… we're partners, not master and servant, right?" Skeleton Jack's eyes twinkled.

"Of course! We're comrades who broke out of the same cage! We'll work together like brothers. I'll make sure every penny is accounted for—I won't short you a copper!" Pino smiled reassuringly.

"Come on, buddy, you leveled up too, right? You need to add points to your strength and carrying capacity, or we won't be able to haul all the loot. Quick, or we'll be in trouble when the goblins come back."

Pino kept persuading, pushing for Jack to cooperate.

[Skeleton Jack is willing to join your territory.]

[Skeleton Jack]

Race: Undead Skeleton

Class: Merchant LV.8

Affiliation: Fertile Fields Trade Association, Emerald Dominion

Attributes:

Strength: 3

Constitution: 3

Agility: 3

Intelligence: 15

Charisma: 15

Divine Blessing (from Joker the God of Joke): Eloquence – Flamboyant speech makes it easier to persuade others, with charisma-based persuasion checks receiving a 150% boost.

Skills:

- Salesmanship LV.8: Jack's charm allows him to sell goods with an 80% chance of success.

- Bargaining LV.8: Always able to get an 80% discount when buying goods.

"Oh? As a merchant of the Fertile Fields Trading Association, you worship not the God of Trade, but the God of Mischief?" Pino was somewhat surprised.

Jack, while helping Pino cut through the vine that held the cage, explained, "Oh, please, you have no idea how fierce the competition within the guild is. If you don't play dirty, you can't compete. And, honestly, as long as you can sell something, you're considered a good merchant."

"An interesting perspective. Let's hope the God of Mischief bestows you a talent related to business next, rather than something like clown performances," Pino chuckled, pulling a mock expression.

"Oh... shit, your name's Pino King?"

"What? Have you heard of anyone with the same name?" Pino was puzzled.

"King by name, thug by nature!"

"Anyway, I kept the promise." Pino seemed to hit a sore spot, his face turning red in embarrassment. "Now, let's hurry up and find some loot. Who knows if those goblins will come back! I was watching with wide eyes while they took all my goods!"

Jack, having cut through the cage, immediately rushed toward a nearby hut, rummaging through the spoils inside.

Pino, on the other hand, walked over to the fallen Goblin Chieftain, checking to see if it had dropped anything useful. After all, with his Forceful Plunder talent, his drop rate was increased.

[Blue Soul Ball: A fragment of the Goblin Chieftain's soul, containing important memories. It may contain some of its skills from life.]

Without hesitation, Pino opened it for himself, as none of his subordinates were worthy of such an item.

[You have gained 50 battle experience points.]

[You have gained a Faith Crystal1.]

[This item can be offered to any deity for their favor (only from leader-level units or clergy).]

[You have gained a team skill: Savage Roar.]

[Grade: C]

[Effect: Increases the morale of your troops (10 + 50% of your charisma).]

A great skill for a commander, perfect for a lord. Morale could also be useful when supervising the work of slaves. As for this strong corpse... too bad it couldn't be used to plow the fields. What a waste. My skill is to awaken skeletons, not enslave them. They have their own consciousness. Awakening it carelessly would only result in them attacking me.

Jack, dragging a large chest out of the hut, was practically in tears, had he still been alive: "These damn goblins... these were all my carefully selected goods. None of them knew what was valuable... they broke all the good stuff... and left the worthless junk..."

"Just be happy you got your life back," Pino said, picking up some torches from under the cauldron, preparing to set the damned cannibal tribe on fire.

The tribe's primitive buildings, made from dry branches, would burn quickly once set alight. As for whether setting fire to the forest would cause a widespread wildfire... Pino hoped the forest's elves had a fire brigade.

With his Forceful Plunder talent, he even managed to obtain an E-grade blueprint orb—[Goblin Hut], a highly material-efficient structure that could be built using just branches. To Pino, this was even more useful than an S-grade blueprint. In the future, his cats could live in such cheap and simple houses.

[You have completely destroyed a small stronghold: The Ogre Goblin Tribe.]

[You have gained 5 Lord Reputation.]

[You have gained 50 experience points.]

[Title Achievement: Goblin Slayer 1/5 (Destroy 5 Goblin Tribes or kill 100 Goblins to unlock).]

As the flames consumed the entire tribe, Pino and Skeleton Jack, carrying a chest of spoils, hurried back to the territory of the Emerald Dominion. Upon seeing a group of cats eagerly tearing apart a tattered garment, Pino's face darkened.

Meowpaws even dashed over, proudly presenting a bundle of shredded cloth: "Look, meow! We've completed the task you gave us, meow!"

Pino, with a scowl, scooped up Meowpaws and gave the cat's head a few rough pats: "I fucking love you guys!"

Meowpaws, blissfully nuzzling him, purred, "Reward me with some dried fish, meow~"

"Reward? You want a reward? Go dig the fields! If you don't manage to dig at least an acre of land today, you'll sleep in the spiked cage!" Pino roared, his face twisted in fury.

Meowpaws froze in shock.

[Exploitation Points from five cats +5]