Pal Lord: A Different Kingdom Building

"I, the mighty Slave Lord... bang!"

"Max-level Bard... bang!"

"Silver-tongued... bang!"

"Enchanting all... bang!"

"Twisting words... bang!"

"And now, I have to... this cursed place... bang!"

"Chop wood!!!"

Pino's axe was nothing more than a crude stone tool, fashioned by tying a flint shard to a tree branch with vine. With his zero points in engineering, the craftsmanship was so poor even a monkey would laugh.

But, in pursuit of future happiness, Pino stripped off his bard's white robe, exposing his bare, muscle-less chest, and swung the axe with all his might. Every strike felt like a step closer to his dream of bliss. Despite the scorching sun, he didn't feel a shred of fatigue, and urged himself on internally, determined to chop ten units of wood before sunset.

[Pino's Hard Labor, Exploitation Point +1]

As the notification flashed before his eyes, Pino paused. Did he just exploit himself?

"Well… What can I do with one little exploitation point?" Pino muttered, half to himself.

To his surprise, a voice answered in his mind.

[In your current state, you can enhance your stone axe.]

"Wait, who are you?" Pino jumped in surprise.

[I am Pal, your domain core.]

The voice rang again.

Pino blinked. The domain core could talk? It sounded a bit dull and brainless, though.

"Alright, Pal, go ahead and upgrade this axe," Pino sighed. After all, the exploitation points were free—might as well see what happened.

A flash of light fell upon his stone axe.

[Roughly Made Stone Axe → Exploitation Stone Axe]

Attack Power: 1-2 → 2-3

Additional Attribute: None → Arm Strength +1

Effort: Increased stamina consumption +30%

"Great! This is like giving a cow a bridle!" Pino cursed, feeling the extra strength in his arms. "Give me some power, but make it more exhausting to swing! What a scam!"

He couldn't do anything about it, though. Back to work.

[Wood +1] [Wood +1] [Wood +1]…

After the monotonous task stretched on, Pino decided it was time to take a break. "Pal, are you really bound to follow my every command?"

[Yes, my lord.]

"Then sing me a song. Help me get pumped up!"

[Apologies, Pal does not have this function enabled.]

"One, two, three, go! Yell out something! Don't slack off, you lazy core! The lord is working hard, and you better not be idle. Give me a damn cheer!" Pino growled, almost trying to pressure the core to squeeze out another exploitation point.

It was just the two of them in the entire territory. Shouldn't he be the one exploiting the core instead of being exploited himself?

[One... two... three...]

The core seemed a bit unwilling.

"Shout with some spirit! An eighty-year-old grandma moans louder than you!" Pino barked.

Pal: [One! Two! Three!]

"Good! That's the spirit! Keep shouting, don't stop!" Pino was very pleased.

[One! Two!! Tree!!!]

At first, Pino felt full of energy, but after a few minutes, something didn't feel right. Why was the shouting getting faster and faster, completely in sync with his own rhythm?

His arms were almost sore from swinging the axe, and the pile of wood was growing higher and higher, while his stamina was depleting rapidly.

"Slow down! Slow down! Stop... stop! I'm gonna die!" Pino was drenched in sweat.

[Pino's Hard Labor, Exploitation Point +1]

Pino blinked. Another exploitation point already?

He quickly corrected himself. "Don't stop! Keep shouting! Today, either I die, or these exploitation points explode!"

This slave lord was ruthless—he was exploiting himself now.

Finally, when his stamina hit zero, Pino collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. He reached out for his clothes, which he had draped over a nearby stone, to wipe away the sweat.

But when he touched the stone, there was nothing there.

"???" Pino turned around in confusion. His clothes had disappeared from the stone?

What the hell? It was broad daylight!

Meowww-hee-hee-hee...

A strange, high-pitched laugh echoed through the air. Pino looked up and saw a black-brown furred cat-like creature standing on a branch, imitating his tree-chopping motions, laughing in a high-pitched chittering sound. Below it, his clothes were crumpled beneath its paws.

[Identify]

Mischief Cat LV.3

Race: Monster

A mischievous, ill-tempered cat-type monster, with a strong curiosity. It enjoys playing pranks on other creatures and has the agility to easily escape from most targets it enrages. However, its curiosity sometimes gets the better of it, leading to its own downfall.

HP: 120/120

Tear Damage: 10-15

Physical Defense: 2

Skills: Claw Scratch (Deals three consecutive scratches to your face, causing 3 instances of tear damage)

Passive Skill: Mischief Dash (After performing a prank, its excitement boosts its agility by +5.)

The system displayed the creature's information clearly, but Pino felt a headache coming on. With those stats, a direct fight might not even win. And to make matters worse, this pesky creature was up in the tree, still mocking him.

That robe was something he had bought for five silver coins when registering as a bard! Pure linen!

Pino gritted his teeth in frustration. The Mischief Cat was still on the branch, wagging its tail and pulling faces, as if the angrier Pino got, the more delighted it became.

"Sometimes, curiosity gets the better of it..." Pino seemed to have found a clue in the creature's information.

He glanced around but couldn't find anything suitable. After thinking for a moment, he remembered the three silver coins in his pocket. He took one out, rubbed it on his trousers, and held it up to the sunlight, watching it glint brightly.

Pino then smirked mischievously and found a small tree hole to hide the coin, carefully covering it with some weeds to make sure no one else could spot it.

He turned his back to the Mischief Cat and continued chopping wood, but inside, he silently whispered, "Pal, keep an eye on that cat. Let me know when it starts digging."

[Understood, my lord.]

The Mischief Cat, probably not very bright, saw the gleaming silver coin and was immediately filled with excitement. After all, who wouldn't be drawn to something that sparkled?

Seeing Pino with his back turned, the cat swiftly hopped down from the tree, padded over to the hole, and eagerly extended its claws to snatch the coin.

Pal: [Your silver coin is being stolen.]

"Ha! Take this!" Pino raised the stone axe and hurled it toward the trunk behind him.

Though he had no throwing skills, with only a ten-meter distance, even a child hit his target most of the time.

[You launched a stone axe throw at the Mischief Cat (no skill bonus).]

[Your axe's back struck the Mischief Cat on the back of its head.]

[10 blunt damage dealt. Stunned for 3 seconds.]

The Mischief Cat, stunned, wobbled on the branch before tumbling down to the ground, unable to rise immediately.

"Ha! Little thief, just when I was hoping for someone to exploit, here you are, walking right into my hands!" Pino grinned wickedly, swiftly pulling out a Slave Collar and tossing it onto the Mischief Cat's neck.

Immediately, the obsidian collar glowed with purple magical runes. A string of magical text twisted like a centipede, crawling down the cat's neck and into its ears, nose, and every other orifice.

"Meow!!" The Mischief Cat's fur stood on end as it clutched its head in agony, howling in pain, desperately resisting the binding magic of the Slave Contract.

[Slave contract success rate: 30%... 50%... 70%... 99%]

At last, the obsidian collar shattered, and the magical text had fully imprinted itself into the cat's mind, making it an obedient slave, subject to Pino's exploitation.

[Contract successful. Gained soul slave: Mischief Cat.]

[Name: Unnamed]

[Race: Feline Monster]

[Gender: Female]

[Age: 3 years]

[Level: Lv.4]

[Attributes: Strength 5, Agility 15, Intelligence 2, Charisma 5]

[Hunger: 40/50]

[Loyalty: 10/100]

[Personality: Impulsive, ill-tempered, arrogant, mischievous.]

[Talent: Energetic – Maximum stamina +30, stamina recovery speed +30%]

[Negative Talent: Wreck–it–Mischief nature often causes the Mischief Cat to damage items in the territory.]

[Negative Talent: Fickle – Unable to focus on the same task for long periods.]