Evening arrived, and the players returned to the territory.
"It's so exhausting, I feel like my body is about to fall apart," Dylan said, rubbing his sore shoulders. In real life, he had never done such backbreaking work.
"It is pretty tiring, probably because our physical stats are low. It might get better after leveling up, and we won't be stuck chopping trees forever," Ethan replied.
"I think it's fine. Having all those Pokémon around made it fun," Bell said, still full of energy.
"Of course you'd say that, you got a Pokémon to follow you. If one followed me, I wouldn't be tired either," Dylan grumbled, eyeing the Spinarak perched on Bell's shoulder enviously.
"Shouldn't my handsome face attract Pokémon? Maybe they feel inferior next to me. Ugh, beauty is such a burden sometimes."
"Just shut up already!" Ethan wished he could slap Dylan into a wall. Why had he invited this guy to try the game with him? Worst decision ever.
"I wish I could've gotten a Heracross to follow me. Too bad it just left after helping us and didn't even acknowledge us," Leaf said, reminiscing about Heracross's cool appearance. He really loved that kind of Pokémon.
"Don't worry, judging by today's haul, we'll need at least another day or two to finish the task. You still have a chance," Ethan reassured him.
As they talked, the players reached the castle, where a servant led them to the study.
Seeing Leon busy with paperwork, Bell whispered to Luna, "I just realized how handsome our lord is. Feels like he's even better looking than young Leonardo DiCaprio in real life."
Luna nodded in agreement.
Before they could continue their discussion, Leon looked up at them.
"You've worked hard today, but the task isn't complete yet. We still need your efforts."
"Yesss…" The players responded weakly.
Seeing their lack of enthusiasm, Leon understood. Chopping wood was tedious and exhausting. He needed to reignite their motivation.
Thinking this, he continued, "Of course, I won't let your efforts go unrewarded. Once the task is complete, I'll distribute rewards. The person with the highest contribution will receive a special bonus."
The word "reward" instantly grabbed the players' attention.
"Reward? What kind of reward?"
"I suddenly feel full of energy!"
"Who cares about rewards? I just love chopping trees for no reason!"
Their fighting spirit flared up, ready to dive back into work immediately.
"Alright, it's getting late. You should return to the divine realm. We'll continue the tree chopping tomorrow."
The time flow here matched the real world, and dawn was approaching on BlueStar.
"Wait, we're logging off? We've already spent a whole day in the game?"
The players still felt reluctant to leave.
"Oh, Lord Leon, what should I do about this Spinarak when I log off?" Bell pointed at the Spinarak on her shoulder.
Leon finally noticed the Spinarak and was inwardly surprised.
He hadn't expected a player to capture a Pokémon on the very first day.
In his plans, it would take at least several days of bonding before Pokémon would trust the players enough to follow them.
This Bell girl must be something special.
"Don't worry, the castle has staff who will take care of Pokémon temporarily. But this is only a short term solution. Eventually, you'll have to figure it out yourselves."
With so few players right now, Leon could afford to help care for their Pokémon. But once more joined, they'd have to manage on their own.
"There's another way to solve this. Since you're the first divine realm visitor to capture a Pokémon, here's a special reward."
Leon handed Bell a Poké Ball.
Giving Poké Balls as rewards was something he had debated for a long time.
His initial concern was that if people discovered he had a large supply of devices capable of sealing and controlling Pokémon, it would attract unwanted attention.
But upon further thought, this world wasn't lacking in tools that could seal Pokémon. For example, the Sea Temple had special crystals that could imprison Pokémon.
The difference was that such items were rare, unlike the widespread Beast Control Devices.
So as long as he didn't mass distribute Poké Balls, it shouldn't raise suspicions.
Besides, his territory was already in danger. Whether he revealed Poké Balls or not, enemies might attack regardless. Might as well give them to the players to strengthen their forces.
"What's this? A decoration?" Bell examined the small sphere curiously.
"It's called a Poké Ball. It can expand and shrink. As for its use… Come out, Bounsweet!"
Leon took out another Poké Ball and lightly tossed it upward. The ball opened automatically, releasing a beam of light that materialized into Bounsweet.
"Boooon!"
"As you can see, this is a tool for capturing and carrying Pokémon. You can store Spinarak inside the Poké Ball, so even when you return to the divine realm, you won't have to worry about it wandering off."
"That's amazing! But the ball is so small. Won't the Pokémon feel uncomfortable inside?"
"Not at all. The interior environment is very comfortable and even restores a bit of the Pokémon's stamina and injuries," Leon explained.
"Wow, that's awesome! Thank you, Lord Leon! So how do I use it?"
"Just touch the Pokémon with the Poké Ball. But this only works if the Pokémon already accepts you or is too weak to resist. Otherwise, it'll break free, and the Poké Ball will be wasted."
"Wait, so this device can forcibly capture Pokémon?" Ethan interjected.
Leon hesitated but answered truthfully, "Yes. If you defeat a Pokémon, you can capture it with a Poké Ball."
Originally, Leon hadn't wanted to reveal the forced capture function. But then he realized battling to catch Pokémon was a core feature of the game.
Plus, most Pokémon respected trainers who defeated them and rarely held grudges.
As for players irresponsibly capturing Pokémon and neglecting them, that wouldn't be an issue for now—he didn't have enough Poké Balls to spare anyway.
"What if I have Bell weaken a Pokémon for me, then I use a Poké Ball to capture it? Would that work?" Ethan pressed.
"It would, but the captured Pokémon wouldn't respect you. It wouldn't obey commands and might even attack you."
"Personally, I dislike that method. I'd prefer if you befriended Pokémon and let them follow you willingly."
Ethan understood Leon's meaning. If others helped with captures, not only would the Pokémon be disobedient, but Leon's favorability would drop too.
Meanwhile, Bell had figured out how the Poké Ball worked. She enlarged it and said to Spinarak, "Spinarak, will you be my partner?"
Spinarak looked at Bell's hopeful expression and willingly tapped the Poké Ball, turning into red light as it was absorbed inside.
The ball wobbled a few times before letting out a ding.
"Did it work? Yes! This is awesome!"
Seeing Leon nod, Bell jumped for joy.
"Ugh, I'm so jealous. How'd she get so lucky? She's got a Pokémon and a Poké Ball now," Dylan whined like he'd bitten into a lemon.
"The Poké Ball is probably a first capture reward. Don't worry, we still have a chance tomorrow. Let's log off for now," Ethan guessed the next day's special reward.
Leon had servants guide the players to prepared rooms for logging off while he finalized his game plan.
Meanwhile, the logged off players were already causing ripples in the real world.
(End of Chapter)