After reading the pet profile, Soulshadow Tianyou remained utterly stunned. Her Loli Monkey’s base stats were utterly broken—no one in the entire server would dare challenge its claim to the top spot.

Still, the game’s balance held up well enough…

Because after reviewing the Loli Monkey’s skills, Soulshadow Tianyou finally understood why its base stats were so absurdly overpowered.

She glanced down and noticed something odd: floating above the Loli Monkey’s head was the label [Player: Loli Monkey]. Normally, pets displayed "[Player’s Name]’s Pet" followed by the pet’s name. But here, it was labeled as a *player*.

What a bizarre skill. Besides causing confusion and trouble, what use was it? Utterly worthless.

The next skills—[Experience Plunder] and [Heartlink]—were even worse. One constantly halved the player’s EXP gain; the other forced the player to suffer death penalties whenever the pet died. These weren’t skills at all. They were pure debuffs!

Even its active attack skills were mediocre. Judging by its stats and abilities, the Loli Monkey seemed built for single-target burst damage—ideal for duels or boss kills, not for grinding mobs.

“But all *my* skills are AoE…” Soulshadow Tianyou sighed, checking her own abilities. She only had two: *Place Mushroom* and *Throw Mushroom*.

“Loli Monkey, stop sleeping—and stop biting my chest. Time to grind mobs.” She nudged the little monkey girl napping on her lap, nibbling absentmindedly at her chest.

Soulshadow Tianyou lifted her up by the scruff.

“Master?” The Loli Monkey rubbed her eyes. Her drooping monkey ears perked up, and her tail swayed sleepily.

“We’re grinding mobs,” Soulshadow Tianyou said firmly.

“Grinding? Fighting monsters? Yay! I love that!” At the word “fight,” the Loli Monkey’s eyes lit up. She wriggled free from Soulshadow Tianyou’s grip.

Planting her hands on her hips, she stood before her master, waiting for orders.

Soulshadow Tianyou’s gaze lingered on the word “Player” hovering above the Loli Monkey’s head. Humanoid pets were intelligent, sure—but was this little monkey girl’s IQ *too* high?

…Though having an overly smart pet wasn’t entirely bad.

Shaking off her thoughts, Soulshadow Tianyou led her Loli Monkey toward the central area of the new zone.

A cluster of Lv. 1–5 bunny mobs hopped around. She’d test her skills here first.

“Place Mushroom…”

As she activated the skill, a giant mushroom—larger than her head—materialized above her palm. It floated, spinning slowly. Rainbow hues shimmered across its surface. To Soulshadow Tianyou, it looked translucent; to others, it would be invisible.

She tried tossing it. It wouldn’t budge, hovering stubbornly above her hand.

“Figures,” she muttered.

She placed it on the ground instead. This time, it settled smoothly into the soil, still spinning lazily.

“It’ll only explode when a mob steps on it…” She pointed at a wandering Lv. 5 bunny. “Loli Monkey! Attack that rabbit!”

“Yes, Master!” The little monkey girl, who’d been watching eagerly, dashed forward.

Grinning wildly, she summoned a Golden Cudgel mid-air. She vanished—then reappeared before the rabbit. With a mighty leap, she swung the cudgel down.

***CRACK!***

The earth shattered. Dust billowed like smoke.

The rabbit’s HP bar emptied instantly. Its body dissolved into white light amid the swirling dust.

“…” Soulshadow Tianyou could only stare in silence.

Both she and the monkey girl leveled up.

“Target eliminated, Master! Praise me!” The Loli Monkey skipped back, beaming.

“You… killed it?” Soulshadow Tianyou narrowed her eyes.

“Huh? You never said *not* to kill it! And it was so weak—one hit and poof! Not my fault!” The Loli Monkey pouted, then thrust her head forward. “C’mon, Master~ Stroke my fur!”

Sighing, Soulshadow Tianyou ruffled the monkey girl’s hair. “Be good. Next time, don’t one-shot the mobs. Lure them to my mushroom instead.”

“Can’t! Master, *none* of these mobs survive my attacks—not even a basic hit! And if you want to lure them…” The Loli Monkey planted a hand on her hip, wagging a finger smugly. “Don’t you have *Throw Mushroom*? Just use that!”

…Her own pet was lecturing her. Dark lines crept across Soulshadow Tianyou’s face.