Il Ji walked downstairs. The chest was still exploring. Waving Jackpot goodbye, he shut the door and walked across the street. Several houses down was a small, locally-owned pizza shop.
"Il Ji!" The elderly shop owner shouted. "You came to grab something good, right? Pleased to see you here!"
"You know it!"
While the prices at Pizza Catch were expensive, they were worth the price. In actuality, some of the money that Il Ji received from his store was due to people bringing a date to Pizza Catch and walking around the strip.
"I'll order one large, pan-crust spicy squid extravaganza and one large, cheese-in-the-crust alfredo pesto delight."
"To go?"
"Yes sir!"
The shop owner, Rick, shouted to the back. "I got an order here for Lucky Pet Supply! Give them the block discount!"
"Yes, boss!"
A young employee came up to the counter. Punching a 20% discount, he added up the total. "That will be 80 federation coins, sir."
Il Ji looked at the balance on his card. Tapping it onto the counter, he paid by card.
"Give us fifteen minutes and we'll pass it back to you."
"See you then."
Taking his receipt, Il Ji walked to an empty booth and sat down. He began to peruse the Federation's Beast Encylopedia for skills to copy. The ones that would help him most were ones he could use. After that, he could pass some on to his beasts.
Looking into body enhancements, he decided to start with the mind. With a clearer mind one was able to do all sorts of things. In business, this mattered.
Sorting through every single one, he finally found two that were somewhat plausible. [Enhanced Mind] was present in several species of parrot, such as the Hundred Parodies Parrot.
Since they tended to annoy their owners, they went for a lower price. As such, if he received enough money he should be able to afford one.
[Ego Control] was present in the 'Almego Ant Species.' Since he only needed a single worker ant, this would be another way to strengthen himself.
As he looked, he found even more that interested him.
[Enhanced Sleep] and [Sleep Cultivation] would be helpful.
Also, [Telepathy] and [Telekinesis] were skills that, albeit a higher price tag, were still used by smaller, cheaper niche beasts that weren't so pricy that he could never afford one.
After a while he sidetracked. If he could teach his ant queens certain skills, they might be passed on to their offspring. At that point, he'd be able to sell them for a higher price.
Looking through the ant species, he picked several more worker ants to copy. Looking to the side, he also considered several of the silk-bearing species and sighed. He didn't have enough money to pursue that avenue yet.
As he continued to search, he finally heard his name being called. "Lucky Beast Supply!"
Waving his hand, he walked up to the counter. "Thank you for the incredible pizza."
"Thank you for your service, sir!"
As he walked out of the store, Il Ji began to walk down the sidewalk back to his shop. As he did, he found himself stopped by an old classmate.
Wrapping his arms around his girlfriend, Sebastian Law smiled. "Il Ji, long time no see! What are you up to these days?"
Il Ji laughed inwardly, but his face remained expressionless. Sebastion was the son of Mars Law, one of the preeminent judges for the city.
Sebastian had grown up with money, around money, and as far as he remembered, treated those without money as bugs beneath his feet. He was somebody that the current Il Ji could not offend.
If he was right, Sebastian would try to drag his name through the mud.
But Il Ji still braced himself- and prepared to make a stand. He believed in keeping his own face- no matter who stood against him.
"Actually, my value just went up. I'm quite happy where I'm at, actually."
Sebastian looked at him curiously. "How much is that?"
"Enough to be happy." Il Ji spoke plainly.
Sebastian bit the corner of his lip. "Do you not want to tell me?"
"I make enough to know that every man has a right to maintain his own needs. As mine are attained, I live a carefree life." Il Ji replied.
The girl was beginning to get upset. "Sebastian, babe, let's go get some pizza."
As she pulled on Sebastian's arm, he made an end to the conversation. Waving his hand behind him, he slowly intoned, "Il Ji, no matter what you thought of me in the past, I'm a changed man. Next time you see me, let's talk."
"Sebastian." Il Ji called out. Sebastian stopped mid-walk.
"If what you day is true, I'd love the chance to meet with you again." Continuing his walk back to the shop, Il Ji smiled down towards the ground.
Sebastian looked off into space for a moment before entering the pizza joint with his new girlfriend.
While it seemed that Sebastian had changed, it was best to be cautious.
Walking down the street, Il Ji turned the corner twice and walked down the back alley to enter his shop through the back entrance.
Once he got back inside, he locked and bolted the door. Depending on whether or not Sebastian had- indeed, truly changed, he might try for petty revenge.
Setting the pizza on the counter, he ran upstairs to find his sister. When he reached the top of the stairs, though, Il Ji slipped on something very wet.
This caused him to crash down nearly the entire flight of stairs, gaining several bruises and scrapes as his arms and legs swung akimbo, ragdolls at the ready.
Luckily, he landed on Stormcloud's bed. Otherwise, he would have broken… well, something. Fortunately, he only passed out.