Il Ji woke up the next morning and rushed downstairs. Luckily, the sale he was looking forward to didn't open until 8AM.
He completed the store's daily maintenance, prepared for his sister's arrival downstairs, and gotten her out the door towards school by no later than 7:34.
He then walked out the door and prepared to visit Old Man Addlesby's shop. First, though, he needed more nutrient juice. Luckily, the shop was open.
He had negotiated a deal with the shop's owner yesterday, so he was finally getting the much sought-after discount.
Once he got his nutrient drinks back home, into the fridge, and re-locked the door, it was only 8:42. Seeing that his excitement outshone his patience, he decided to wait outside Mr. Attlesby's Puzzles Galore!Emporium to show his gratitude.
Less than a minute later, the kind old man spotted him and let him in the door.
"Il Ji! For you, my doors are always open. If ever my son loved puzzles as much as you and your sister, by golly I would never switch my business up like this, not even in a million years."
"Go on!" He shouted, throwing his hand at the rest of the store. "Shop around before anyone else gets here! For you, the best of the best!"
Il Ji sent him a grin. "Since you've given me this opportunity, don't go back on your word!"
He walked around the store. Puzzles, small and large, sat on the shelves. Il Jihadn't stopped by for about a month, so he decided to check for anything he hadn't seen before, first.
He clocked an antique pyramidal structure with an eye, but it didn't seem to be anything special.
On the other side of the aisle, he found a small, well-adorned jewelry box. Opening it played music, but flipping it over changed the song. He liked the tune. Seeing the lower price, he decided to pick it up for his sister.
Continuing onto the next aisle, he found what looked like an old guitar amp. However, the entire item was made up of many small triangles, and they all curved around one another.
Seeing the larger price tag, he skipped on it and continued to look around.
In another section, he found a goldenwood pocket watch with open gears that had been studded with sapphires.
He instantly added it to the pile- despite the price tag. It was too enchanting to do otherwise. Walking around, he didn't find anything else within his budget that he liked enough to buy.
"Old Man Addlesby! I'm done!" He shouted.
"No, you're- not!" A stressed voice came from behind him.
Il Ji looked and saw the old man pushing a small cart with a mountain-sized cloth canvas covering the part underneath.
As he made it to the counter, the man panted and brought himself to the register. Il Ji turned around.
"-Don't." An icy glare came from behind him. "That is my gift for little Laila. It shall not be touched until she returns home. Neither of you shall know of the item within until she opens it herself. Understood?"
"Crystal."
"Good. This," he said, pulling out a blue cord, "Is my gift to you."
The blue cord held a small puzzle made of black, whimsical crystal that formed the shape of a small octahedron.
From what he knew, the original shape was a sphere, which upon solving would turn into an elliptoid. Then it would turn into a cuboid, then a square pyramid, which upon solving would turn into an octahedron.
But it had never been a step further.
Il Ji held the blue necklace in awe. "Isn't this..?"
"Yes. My father built this shop because he was so enamored by this necklace. He spent the thirty years before he died trying desparately to solve it, but ultimately, he failed."
"On his deathbed, my father gave me this necklace, and made me promise to only ever hand it to someone worthy of his dream- someone that had solved as many puzzles as he had."
"Il Ji, you are the only one I can think to give it to."
Placing the puzzle into Il Ji's hands, he pressed his hand shut.
"It is my honor and great pleasure to uphold the legacy of the Addlesby's."
"It is my honor, young man, to see it upheld. Now go! Quick, through the back! I need to let the evil shopkeepers from across the way think they nabbed a great deal!"
The two shared a look- then Il Ji rushed out the back, his cart- and Laila's gift- in tow.
He rolled the cart into the middle of his shop from the back alley and locked the door. Seeing as he had time for one more copper skill, he set an alarm for 11:00AM and began his process with the ants.
So it was that slowly, but surely he would win the race- and attain his future dreams.