Once everybody received their papers, the six elders got to work. Il Ji felt the ground shift around him.
Soon after, the Architect Emperor came over. "Il Ji, what are the enviromental needs for your [Primordial Project]?"
Il Ji held his fingers to his temple. "I need a grass prairie with a small hill in the center. The housing unit can be built off of the elevator, with a small, secured exit door to the elevator room and a separate door to the house."
"A flight of stairs will go around the outside of the housing unit, and spill out onto its roof, which will have a fence encircling it. From there, a series of walkways will rise directly above the flower's maximum height."
"The fenced walkways will be in blocks no bigger than 10 feet in diameter, which will allow me to easily scoop up butterflies with a six foot net."
"The housing unit will require a reading lounge, a computer workspace, bedroom, guest room, and kitchen. I'll also need all the appliances to go with them."
"As for the butterflies I plan to house, I'll need the proper nutrient cycle, which means an overhead lighting system, at least ten well-established [Heavy Sap Maple Trees] around the perimeter, a field of [Honeydrop Lilac Flowers], and some [Natal Dewdrop Princess Blossoms] on the center hill."
"In the center of the room, on the hill, I will need a [Crimson Peach Golden Petal] tree. I'll need a [Flame Pixie] to supplement it, as well as a [Water Elemental] to keep the aoil soft."
"You can put a standard research workstation on top of the housing unit's roof, across from the walkways."
"From there, the last thing I'll need is some [Exoskeletal Miniature Cows] to lay further nutrients in the soil. As for the rest of the ingredients, I will put in an order through the lab's Research Portal once they are needed."
"Alright." The Architect Emperor held up a small tool-type beast- a laser beam flashlight- and aimed it at Il Ji. With a flash, it seemed to extract something from both him and his friends.
"What was-"
"[Skill: Aura Extraction]." The Architect Emperor had quickly answered his unfinished question.
"There are a few different safeguards for teleportation pads. By far, the easiest is identification badges. However, the hardest to crack is aura. Since everyone has an aura, if you limit the aura pool to, say, you and your friends, nobody else can join you- or pretend to be you."
"Smart." Il Ji replied. "Is there anything else we can help out with?"
"Not at this time. Besides, with the six you have here we'll be finished in less than ten minutes."
"Oh." Il Ji had thought they'd be fast- just not that fast. "In that case," he added, "Would you mind updating the outside of the association? Since we were remodelling anyways, Orio decided to give it a little flourish."
"I can take a look."
"Then on behalf of Chao City, I thank you. It was seriously… unmodelled, before."
The Architect Emperor chuckled for a moment, and then his face became serious. "My Stryftos has the spatial skill: Teleportation. You can use it to carry your friends back home. That being said, I've given him instructions to only teleport you to public locations."
"He won't tolerate any mischief, and he won't join in any fights you've started- unless of course, someone else steps in on their side as well."
"At the end of the year, he'll report back to both myself and the council- and we'll know exactly what kind of man you are."
"That's fine."
"Mm. See you later, kid."
Il Ji bowed. "It's been a pleasure."
Turning, he walked over to his friends. "Group Hug!" With a shout, he enveloped all four of them. "Stryftos, take us to the Midas Shopping Strip!"
The yellow-black elemental wrapped itself in a circle around them, and then…
"ICE CREEEEAAAAAAAM!" A loud bellow shook the shops as a large man jiggled his deshirted, hairless, and ultra oversized belly.
"Oh hey, it's ice cream day. Do you all want some? Bill's on Sebastian."
"What? Me?"
"Yes, you. Didn't you agree to be responsible for the party afterwards?"
"Yeah, but that's before I knew you had more than all of us combined."
"No takebacks."
"Eeeish. How long is the line, anyways?"
Il Ji put his hand upon Sebastian's shoulder. "Long, my brother. Long. It's Ice Cream Day."
Thirty minutes later, the five of them finally received their ice cream.
"I have now learned, know, and understand," Sebastian began to state, licking a patch of white from his cheek, "why you all are willing to stand in line this long. How could any guy on the side of the road even come up with anything belying such a delicious nature?"
"That's Jimmy." Il Ji replied. "He's the only vendor allowed here- when he does corne, most stores see their sales volume increase multiple times over. He truly is out hidden gem."
"Yee-ep!" Minata supplied from the side.
Laila and Maya were talking while they finished up. "Hey, Minata."
"Il Ji?"
"Can you show these three around for a bit? I'll be right back, I need to drop something off."
"Sure."
"Thanks. Stryftos?"
"Yes."
"Teleport me back."
VWOOSH!
"Oh. Yep. Teleport me up a floor?"
VWOOSH!
He found himself standing above a flower field. It was just as he had envisioned. It was beautiful.
Il Ji walked over to the giant tree in the center and aimed his gun. BLAM! A green laser shot out of his [MX-9] and… nestled a bunch of butterfly eggs among the roots. The [Exoskeletal Minature Cows] wouldn't bother them, so they should be fine here. Since he was the only one with access to this floor…
He walked away. The temperature and humidity were set, and there were no predators.
The [Flame Pixie] was already hibernating inside the tree, and wouldn't come out for the next… 8 months or so, based on the books he'd read.
"Alright, Stryftos, let's return."
VWOOSH!
'Now… Where'd they go?'
Il Ji began patrolling the strip, looking for his friends. They weren't at the ice cream place, his shop was closed, Laila hadn't taken them to see Mr. Addlesby… The only two likely answers were Adele's or Minata's.
He decided to check Minata's first. It was the obvious choice.
The door was open. 'Good, they're here.'
Minata was teaching the girls how to make a certain type of knot. Sebastian was wandering around the store, so Il Ji went up to him first.
"I've seen lots of beast armaments before," Sebastian began, "but I've never seen anything close to this. Look at this! The spirals, the curves- they create a straight line. They're designed to assist an attack, not only for looks."
"For someone of her cultivation, I'm- I'm sorely impressed. No wonder the Architect Emperor wanted to work with her."
Il Ji smiled. "Yes- her father was one of the Federation's greatest masters- before he died, and he left her a great deal of his works and knowledge. If she hadn't received a Beast Tamer soul star, and had gotten an Armament or Forging star instead, she'd surely have doubled her cultivation by now."
"Yes, I see that. Such dedication…"