Standing around to be the martyrdom for my beast at least has the benefit of training my resistances. I haven't noticed an increase in training speed, even though I'm technically taking twice the damage. More testing will be needed.

[Resistance: Slashing 465 > 520 (620)]

[Resistance: Piercing 400 > 465 (565)]

Unfortunately, I can't stay in this fracture and grind experience forever. I think it's time I use some of the credits rotting in my account.

After showering and grooming my beasts from the blood and dust, I contemplated calling Free Chains on the logistics of starting a business. Money makes the world go round, and gaining passive income wouldn't waste my time. The only issue is how I would earn that income. Ironic that I want to use my money in a venture to make more money, but that's how the world works.

I can go the boring route and open up a company that makes normal things or sells normal services. Or I can use the fact that I'm the master of five unique tamed beasts. Not to mention my own unique characteristics.

Unless I can put some crash test dummies out of a job, I don't see my resistance helping me in this endeavor. My blood is abnormal, and my healing is unique. I also have all these feathers from Duchess evolving twice now. Flash Gordon can create most energy stones, which we can abuse to sell rare ones in bulk.

I could use my own company to sell things I find in fractures or buy the rights to fractures to adventure into. It'll be a guild, except I'd be the only ranker. For legal reasons, I don't think I can call it a guild because guilds get specific tax benefits, and I need to meet the requirements. Also, I'm technically not a ranker. I need to take a government test because I haven't graduated yet.

And if I want to, I could get into the black market. I'm unsure if I can heal something that is no longer there. I've been regrowing my heart predominantly with my martial art skill, not only my healing skill. If I get volunteers or even use myself, I could cut out half of someone's organ, keep it alive, and regenerate it, then repair their organs. Healing them makes the business model sustainable. Sell the organ, and bam, infinite money glitch.

But how illegal is that? First, I'd assume that the volunteers consented and are paid. Then I'd try only to take buyers who are as clean as possible. Not forgetting to be a 'licensed' company that pays its taxes... Would it still be illegal?

...I don't think the people buying human organs in mass are using them to save lives. It's probably cheaper to invest in a healer who can heal the underlying problem rather than put in a new one and wait for complications. A hospital needs one guy on a payroll instead of paying for an organ every time that might not even work.

Yeah, necromancers, cannibals, and perverts will probably be my clientele. I'll put the idea on the back burner and save it from emergencies.

Selling my healing skills would require getting certified as a healer, which the Valentine Corporation has a chokehold on. I don't want the people cornering the healing market to learn about my skill that can heal anything since that may bring trouble that isn't worth it. I can disguise it as a traditional healing skill, but they might have experts recognize something is off.

I don't want to join a guild. And I think adding other people to a party is not only useless but detrimental, so renting myself as a healer for a group is off the table.

If I go through with creating a company, I'll need a way for the business to make money without my beasts or me. If I'm forced away for a while, and because of that, my business fails, I'd be embarrassed.

Maybe merchandise. Flash Gordon tees wouldn't be a bad idea. In that case, I could straight up buy my father's business. Speaking of... Giving my foster parents ten million dollars on our tenth anniversary would be weak. I'd probably have to bump the number up quite a bit.

Free Chains will be busy with the lawsuit... I wonder how Charlie is doing. I'm sure he's busy being imprisoned or trying to reverse that. I call him, but he doesn't answer. I'm not starting my new business without talking to my business-orientated friend who made deals with the literal goddess of wealth. Technically I made a deal with Merita as well, but I digress.

I don't think Charlie is in any more trouble than he already is, so I shouldn't worry more than I already do. I don't know when master Giles will be back for the attunement process, so I might as well consolidate other things in the meantime.

~

Instead of using my manor grounds, I decided to sneak over to master Giles' place. As a master tamer, he should have something for training beasts. I should use the fact that I'm his disciple for as long as I can. I'm also waiting for him, 'might as well camp out at his house. Not only is he holding up my attunement, but he also owes me since I won the bet.

I carry Flash Gordon as Prometheus sits on his head like a hat. Duchess and Rob follow behind me as the Khans float above my head. We get looks, but not many people are out and about in this district. Mostly rich retired people or their kids... Now that I think about it, the clans and families of the city probably have estates here.

Master Giles' rooster is sleeping on top of the gate entrance. Its brown and yellow feathers look unassuming compared to my Duchess, but I won't disrespect this beast.

[Little Brown ? ???]

I knock on the door of the gate. The rooster doesn't move. I do it again, but again, the rooster doesn't wake. I could hop the fence, but I don't know if defenses are in place since master Giles is out of the country. I don't want to get attacked by a guard tiger in case there's a misunderstanding.

"Hey... Little Brown? Can I come in?"

One of the rooster's eyes opens. It looks at my beasts before looking at me. It goes back to sleep, ignoring my existence. The gate is unlocked, so I open the door.

The picturesque, almost utopic lands surrounding master Giles' home. His house is humble compared to master Wangs, but it's still a large building made with expensive materials. There is a little slice of every type of terrain, almost unnaturally so.

The door closes in front of me. The rooster is fully awake now and clucks at me.

[It's saying that no one is allowed here when Gile's is out.]

I guess I made the trip for nothing. Halfway back, I hear some commotion. The first thing I see is a black vehicle. It's the same model as one of those vans stalking me. This car looks like an armored SUV, not a "free candy" van. What's important about this car is that a man is holding it above his head as the driver desperately tries to drive off. Since the wheels aren't touching the ground, it doesn't take a genius to understand that the driver is stuck.

The man holding the car is slightly on the older side and looks grizzly. He's wearing a wife beater showing off his military tattoo and a pair of sweatpants. An unlit cigarette is hanging from his lips as he looks... disappointed?

He noticed me staring and casually called out, "Hey, kid. You got a light?"

He stares at me, waiting for an answer. I pat down my pockets and recall I have a lighter in my bag. It's the one I used to feed Prometheus when he was still in his egg. I get it out and walk over to the guy. I look at the car before looking back at the guy.

"Car thief. I don't want to break my own windows. I'm holding him here until the car runs out of gas."

I light my lighter and hold it under his cigarette. He takes a puff from it and nods.

"Thanks, kid. I'd do it myself, but I need both hands. This shit is modded as fuck, and weighs a shitton too."

"How'd you get the cigarette then?"

"So you can talk. I bummed a cigarette from the last guy that walked past. Are those your pets over there? 'Reminds me of when I was younger. I never left home without my dog. Too bad that little fucker got shot."

"Why does the guy not put the car in park if you will get him when the car runs out of gas?"

"I'd unlock the door and beat the shit out of him. If I put it down now, the car will speed off. I don't want to chase after it again. I told him if the enforcers got here before my gas guzzler ran empty, he'd be saved by them. I wouldn't be able to get him if he got arrested."

"How long have you been standing here?"

"A good ten to fifteen minutes. I told them to take their time. Hey kid, you live around here? I moved to this neighborhood recently, and all my neighbors are assholes."

This part of the city is full of rich people who don't want to live near skyscrapers and congestion. This man doesn't look like he belongs here. Neither do I, but I digress.

"Sorta. Seeya. Careful not to get shot by the enforcers."

"Aye. Thanks for the light."

"Before I go, military?"

"Ex. Retired with honors and bullshit like that. Got paid a pretty penny and blew it all on my house and modding up my car. Heh. 'Got this baby early in my career, and I'll be damned if I let some two-bit thief run off with it."

I should get a car.

"What model is it? Where can I buy one?"

"I'll stop you there. This beauty may look like any other car, but it's military-grade equipment. It's the most customizable vehicle not on the market, and only military personnel can own it. Not just any military man as well. The people who make them have a 'civilian' model, but you can't make it a beast like mine.

Double-plated blast-proof plating hidden within the body to keep the car incognito, a mana battery that can run off the excess mana from the palms of the driver. Chairs made from [Kraken] leather and numerous quality life improvements like a turret. Didn't install the turret yet."

I feel like this guy can talk about his car forever. I leave him to his cigarette before he can inform me about his windows and the custom license plate.

So my stalkers might be military, eh? That or they are just using the civilian models. Either way, fuck. The Stricklands are suppliers for the military, but I don't think they make cars. I know they make guns, ammo, bombs, drugs, scrolls, and a spare war crime here or there.

I put words into the search bar of my phone until I got the car manufacturer. The civilian one is in the hundreds of thousands, so I wonder how much the super version is. It's also quite popular, so the stalkers might have good tastes instead of being military.

The company is owned by a ranker, and it doesn't seem like they have any ties to the Strickland family. Not publicly, at least. Not having confirmation is fucking with me. If I knew that Stricklands were coming for me, I would have some peace of mind instead of living in this guessing game.

[It won't matter who is coming for us if you are strong enough to repel them regardless of strength or status, master.]

"I'll stop being paranoid when I can tank a literal tank."

[Be paranoid. Don't waste time.]

~

My beasts are my strength, and they can continue to level. All but one. Prometheus is constantly hungry and eats every chance he gets. He's growing, and the only requirement for his evolution is for him to mature. His physiology is vastly different from any other creature I've seen.

It's close to the [Lava Slime] recorded in my [Lexicon], which makes sense since he's an [Magma Ooze]. Slimes consume so they can split. That's how they reproduce. I'm not sure about [Magma Oozes] since it isn't recorded anywhere, and no gelatinous base creature hatches from eggs.

Scientists know how to induce the slime's mitosis by overfeeding until it 'pops.' Prometheus has a trait literally called [Gluttony], 'might as well feed him until something happens.