The Genius Evolution Store

"Pfft. Hahahahahahahahahaha! I told you that you’re going to suffer, you inflexible bastard."

Arnie couldn’t hold himself back.

Jennifer was still sitting on top of the building while eating the popcorn that she had brought earlier.

General Marcel couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows.

Before he could say anything, another person suddenly came in. "So, this is why you want me to come."

A lot of people turned their heads, wondering who had suddenly interrupted them.

The soldiers couldn’t help but recognize her. They hurriedly saluted, showing their respect to the former lieutenant general.

"Lieutenant General Lunaria."

"You guys don’t have to salute me anymore. I’ve retired from the military." Lunaria waved her hand while smiling.

Auric nodded, showing that he intended to let the Relesha family manage the ruins.

Lunaria closed her eyes for a moment before saying, "I would be lying if that didn’t tempt me. However, as an individual as well as an elder, I can’t really approve of your plan. If you find ruins, you should report them to the government."

Auric shook his head. "Article 2.1 regarding the finding of undiscovered ruins: all ruins that have been discovered are required to be reported to the government due to the risk of beast outbreaks."

"That’s right. For the safety of the people, I don’t really want to accept it for petty reasons." Lunaria nodded.

"I know that. However, if the ruins are harmless, doesn’t that mean there’s no reason to report them?"

"Harmless?" Lunaria certainly didn’t expect this argument.

"Yes." Auric nodded. "The article requires people to report the ruins to the government because of that risk, but if there is no such risk, that means there’s no need to report them.

"Access to the ruins is severely limited. It has been isolated, and the energy has been sealed. Most evolution masters shouldn’t be able to sense it, which is the reason they have never found the ruins all this time.

"When we entered the ruins, there was only one beast, which was similar to the animal that used to inhabit a cave. It didn’t even fight back when we attempted to kill it. After exploring the entire ruins, no other beasts were found.

"In other words, all this time, the ruins have been completely harmless, thus negating the necessity of reporting them."

A lot of people were dumbfounded.

"Well, most ruins are definitely found in accessible places."

"Yeah. When you think about it, you can think of the situation that way, which means there’s no need for them to report it to the government."

"But isn’t that too selfish?"

"Why wouldn’t they want to report it to the government?"

"Capitalism?"

Lunaria crossed her arms, contemplating. "I see. May I know the reason why you want to give it to me instead of the government?"

"I believe you already know the answer."

"The beast outbreak from three weeks ago?" Lunaria narrowed her eyes. She didn’t specify why, but she mentioned the beast outbreak.

It immediately caused the people to remember what had happened three weeks ago.

"Wait? I heard a loud explosion three weeks ago."

"Idiot, that wasn’t just a normal explosion. I saw what happened after that explosion. A small mountain collapsed."

"It wasn’t natural?"

"You bet. What is actually going on?"

"I don’t know, but it should be the reason he doesn’t want to report it to the military. Was that what the military was doing?"

People speculated, and some couldn’t help but turn to General Marcel, trying to get an explanation.

Arnie’s mouth was itching, but he had been calculating the problems. He definitely wanted to explain the situation, but it could crush the military’s morale. The government might end up hurting Auric because of it.

He didn’t know what would happen after that, especially with the Evolution Association.

That was why Auric chose to refrain from giving specific details. Lunaria also didn’t spill everything.

However, they tried to avoid the situation where people would point a finger at them. They made people focus on the military, trying to figure out what had actually happened.

Lunaria asked, "Well, this is definitely quite justifiable, but can I know the process of discovering this place?"

"Certainly." Auric nodded. "The ruins usually possess elements that they are abundant in. For example, if the ruins are located in a lake, the ruins will possess the water element.

"I believe a lot of people have speculated about this theory for a long time. In that case, where is the earth element for the Alps ruins? It’s located in a mountain range, so there should be the earth element.

"Just look at the nearby ruins and you will figure it out. There are always ruins that have that earth element. However, a normal earth element won’t justify the reason why the Alps ruins don’t have an earth element.

"I mean, the Alps ruins have water and wind elements, but there are still the Wind Temple and the Chilling Lake.

"That’s why I arrived at a conclusion. There are ruins with an earth element so strong that it can draw the energy from the Alps ruins.

"Yes, it’s the absolute earth element!"

"!!!" They were dumbfounded. "Ruins with an absolute element?"

"No way."

"Is this for real?"

"There is only one place with an absolute element. And that place is Hell on Earth. It possesses an absolute fire element. Is this... the second place where an absolute element exists?"

They never thought Auric’s discovery would be this massive.

"Please continue." Lunaria extended her hand, gesturing for the people to be quiet so that Auric could continue his explanation.

"I accidentally came across it. I knew the ruins were buried underground. Still, my first expectation was that even though the ruins were sealed perfectly, it would still have access. My group was ready to fight against beasts.

"But it turned out the beasts weren’t there. We entered the ruins and found them to be completely empty, except for one rank 4 beast that didn’t even fight back."

Lunaria nodded in understanding. "So, you found the ruins by using your senses?"

"Yes." Auric felt bad that he claimed Lindwurm’s credit, but everyone would think he was crazy if he told them Lindwurm was the one who found the ruins. Instead, he would let Lindwurm enjoy his feast later, as per their agreement.

"Wait a minute! If there is no beast over there, can’t you do artifact farming?!"

"Artifact farming... a method of farming that utilizes the ruins to create artifacts. People bring items in and let the ruins marinate them. It’s an unreliable method because beasts will be able to enter the ruins. In the end, they have to defend themselves while there’s no guarantee that the items they bring will become artifacts."

"Yes, but if we’re talking about a place with no beasts..."

"It means there will be no cost of protection. You can just put your items there and let them marinate. Besides, the ruins are newly discovered, so the chance of items turning into artifacts is higher."

"Isn’t that a new type of money-making machine?!"

"Yeah, the ruins also have an absolute earth element. Do you know how rare it is?"

"People who possess elements with a rating above 4.5 have a hard time finding beasts or artifacts to increase their energy. Most of the time, they use materials on the lower side. For an element with a rating of 4.5, the user will absorb materials with a rating of 4.0 most of the time."

"In other words, this place is like a paradise for those people."

"Not only artifact farming, but it can also be used as a research institute. They can allow scientists to enter and research more about the ruins."

"Holy shit."

"Holy shit!"

They finally figured out the value of the ruins. They realized that 50,000 points were far too low as compensation.

In fact, a lot of them had figured out that the absolute earth element wasn’t the only element there. The ruins also had a dark element.

This place would turn into something special in the future, but the military actually lost it because of something they didn’t know.

What actually happened during the beast outbreak? What did the military do to actually force this genius to hand the ruins over to someone else?

Lunaria was completely speechless. This kind of offer was definitely beyond anything she had imagined.

The ruins could be used to increase their standing in the government.

Arnie was enjoying the drama. He couldn’t help but think, ’Oh boy. This inflexible general is getting slapped in the face. He doesn’t realize he has been played by those terrorists. As a result, the relationship between the military and this kid turned sour.

’However, by not revealing the actual matter, they can just make up some excuse to cover it up. This kid is also clever enough to give this mess to the Relesha family. In other words, there is still a chance to mend the relationship, and the government can still get the precious ruins.

’With this situation, the government doesn’t have a big enough reason to harm Auric. Auric knows that the Evolution Association will stop the government since the Relesha family is the one handling this matter. Besides, it’s also the military’s fault.’

Arnie never thought Auric actually used this discovery to bring the military to their knees.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Auric had planned one step further. He thought, ’With this, the Relesha family can hand over the ruins to the government in exchange for a full pardon for the family as well as my teacher. In other words, Teacher Maya doesn’t need to worry about her probation anymore.

’It will also repay my debt to them when they saved me from Professor Schad, but this kind of discovery was too small to repay that kind of debt, so the Relesha family will still owe me. Besides, with Teacher Maya having no more travel restrictions, I can finally travel together with her and start searching for more unique elements that I can copy.’

It was a plan that even Lindwurm approved.

The easiest method to search for unique elements without worrying about being exposed was to get Maya’s help.

She already knew about his situation. She easily discovered a lot of people with unique elements who were desperate enough to evolve. Of course, this might also create a rumor that a unique element evolution master had appeared.

But he actually wanted that rumor to spread. This way, it wouldn’t be so sudden when he revealed that he was a unique element evolution master.

Besides, people could only speculate about this matter.

Katarina glanced at Vera, remembering what Auric had said before this.

"Just tell your family that you’ve asked me not to reveal the details regarding this incident. I agree to it because you are my friends. This way, the damage to your family won’t be big, and you don’t have to worry about me."

Katarina smiled. ’With this, there won’t be any problems with Vera. It might even boost her standing in the family. And Vera will owe Auric for this. I guess it’s a win for me to know that the person I choose to follow is someone with good judgment.’

The situation had turned tense. General Marcel hadn’t spoken the whole time.

Besides, Lunaria wouldn’t allow him to speak. After she heard everything, Lunaria nodded. "Very well. I will accept it. Let’s talk about it in another place."

"I understand." Auric nodded.

Arnie patted Auric’s shoulder and whispered, "I will take care of this place here. Fortunately, you didn’t say anything that will cause a big mess. For now, I’ll watch over your group until the reward has been distributed."

"Don’t worry. I’m not planning to turn it into a big mess. It’s still something that can be settled without causing a scene." Auric reassured Arnie.

"Very well. Even though I’m a logical man, I’m still an official, so I can’t exactly turn down an order if it comes directly from the president."

"I know." Auric nodded.

"In any case, I’ve watched a good drama."

"Glad you enjoy it." Auric chuckled and walked away as Lunaria shielded him so that General Marcel couldn’t do anything to him.