The Genius Evolution Store

"This is interesting." Lindwurm examined the document.

"Hmm?" Auric didn’t understand what was going on. The documents were a list of treatments and materials.

The treatment itself was filled with multiple elements, so it looked quite random. It didn’t look like a treatment that a person would receive. Instead, it looked like research about multiple treatments, as if the person who made this research wanted to combine them into a single treatment.

Besides, he wasn’t familiar with a third of the treatments.

’I don’t understand.’ Auric frowned.

Lindwurm started to guide him. "Look at those names. Those treatments are useful against multiple elements. I’m sure you know a lot of them."

’Yes.’

"Don’t look at the materials. Just look at the treatments first. How many elements can you figure out?"

’This one is fire and earth, this one is water and lightning, this one...’ Auric listed the elements from the treatment he knew. Ultimately, he found all six basic elements here. ’All six?’

"Indeed. Now, look at the materials."

Auric fell silent before noticing something weird in the document. ’Why are there materials for light and dark elements?’

"Exactly. And now, check the materials again. What is their rank?"

Auric narrowed his eyes. ’All of them are rank 4? Ah, so that’s how it is.’

"So, what’s the conclusion?" Lindwurm asked.

Auric gulped. ’This is research about a treatment for a rank 4 human. No, it might not be a rank 4 human. Instead, it’s a rank 4 problem. This problem can originate from beasts or ruins.

’There are two studies on energy density, so there’s a chance that this originated from the ruins.

’If we look at the materials, there are multiple elements. For now, I can’t determine how many elements there are, but there’s a chance for the light and dark elements to be involved as well. Still, there’s no treatment method for the light and dark elements listed here.’

"Now, think about who is handling this matter."

’Professor Schad...’ Auric covered his mouth. ’Are you saying that the fusion concept is actually related to the treatment method?’

"From the looks of it, yes."

Arnie’s suspicion was reasonable.

"You should call Arnie and check if there’s a patient that suffers from six to eight elements at the same time. It’s fine if it’s a bit old."

Auric didn’t do it immediately. Instead, he noticed something else. ’I think we can narrow it down a bit more. If you look at the treatments as well as the materials, all of them are quite harmful to the body. This means the amount of power required to treat that person is extremely high.

’In that case, the elements that are stuck inside that person’s body should be deep. They might even stick to the bones. If it’s just the barrier, they should stick only to the flesh, not the bones.’

"Oh! You’re right." Lindwurm realized he had missed that detail. "This kind of incident is extremely rare. In fact, I think there is one case similar to this one."

’A similar case?’

"Yes. Have you ever heard of Elemental Turbulence?"

’Hmmm?’ Auric remained silent. He had never heard that term before.

"Elemental Turbulence. It’s a condition where the ruins collapse. The barrier will shrink and gather in one spot before it’s dispersed into the surroundings. This is a very rare case because it requires the destruction of the ruins.

"Let’s use the mall as an example. The mall was the center of the ruins, do you remember?"

’Yes.’

"If you destroyed the mall entirely, there was a chance that this turbulence would occur. However, the mall itself had been enhanced by the energy from the ruins, so it was not that easy for you to destroy it.

"The case I’m thinking about is a 90-year-old case, so it might not be the one we’re looking for. At that time, the ruins collapsed, and the energy was sucked into a single point before exploding. If you were hit by that wave of high-density energy, it would penetrate even your flesh.

"It’d be a miracle if you could survive. At the very least, you would be in a coma and your elements couldn’t be used anymore due to those elements sticking to your bones and organs."

’Doesn’t this sound like the poison we are currently dealing with?’ Auric asked.

"In a way, yes. This must be the reason they created the poison. If there are more people suffering from this situation, they might have been forced to find a solution together."

’So, they want me to fix this person? Is that why they want to capture me?’

"Most likely. At this rate, your identity as the evolution master who can remove their poison might already be known to them. There is no point in hiding it anymore."

’But is that it? If I can save this person, can we turn them into an ally?’

"No, you won’t be able to save this person... not yet." Lindwurm shook his head. "First of all, this person is most likely a rank 4 human. Your power is not there yet. In addition, this condition is much more severe than the poisoning. The poison flows through the blood, so the blood can be replaced. This one, on the other hand, is the organs and bones. You can’t remove that."

’My chaos element might be able to do it.’

"Nope. It won’t be enough. You can think of it like this. A rank 4 artifact. Try to use your own power to remove all the power that is embedded in a rank 4 artifact."

’Ah!’ Auric thought for a moment. ’I might not be able to do it... not yet.’

"Yes, but there is one bigger problem. This is not one element we’re talking about."

’Oh...’ Auric sucked in a cold breath. ’We are going to deal with multiple elements, no, wait. It’s even worse than that. Are you saying that we’re going to handle elemental fusion of six to eight elements?’

"Yes. The challenge will be removing a rank 4 artifact that has six to eight elements combined. Besides, this might be an older case, so it will be harder to remove, not only because of the energy, but because of the person’s condition."

Auric’s expression turned serious. He called Arnie’s phone.

"Yo. Have you read the file?"

"Yes." Auric asked, "Have you heard of Elemental Turbulence?"

"That’s something I never expected I would hear. What’s going on?"

"This treatment is most likely for a person who has experienced such a thing. No, should I say someone who survived it? So, Has there been anything like this in the last few decades?"

"Wait a second. Let me check." Arnie rushed toward a building to borrow a laptop. He hurried to check the information about the incident.

"I’ve found one. There was one accident dating back to the year 98. According to the report, there was an incident that looked like a fight within the ruins that exceeded the ruins’ limit.

"To avoid losing, someone destroyed the ruins to ensure mutual destruction. Because of that action, the Elemental Turbulence occurred.

"It destroyed not only the entire ruins, but it caused massive destruction within a two-kilometer radius. It killed all the people in the area except for two. The first person was Kevin Barn. He later died due to complications.

"The other party was Louise Kednepp. She used to receive treatment, but she remained in a coma. However, the record showed that she never woke up, but she also disappeared... most likely her father brought her home.

"Her father... found it. Her father is Professor Steven Macherotte. He is Professor of Neurological Elements. Neurological Elements is a field similar to neurology, but involving elements... Ah, shit."

Auric’s expression turned solemn, reaching the same conclusion. "Since this is research from the professor, whom you believed to be the direct subordinate of the Director, I believe this person is the Director."

Arnie facepalmed. "If that’s the case, the situation might become complicated. This person ended up mingling with the worst bunch."

"Who?"

"Well, I think you can know this, but keep this a secret. The secret organization might be the remnants of the Apocalypse."

"The Apocalypse? You mean, the apocalypse incident?"

"No. I mean the Apocalypse organization. It’s an organization formed after the apocalypse. They call themselves that because they believe that an apocalypse is necessary to save the planet, so they will stop anyone from rebuilding civilization.

"Sir Mathias was the person who hunted them down in the past, but because the Apocalypse was extremely dangerous and the methods used to fight them weren’t exactly something that could be shown to the public. Most of the record was sealed.

"But it was due to this achievement that Sir Mathias was one of the most respected elders in this country.

"Nevertheless, the Apocalypse organization was destroyed, but not all their people were exterminated. Some of them managed to escape and hide among normal people.

"And looking at their track record, they might have infiltrated a lot of high-ranking positions in society. Some of them might have created big families in this country.

"I couldn’t find their source of funding yet, but you should know that I’ve taken down a judge and several officers, right? That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

"After listening to your explanation, I realize that the Apocalypse might have found him and taken care of his daughter. This Director might be trying to find the cure for his daughter, but because of the influence of the Apocalypse, the Director chose the poison to make more people develop the same condition as his daughter.

"However, the Apocalypse used this method to spread terror in the community. Anyway, I finally got the name. I could find him."

Auric examined the situation. "So, are you going now?"

"Of course not. I’m going to ask Jennifer to do it. I’m still suspecting that they’re going to attack this place, and I don’t trust this shit of a general, so I’m staying. Unfortunately, I haven’t finished investigating this Evangeline, so wait a bit."

"I understand."

"Anyway, thank you for the information, kid. That’s definitely a good tip. If we can catch this Director, we might be able to find a way to reach the Apocalypse."

"Will it be okay? Isn’t it an organization that once terrorized the entire country?"

Arnie laughed. "Hahaha. The situation today is very different from what it was back then. The country is stable and quite peaceful, so we are able to mobilize more people. Besides, the country has a trump card unlike in the past.

"If you are asked to choose between one peerless expert and many elites, which one would you choose?"

"For a country, a peerless expert is better. It gives a country stability."

"Exactly." Arnie smiled. "This kind of organization can be dealt with much more easily at a time like this. If necessary, the country will ask our biggest trump card, the Joker, to make a move personally."

"I understand." Auric exhaled deeply. "I guess we’re done with this."

"Yeah. I couldn’t enter the ruins for now, so you need to be extra careful."

"Do you have any idea when they’re going to attack?"

"Nope. All I know is that there’s a very high chance that the enemy will attack this place. I don’t know when or how. It will be better if you can find that out for me actually."

"I can’t promise, but I will try."

"All right. I’ll continue to investigate, so be careful."

"Yes, sir."

Once Arnie hung up, Lindwurm couldn’t help but ask, "Are you going to do it? If so, you should have Ellia evolve first. This will make you a bit safer. However, the problem is how to move without raising any suspicion from Eva."

’Well, I’ve got an idea how... even though I don’t really like the method. Still, Chief Lucas has been taking his time investigating this person. Is he being silenced? Or is there a problem? He managed to figure me out overnight, but it’s been two nights...’ Auric wondered if he should call Chief Lucas.