Chapter 299: Approached
"Well, we only have thirty minutes, as you wanted. You sure it’s enough for you?" Maya asked.
"Yeah." Auric nodded. "It took less than that, but I took other unknown variables into account. For now, I only want to absorb about 30%, which is enough to fill one element. Then, I will take some rest for two weeks and absorb it again to fill the second element. Get another two weeks’ rest before filling the third one, and another break before absorbing the last one and evolving."
"I see. But are two weeks enough? Assimilation is quite hard, right?"
"Indeed. Even I can’t escape from it. But if you’re talking about the last part, then there’s a certain percentage that the human body can handle. In my case, I just happen to have a bit more resistance than they do." Auric smiled.
"What about the rest?"
"My affinity is probably beyond SSS grade. It’s extremely fast. I will use my time to focus on my dark element and unique element for the time being. It should be fine." Auric smiled, reassuring her.
"If you say so, then okay. I got my mother’s permission. She told me that the guards leave the station between 20:00 and 20:30. It’s now 19:58, so get ready."
"Got it. Thanks."
"No problem." She chuckled. "By the way, we will have to return quickly. It looks like you’re becoming famous again."
"Really?" Auric tilted his head in confusion. "I haven’t done anything, right?"
"It’s about the test. Your number was too big, and the students couldn’t suppress their own desire to spread it."
"Oh!" Auric nodded in understanding. If there were a total of one thousand citizens being told that they weren’t allowed to share a secret, there would definitely be some people among them who ended up revealing it accidentally or intentionally.
Auric had already taken this possibility into account, so he just shrugged. "It took them longer than I expected. Well, it’s fine. I don’t care. Besides, I also need to meet Ellia soon."
"What’s wrong?" Maya frowned. "Did that girl threaten you or anything?"
"Nope. She’s just planning to get my money. It was supposed to be last week, but I was managing those people."
"Oh! In that case, you do you. If you need my help, just tell me about it."
"Yeah."
"Oh, that’s right. In four weeks, I need to go somewhere for two weeks. Can you hold the fort by yourself?"
"You’re going back to your family?"
"Nope. There’s something I need to do."
Auric nodded. "Sure. I will be fine."
"Good. In that case, let’s go. The soldiers are completely gone. We can sneak in now. They have turned off the CCTV as well."
Auric nodded as he and Maya sneaked into the Unique Valley.
Maya immediately scanned the area, while Auric closed his eyes and started absorbing the energy from the air.
Due to the dense energy inside the ruins, his elemental percentage was increasing quickly.
Every minute, he could increase 2% of his element. In the past, he remembered absorbing 20% in five minutes, but that only happened because he was weak in the past.
The amount of energy he absorbed remained the same because of his constitution, but the energy was much more robust. That was why the efficiency had been reduced by half since his unique element had become Rank 2.
Nevertheless, Auric could finish things quickly.
He had gotten the elements he wanted, so the only thing he needed to do was to absorb everything else.
After eighteen minutes, Auric opened his eyes again and checked his information.
Name: Auric Elfe
Element: (Fire 102%), Water (102%), Lightning (110%), Wind (130%), Earth (130%), Plant (112%), Light (100%), Dark (109%), Unique (131%)
"I’m done. Let’s go back." Auric nodded.
"Sure." Maya first checked to see if the guards were still inside or had returned to their positions. Fortunately, it looked like the guards were following the instructions.
So Maya led Auric outside. They traveled back to the city so that they could get on the plane to return to Thunderer City.
Since both of them had the black cards, they didn’t mind sleeping on the plane because the experience was essentially the same.
Therefore, both of them booked the last flight home and immediately boarded it upon arrival.
While flying, Maya asked, "Since I have to leave, you may not have anyone to accompany you for your test. You intend to hide your identity, right?"
"Yes. It’s been six months since I last took the test. If I had used the special channel, the people who helped me with the test would know about it. I could feel reassured with the evolution masters, but not with the citizens."
"Fair enough. But I won’t be able to be there for you. Besides, your face is not exactly... ordinary."
"Well, since you’ve told me that you plan to leave for a while, I have to readjust my plan. But it should be fine."
"You sure?"
"Yes. I’m just going to ask Chief Lucas for a bit of help. Thankfully, my test score was like that, so he might already have an idea of what I’m trying to do. In fact, people from other countries might have the same idea, but they couldn’t prove it."
"Oh. Chief Lucas would definitely want to hide it from them as well." Maya nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. In any case, I’m going to be fine."
"How about the evolution? You need to evolve first before you take the test, no?"
"Now that you mention it..." Auric crossed his arms. "I can do it myself, but there’s a chance a beast might attack me here."
"As expected, I should ask my mother or someone else from the family to help you."
"But that means my secret will be revealed to them."
"That’s true..." She looked down, contemplating.
"I will ask either Katarina or Ellia."
"Then, you should ask Katarina for now. Even though Ellia knows about you as well, your relationship with Ellia is just that of partners. Katarina is different. In this regard, she is closer to you than Ellia is."
Auric smiled. "I understand. I will do that."
Katarina had been handling a lot for him, such as the Moon Temple, the Unique Temple, and other operations, such as the Moon Store. She had even given him some suggestions, especially regarding the creation of the Unique Temple.
This would be perfect. If he asked Katarina this time, he should give her some kind of reward.
So, he didn’t mind the suggestion.
"In that case, let’s get some sleep. You’ll probably get busy again tomorrow."
"Right?!" Auric chuckled. "Maybe I should go to a beach or something to have a vacation..."
"Do you want to die? What next? Are you going to say that your favorite sport is diving? Don’t you know that the sea is even more dangerous than the sky? At this rate, I might as well throw you into either the Amazon Forest or Australia."
Auric chuckled. "I’m just kidding. You don’t have to torture me that way."
Auric had read about them. The Amazon Forest was said to have the greatest variety of plants and animals. In fact, after the apocalypse, that place had become one of the highest-level danger zones in the world.
Not only would the beasts attack, but they might even poison people. That was why most people avoided that place.
The same applied to Australia. He had heard that Australia was a place with ’mutant’ animals even before the apocalypse. Even the humans lost to birds in a war.
Tossing someone into those two places was the same as tossing them into hell.
"Let’s just get some sleep." Auric just shut his eyes, acting as if he heard nothing.
...
As Maya said, Auric’s name had spread like wildfire.
[The new ace of Esfrata, Auric Elfe?]
[Troublemaker Genius?]
[A Rank 2 human with the stability score surpassing even that of a Rank 4 human. Proof that he is a talented evolution master.]
When people read the news, they couldn’t help but have mixed reactions. On the one hand, they remembered all the trouble Auric had caused. On the other hand, they couldn’t exactly say Auric was the bad guy.
In Grand Magica College, the students couldn’t help but talk about it.
"Seriously, this guy is amazing. Hahaha, the birth of a genius evolution master. The Evolution Department actually took off their support! What a shame."
"True. The dean of the Evolution Department was a disgrace. I heard Professor Vienna was fighting the dean over Auric’s support."
"A few of the professors fought, but they weren’t as loud as Professor Vienna."
"Maybe we would have Professor Vienna as the next dean?"
"Still, don’t you think it’s satisfying that he has made all that trouble outside? Just look at the people at Kallarnos University tearing their hair out to find a solution to the trouble."
"Right? Even the military was suffering from the consequences of their ’misunderstanding.’ I doubt it was a misunderstanding."
"Do you think Auric will become a gold-grade evolution master like that guy from another country? He’s currently the leading genius, right?"
"I don’t know if Auric can become a gold-grade evolution master before now, but surely, he can become a gold-grade evolution master faster than that guy did."
"Still, I was proud when I became a student in this college, but I became even more proud with Auric attending the same college."
"I know, right?"
Obviously, the citizens of Esfrata weren’t the only ones talking about it. It was a big matter for other countries as well. They were already aware of Auric’s abilities, but the test just made them realize Auric’s true value.
Meanwhile, Auric was nonchalantly waiting for Ellia.
"Sorry, did you wait long?"
Auric raised his head, finding Ellia in a white T-shirt and light blue jeans. "No. I just arrived."
She nodded. "You surely won’t believe the number I got this month."
"Really?" Auric chuckled. "What are you going to do, surprise me with an unbelievable number?"
"Yeah. You will understand that once you see the number."
"Shouldn’t you just ask me to come to your apartment like usual?"
"No. I think you should treat me to something nice this time." Ellia raised one finger. "I bet that’s what you’re feeling like doing."
"That’s a big confidence."
"We’ll see. I’m hearing that this restaurant, Dexton, got a new chef who’s really good and changed their menu. People are praising the new chef, so I’m quite curious."
"Sure. I don’t mind." Auric chuckled. "I’m free anyway."
"Good. Let’s go. It’s just ten minutes away from here."
Before they could set out, a female voice stopped them from behind.
"Please wait a minute. Are you perhaps Auric Elfe?"
Ellia halted her steps while frowning. Auric, on the other hand, remained calm as he had been handling a lot of people, so this person might be the same as the others, who just wanted a picture.
To his surprise, the woman was actually Rank 4. It was already beyond the average strength of this place, making her suspicious.
More importantly, she seemed to have carefully prepared her appearance as though she was waiting for this kind of moment to meet him.
"Yes? How may I help you?" Auric knew this person’s strength, but he wasn’t scared.
The woman surprisingly bowed her head gracefully as though she was trying to deliberately expose her cleavage. "I apologize for what Miss Gloria has done to you."