The Genius Evolution Store

Derrick looked around, feeling suspicious of the entire scheme. However, he had no choice but to do it. This was the only way for him to evolve his avatar.

As long as he could evolve his avatar to the adult form, his future would become great. If he maintained his connection to Sunlight, he could even evolve his avatar to the mature form or beyond.

That was only if this wasn’t a scam.

Derrick looked left and right, wondering if someone was going to try to kidnap him.

However, a kid suddenly approached him. "Mister!"

Derrick was startled and looked at the kid. "Yes? How can I help you, little guy?"

"I was asked to tell you..." The kid pointed to a trash can. "What you want is inside it!"

Derrick glanced at the trash can while the kid continued, "Mister, I believe this is a prank. You shouldn’t do it."

"Ahaha. Thank you." Derrick chuckled.

"Well, I’m done, so... bye, Mister." The kid ran away.

Derrick looked around, wondering if anyone was monitoring him, but he could find no one.

Derrick had a choice whether to go to the trash can or look around first.

Still, it looked like he was more curious about this method.

He walked toward the trash can and noticed that there was a bag inside. In fact, the trash can was quite clean as though it had just been cleaned recently.

He took out the bag and looked inside, where he found a tablet.

"Hmm?" Derrick frowned. The tablet had no password, so he could enter directly. There was a message on the tablet.

[If you wish to receive your gathering technique, you must demonstrate your battle technique.]

Derrick had already heard about this instruction. Other people had already confirmed it as well.

Although he was suspicious, Derrick still chose to go for it.

He first put the tablet on the bench and took a deep breath, then unleashed his energy.

Derrick took out a palm-sized ball and tossed it up. When the ball went back down, Derrick used his power, causing the ball to go back up as though its momentum had been reversed.

"Is that enough?" Derrick asked the tablet.

"Try to use your strongest battle technique."

Derrick was confused. Before coming here, he had been asked to make a digital copy of three of his techniques and send them to Sunlight.

But it was true that he hadn’t demonstrated them personally.

Still clinging to hope, Derrick used his power again.

He extended his hand forward and changed the vector of everything around his palm forward.

Bam!

With the sudden change of their directions, it felt like the world had just flipped on that spot.

The impact was quite powerful, especially because Derrick hadn’t combined that power with his momentum.

Derrick was done, so he asked the tablet again.

"One last step. Now, please demonstrate the unique battle technique you sent."

Since he had shown those two, it was too late to hesitate, so Derrick immediately used it.

Derrick raised two fingers from his right hand and started moving the air. This technique would allow him to redirect the vector as though he were drawing it. Depending on the situation, it could be used in an unconventional way.

Derrick started getting suspicious. All he wanted was something to help him evolve his avatar.

However, his doubt was answered the moment he returned to the tablet.

Auric had asked for their battle techniques first, so he had already written down most parts. The only thing that was left blank was the part regarding the flow of his energy.

This part required him to take a look at the energy flow from the person directly. He couldn’t use a camera because the camera didn’t capture the particles.

In fact, the first technique was the only thing he needed to create one, but he needed time to adjust everything, so he asked him to demonstrate his other techniques to buy time.

Now that he was done, he sent Derrick the gathering technique.

[This is a technique called Vectorial Evolution. The gathering technique can increase your energy by 28%. You aren’t allowed to copy this. Read it and perform it a few times. I will be here to guide you.]

Derrick looked at the penmanship to check whether this one was similar to the gathering techniques sold in the Sun Store. This was the best way to confirm whether this was really Sunlight or someone impersonating him.

But the moment he took out his phone, the tablet’s screen turned black.

"!!!" Derrick was startled. He soon realized that his action would certainly cause a misunderstanding. "Ah. I’m not trying to take a picture or anything. I’m just trying to compare the handwriting."

The screen remained black for a few seconds. Derrick was trembling. Did he just lose his opportunity because of this misunderstanding? If he hadn’t shown any doubt, would he still be able to evolve?

Had he already been removed from the group?

A few seconds later, the screen turned on again.

[I am not pleased.]

Derrick was scared to lose this kind of opportunity. The fear of missing out had caused him to stop caring about the handwriting anymore.

He quickly put his phone back into his pocket and read the techniques.

[This is your first and last warning.]

"Y-Yes, I understand."

In the end, the gathering technique appeared once again. Derrick read it carefully and followed the instructions. He even demonstrated the technique a few times to make sure that he could do it successfully.

[That is enough. I’ve confirmed that you are able to perform it. My job is done. All you need to do is to keep monitoring your element through your bracelet. Once you reach 100%, you can evolve safely.]

[Your affinity grade is A, and your element has reached 98%. It should only take you two to three days to evolve. I wish you luck. Next time, please don’t doubt me anymore.]

Derrick was trembling. Did he succeed? Could he really evolve? He could feel that his element was increasing even though it was an extremely low amount. But this gradual process resembled that of the real gathering techniques.

[Since you are done, please put back the tablet in the bag and toss it back into the trash can. You may stay in your accommodation until you evolve.]

Derrick followed what Auric wanted this time without asking any more questions. Once he left, Derrick opened his phone to check the Sun Store’s techniques. He checked the penmanship and found it to be similar.

’Is it really... Sunlight? So, is Sunlight really a unique evolution master, no, the only unique evolution master in the world?’ Derrick couldn’t believe it at first, but if this technique was real, Sunlight’s status would soar into the sky. People from other countries would even kneel in front of him if it meant they could evolve.

Derrick gulped and walked back to his accommodation so that he could focus on the gathering technique.

Of course, he didn’t forget to update everyone on his situation. After all, there were other people waiting to evolve.

For the time being, he could only confirm that he had received the gathering technique.

It all changed the next day. Derrick updated his information.

[OilDerrick98: My element has increased! It has increased from 98% to 99%! The gathering technique is real. I should be able to evolve tomorrow morning!]

In that instant, the group became active. The people who had already experienced the evolution congratulated him. There were some who were fanatical about the Great Sun, so they also congratulated him while praising the Great Sun.

Of course, a lot of people still felt a bit suspicious, but now that the gathering technique had been confirmed to be real, they felt more at ease.

After all, they wanted to evolve.

They had obviously asked each other about the time and place, but for the time being, only 12 people had been invited to come to this city. They only knew that they were in the same city, but they couldn’t make physical contact with each other, or else the Great Sun would kick them out.

This was the rule until they evolved. But if they wanted to meet each other, they were allowed to do so only after they evolved.

Auric didn’t want them to influence each other’s minds directly before they evolved. That was why he had to establish such a rule.

But as soon as Derrick, as the first person invited, evolved, everyone’s doubt disappeared.

People were saying, "I knew it," because they believed the Great Sun would never disappoint them.

They even claimed that the Great Sun hadn’t finished filling up the Sun Store because he was busy with them.

It couldn’t be helped. After all, he had to help 25 people, meaning he had to create 25 different gathering techniques because each unique element had a different flow of energy.

Nevertheless, the first project seemed to be working. With more and more people confirming it, there was no one who doubted him anymore.

Of course, all this time, Auric monitored them from the hotel. At the same time, Maya was waiting in the park. If necessary, she would kill them.

Fortunately, it looked like their desperation made them behave themselves. Though some fanatics even knelt in front of the tablet and prayed as though they were worshiping the Sun.

"Hahahaha." Maya couldn’t help but chuckle while pointing at the believer in the park. She had just returned to the room, watching Auric shaking his head helplessly. "Just look at that guy. I can’t even retrieve the bag because that guy hasn’t finished worshiping you. At this rate, people are going to worship you like a god for real."

"Can you stop? It’s really embarrassing." Auric covered his face. "I mean, I appreciate that they think highly of me, but isn’t that a little too excessive?"

"You may end up creating a cult on the same level as the Apocalypse. No, it might even be bigger than theirs. You might end up becoming the world’s dominant religion." Maya couldn’t contain her laugh. "Sorry, but this is just so funny. It looks like Katarina really wants to become Pope."

Auric just covered his eyes, not wanting to continue further.

"All right, all right. Enough with teasing. It looks like the project is working smoothly. While they’re acting weirdly, they behave pretty well. Once this batch has evolved, they will testify to your abilities in the future. Our workload will lessen, but you still need to examine them personally."

"Yeah. It can’t be helped. Without doing so, I won’t be able to figure out the flow of their energy." Auric nodded. "But the trip has been very fruitful. While it’s true that each unique element has a different flow, their growth isn’t restricted by ratings. In other words, this is the only element where I can just go to the ruins to raise its energy to 100%. This will probably become the first element to reach Rank 3."

"Good enough for a trump card," Maya agreed. "Still... Sun God. Hehehe."

"..."