The Genius Evolution Store

In a dark room, Gloria stood straight in front of a big television and saluted.

The television suddenly turned on and showed the man who gave her the order to infiltrate this country.

"Major Gloria Schaff. At ease, I will hear your report."

"Yes, sir." Gloria switched to the rest position and gave her the report. "I’ve been compromised, sir. Auric Elfe has figured out my identity."

The general was dumbfounded at first, before his face darkened.

"However, I’ve completed one objective. While my identity has been compromised, I haven’t been captured because I’ve gotten a good relationship with Auric Elfe. At the very least, he won’t look at me as an enemy like the scouts from other countries."

"Explain yourself."

"Yes, sir." Gloria began recounting everything from the start.

Auric did indeed have a favorable impression on her, but that was only because Katarina suggested the possibility of turning her into an ally.

Gloria was indeed talented. Having someone like her as an ally would definitely benefit him greatly.

That was why he didn’t expose her identity and let Arnie capture her.

The general was in a dilemma. On the one hand, it looked like Gloria had indeed accomplished the first objective, which was to make them look friendly. This way, Auric wouldn’t harbor any bad intentions towards their country.

On the other hand, getting her identity exposed would make it harder for her to operate.

"What is the situation over there?"

Gloria explained, "For the time being, it looks like Auric Elfe is being targeted by a terrorist organization. However, I don’t know and don’t have the resources to find out more about this terrorist organization.

"It’s not just him; the others in the group are also being targeted, so there might be a link to all of them.

"If we can figure this out, we may be able to establish a relationship with him, this time in a proper way.

"In addition, we need to re-evaluate Auric’s talent. First of all, his sensitivity is beyond anyone’s imagination.

"It might even be something so unique that ordinary people simply don’t possess.

"The evidence is the ruins. By finding ruins that even high-grade evolution masters haven’t discovered, he has shown the extent of his sensitivity.

"In addition, I suspect that Auric Elfe possesses all elements. He has revealed three elements: fire, dark, and unique.

"So, I think it’s safe to assume that he also has water and light elements, but he hasn’t shown them yet. It might be because they’re too weak to be used currently."

The general contemplated. "What about his unique element? We’re aware that he possesses a unique element, but we haven’t figured out what kind of element he possesses to be able to use all other elements."

"I’m sorry, sir. I haven’t figured it out as well. Before, he was able to sense someone’s energy, which allowed him to locate the surrounding beasts.

"When he used his unique element, he became almost god-like. He was able not only to sense them but also to predict their movements. His instructions became extremely accurate as though he was able to see the future."

The general narrowed his eyes. "Time element? Or something like fate or destiny?"

"I don’t think so. He was actually able to smack an attack away. Normally, when we covered our hands in energy, we could strike attacks coming toward us as if it had a physical body. But when he did so, it didn’t just end with a simple collision. Instead, it made the power unstable."

"Unstable?" The general couldn’t figure out anything this time. He could do the same thing, but it would end like a collision between two objects.

But it looked like Auric’s power could also influence the other person’s energy.

Since he couldn’t figure it out, the general nodded. "I see. I will ask the analysis team to figure it out. Anything else?"

"No, sir. That’s all."

The general sighed. "Fine. For now, continue to monitor the situation."

"Yes, sir."

"However, don’t forget that you’ve made a big blunder this time. Getting exposed at a time like this can become your death sentence. Depending on the situation, someone will replace you."

Gloria was startled. "But General, I managed to maintain a good impression on him. If you just allow me to continue, I believe I can establish a good relationship with him. At that time, I will invite him to the country."

"Major Gloria. Do I need to remind you of your position? This is an order."

"Y...Yes, sir."

The television turned off, indicating the other party had disconnected the call.

Gloria looked down, clenching her fists. This was her opportunity to rebuild her family. If she managed to establish a good relationship with Auric, the mission would be considered a success.

But if someone replaced her, she wouldn’t receive the reward. However, there was nothing she could do.

Her identity had been exposed. She thought that since she had been exposed, she could reestablish herself as Auric’s ally by using the organization as leverage.

By helping Auric, there was a chance that Auric would think their country was more reliable than Esfrata.

Unfortunately, it didn’t look like the higher-ups thought the same way. The general didn’t even give her a chance to explain her plan.

Little did she know, the general actually made another call right after.

The general said, "It’s done. I’m going to replace her soon. You’d better fulfill your side of the agreement."

"I know. Don’t worry. We just need something from Auric Elfe. Once we’re done, you can launch a rescue mission so that you will appear like an angel to him."

"You’d better keep your end of the agreement."

"It’s easier to do it this way, General. He will be grateful to you."

"Hmph." The general harrumphed and hung up the call.

The general leaned back and said, "It looks like everything is going my way. If we let the organization kidnap him, we can use the rescue mission to look like a more reliable ally. He will be grateful and stay in our country.

"In addition, I finally understand that girl’s weakness. I can use this to weaken her position and gradually strip her power. There are plenty of people who want her to marry into their families, so I can also establish my connection with those big families."

The general couldn’t help but smirk. "Everything is going to be mine soon."

...

"Yes. I will inform him about it." Katarina smiled politely, even though she was sighing inwardly. She had been handling all these people who wanted to invite Auric for four hours already.

They were demanding that they wanted to see Auric, promising something that would surpass his imagination.

Fortunately, she had one big weapon against them. Auric’s achievement in the hunting event was so big that it couldn’t be ignored anymore.

The people who wanted to invite Auric hadn’t included that achievement, not to mention the fact that they didn’t even know Auric’s true value.

After knowing the fact that he was the creator of the Sun Store and the Moon Store, no amount of money could tempt him anymore.

Katarina never thought she would learn this kind of information all of a sudden. Nevertheless, she just needed to say, "It looks like your information is not up-to-date, so why don’t you return first and get an update on Auric’s information before you return?"

This way, people wouldn’t feel offended because Auric had crushed the record Joker had held for twenty-two years. Auric could find artifacts and even hidden ruins. That made his value skyrocket.

So, once they learned about that achievement, they would need to make a new offer. Fortunately, she intended to stay for only seven days. This way, she could escape without facing the full brunt of the people who had prepared new offers.

Of course, Auric helped her establish the Artificial Heart to increase her affinity grade. Just like the others, Katarina was extremely talented.

It only took her four days to finally establish the foundation for the Artificial Heart Method.

"Huuu..." She took a deep breath, finally realizing the change Ellia had been talking about. "So, this is the increased sensitivity. Doesn’t this mean that those with a higher affinity grade have better sensitivity? Will this also make the evolution masters go crazy?" Katarina asked.

"In a way, yes. However, the evolution masters already know this fact, but they need to work hard in other areas as well, so sensitivity is just a part of the requirement. They will definitely need this technique, although it might not be the priority."

"They still want it. In fact, everyone wants to increase their affinity. This is insane." Katarina sighed. She was looking at her own status.

Name: Katarina Vasilyevna

Avatar: Adamantine Golem

Grade: Error

Affinity: Adamantine

Element: Earth (12%)

Katarina never thought she would see an error in her status. The bracelet had been able to measure everything accurately. It had been in use for the last seven decades.

So, it was unexpected for her to find an error in one’s status. The fact that it showed this error meant her grade was already beyond what could be measured.

"Your absorption rate should have increased. The first person who used this method had an increase of 14%. The second person had a 15% increase. I don’t know about your results yet, so..."

"I know." Katarina nodded with a serious expression. She grabbed the material on the table.

She had promised Auric to eat the material as soon as she succeeded so that Auric could record the number.

Katarina didn’t hesitate to absorb the energy. After all, she was curious about how much of an increase she would experience.

It didn’t take too long for her to finish absorbing all the energy. They had prepared two identical materials so that they could measure the increase.

Before using the Artificial Heart Method, she could get 12%. With the Artificial Heart Method, it increased to 14%.

"14%?" Katarina dropped her jaw to the ground.

"The material’s upper limit is 15%. Your previous absorption rate was 80%, so right now, your absorption rate is about 93%." Auric smiled. "Congratulations on becoming the third person to have SS-grade affinity."

Katarina covered her mouth in shock. She never thought such a method was possible.

Auric had just done the impossible. Katarina raised her voice in disbelief. "Do you know what you’ve done? This achievement..."

Auric smiled. "Well, this is just the beginning. I’ve told you, right? I will show you that you’re not following the wrong person."

"This is beyond the right person. I’m going to apply for an admin position in the Sun Temple right now. I’m going to make everyone praise the sun. Ah, I also need to create the Moon Temple and become the cult leader before anyone notices this. I will try my best to become the cult leader for both groups! We’ll praise the Sun and Moon."

Auric was rather speechless. "I hope you’re joking..."

Katarina chuckled, but she just stared at him, without answering.

"You’re joking, right?"

Katarina patted Auric’s shoulders. "Give it up. If I can control both groups, we can mobilize them in the future. This will definitely be a good thing for you. Do you know why the government hates cultists more than terrorists? Terrorists still know fear, but cultists will dive headfirst if you tell them to jump off a building!"

Auric wanted to correct her, but Katarina added, "You know, my grandfather used to tell me that he arm-wrestled with a bear in the morning and shared a vodka with a bear in the evening.

"I told him it was impossible, and he just made up all those stories. Maybe in the future, I can also tell my future children that I used to be a cult leader and served the Great Sun and Moon!"

"No, don’t... like, really don’t." Auric was trying his hardest to talk her out of it, while Lindwurm was practically in tears from laughing because he couldn’t contain his laughter.