The Genius Evolution Store

"I’m done transferring as much as I can. How is it?"

"I should manage." She nodded. "There were quite a lot of pests around here, so I overexerted myself a bit."

Lindwurm sighed. "It can’t be helped. A bright sun attracts many things."

"I’m fine, so you should go back to him."

Lindwurm nodded, knowing he had to go back to Auric’s side first to avoid suspicion.

Fortunately, nothing special happened because Auric was too focused on writing the new techniques.

He called Auric only when it was time for him to return to campus.

In the end, he managed to write four gathering techniques and one artificial heart method, but he intended to register only one of each.

Afterward, he headed back to campus, finding Maya already waiting for him in the mansion.

Maya was indeed calmer and happier than normal. Although the change was subtle, she looked more relaxed. It looked like meeting her family had helped her a lot.

"Welcome back." Auric smiled.

"I’m back. Thank you." Maya didn’t know how to thank Auric. Rather than simple words, she intended to show it through her actions. "By the way, what are you planning to do for the next several months?"

"Hmm..." Auric first checked his status.

Name: Auric Elfe

Element: (Fire 100%), Water (88%), Lightning (108%), Wind (126%), Earth (124%), Plant (108%), Light (52%), Dark (68%), Unique (100%)

Auric only had three more elements left to upgrade to rank 2. Fortunately, there were multiple elements he could absorb during his time in the ruins such as water, wind, light, earth, and even the dark element.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have any more unique elements, so he couldn’t absorb them. If not, he would be able to complete it when he visited the Unique Valley.

"For the time being, I don’t have any problems with the elements to reach rank 3. I’ve gathered a bunch of elements, so all I need to do is take my time absorbing the energy for each element one by one.

"The water element should reach rank 2 in a few days. However, the light and dark elements will take some time. While working as a hidden master, I’ve gathered enough elements to reach rank 2, so it’s not actually a problem.

"Still, there are no ruins, so I will just need to focus on doing it normally." Auric explained his circumstances.

He wanted to prioritize advancing all his elements to rank 2 first. He was curious because Lindwurm said he would find an answer to his question, whether he would undergo a transformation or not like normal people.

"If you want light or dark element ruins, why don’t I search for them?"

"It doesn’t work that way. I can only absorb energy according to the rating of that particular energy. If it doesn’t match, then it’s impossible. Besides, the time it takes to prepare for the ruins and return here afterward is quite long. It makes little to no difference unless the ruins could fill up two elements at the same time."

"I see. For now, why don’t you just write down the elements you need? I will see what I can find."

Auric thought for a moment. It looked like Maya felt a bit too indebted to him and was willing to do this kind of meticulous task.

In that case, there was no reason to reject her. If this could ease the burden in her heart, Auric should just tell her.

"I understand. I’ll write it down later." Auric nodded.

"Very well. How about your unique elements? Do you intend to handle them like last time?"

"Yeah. There is no other way right now. But this time, how about accepting all of them at once?"

"It might create rumors that a unique-element evolution master has been born, you know?" Maya narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, that’s the idea. Besides, Chief Lucas already knows about it as well. He managed to reach that conclusion from all the information available to him. For now, he’s still supporting me."

Maya crossed her arms. "I understand, but if that’s the case, you should at least tell him about it. This way, he can prepare for the situation."

"I will tell him after we get a complete plan."

"Very well. I’ll begin searching for their information. Do you also want to help those who are still at rank 1? Since we’re going to create rumors, the more the better. Of course, I’m going to limit it to ten to fifteen people. Too many people will just confirm the rumors."

"All right. I’ll follow your suggestion," Auric accepted, thinking Maya was more experienced in this matter.

"Okay, we will just separate them over two to three weeks so that it won’t get too suspicious."

"Yes."

"In that case, let’s move on to the main topic." Maya took out a pamphlet. "Have you heard of the Europe Training Program?"

"No. I don’t really follow the news."

"You should, even if it’s just for a few minutes of your day."

’Should I ask Katarina for something like a daily report of important things happening in this country or in the world?’ Auric asked inwardly.

Lindwurm nodded. ’You are diligent in one thing, but lazy in another. I guess you should ask Katarina to handle that one for you. She is definitely keeping up with the news. There is another person like that. It’s Ellia. To handle her company well, she needs to know what is happening in the world.’

’In that case, I will tell her about it next time.’ Auric ultimately nodded to Maya. "Understood."

"Very well. I’m planning to discuss your participation in the Europe Training Program."

"Well, the scale has just gotten bigger and bigger. First, it’s a competition between two schools, then a provincial conference, then Kallarnos University, then a hunting event, and now it’s the Union’s thing. All five countries are participating, right?"

"It’s just a coincidence." Maya chuckled. "Although the people are saying different things, the real reason for this program is actually a weird movement happening on the front line. There is a lot of anxiety these days."

"Something big is happening?"

"This is why you should keep up with the news." Maya sighed. "Well, that’s the gist of the situation. How are they going to appease the people? It’s simple. By showcasing the ability of the younger generation. This way, people will be able to see the next generation of people who will protect them from those dangerous beasts."

"Fair enough. If they’re good, people will feel assured for at least another fifty years."

"Exactly. Besides, the organization won’t be able to touch you in this one."

"Why do I feel like the organization will find a way?" Auric chuckled.

"Don’t jinx it." Maya raised one finger. "The Europe Training Program is a program that will train a total of 500 people. Each country will send 100 people, and they will be divided into four ranks.

"They will only accept ten rank 4 humans from each country. Then, twenty rank 3 humans, followed by thirty rank 2 humans, and the rest will be filled with rank 1 humans."

"Why is that?" Auric raised his eyebrows.

"To spread out their teaching. This way, all the students in universities and colleges can participate in the selection. The training program will start in three months and it will last for one month. The school selection will be happening in one month, and each school will send its candidates to the national selection that will happen one month after that."

"Do I really need to go there?" Auric asked. "I feel like I will do just fine."

"You should! This is an opportunity you can’t pass up. There are a few reasons, but the two main reasons are your elements and the teachers." Maya raised two fingers. "You can find more elements here, especially top-level elements. Aside from the assistant teachers, all instructors will be at rank 6."

"They’re really going all out this time." Auric was quite impressed. This meant they could at least learn from many rank 6 humans. After recalling Mathias’s power, it might indeed be an opportunity worth taking.

"As for elements, there are plenty of talented people in the world. For example, the spy that you’re talking about, Gloria Schaff, is one of them. There are a lot of other people who are similar to Tommiseus."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I can name a few. Antonio Sastre, a genius who is said to have the Phoenix Avatar. His fire is not only fierce but also has regenerative power like the phoenix in the legend. There is also someone similar whose element might rival Tommi’s element called Theressa Lee. She’s known for her Sun Element.

"Besides, I’m sure that you’re quite interested in this element, the Life Element, belonging to the light element category. That element belongs to a woman called Selena Bellegarde. There are other geniuses with weapons like Gloria Schaff.

"However, a lot of attention is currently on these two people. The youngest gold-grade evolution master, Nicholas Campbell. The other is the one who possesses the Pure Water element, the absolute version of the water element, Timothy Wellington."

"An absolute water element?" Auric widened his eyes in shock.

"See? There are plenty of amazing people out there. So, you should go there, steal from them, and beat them up." Maya winked playfully.

"And this youngest gold-grade evolution master..."

"He’s one of the oldest, as he’s already in his fourth year at the university. He is only rank 3, but that’s because he has to focus on his studies as an evolution master."

Auric narrowed his eyes and asked playfully, "So, how about I push all my elements to rank 2 first then focus only one element, which is his element, to rank 3 so that I can become a gold-grade evolution master before the training program and beat him on his own terms, Teacher?"

Maya grinned. "As expected of my student, you know me well. As a gentleman, you shouldn’t beat him until he cries. You should beat him respectfully. But it will be a different matter if that genius can’t take a loss and ends up having his heart broken, right?"

Lindwurm facepalmed and shook his head helplessly. "Auric has been corrupted."

"In that case, I will try to push all my elements to rank 2 within the first month and take the assessment. After that, we will head to other cities for the unique elements... By the way, can we somehow access the Unique Valley? It can push my elements as well."

"That will create a risk, you know? If you flood your body with so much energy at once, it might harm your body."

"I know, I’m planning to charge only one element every time. My original plan is to have 4 more unique elements. I will use three months to fill up the three unique elements, while naturally increasing the fourth one." Auric explained. "This way, it won’t create a problem in my body."

"If that’s your plan, then I guess we can do that."

"Do what?"

"Sneak into that place, of course." Maya winked playfully. "I will ask my mother to create a gap for us. She used to be in the military, and she would be willing to do it as long as it doesn’t harm anyone."

"Can’t we enter legally?"

"What do you mean? Sneaking inside is not exactly illegal. There’s no law about that. The military just doesn’t guarantee your life in case something happens to you." She shrugged. "Of course, if you cause harm inside like an elemental turbulence, you will be punished by law. You don’t plan to do that, right?"

"No, I just want to absorb a small amount of energy for myself."

"Then there’s no problem." Maya nodded. "So, we’ll use the second month to get the unique elements. This youngest gold-grade evolution master has a dark element. Your dark element hasn’t even reached rank 2, so is it going to be fine?"

"Yep, I should be fine." Auric nodded with a serious expression. "I have indicated that I have a dark element by finding and entering the Mysterious Cave Ruins, so it’s fine to reveal it. People should have expected as much."

Since that person specialized in light and dark elements, it was normal for him to be able to reach gold grade quickly. As long as he abandoned his study on the other six elements, he could shorten his time. With a couple of connections, focusing only on two elements should be possible.

After hearing Maya’s explanation, he became quite curious about the talented people from other countries.