The Genius Evolution Store

Maya was glaring at Auric in disbelief. She was demanding an explanation after what Auric had just said.

Auric rubbed his cheek.

...

A few minutes ago.

”Teacher, I’m back!” Auric opened the door, took a peek, and waved.

”It looks like you’re back in one piece. You didn’t get poisoned, did you?” Maya put down the document.

”Nope.”

”I was asking just in case. Poisons are weapons that are hard to notice, so I have to make sure.”

”I understand that, but there is no poison.” Auric smiled.

”All right then. Since you have returned, I will mark it on your attendance. And it looks like you’ve got a good haul. How many artifacts did you find?” Maya asked in a curious tone.

”You’re not going to put that in the report, are you?”

”Nope.”

”Well...” Auric looked away, a bit hesitant to say the number.

”Why? You didn’t find anything? Or you’re just worried that I can’t shut my mouth?”

”No.” Auric sighed. ”It’s 43.”

”43?” Maya was dumbfounded. ”Did you rob a bank instead of exploring the ruins?”

Auric smiled wryly. ”That’s why I was hesitant to say it.”

It was a number that no one could believe. Maya facepalmed and let out a long sigh. ”So, how much is your share? If that little girl gave you an unfair share, I’m going to complain to her.”

”Don’t worry. I get 65% of everything.”

”Well...” With that number, she couldn’t really complain. After all, this was supposed to be a trip for Auric to gain experience. Ellia was also taking care of his safety. In fact, 65% sounded a bit too big.

Maya thought for a moment before asking, ”So, did you find any good artifacts? Perhaps a unique element artifact. Since Ellia was the one personally suggesting this exploration, she must want something in there.”

Auric nodded with a serious expression. ”Yes. Ellia took all the unique element artifacts.”

”All of them?” Maya was baffled. ”How about you?”

”I don’t necessarily need them.”

That answer was a confirmation that Auric might not need them for his evolution. In other words, his evolution wouldn’t require anything other than his battle techniques.

”Hmm...” Maya crossed her arms. ”All right. What are you going to do now?”

”I have done a lot of things in the past few weeks. I think it’s time to stabilize my schedule. So, I plan to focus on my studies for a bit and master everything I have.”

Auric also planned to study the artifacts. With the experience from the trip, he believed he could further improve his skills.

Maya nodded in agreement. ”That doesn’t sound bad. Are you going to sell those artifacts? If you want, you can sell it to me. You should know about my family business, right?”

”Yes.” Auric smiled. The Taurus Group wasn’t hidden, so he obviously knew Maya was the heir to the biggest distributor of the artifacts. It was fine to sell the artifacts to her, but he wanted to study them first.

Auric, of course, understood what was hidden beneath the Taurus Group, but it wasn’t like he could say anything about it.

”I will sell them to you when I’m ready. For the time being, please let me admire them. It’s my first trip after all.”

”Sounds good.” Maya nodded. ”Anyway, there are three ways of moving forward for you. This is what I actually want to talk about.”

”Ah, before that, there is a small confession I want to make.” Auric raised his hand, stopping her.

”Hmm?” Maya narrowed her eyes. ”You are not going to say you love me, are you?”

Auric shook his head. ”No.”

”Okay. So what do you want to tell me?” Maya’s expression turned serious.

Auric took a deep breath before opening the Space Storage. He took out a notebook and handed it to Maya. ”Can you keep this a secret from everyone?”

”Sure. If I had a loose tongue, I wouldn’t have become an adjudicator in the first place.”

Auric nodded. ”Please take a look at this.”

Maya frowned. This was the first time she had seen this notebook. The title was also quite weird. It sounded like a battle technique, but the name seemed a bit off.

She opened it carefully and read the contents, only to be shocked a minute later. ”What the...”

Maya took a deep breath and looked at Auric. ”What is this?”

”I call it a gathering technique. It’s something I’ve created. The effect is as you can see.”

Maya gasped. ”Are you really sure about this book? Does it even work?”

”Do I look like I’m asking for your advice right now?”

Maya fell silent. Auric just wanted to show her something. This might be the gathering technique that allowed him to increase his strength.

At the same time, it was written in this notebook that this technique could be used by other people.

If everything that was written here worked, she couldn’t imagine how much chaos it would create.

”You...” Maya looked down, contemplating. ”Why do you reveal this to me? If this technique gets out, evolution masters are going to burn you alive.”

”I don’t think so.” Auric shook his head.

”You don’t think so? Just take a look at this book. This is going to take evolution masters’ jobs away.”

Auric raised two fingers. ”There are two big reasons. First of all, the gathering technique might offer the possibility of an evolution. However, it doesn’t give you the speed.

”For example, if you evolve with the help of an evolution master, you can simply bring yourself there to get treated. Meanwhile, this technique will help you get better over time.

”It depends on your affinity grade. If you have a lower affinity grade, you may have to do it for one week to one month. That’s only 10%. If you lack 20%, it would take even longer.

”On the other hand, if you have Grade S affinity, you can do it fast, but you should just get treatment directly from an evolution master. After all, you have the money and the means. Even if you are from a normal family, you would definitely receive enough support from others.”

”That’s...” Maya realized she couldn’t exactly deny this point. ”What about the second reason then?”

”The second reason is the real advantage of this technique. Once you realize the first reason, you will think, ’Since this is useless, why don’t we just use it from the beginning? For new students like me, having a few percent of element will be useful, right?’

”It may be improved further and become the basis for teaching people about their energy.”

Maya agreed with this argument. Since it would take a month, it would be perfect for the students. They could absorb energy leisurely at the academy while taking lessons.

There was a reason they didn’t allow the students to go anywhere for the first month.

They didn’t have the energy or the skills to challenge the beasts. But with this technique, they could focus on their skills while the students practiced this technique by themselves.

”These two reasons might be enough to stop the evolution masters from coming to you with a torch and a pitchfork.” Maya sighed. ”However, you can’t reveal it carelessly. Are you going to apply for a scientific journal?”

”Not yet. I don’t have the connection or mastery to publish it. People will just think I’m a puppet of someone who wants to publish this kind of book. So, I plan to sell it online first. Once they’ve spread, people will start wondering about my identity, and the reveal will be more acceptable to people.”

Maya crossed her arms. ”It looks like you have thought it through.”

”Hopefully.”

Maya sighed. ”I now have a headache just thinking about your future. I will think about it for now.”

”Ah, actually, there is one more thing I want to say.”

”What?”

Auric smiled wryly and tilted his head a few times as if he were reconsidering the matter. However, he ultimately said, ”I am a unique-element evolution master.”

”You what?!” Maya slammed the table and stood up, glaring at him.

Auric almost jumped back. ”Teacher... calm down.”

”How can I calm down? You do know that I believe you, right? I know you’re not spouting nonsense. That’s why I can’t calm down!”

Auric gulped.

”Do you understand what it means to be a unique-element evolution master?”

”I do.”

”Well, you certainly do, but that’s not the point.” Maya gnashed her teeth. She already had a headache with the gathering technique, so this matter just made her feel like her brain would explode. ”You... What am I going to do with you?”

Auric looked away.

Maya took a few deep breaths before sitting back in her chair. She rubbed her forehead before saying, ”Now, I finally understand why Ellia Stroph Astler is sticking around you. And from what I’ve heard, that transfer student, Milinda, is also around you. No wonder Director Popo is working for you. It’s for his daughter, isn’t it?”

Auric nodded. ”Yes.”

Maya let out a sigh. ”I don’t know what to say. I really want to say I’m proud of you. There is no teacher who won’t be proud if their student is a unique-element evolution master. At the same time, I just can’t bring myself to praise you.”

”I understand the situation.”

”Of course, you do. No wonder you don’t want to tell me everything. Just let me ask you this one question. Surely, you aren’t hiding anything else from me, right?”

Auric shifted his gaze. He certainly hid something. He might have revealed a few things, but he hadn’t revealed anything about Lindwurm, his true talent, his body condition, or even his artificial heart project.

Maya looked annoyed before her head just dropped onto the desk with a loud bang.

”Teacher?”

”I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m just preparing myself for another headache in the future.”

”...” Auric thought it would be fine to let Maya know to this extent. After all, she was his teacher.

She would protect him, so the least he could do was let her know a bit of the truth.

As a teacher, she was definitely happy to have such a talented student. ”A unique-element evolution master... What? Are you going to search for another unique-element user?”

”That’s my plan.” Auric nodded. This was also a reason why he revealed this information to her.

He wanted her help to get a new patient. This way, his unique element would evolve.

”I suppose I should at least hear you out first.”

”I’m thinking about searching for someone desperate. However, I don’t have the means to find them. And since I don’t plan to reveal myself for now, it’s hard to proceed with my plan. Still, I’m already lucky enough to find three unique elements, but my luck will probably run out soon.”

Maya continued, finishing his thought. ”I can probably find a desperate one. And if you promise to help them evolve to the next level, they will probably keep it a secret for a while. And spread the rumor that a unique-element evolution master has appeared. But to maintain the air of mystery, you need to do it in a different city.”

”That’s the gist of my plan. With your help, I can maintain the mystery. In addition, you are so strong that if something happens, you may be able to take care of things. Besides...” Auric smiled.

”Well, I definitely can...” Maya’s eyebrows twitched. Auric’s smile was telling her that he could become her reason to leave the city. It looked like Auric had figured out her needs. ”Tsk. I feel like I have spoiled my student so much that my student is now trying to take advantage of me.”

”I prefer the term win-win solution.”

Maya sighed. ”Even if I can, I can’t exactly go to other cities as I like. I can probably get out after another two months, but no shorter than that.”

”Two months...” Auric didn’t think two months were too long. After all, he could maintain the secrecy and ensure the security.

He could focus on other elements for the time being. Besides, he wasn’t rushing to evolve.

Two months might be enough time for him to come up with a possible theory for the artificial heart as well. So, by the time he evolved, he could start the experiment with Ellia right away.

Therefore, Auric nodded. ”That sounds good to me.”