The Genius Evolution Store

While Thunderer City was experiencing the beast wave, other cities were actually celebrating after getting what Auric had put in his store.

A student suddenly raised his phone up high while saying, ”A rank 2 lightning element gathering technique? Is this my birthday? I can actually get something like this right after my evolution! I’m going to be the first one to buy it!”

He never thought that the notification he had set up on his phone would actually bring him to a new technique.

”First, let me give a five-star review.” The student smirked. ”The Sun Store... Sunlight... No, you’re my sunlight. Praise the sun!!!”

It didn’t take too long before people started talking about it. After all, the books had already become a big sensation. People were anticipating the release of higher-ranking gathering techniques.

It looked like the creator didn’t disappoint. After waiting a bit longer, the gathering technique they had been waiting for finally arrived.

Some people were quite disappointed by the fact that Auric released a lightning element gathering technique first, but this also meant that gathering techniques for other elements would likely be released soon.

After all, Auric had actually released gathering techniques for eight elements.

”Come on. I praise the sun, I pray for the sun to sell a fire element gathering technique next time. Hopefully, it’s something that I can use...” Another student was staring at his phone and begging.

They were not the only ones anticipating this book. Even the Supreme Chief of the Evolution Association, Lucasta Robein, couldn’t help but smile when he received the notification.

Without much thought, he bought the book and checked the contents.

”Sir, I’ve just received a notification from the Sun Store. It appears the owner has released a rank 2 gathering technique.” His secretary entered his office.

”You are late. I’ve already bought it.” Chief Lucas smiled, showing his phone.

”I’m sorry.” His secretary lowered her head.

”It’s fine. This is something that is easily accessible anyway. Thank you for reminding me about it.” Chief Lucas waved his hand, treating it as no big deal.

”Sir...” His secretary hesitated for a second. ”Could I ask you a question?”

”Of course. What’s wrong?” Chief Lucas asked.

”Ehm... I understand that the gathering techniques will be more useful to students who want to get their initial energy, but it will still affect the business. Shouldn’t we do something about it?”

Chief Lucas looked at her for a moment. ”Say, you are a diamond-grade evolution master, right?”

”Yes, sir.”

”You are working as my secretary so that you can learn the ropes from me. I’m not blaming you for that. Instead, I want to ask this question. How hard is it to become a diamond-grade evolution master?”

”It’s very hard. Not many branches have a diamond-grade evolution master.”

”Indeed. What do you think is the biggest challenge to becoming a diamond-grade evolution master?”

His secretary looked down, contemplating. ”If I have to pick, I think it’s increasing my strength. To become a diamond-grade evolution master, you definitely need to learn a lot of things. However, people can fail this way, but they can’t die.

”Your avatar needs to evolve one more time after the adult form to have the element required for the job. This means you have to hunt for beasts or buy materials from others, but the higher the rank of the materials, the harder it is to procure them.

”Hence, most evolution masters are required to fight as well. Most of the time, we use our money to hire escorts to handle the fighting. However, this is also one of the reasons many evolution masters lose their lives before being able to become a diamond-grade evolution master.”

Chief Lucas nodded. ”Indeed. Increasing our strength is much harder than learning things. You can fail the test, but you only have one life. Now, think about this...”

Chief Lucas pointed to the phone. ”This store has released a rank 2 gathering technique. What do you think will happen next?”

His secretary tilted her head in confusion. ”The store will release gathering techniques for more elements?”

”Wrong.” Chief Lucas shook his head. ”It means he will be able to release rank 3 gathering techniques or even higher.”

”Ah!” His secretary widened her eyes. She finally understood why the chief was so happy about this store.

”It’s true that currently the students are the ones benefiting the most from it. However, as you grow stronger and stronger, the beasts you have to fight are also getting stronger and scarcer.

”If you want to gain energy, you need to fight those beasts. Look at this rank 2 gathering technique! It’s offering a similar amount to what is offered by rank 1 gathering techniques. Being able to constantly increase 20% to 36% of your energy is huge, especially for those who are at the high rank.

”You are currently rank 4. If you want to reach rank 5, the danger has increased significantly compared to going from rank 3 to rank 4. You also need to go deeper into the danger zone to find the beasts, not to mention more beasts will come your way as you search for your target.

”How about above that? Rank 6? Rank 7? I’m sure you understand what I’m going to say about this.

”The evolution masters will be benefiting a lot from these gathering techniques. After all, we can simply study them and gradually increase our energy safely. It’s safe. Thanks to these techniques, we may cut down the number of times we need to hunt beasts to increase our strength, which means our safety increases.

”Even the fighters are going to beg for gathering techniques in the near future. So, if you ask me whether we should do something or not, I can give you a direct answer. No, I would rather not provoke this person and lose the chance for that kind of future.

”It will also benefit the evolution masters in the long run, so there’s no reason to do such a thing.”

Chief Lucasta had been quite vocal in protecting the Sun Store. He didn’t investigate to avoid provoking the one behind the store. It would be a great loss for everyone if the owner decided to close the store after all.

She hadn’t seen all these reasons before asking that question. After learning the true reason, she realized she was short-sighted.

It was no wonder why Chief Lucasta was sitting as the Supreme Chief of the Evolution Association.

She politely bowed to him. ”Thank you for your guidance, sir.”

”Now, could you make me a coffee to enjoy while reading this new technique?”

She widened her eyes in disbelief because of his consideration toward her. She immediately smiled. ”Yes, sir.”

...

The next day.

Auric was attending the parade to give his final respects to the fallen heroes who had defended the city.

It was a rather sad day, considering so many people had died at once.

Still, they had died bravely, protecting their homes. It was something to be proud of.

After the parade, he thought about going home and spending the rest of the day with his mother.

He couldn’t help but remember their conversation the previous day.

”Mom, do you know anything about this necklace?”

”Yes, it’s your dad’s lucky charm.”

”Nothing more?” Auric frowned.

”Why do you ask?”

Auric fell silent for a moment. ”It’s nothing. This lucky charm works wonders.”

”Is that so? I’m glad then.” She smiled.

Recalling that conversation, Auric had mixed feelings. When he asked that question, he didn’t see any fluctuation of energy from his mother.

Normally, he could see some changes if they were lying or hiding something. He might not be able to differentiate it, but he knew they definitely knew something.

But there was no such change from his mother. This meant his mother might be innocent.

Auric let out a long sigh, scratching the back of his head. He didn’t really want to doubt his mother, but with all the mysteries going on, he wondered what kind of things they had been hiding all this time.

Lindwurm wasn’t providing any answers, either. Even the gray energy had been camouflaged in a way that Auric couldn’t copy it.

To his surprise, he found Ellia on the way. It looked like she was waiting for him.

”Ellia? Are you here for the parade as well?” Auric asked.

”No, I’m here for you.”

”For me?”

”Yes. Come with me.” Ellia waved her hand.

”Where to?”

”Discussing business.”

Auric tilted his head in confusion. He didn’t know where they were going or what business they needed to talk about, but he trusted Ellia.

In the end, Ellia brought him to an apartment complex. ”Where is this?”

The previous day, Maya dropped them off at their mansion in the academy, so he had never gone to this place.

He knew this apartment complex. It was a rather affordable place for a normal family to live.

”Where are we going?” Auric asked while looking around.

Ellia didn’t say anything. She simply brought him to one of the apartments, walking as though she was used to this place.

After a while, they reached one of the rooms. She opened the door to a rather cozy apartment.

It was small. There were only two bedrooms, a small kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom.

”What is this place?” Auric asked.

”My place.” Ellia stopped him first and took out a pair of slippers, gesturing for him to change.

”Your place? Did you rent it out to someone? Or do you want me to live here to hide or something?”

”No, I’m living here,” Ellia casually answered.

”Liv...” Auric opened his mouth, speechless. He then remembered what Arina said about Ellia.

”She is a rather weird girl. She doesn’t like fancy penthouses or suites. Instead, she prefers a small apartment because all that extra space makes her lonely.”

”Oh! This is your place.” Auric nodded awkwardly. No one was going to believe that the person who lived here had a net worth of seventy billion.

”What’s wrong? Is it weird for someone like me to live here?”

”Certainly. But who am I to judge? Besides, I do like this place. It looks comfortable.”

”Have you eaten yet?” Ellia asked while opening the fridge.

”I’ve promised my mother that I will eat at home.”

”I see.” Ellia took out a bottle of grape juice and two glasses.

Auric felt the atmosphere become awkward, so he shifted the topic back. ”So, why are we here?”

”Have a seat. I will explain.” Ellia poured the grape juice first. Then, she went back to her room and took out some documents. She then handed it to him.

”What is this?” Auric was not used to handling all this paperwork, so he had a hard time even reading it. There were graphs and numbers, which he didn’t understand.

”Those are the shell companies I have set up for your stores. I have split the money further and moved it a few times so that it can’t be easily traced. The number has reached a certain point where I have no choice but to bring you here. Well, if you want, you can actually go to my company to retrieve the money, but I guess you don’t want any gossip. In this place, I live like an ordinary person, so it’s a perfect place to give you this.”

”Oh. So, this means all of this is my money? How do I actually read this, to be honest?” Auric asked.

”You sure you want me to tell you? I might end up lowering the number so I can take a portion of your money.”

”Will you?” Auric chuckled.

”Of course not. In business, trust is number one. Besides, I already agreed to waive the fee to handle all this just so that you can remain as my evolution master.” Ellia chuckled.

”See? So, how do I read this?”

”You can just check the figures for each company. But in total, you have 105 million credits.”

”105 million?!” The one who shouted was not Auric. It was Lindwurm.

Auric dropped his jaw in disbelief, unable to process it all. He thought he had heard it wrong.

Ellia smiled. ”Figured.”