The Genius Evolution Store

”Yes, yes. I think that’s the best way. We have no choice but to wait for now. We don’t know what trigger will make him leave the country, but we can also give him a reason. However, if we’re too forceful about this, we might end up causing him to blacklist us. That’s why I believe we should handle this carefully for now.

”All I can say is that his talent is exceptional. I’m sure you know about the poison incident, so I don’t have anything to say about his sensitivity.

”In addition, he can remain calm and supportive of other students despite learning alongside each other. A lot of people are jealous of him, but he’s telling them with sincerity that they have no choice but to admit that he’s good.

”For now, we shouldn’t do anything. From the looks of it, Esfrata is quite chaotic. His life is constantly at risk. In the future, we won’t have to do anything and he will eventually have a reason to leave Esfrata.

”Instead of being too forceful, I think we can just show him how beautiful our country is. I think I have a few suggestions, such as joint training and similar events. I mean, the Europe Training Program is such an event, so this might be good.

”As for his talent as an evolution master, I could say that he will be the next youngest gold-grade evolution master. He will probably reach that level in his second year.

”That’s why I suggest we make him remember what kind of country Lech-Aistia is. This way, when he wants to leave, we will be the first one he will contact.

”Of course, we might also be able to create such a problem or force other countries to create that reason for us in the future. But for now, we shouldn’t be too forceful. That’s what I can observe about him.”

Sigmund reported directly to the president. The president sounded amused because he had already seen Auric’s report.

”For now, monitor the situation. He might be able to become the ace of Esfrata right now, but he’s still a Rank 2 student. It won’t be easy to defeat the aces of other countries. Even if he can beat every student of the same rank, he won’t be able to avoid himself from challenging students above his rank.

”Considering the conflict with Dermania, Dermania will most likely try to make trouble for him. He will then have no choice but to reveal his cards. This way, we will be able to see what kind of power he has been hiding all this time.

”However, you are right in this regard. Just show that we’re backing him, but do it in a subtle way. Don’t make it too noticeable.”

”Understood, sir.” Sigmund nodded with a serious expression. He was ready for the mission.

To his surprise, the president added, ”Ah, that’s right. From what I’ve heard, it looks like a lot of big families are also coming to recruit him as their son-in-law.”

”I’ve told him about the Special Individual Program.”

”Oh, that’s good. Well, they have become quite interested in him after the first episode yesterday. He has both good looks and abilities.”

”Yes, sir. It’s just... there is constant surveillance from Esfrata. Whenever he leaves, he is accompanied by a woman. Well, it’s either Katarina Vasilyevna or Ellia Stroph Astler.”

”Hmm? Are they going to be a hindrance?”

”I’m not exactly sure. Katarina’s status is well known as she would have been the ace of Esfrata if Auric Elfe didn’t exist. However, it didn’t look like she was stopping him from leaving Esfrata. On the other hand, Ellia Stroph Astler looks more like... How do I say this? More protective? Although it’s subtle, she’s ready to crush anyone around him. Obsessed may be the better word...”

”Oh, I know this. My son used to talk about this. There is a type of woman who is obsessed with her man that she would be willing to kill or crush their opponents brutally just to make him her own. The worst part is that my son talks as if he actually likes this type of woman. I don’t remember the exact term since it’s a foreign term... What’s it called again? Yabere or something?”

”Hmm... Should I do something about it?” Sigmund asked.

”Does he look like being threatened?”

”Not really.”

”Then don’t do anything. What he likes is the overprotective type, but there is a much worse type, which he doesn’t like. That woman will tie him up and lock him in the basement just so that she can feed him or do whatever she wants with him. She might even cut his legs just so that he couldn’t go around and so on.”

”That’s really brutal. I don’t understand kids nowadays.”

”Do you think I understand them? I just listened to them, but fortunately, the things I heard might be quite useful for you.” The president laughed.

”That might be true. For now, I will observe her movements.”

”Very well. Keep up the good work.”

”Yes, Mr. President.” Sigmund took a deep breath. ”Huu... Kids. I think that term was quite popular in the past, before the apocalypse. Well, I probably haven’t heard anything about it since the apocalypse began when I was five.”

Sigmund just shrugged. Katarina didn’t realize how much she could influence Sigmund by a simple maneuver.

During the training, Auric finished the things he was interested in first before helping other students. Although he might not be as good as the instructors here, he was the most genuine.

After all, there was no way the instructors from other countries would tell them everything. Auric just gave them some advice to make their training easier. Whether they took his advice or not, he didn’t mind.

Of course, the camera kept rolling, capturing everything during the training.

When Esfrata’s citizens saw Auric going around and completing all the lessons in such a short amount of time, they couldn’t help but feel proud.

[Hahahaha! Look at that. That’s our ace.]

[He finished his lessons faster than anyone else. Even students from other countries were actually having a hard time.]

[My prince is going to sweep the competition easily!]

Auric was on camera a lot, as they knew that their ratings would be higher with Auric in it.

Nevertheless, the first day came to an end. Auric was quite satisfied with the result.

Sadly for Auric, it looked like trouble was once again coming his way. Yes, the next day, the instructors who would teach them were from Dermania.

There were already conflicts because of the poison incident, and a lot of instructors didn’t even bother to hide their hostility towards Auric.

Auric smiled wryly, thinking, ’Ah, this. I’m afraid that they’re going to use everything they have to make things difficult for us.’

Head Instructor Ryan looked at them for a moment before saying, ”Our lesson is related to your physical fitness. You may think that your element is everything, but without a good physique, you won’t be able to do much.

”For example, if you don’t train your lungs, you will be out of breath easily. No breath means no energy, and no energy means no fight.

”Besides, your body needs to be able to move according to your command. That’s why we will be providing physical lessons.

”You are going to wear this.” Head Instructor Ryan snapped his fingers. Some instructors brought a few boxes filled with equipment.

He picked up one of them and said, ”You’re going to be running with weights. You’re not allowed to use your energy to boost your physical abilities. The moment you use your energy, you will have to endure twice as much training. Understood?”

All the students realized what was happening. Head Instructor Ryan wanted to torture them. Some of them might be fine with this, but it was clear that Auric wouldn’t be.

After all, Auric might be good at manipulating his element, but he wasn’t good at close combat. In other words, he shouldn’t have focused on training his muscles.

If he wore all these weights, he would be the first one to struggle. Even if they had an instructor who could use healing abilities, the pain of this training would be enough to make them suffer.

Some students gritted their teeth while glaring at Auric, thinking it was his fault that they had to suffer as well. Some students just hated Dermania for doing all this because their pride was hurt.

Of course, the same thing would be happening to the Dermanian students since their instructors would be putting them through hell.

Besides, Supervisor Jacob had mentioned this before, so they had no choice but to endure it in silence.

Auric remained quiet for a while. There were a lot of things he wanted to say, but the first thing he asked Katarina was, ”Should I challenge Antonio right from the start?”

”Aren’t you planning to challenge Nicholas first?”

”I’m talking about the free challenge during the last two days.”

”Oh!” Katarina nodded. ”It should be fine. Yeah, you can do that. I bet they’re going to do the same thing during the joint training or even during survival week. So, there’s no need to hold back. I guess I should say this poor guy is going to suffer because of his instructor.

”My impression of Antonio is that he just likes to drink and chill. Well, it’s like the famous saying. The ones who suffer from war are not the bureaucrats who started the war but the common people.”

”Sad but true.”

”In that case, I need to speed up my progress so that I can influence Gloria to leave Dermania. This way, there’s no longer any hard feelings.”

Auric nodded. ”I’m counting on you.”

”Still, are you going to be fine? This training should be quite difficult for you.”

”I will be fine. I’ve been training with gravity all this time.”

”Ah!” Katarina chuckled, realizing that this wasn’t torture for Auric at all.