Chapter 152: Creating Rank 2 Gathering Technique

"They’re targeting the students?"

"I only knew about one student who was being targeted, but I didn’t have full access to information. You might end up finding more people who have suffered the same thing." Maya shrugged.

She was on probation, so she couldn’t access the government database.

"If what you say is true, then this matter might be bigger than anyone imagines." Arnie’s expression turned grim.

"Yeah. I mean, the scavenger group that my student was supposed to target should be just a no-name group in the grand scheme of things. Yet, they’re able to secure five vials. There’s no telling what a bigger criminal organization can get."

"You may just be paranoid. The person behind the poison might still be insignificant, and he’s just trying to test the drug first. He might be somewhere nearby."

Auric suddenly interjected. "If that’s what you think, you need to move fast. The poison has evolved from the first case I treated to this one. Who knows what it will become the next time it evolves."

"..." Arnie fell silent. He might really need to move much faster this time. If they delayed too much, the enemy might have progressed the poison further.

Arnie glanced at Maya. "Are you sure you don’t want to handle this investigation? You are a senior adjudicator."

"I was. I’m just a teacher right now." Maya shrugged.

Arnie’s eyebrows twitched. "All right then."

He couldn’t persuade her, so he had to move on. There were more important things to do.

"We’re leaving, Jennifer." Arnie stood up. "If you want to help with the case, you know how to reach me."

"Sure." Maya nodded, watching them leave.

Auric turned to Maya and opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but Maya placed her finger on Auric’s lips, gesturing for him to stop speaking.

After that, Maya tilted her body down and looked underneath the table, finding a small device. She crushed it without hesitation.

Outside, Arnie clicked his tongue when his earpiece echoed. "Well, she’s still sharp."

"Sir?" Jennifer looked confused.

"It looks like she’s got an exceptional student this time. To think that I would be jealous of someone..." Arnie shook his head helplessly. "Anyway, get ready to investigate this matter. It looks like the situation is much worse than it initially seems.

"If they’re targeting the talented students, it will surely cause an uproar. I need you to check if there are other students who have been afflicted by the same poison."

"Understood." Jennifer nodded.

Meanwhile, Auric was confused. "A bug?"

"Just a little game over there. You need to remain aware of your surroundings and make sure that your enemy doesn’t tail you or listen to you." Maya shrugged. "What do you want to say again?"

"Well, it’s not really important. It’s just a conjecture. Without anything concrete, I’d rather not say it."

"It’s fine. I will determine that."

Auric scratched the back of his head. "Well, this poison might be imitating the barrier of the ruins."

"The ruins?"

"Yes. Have you seen the ruins with barriers that contain two elements or more?"

"Hmm..." Maya looked down. "Even if I have seen them, I don’t necessarily understand them."

"Fair enough." Auric nodded in understanding. "From what I can see, the energy is similar, but not the same. It might be trying to replicate something like the barrier. However, the barrier has a much higher density, while this one needs direct contact with your circulatory system.

"If the barrier only needs you to have physical contact, this one basically needs to be injected into your body."

Maya looked down, contemplating. "This poison... How do you think they make it?"

"I don’t know." Auric shook his head helplessly. He could only understand the energy, not the creation process. Lindwurm appeared to be the same.

"I see. That’s a shame, but it’s fine." Maya pointed at herself. "Anyway, check my condition. I’ve finished the artificial heart method."

"Oh?" Auric narrowed his eyes, checking the flow of her energy. "What do you think?"

"I think it’s good. I’ve noticed that I can sense the energy better. It’s not as much as you describe, but I guess that’s only because I’ve become too strong. If I accumulate this power from the beginning, I should feel much better."

"It should match your power once you’ve fully formed the artificial heart equivalent to your strength. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything to help you right now. I haven’t reached that level." Auric shook his head helplessly.

"I know. It’s fine. I will also experiment with it myself and tell you about it later."

"Sure." Auric nodded.

"When are you going to open the Moon Store?"

"I’m not so sure. Maybe in a month?" Auric tilted his head in confusion. "I need to increase the number of techniques first. But I don’t plan to release everything I’ve created all at once, and I don’t intend to promote it. So, I guess in two weeks? It took some time for the Sun Store to even get the first customer, but after that, others will flock in."

"That’s not a bad arrangement. Good, you should open the Moon Store in two weeks. How is your Sun Store right now?"

"Hmm..." Auric opened his phone and checked the store. He had already sold over two thousand copies. "This..."

Auric didn’t check the store regularly, and with all the things he had gone through in the last couple of days, he didn’t have time to check it.

He was surprised that so many people had bought his gathering techniques.

His chats were filled with so many people. Some were trying to ask him about their problems and found a book that suited them. Some were trying to collaborate with him. Some were simply trying to call him a scammer.

"This..."

"As expected, you sell a lot." Maya took a peek.

"As expected?"

"Yeah." Maya showed news from her phone. "Look at this."

There were multiple news articles.

[A store that will create a new era? Sun Store.]

[Gathering techniques that allow people to gradually accumulate energy.]

[The end of the evolution masters?]

[The Supreme Chief of the Evolution Association has spoken.]

There was a lot of news about the Sun Store, but he realized that most of it came from just three cities. The first one was Kelesnia City, which was where the Sun Store was first known.

The capital city followed right after. It was understandable since Tommi showed him a gathering technique.

The last one was not far from the capital city. Auric thought this was likely the headquarters of the Evolution Association.

Auric was curious what the Supreme Chief of the Evolution Association had to say about his gathering technique.

"This gathering technique might bring us to a new era. However, I disagree that the evolution masters will be dead. They’re offering different things. If you want to evolve faster, you can absorb the material and get help from the evolution masters.

"If you want to evolve by gradually accumulating your energy, you can use this technique. After some testing, we know that this method is actually quite wasteful.

"For example, if the gathering technique allows you to get 20% and you only need 10% to evolve, you will end up wasting the remaining 10%.

"Instead, I think the gathering techniques are more suitable for learning. Everyone knows how dangerous it is to procure their own materials by hunting the beasts outside.

"The students can increase their initial energy with this technique and study combat techniques in their schools. I believe this is the true value of the gathering techniques. That’s why this is not the end of the evolution masters. Instead, this is the start of a new era where people are going to be safer."

The news shocked the country. It might cause the media all over the country to pick it up, making the Sun Store even more popular.

[The government is trying to figure out the real owner of the Sun Store.]

[The government is investigating whether the gathering techniques are safe for students and the possibility of collaboration.]

[A thought to make gathering techniques a part of the national curriculum?]

"Whoa?" Auric widened his eyes. "It has become this big?"

"Apparently, the Supreme Chief of the Evolution Association has helped you, so it should be safer for you to proceed. However, people might start replicating your books for their own profit. Can other people replicate the gathering techniques?"

"If they refer to this book, then yes. It’s possible. They might be able to create even stronger ones."

"So, we should sue them?" Maya grinned.

"I might, but isn’t it too much of a hassle? It might also reveal my identity."

"Well, if you want, we can sue them without revealing your identity. There are ways to do that. I can help with that. If not, you can employ Ellia’s help."

"Isn’t it easier to just not publish more books? They may be able to produce something similar, but they won’t be able to produce rank 2 gathering techniques."

"They can’t?"

"Yes. The intensity and power within the energy increase drastically after evolution, so they need a different method to do it."

"!!!" Maya didn’t expect this. She thought about one evil plan, which Auric had been planning from the start. "So, you are going to show dissatisfaction if there are too many clones out there? You show your disappointment that there is no protection for your rights and stop publishing the higher-ranking ones?"

"That’s the idea." Auric confirmed it. "This way, you can force the government to protect me in its own interest."

"You definitely have a bright mind. To think that you’re going to bring the government to its knees." Maya grinned.

"I learned it from you." Auric grinned back.

Maya raised one finger. "In that case, I have an idea. Why don’t you make a social media account for each store? You create a rivalry between them to show that you’re not the same person even though you’re just talking to yourself.

"Then, if one store’s interest is robbed by the country, you use the other store to invite this store.

"In other words, you are considering the invitation from another country because you are treated better there."

It would definitely make people anxious, thinking they might lose access to his store. The people would demand the government protect him.

Auric thought for a moment. "Won’t it look bad once it’s revealed that both stores are mine?"

"Just tell them that I’m the one handling the operation overseas. I’m the one handling the account."

Auric tilted his head left and right. "I still don’t think this is a good idea, but I will consider it."

"Yeah. Just consider it first." Maya chuckled. "I am just excited at imagining the rivalry between the two stores."

Auric shrugged. "In any case, for the time being, it should be fine, right?"

"Not really. You should start producing the higher-level ones to show that you have the ability to do it."

"Even if I want to, how am I supposed to do it? Revealing the fact that I’m a silver-grade evolution master will make me stand out a bit too much."

"How about you ask the Evolution Association for a job? You can just wear a mask or something to hide your face. If you work in the association, you can introduce yourself as a silver-grade evolution master. I bet President Gunther won’t reject the idea."

"Oh!" Auric hadn’t considered this possibility. "Since I work there, I can just do it every Monday or Friday instead of on the weekend."

"Yep. You should also evolve other elements to get more variety. Becoming a lightning evolution master in one week, becoming a fire element evolution master in another. With the mask and President Gunther’s guarantee, it should be fine."

"I might try it."

"So, how is your progress? How long do you need to evolve? Possibly, you should focus on one element first."

"If I want to, I can evolve my wind element or plant element in one week. I can fill up the rest of my energy with the artifacts after all." Auric still had the artifacts from the ruins. He could absorb the energy just by picking weaker wind or plant elements.

"If that doesn’t harm your future, then you should do it. You need to pick up your pace. After all, I know you can do it. This is the proof..." Maya showed a letter. "An invitation to Kallarnos University."

"!!!"