Auric was fascinated by the movement of the energy. The moment the evolution began, the energy first flowed back to the heart. All particles from all over the body returned to the heart.

The heart looked like the sun. It was a flaring sphere where the energy erupted but pulled back inside.

Then, this sphere seemed to be expanding gradually. Originally, the size of this sphere was about two times the size of Auric’s sphere, but that must be because he had just evolved, so his element was 0%, while this man had 100% element.

But this expansion tripled the size of Max’s energy, making Auric think that this was the intensity they had been looking for.

Auric muttered inwardly, ’This expansion... No, are the particles becoming bigger once people evolve? Doesn’t that mean the size of the particles reflects the power the element contains?’

Auric remembered that the particles that a baby-form avatar possessed were like a grain of sand. After he evolved, his particles were slightly bigger, but it was hard to notice.

Meanwhile, Maya’s energy particles were much bigger. Now that he had witnessed the expansion directly, he managed to confirm that the size was indeed reflecting the power that the particle contained.

Once the expansion was over, the energy started to shine brightly inside the body. This was the time when the element flared up and started baptizing the avatar for evolution.

Auric had a hard time seeing the energy, but he persisted, making sure he didn’t leave a single detail.

Finally, once the avatar evolved, the color of the energy changed slightly, making it even more similar to the color of the element.

After the element had been upgraded, the energy started to break apart and disperse all over the body. Auric realized this was the step where the energy enhanced her senses, considering the man had yet to finish his evolution.

Only after two minutes did the man open his eyes, showing that he had evolved. The avatar had changed its form slightly as well.

Everyone was amazed. They never thought evolution would be this easy.

The president’s expression turned solemn. In just one treatment, he was able to determine Auric’s skills.

He secretly glanced at Maya, thinking, ’It looks like she raised one hell of a monster.’

Maya was just smiling as though she had expected this to happen.

Auric nodded to Max. "Congratulations on your evolution."

"Thank you very much." Max politely nodded.

The president said, "Now, you can move to the corner. There are four corners here, so treat each patient in each corner. This way, the residual energy won’t conflict with each other."

"Understood." Auric didn’t have any problems with their evolution. Even if the other party had an extreme element, he also possessed his own extreme element.

So, Auric treated this test as a way to understand the energy better. Even with its higher intensity, the process remained the same. The only thing that changed was the particles’ shine.

Meanwhile, the two other people were helped by the herbs. As Auric once said, the Solution Salmon was needed to help the first person, and it really helped her evolve without any problems.

The last person was also handled carefully but quickly.

The entire test was supposed to take at least four to five hours. Yet, Auric actually finished the test in just over an hour. This kind of achievement was not something that a 17-year-old was supposed to achieve.

"How is it?" Maya grinned. "There is no problem with his assessment, right?"

The president coughed, trying to regain his composure. "Yeah. There is no problem. Your student is excellent. Now, I know why you want to hide him."

Maya looked proud, a smug smile appearing on her face.

"Still, you don’t think that you can hide your student forever, right?"

Maya snorted. "I know that. I’m merely creating a stable platform for him to stand on later on. I’m not going to let those old foxes take advantage of him. Don’t worry. I’ll also record that you are the president where he first became a silver-grade evolution master."

The president just looked away before asking the gold-grade evolution master. "Surely, you don’t have any problem with this, right?"

"..." The gold-grade evolution master sighed. "Yes."

He had been skeptical about this test, considering Auric was simply too young. However, it turned out he was wrong. Auric’s skills had gone beyond a mere silver grade. It would be bad to deny that.

"All right. Help me process the information. Bring me the certification and the badge as well."

"Understood." The evolution master walked away.

The president extended his hand. "Congratulations, Mr. Auric. From today onward, you are a lightning-element evolution master. You will have a 3-star badge, signifying that you are able to treat a patient with an extreme element."

"Thank you, sir." Auric smiled politely.

"I was skeptical at first, but hopefully, you’re able to continue to surprise all of us. However, there are two questions that remain stuck in my head. Can you really use multiple elements to treat a person?"

"Yes. I once treated a patient who had a poison in his body. The poison had two elements, so it sort of happened."

"I see." The president didn’t ask further. Auric released information at the limit of what could be shared even among other evolution masters. He didn’t say anything about the person involved.

"One last question. Now that you have become a lightning evolution master, do you plan to join the Evolution Association?"

"I’m sorry, sir. While the offer is attractive, I have my own store."

"That’s such a shame. Nonetheless, it’ll be good for all of us to have a genius like you around. Don’t be too complacent and keep growing. Arrogance is the first poison that will kill you."

"Yes. Thank you for your advice."

The president smiled and patted Auric’s shoulder. Not long after, the gold-grade evolution master returned with a new identification card, the certificate proving that he was a silver-grade evolution master, and the 3-star badge made of silver.

With this badge, he could probably head to President Gunther and ask him to upgrade the other two identities to silver grade once Auric evolved the other two elements.

Besides, he planned to release the earth element soon. He just needed an opportunity to reveal it and gain a massive benefit from it.

Thanks to this test being private, only a few people knew about it, and the five patients had signed a non-disclosure agreement, so no one in this city other than them knew about his lightning element.

Maya was just smiling as she remembered something.

The principal of Willimlie University boasted about his student being a genius evolution master. He didn’t realize that not only did Auric have a 3-star badge, but he was also on a whole different level.

She couldn’t help but imagine the shock on his face when his student lost to Auric.

And Auric, who won the resources for Grand Magica College, would be admired by a lot of students.

"All right. Let’s go back, Auric." Maya pointed at the back with her thumb, gesturing to go.

Auric nodded and walked back with her. They had achieved two of the goals they had set for themselves before coming to this city—gaining unique elements and becoming a silver-grade evolution master. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

This meant they only had one more goal to accomplish, which was to get the absolute fire element. Beating the student from Willimlie University was just a side mission.

However, Auric remained calm and prepared to challenge that person to the best of his ability.

...

With the test over, Auric focused on honing his strength, especially his eyes. At the same time, he realized that he had just found one of the missing links to the artificial heart project.

While looking at the ceiling, Auric muttered, "Lindwurm. I’m thinking about what would happen if we treat the entire human body as an artifact? When those five people evolve, I can see that the energy disperses all over their bodies and remains there. That must be the process of strengthening their senses.

"So, I wonder if we can treat it that way, but only for the heart. This will create an artificial artifact within the body. In other words, what I’m doing is simply heightening the heart or the affinity, which results in an increase of their affinity."

Lindwurm raised his eyebrows. "It may be possible. If it works, the energy can’t be stolen because the heart is evolving."

"That’s right. In that case, what I need to do next is to think about how to pinpoint the location to be inside the affinity and link it to the heart. Well, if I have to create it myself, I guess I can solve the first one, but I’m thinking about finding a way where people can perform the process themselves."

"If you want to write a book about it, I suggest making a requirement. For example, only those who have juvenile-form avatars can attempt it. After all, your methods require a high amount of control, much more than your gathering technique."

Auric thought for a moment before nodding his head. "That might be the only solution. We can improve it further from that point and possibly help those who only have a baby-form avatar. After all, the sooner they have an artificial heart, the better."

"Indeed. The baby-form avatar serves as your foundation. It may not be the end of the world if you begin with a juvenile-form avatar, but it will get a slightly different result." Lindwurm nodded.

"Yes. I guess I should now focus on finding the last missing piece. How do I link it to the heart? Now that my senses are better, I think I can figure out the answer soon."

Lindwurm smiled. "Well, we have someone who can test it for us. However, don’t forget that each element is different. Even if you can create a technique for Ellia, it doesn’t mean you can create it for others, including your juniors. You need specific techniques that match their own energy’s movement."

"I know that." Auric nodded solemnly. That was how the gathering techniques were born.

Once he managed to create this artificial heart, the Moon Store would finally be opened. It would probably wait for a while to gain traction, but it would soon become the Sun Store.

In fact, the Sun Store’s sales had reached a hundred books. The word about the books would spread, so before long, the entire city would know. Once that happened, it would probably reach the headlines, and the Sun Store would soon gain a massive influx of customers.

People would question it. People would be skeptical. But they couldn’t deny its effect.

Auric closed his eyes. "In any case, it’s time for me to sleep. It’s going to be quite interesting tomorrow. Whether I win or lose, I will at least get the absolute fire elemet."

Lindwurm nodded in agreement. "Good night."

A pajama appeared on his body as he rested his head on a pillow and covered himself in a quilt... in the air.

Auric just smiled and fell asleep.

...

The next morning, the tension was already quite high.

The governor attended the closing ceremony and said, "Thank you for inviting me here. It looks like many are eager for this closing ceremony to finish. I guess I shouldn’t waste anyone’s time, so I will end my speech with this.

"Rivalry can help people grow. Whether you are the winner or the loser today, what determines you is who you are tomorrow." The governor smiled. "I’ll be watching."

As the governor said, there were many universities waiting for their chance to show off their students.

Principal Galeon from Willimlie University stood up and pointed his finger at Principal Fernandes from Grand Magica College.

"Don’t run. Shouldn’t we entertain the people here with our little opening act first? This is the battle between two evolution masters, so of course, it’s better for us to begin, right?"

The reason was simple. They didn’t want the residual element from other fights to linger in the air, which would cause a mess during their own competition.

Principal Fernandes simply smiled. While placing his hand on Auric’s shoulder, Principal Fernandes replied. "Of course. You shouldn’t run when it’s time for you to pay the price."