"There are a total of 9 basic elements in the world. Fire is weak to water, water is weak to lightning, lightning is weak to wind, wind is weak to earth, earth is weak to plant, and plant is weak to fire. This is the full cycle of the six general elements."
The evolution master stepped forward and continued, "Then, we have light and dark, which are weak to each other. Last but not least, the unique element that doesn't have a cycle like the others."
With a snap of his fingers, the door opened, and 58 humans entered the room. "When someone wants to evolve, they will be either above or below 100%. As such, we are there to let them stabilize their elements at 100%."
It was basic knowledge, so not many paid attention. Since this was the first time he had taken this test, Auric was completely focused on the explanation.
"To stabilize it at 100%, you can only increase it or decrease it. In other words, if you possess a fire element, you can increase the water element or decrease the plant element. The same applies to light and dark. Depending on how you use your power, you can increase or decrease the other party's element."
He then extended his hand to the side. "However, to know how much power you need to stabilize them, you need to understand the intensity of their elements. As such, your test this time is to determine the intensity of all 50 awakeners, using the first eight people as the basis for your rating."
The eight people in front summoned their avatars and released their magical energy.
Each person had a different element. In fact, all elements except for the unique element were present.
"All eight of these people are rated 1. With a maximum of 5, you are to rate all 50 people. They will come one by one and show their power for one minute. 1 person is worth 2 points, with a maximum of 100. As long as you obtain 70 points, you pass. Are there any questions before I begin the test?"
One participant raised his hand. "Do we have to rate all elements even if we can only assist with a maximum of two?"
"Just because you are a specialist does not mean you do not need to understand basic medical knowledge. This is the same. You can't just turn down people just because you don't have an element. You have to understand their problem and recommend them to someone who can solve it. Understood?"
"Y-Yes, sir!" The man hurriedly lowered his head after the evolution master glared at him once he finished his explanation.
Auric couldn't help but raise his hand.
"Yes?" The evolution master pointed at Auric. Since Auric was the first one, he was curious about Auric's question.
"Sir. They don't exactly have the same intensity as the standard. Are we supposed to generalize them or something else?"
"!!!" The question sounded like thunder reverberating in the evolution master's ears. The evolution master was stunned for a moment.
"Pfft. Hahahaha!" The person who provoked Auric earlier laughed the loudest, followed by the rest of the participants. He sneered, "You might be good at identifying materials, but you are a complete amateur in this field. All of them have the same basic elements. That's all you need to know."
Auric maintained his serious face. Unlike the others, he could see the particles in the magical energy, which reflected the concentration of their magical energy. The particles varied in color. If he combined it with the concentration, he could get a more precise rating.
The evolution master regained his composure and scratched the back of his head. "Well, you measure the rest using them as the standard. You may adjust your measurement accordingly."
"Understood. Thank you very much." Auric politely thanked him.
The evolution master looked at the crowd, who were still chuckling or whispering to each other, and thought, 'No, that young man is right. As you go higher and higher, you will be able to sense more and more accurately. Is his sensitivity that high even though he's still that young?'
Because of Auric's question, everyone forgot to ask questions.
The evolution master considered it as no one having any questions left, so he raised his hand. "Alright. Let's begin with the assessment. You can see these eight standards for one more minute before we move on to the test."
As if he were done looking at the standard, the man from earlier said to Auric, "I will beat you in this test. Your experience in the material shop means nothing here. Hans Shritian. That's the name that will crush you in this test. You better remember that name."
Auric's eyes remained glued to the eight people as though he were ignoring Hans. He couldn't have cared less about the competition.
'Shritian. Unfortunately, a different family name than Eric. If they were the same, I'd believe they were brothers,' Auric thought.
"You…" Hans gritted his teeth.
Before Hans could provoke Auric any longer, the evolution master spoke up. "Alright. One minute is up. It's time for the assessment. Number 1."
As instructed, the man with the '1' tag stepped forward and showed his magical energy.
The man had a fire element, symbolized by his red magical energy.
However, the intensity of his energy was pretty weak. It was slightly stronger than the standard, but not by much.
Most people would either write down 1/5 or 2/5 as their answer, but Auric was different.
He could see the particles and the glow of the particles. He wrote down his answer according to the evolution master's instructions.
Once one minute was up, the second person stepped forward. The rating process continued for all 50 people, taking one hour in total, including the explanation time.
As soon as they submitted the answer, Hans stood up and challenged Auric with a confident expression. "Let's bet on who has the higher score."
"Dude. I didn't even know you until today. We would have remained strangers if you hadn't kept targeting me." Auric let out a long sigh.
"What? You chickened out?" Hans had a condescending grin.
"This bastard. I'm going to kill him." Lindwurm was fuming. "Does he have a problem or something? Accept his bet and beat him hard. Don't stop until he cries! I will even help you if the punch is not hard enough!"
Auric rolled his eyes. 'I don't mind standing out, but I don't want to stand out unless there's something to gain.'
Auric was indirectly implying that there was no reward in accepting the competition because Hans couldn't provide the reward that he wanted. Instead, Lindwurm was the one who had it.
Auric's eyebrow twitched as his eyes turned sideways. "What do you want?"
'I'll tell you about it tomorrow.'
"Tomorrow?" Lindwurm didn't understand why Auric would wait until the next day. There was one event that stood out for the next day, the meeting with Ellia. The corner of his lips curved. "Interesting. Very well, I accept it."
Hans mistook Auric's rolling eyes earlier as a provocation. He gritted his teeth. "Do you think you are that good? If you are so confident, accept the bet then."
Auric let out an exhausted sigh. "Fine. What are we betting?"
"If you lose, you are going to apologize and say, 'I'm sorry. I have nothing but face,' to me."
'Whoa. So petty…' Auric wanted to roll his eyes one more time, but he stopped himself. "What will I get from winning?"
"You won't win."
Auric shook his head helplessly. "If I win, just give me 50,000 credits. My pet is so fat that it costs me too much to feed him. You look rich, so…"
"Heh. Poor bastard." Hans snorted. "Fine."
Auric didn't ask him to apologize or leave him alone because he knew this kind of person wouldn't stop. So, it was better to get something that he could definitely get from someone like him.
With a few staff assisting the evolution master, the grading process moved quickly. However, before it ended, the staff actually brought two papers.
The evolution master was actually amused by what he saw.
"Oh! It looks like we have a talented guy here. To think there is someone with 100 points." The evolution master rubbed his chin. "Congratulations, Hans Shritian. You get 100 points."
"Hahahaha!" Hans laughed out loud as if he was showing his superiority. He turned to Auric. "Did you see that? There's no way for you to surpass me. Now, apologize!"
Auric's calm face remained unchanged.
"What are you two doing?" The evolution master tilted his head.
"Ah, sir." Hans immediately became polite. "We are just having a friendly competition to see who has the higher score."
"Oh." The evolution master's eyes flashed.
"Now, you have lost. Apologize to me!" Hans glared at Auric.
"Yes. You've lost." The evolution master nodded. People couldn't help but think Auric had been set up, but the evolution master actually dropped a bomb right after. "Mr. Hans. You've lost."
"Apol—huh?!" Hans turned to the evolution master. "What are you talking about? I have the perfect score!"
"Yes. You do have a perfect score, which is commendable, but he has a score beyond a perfect score."
"What?!"
Even the people couldn't believe what they had just heard. Higher than a perfect score?
The evolution master simply turned the paper around, showing how Auric actually rated the fifty people.
Hans graded the first three as 1/5, 2/5, and 3/5.
However, Auric's answer slightly differed from the normal way. 1.3/5, 2.4/5, and 2.9/5.
"What?" Hans took a closer look at the answer sheet.
"You have indeed given a correct answer, but he has gone one step beyond yours. This is a better answer than yours. However, I can't deduct your points because that would mean I would have to do the same to all other examinees in this room. Therefore, I have to do the second-best thing, which is to give him the bonus point."
There was a big '105' written on the paper.
For normal people, the answers Hans provided would have been enough. Unfortunately, there was a curveball called Auric.
"Pfft."
"After laughing and shouting so much, he still ended up losing."
"So funny."
"Should I bring a shovel? He can use it to dig a hole to hide."
The people's chatter turned against Hans.
Auric simply extended his hand as if he didn't care about the result. "Money."
That nonchalant expression made him even more frustrated. It would have been better if he had snapped back at him or sneered at him.
But that gaze, which made it seem like he never noticed Hans, annoyed him even more.
Hans was shaking. His red face was visible to everyone. He grabbed his wallet in anger and gave the money to him. "Take it, poor bastard!"
Auric, on the contrary, acknowledged Hans' ability. Although his character was problematic, Hans was good enough to receive a perfect score.
Unfortunately, he chose to compare himself with others.
Auric turned to the evolution master after receiving the money. The evolution master smiled and gave him another gold coin. "You've passed the test. You can take the gold coin and head to the third site. I'll start calling one name at a time. Anyone who gets called will go to the front and receive their coin."
Auric received the coin and quietly walked away.
"Pfft. Hahaha."
"Look at that. He thought he was so good that he didn't acknowledge anyone better than him."
"Yeah. It turned out he was the one who was never in the other party's eyes."
"Pathetic."
"He would have been good if not for that character."
Hans could hear their chatter. The frustration grew even more that he couldn't help but clutch his chest. He hurriedly took a few deep breaths, or else he might get a heart attack from anger.
"Kh…" Hans dropped to one knee, losing feeling in his legs. He glared at the door as if he were staring at Auric's back.
He thought, 'Poor bastard. I'm not going to let you off. I'm going to humiliate you!'