A few minutes earlier.
No matter how he looked at it, he had no idea how Auric could treat someone before they had even begun the evolution.
So, he had no choice but to proceed based on what he already knew.
"Please proceed with the evolution," Hans demanded.
Titus looked at the water evolution master first as if he wanted to confirm something. As soon as the evolution master gave a nod, he closed his eyes and started the evolution process.
The firebird closed its wings and lowered its head as if it were trying to form an egg. The flame then flared up before enveloping its entire body.
Hans could feel the power radiating from the flame. It was much fiercer than the previous candidate, so he hurriedly placed his hand on Titus' chest before channeling his energy.
"Huu…" He exhaled deeply while trying to match the intensity of the firebird's flame.
The water suppressed the fire as it had before, but this time, the intensity of the fire changed the result.
With the previous candidate, the water completely suppressed the fire, and there was very little heat transfer from the fire to the water.
But this candidate was different. The intensity of the flame warmed up and even evaporated a part of his water. As a result, Hans had to pour even more energy into Titus's body if he wanted to succeed.
If he suddenly poured too much energy, the water element might end up extinguishing the fire element, which would lower the progress to 99% or less. If he poured too little, the flame would fight back, forcing him to use more power than necessary.
Still, Titus was already 19 years old, so the amount of energy he possessed was higher than Auric's.
But there was one thing that he hadn't taken into account.
Because he was confident in his energy reserves, he poured it at a slower pace. On the other hand, Titus' problem was something that couldn't be handled by that exact method.
'You fool.' The water evolution master couldn't help but narrow his eyes, thinking, 'There is a massive accumulation of energy in his body. If you pour at a slow rate…'
Before he finished his thought, the problem had occurred. If Auric were here, he would have found the problem straight away.
His problem was in fact similar to Arina's. There was an explosive amount of elemental energy within his body.
To other evolution masters, it would appear as though he had consumed something rich in fire energy rather than utilizing a flawed battle technique.
It was easier to feel heavy consumption than energy accumulation caused by a battle technique after all.
As a result, the fire erupted and immediately burned all the water energy being poured into his body.
Without enough water energy, the flame could only burst out of his body.
Titus suddenly felt his temperature spike as his flame started going out of control.
"Ahhhh!" Titus screamed out of shock. The pain was also gradually increasing.
Panicked, Hans hurriedly poured as much water energy as possible to suppress the erupting flame.
'Idiot. It's too much. You're going to harm him!' The evolution master clicked his tongue and pushed him away. "Get away!"
Hans dropped to his butt as he looked at the evolution master with a dumbfounded expression.
The evolution master hurriedly poured his energy in the correct amount. His water energy suppressed the erupting fire almost immediately, but at the same time, the amount was just enough to suppress it so that the fire element would go down close to 100%.
Then, he poured the energy at a lower rate to stabilize Titus's condition.
Titus felt his body temperature decrease back to normal. Although there was a slight mishap, the evolution could continue without any further problems.
It took him another three minutes, but the firebird gradually spread its wings. The red fur emitted a faint red light, and the fire burning on its body became more intense.
The avatar was brimming with energy, meaning the evolution was a success.
However, the evolution master had interfered, meaning the examination had ended for Hans.
"Why did you stop me? I could still handle it," Hans asked, his voice filled with desperation.
The evolution master thought the situation couldn't be any worse, but he was mistaken. Everything would have been resolved with a simple apology, but Hans had to ask a very dumb question.
Even with their relationship, there was no way he could cover for him anymore.
He simply muttered in frustration. "Goddamnit. Can you just stop embarrassing yourself? You could handle it? You poured so much energy into it that it would end up stopping his evolution."
Hans' face turned pale. He realized he had misspoken, especially after looking at the master's frustrated face.
"We are all educated people. If the master has decided to interfere, can't you see that we know it's already over for you? You can say you are a 1-Star Bronze Evolution Master, but I'm not Silver, I'm a 1-Star Gold Evolution Master. Who are you to judge my decision?"
The atmosphere became tense, especially for all the examinees. It was a clear warning for everyone as well as an assurance for all the people who volunteered as candidates.
If they made a mistake, it would end with a simple lecture. He would even reprimand them gently, but not for the water evolution master. Hans' comment just made him so angry that he couldn't brush it off anymore.
"Sir…" Titus didn't know what to say in this situation, but he thought they might need to stop.
The evolution master politely lowered his head. "I apologize for the mishap. We guarantee that you will evolve successfully if you volunteer, and we plan to keep that promise."
He glared at Hans and spoke in a cold tone. "You too. Get up and apologize now!"
To not further antagonize him, Hans hurriedly got back on his feet and lowered his head. "I… I'm sorry!"
Titus nodded.
"Please take your time from here on." The water evolution master nodded back before exiting and apologizing again. "My apologies for showing you such an embarrassing thing. Please proceed with confidence that we will be there to help you in case anything goes wrong."
Relieved, scared, nervous… A lot of emotions were mixed in the hall.
Even the president had a stern face. Although he was satisfied with how the evolution master solved the problem, he frowned upon Hans' conduct.
However, there was one person who definitely had a very different feeling about the situation. And that feeling was happiness.
Yes, the person was none other than the plant evolution master. Since the soundproofing was excellent, there was almost no sound from outside, so he wasn't worried Auric would get distracted.
Still, as someone at a much higher level than Auric, he could sense what happened out there without even listening.
But he couldn't express his joy yet because he needed Auric to succeed first. Of course, he sympathized with Titus for being in danger, but the senior evolution master was there to control anything that went wrong. So, he was more thrilled with the result.
'It looks like my examinee is much better than his arrogant little prick. He hasn't used much power in this attempt. Wait. He's not going to tell me he wants to take the test for the third star, right?'
The plant master observed Auric closely, wondering if he had the qualification to do it. After all, it would be an extreme variant. The amount of energy he required would be too much.
Besides, due to the difference in their intensity, the technique Auric was currently using wouldn't be that effective anymore.
After another minute, Auric stepped back. "It's done. You can begin with your evolution."
"Done?" Johan was slightly surprised because there was no pain or discomfort during the process.
Johan remembered how it went with Silvia, so he took a deep breath and trusted Auric's decision.
The golem was like a piece of ore with emeralds appearing on a few spots. But the moment the evolution started, the emeralds looked like they were surfacing, turning the ore into pure emerald.
The golem emitted a faint light from its body, but it wasn't powerful enough for it to go out of control or weak enough for it to be unable to provoke the evolution process.
The light gradually subsided as the golem's appearance underwent a small change. The emerald turned back into the rock, but there were more emeralds on the surface compared to before.
In addition, on the golem's chest, there was a big emerald as if it were its heart.
Upon seeing this change, the plant evolution master sneakily pumped his fist. 'Perfect. This guy… Is he really only 17 years old? Is he really not an older guy with a baby face?'
"Congratulations." Auric gave a satisfied smile.
That was enough for confirmation. Johan immediately grabbed Auric's hands. "Thank you very much, good sir."
"Not at all. I should thank you for volunteering here. It's thanks to you that we have the chance to become an evolution master. We're just doing what's best for us."
Johan felt moved. Even when he had this ability at such a young age, he stayed humble.
"Please take your time. I'll take my leave first." Auric gave a polite nod before exiting the room with the evolution master.
"Congrats to you too." Once outside, the master patted Auric on the shoulder.
"Thank you."
Looking at Auric's success, Hans couldn't help but grit his teeth.
He was clenching his fists, muttering inwardly, 'Why? Why did he succeed? He shouldn't be more skilled than me at that age. Is he cheating? He must be cheating.'
Before he started shouting, he couldn't help but overhear the whispers from the side.
"Can you believe it?"
"This person has been provoking him the whole time without that skill."
"He's just jealous. He might not look that bad, but the other guy is not only so freaking handsome, but he is also skilled. More importantly, he's already that skilled at 17 years old."
"Hahaha."
Hans glared at them while pointing his finger. "You… You guys…"
The water evolution master was already slipping away, not wanting to deal with the embarrassment. On the other hand, the plant evolution master patted Auric on the back, saying, "Please stay this way. Don't be like that and don't bother yourself with all his provocations."
"Huh? Should I?" Auric answered it with such an innocent face that even the plant master was stupefied.
"Pfft." He laughed out loud. "You… You are not even putting him in your eyes. Hahahaha. Challenging you is just his ego. Hahaha… Stop this. I can't laugh. I need to maintain my image… Hahaha!"
It appeared that the plant evolution master intentionally spoke aloud for everyone to hear.
"What?"
"He's not even worth his attention?"
"Pfft. Hans' ego is so high that he doesn't realize that for the other guy, he's not even worthy to be his competitor."
"Hahahaha!"
The mood instantly became clear again thanks to Auric's answer.
Hans was dumbstruck. He wanted to say something, but there were no words that could calm things down.
"You… You…" Hans was still pointing with his hand, but his face was already as red as a tomato. He subconsciously clutched his chest before spurting out blood and dropping to the ground unconscious.
"Medic!" Auric casually alerted them as if he were used to it.
"!!!" The plant evolution master turned around and saw the unconscious Hans. "Hahahaha. Medic. Come right now. This guy needs some help."
He sounded nonchalant so that the mocking tone was conveyed more clearly.
"Hahahaha. Serve him right!" Lindwurm laughed while holding his belly. "This is the first time I've seen someone spit blood from frustration."
While the others laughed, the plant evolution master turned back to Auric. "Judging by your attitude, don't tell me… you're planning to take on the third star?"
Auric nodded. "That's my intention from the beginning. I have already chosen the person. It's Mr. Golanz. The person with the steel element."
The plant evolution master dropped his jaw. 'How bold is this kid, really?'
"That's a comment I can't really ignore, young man." The president suddenly approached him.
Auric turned to him with a calm expression.
"You have talent. I acknowledge that. However, it's clear that your attempt will end up in failure with the amount of energy you currently possess, so I can't say I'm pleased with your decision."
Auric observed his expression. Even though the president gave such a harsh remark, his eyes were still brimming with excitement. It was as if he were telling him, 'I will give you the chance if you can persuade me.'
So, Auric replied, "I understand your concern. However, I'm still willing to do it. It's true that I don't have enough energy to do it, but it doesn't mean I will fail. In this attempt, I would like to request one specific item."
"!!!"