"Kyaaa!" There were cheers from the back. A few female students were drooling as if they had just received a service from Auric.
"Look! That's my Auric!"
"Not only is he more good-looking than Simon, but he is also doing things that benefit other people, unlike him. He just wants to show off."
"My Auric is definitely better. So what if he is the Lightning Emperor's disciple… Status can't fix a bad attitude."
"…" Only Eric didn't have any change of expression in the classroom. He had seen this kind of scene multiple times in high school.
Yet, despite his popularity, he had never gotten together with any girl.
After seeing their reaction, Lindwurm couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure you are a normal guy? You look like you love drawing attention to yourself."
'The things I do for my store…'
"Store?"
'Aren't a lot of actresses or actors running advertisements so that they will get more customers? I'm merely doing the same thing.'
When Auric said it that way, Lindwurm couldn't refute him.
An appearance that rivaled, if not surpassed, an idol, a good advertisement that captured people's hearts, and a good image that was built from this simple action. He had thought of everything.
There was nothing to say about it. Auric might really do it just for the sake of advertising himself so that these people would bring even more people to his store.
'Night and day, I have been thinking about how to improve the store, you know?' Auric sighed inwardly as if he were saddened by Lindwurm's suspicion.
Lindwurm looked away. "Fine. It looks like I've wronged you. Sorry."
Meanwhile, Simon was clenching his fists. After hearing what they said, if he let out another outburst, his reputation would hit rock bottom.
His teacher would most likely find out about it, and he would be punished again. He could only swallow everything while watching Auric get all the glory.
On the other hand, the professor saw Auric in a new light.
'This student…' Professor Eren was astonished. 'He helped other students in his demonstration. That alone is worthy of respect. In addition, this level of control is something that shouldn't be seen from a freshman, especially not on the first day.'
Professor Eren had many thoughts in his mind, making him unable to contain his curiosity.
"Student Auric, is it? How are you able to get that level of control on your first day?" Professor Eren asked.
"Professor, that's probably because of his other status. He is a 3-star bronze evolution master." Eric was actually the one who answered his question.
Even Auric couldn't help but turn to Eric, wondering why he was mentioning his status.
Eric just looked away as if telling him, 'I failed earlier, but consider us even with this.'
Professor Eren, on the other hand, couldn't believe what he had just heard as he remembered something. "Now that I think about it, there was a rumor that a very young evolution master was actually among the freshmen. That person is you?"
"Yes, Professor." Auric nodded politely.
"Hahaha. Good, good." Eren patted Auric's shoulders. "And you come here on the first day. I want to see the faces of the professors from the Evolution Department. I bet they're fuming right now seeing the most talented evolution master get snatched by our department."
"Well, I will be majoring in both departments."
"I don't care, I don't care. As long as you come here first, that means they will know where your priority lies. I've got to meet those professors right now so that I can see their faces." Eren laughed.
Auric smiled wryly. It looked like the Evolution Department had been running rampant all this time. Even a professor from this department would love to see them get angry.
Then again, he understood the status of an evolution master in society, so he could guess what happened between them.
"Anyway, is the class over now?" Auric asked.
"Ah, of course!" Eren nodded and took out the coupon. "Take this."
"Thank you, Professor." Auric politely nodded. He walked away quietly.
Although he didn't admit it either to the professor or Lindwurm, there was another reason Auric chose to put on this show.
It might be small. People would eventually realize that this test was just another form of a freebie.
However, they couldn't deny that they had benefited from Auric's show. Thanks to him, they were able to get it sooner, which allowed them to practice a battle technique sooner.
That was why they would at least look at Auric favorably. They would probably defend him or do him small favors if he ever asked.
He didn't intend to take advantage of them, but having people to defend his reputation would be good. No, they might even spread his store to other students as thanks.
That was why Auric had reaped more benefits than anyone could imagine when it was supposed to be a selfless act.
Eric also left the classroom, since there was nothing else to see.
"Oh? You coming?" Auric asked while waving his coupon. "Let's go together. I'm quite curious about this library."
Eric harrumphed. "Show off."
"You know you are slandering me." Auric rolled his eyes.
Eric shrugged. "Anyway, I'm still going to beat you no matter how long it takes."
"I'm looking forward to it." Auric smiled.
Auric and Eric headed straight to the department library. The library was known for its vast collection of battle techniques.
Auric wanted Eric to learn a battle technique. After all, blood might not be a bad element if it was utilized properly.
So, the sooner Eric learned his battle technique, the better for him.
It didn't take too long for them to reach the rumored library, which turned out to occupy an entire building.
"So, this is the library." Auric and Eric were quite impressed. The building had a cylindrical shape with three floors. Still, from the size alone, they expected to see tens of thousands of books inside.
Since no one was standing outside, the two of them took a peek first.
To their surprise, the door opened by itself.
"!!!" They were startled. They had checked for people before coming in, but someone opened it from the inside without being physically present.
"Hoho. Two new bloods have arrived. Are you going to check the library? Come in."
Auric and Eric exchanged looks before entering the library together.
The first person they saw was an elder in his sixties. Despite having wrinkles everywhere, he was on the heavier side, making him look more lively.
"Hello…" Auric politely nodded.
"You can call me Old Pufferfish."
"That's…" Auric and Eric gulped. There was no way they could call him by that kind of title. It was too rude.
As if knowing their worries, the elder chuckled. "Don't worry. My daughter loved to call me that. Other students also address me that way."
They noticed the elder used the word 'loved.' It looked like something had happened to his daughter, and he was using the nickname to remember her.
Although awkward, they had no other choice.
"I understand. Please forgive our rudeness, Old Pufferfish."
"Old Pufferfish." Eric followed along, using the softest voice.
"Mhmm. You must be new here, so I guess you're done with the little test from Professor Eren?"
"Yes." Auric and Eric showed their respective coupons.
"Give me your student cards as well."
Old Pufferfish grabbed both of their coupons and their cards to record them in the system. But after checking the system, he noticed something special in Auric's information. "Oh. It looks like you have something good with you, boy."
Eric tilted his head in confusion and turned to Auric, as if demanding an explanation.
"May I know what that is, sir?"
"Don't you know you have a special pass? Where did you get it from?"
"Ah?!" Auric almost forgot about this pass. He had thought about asking Maya for the pass first, but it looked like the process was automatic. "So, the pass doesn't have a physical form?"
"There is one. I guess your teacher registers it in the system while keeping the physical card. This way, you won't be able to gamble or sell it."
"I see." Auric nodded in understanding. No wonder he didn't get anything. Then again, he could understand why Maya never gave him the physical card. After all, this was the card that a professor used.
It wasn't meant for the students.
"With the coupon, you have two hours to browse the books here and borrow one book. If the book is damaged, destroyed, or lost, you are expected to compensate for it; otherwise, you will be banned from the library until you're able to compensate for it. Do you have anything to ask?"
"No."
"As for your pass, you can stay here for an entire day and borrow two books per week, and with the coupon, you can borrow three now. All books borrowed from here need to be returned within a week. If not, they will be considered lost.
"The first floor is for avatars in baby form, the second floor is for those in juvenile form, while the upper floor is for those in adult or higher form. I don't think I need to tell you why you should just stick to the first floor for now, right?"
"Yes," Eric answered. "There is a difference in intensity. You won't be able to forcefully use a battle technique meant for the juvenile form. First, due to the higher intensity, the amount of magical energy it uses will correspond to the level of the battle technique."
"Good. Then, take your time."
"Thank you, sir."
Both Auric and Eric immediately walked away.
The library was arranged by elements, so Eric immediately headed to the water element section.
Meanwhile, Auric was contemplating. 'What should I choose?'
"What? With your ability, can't you just comprehend them all?" Lindwurm rolled his eyes. He had seen Auric understand Void Step and Space Storage in an instant, so it shouldn't be hard for him to do the same thing again.
Auric crossed his arms. 'While it's true to a certain extent, there is one thing that I want to try.'
"What is it?" Lindwurm tilted his head. He was quite curious, since whenever Auric tried something, it would be something extraordinary.
'Just like when I tried to fix Arina's battle technique, I wonder if I can improve it in some way? I'm talking about the project beyond this, which might become the foundation of the Moon Store.'
"What kind of project are you talking about?"
'Professor Eren gave me a clue earlier. He asked the students to swallow it directly so that the energy didn't escape, right?'
"Yeah. What about it?"
'I'm thinking about whether there is a technique that can help people absorb energy.'
"There are."
'No. I'm talking about combining the gathering technique with this one, which would allow someone to absorb more energy than their affinity grade allows!'
"!!!" When Lindwurm heard the idea, it felt like thunder reverberating in his ears. It was such an insane project, but if it really succeeded, Auric would be a terrifying existence.
People considered affinity grade, as well as their element, to be the definition of talent.
But what if there was a way to improve that talent?
'If it succeeds, won't I be able to create geniuses?' Auric smirked. 'The evolution store, the gathering technique store, and this talent store. Once I combine all of them, my store will be a store that produces geniuses, the Genius Evolution Store!'
Lindwurm dropped his jaw. It looked like he underestimated Auric's ambition.
People would think he was insane, but that was only because they weren't aware of the existence of a gathering technique.
With the gathering technique, it might be possible to improve their affinity grade, which reflected the ability to absorb energy from another source.
"You're insane, you know that?"