"What are you talking about?"
"Huh?" Stefany raised her voice. "You definitely know what I'm talking about. You went to the Lightning Dojo not long ago, didn't you? It was obvious that you were trying to propose an alliance by marriage!"
"Your imagination is truly wild. Why don't you start writing a novel or something? You might be quite talented, you know?" Ellia shook her head helplessly.
She wondered what kind of reason that could make her look like she was favoring Simon, but it turned out to be the most ridiculous reason she could think of.
"What did you say?" Stefany's voice was filled with annoyance.
"Do you think the Lightning Emperor would hide that kind of news if that were truly what happened?" Ellia shook her head helplessly. "You probably got that news from Ran, that half-baked broker."
"Half-baked. Isn't that too much?" Ran pointed at himself. He only gave Stefany a piece of information that he had authenticated. The rest was just Stefany making it up herself.
Ellia just shrugged before pointing her thumb at Auric. "Besides, if you look at their qualities, can't you see who is superior? Looks, skills, talents, and even character."
"You…" Stefany couldn't refute her claim.
The people on the ground floor were whispering.
"What's going on?"
"It looks like two female seniors are fighting for Auric."
"I know. They are ranked second and third among the sophomores, Ellia Stroph and Stefany Cillis."
"So unfair. I want to be like him."
"Shut up. Those two have no right to fight over him. Only me!"
"Me what? I should be the one who has the right!"
They ended up having an argument among themselves, while Auric just wanted to get away from here. He had shown too much, so it was best not to stay for too long for one reason or another.
"Both of you can argue however you like. Anyway, I'm done here, so I'll take my leave. Please excuse me."
"Wait. You—" Stefany didn't know whether she should be speechless because of Auric's reaction or the fact that Ellia also took advantage of that opportunity.
"I know, right? Let's leave then. I am tired of dealing with this nonsense." Ellia grabbed Auric and Arina's hands before using her Void Step to teleport outside.
Stefany blinked a few times before she started fuming. "Elliaaaaa!"
"That's ridiculous. Hahaha." Arina laughed as if she had been holding it in the whole time.
Auric and Ellia had their eyebrows twitching. They never thought that Arina would be laughing in this situation.
"My reputation was smeared by the fact that they were trying to link me to that incompetent. Why are you laughing?" Ellia glared at Arina.
"Yeah, but the way you solved it made me look like your kept boy." Auric rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't you compensate me for my reputation? There is also an opportunity cost."
"Shouldn't you feel happy about it?" Ellia started to lose her calm after Auric's complaint.
Ellia was the most talented in their year, possessing a unique element. She was also known for her beauty. In addition, her business talent was extremely high, allowing her business to prosper.
Auric sighed. "Why? I don't plan to have any relationship for now. Also, if that rumor spreads, don't you think I will be chased after by your pursuers as well? I don't want any trouble. I just want to manage my store!"
Ellia paused. In a way, Auric actually recognized all of her qualities when he said he would be chased by her pursuers. At the same time, his words somehow irritated her even more.
"Shouldn't a scandal bring more customers to your store? That's called promotion."
"I know that even bad promotion is still promotion, but do I look like someone who does everything just for the sake of success?"
"Do you think I am like that?"
"I'm not!" Both of them answered at the same time.
"Hahaha. I really can't keep up with you two. You two are really the same." Arina laughed. It might be due to the annoying Stefany or the sparring match the previous day, but these two had been conversing with each other frequently.
Now, they could even complain to each other. They were still speaking politely, but they had become a bit more unrestrained.
For Arina, it was a joyous thing. With Ellia's talent and status, she was quite distant from her peers.
If it had not been for her progress slowing down due to her evolution, she would have remained at the top, completely untouchable.
But Auric was also similar to her. In that regard, he might understand her better than Arina did.
That was why Arina was glad that they could talk about things other than business.
"We are not the same. I wouldn't have done such a useless thing in that battle." Ellia shook her head. "If I were you, I would have pulled down his pants first and taken a picture or two before threatening him to surrender unless he wanted to continue like this."
Auric was speechless. Her method was truly vicious. "With your method, I would have created an irreparable situation. I prefer the safer method."
"You should be ruthless to your enemy. Unless you have shown how ruthless you are, there will be many pests that will come to harass you!"
Auric could understand her method, but that wasn't something he would employ. He preferred a much subtler way of doing it. However, there was one value that would never change. The equivalent exchange.
He had concluded the battle according to this value earlier.
In this battle, Simon wanted to defeat him to get all the glory. So, he just did the exact same thing to him.
If Simon wanted to kill him, he would show no hesitation to kill him as well. Even if he was called ruthless, he would become one. This was just a matter of principle.
On the other hand, Ellia seemed to have a much more ruthless value. It might be due to her experience in the business world that she knew she had to be seen as ruthless.
After all, her world was unlike Auric's.
Although they were similar, their principles differed due to their upbringing.
"Ugh." Ellia let out a long sigh. "Why am I even arguing about this?"
Arina realized that the fun was over, so she immediately switched her role as the supporting childhood friend. "I apologize on her behalf. Actually, she was supposed to be first in our generation, but due to her element, her progress slowed down.
"Thanks to it, she fell off the ranking, and Stefany finally became one of the top three students. Stefany often competed with Ellia, so when Ellia slowed down, Stefany seized the opportunity to strike back."
Auric could understand it. He could think of Stefany as Eric.
"Well…" Auric scratched the back of his head. "Anyway, I'll just have to deal with whatever is coming my way, I guess."
"With your status, you shouldn't be bullied. Besides, I'm also responsible for this matter, so I have to apologize for that." Once she calmed down, Ellia apologized. "Also, if there is anything too excessive, you should tell me about it. I will take care of it even if I have to crush them."
Auric didn't mention it anymore. He just considered it as Ellia having a bad day. "Anyway, now that I have finished my battle, shouldn't you tell me about what kind of mission requires someone like me? I mean, I'm just a new student."
"120 years ago. The world changed completely when, out of nowhere, magical energy filled the Earth and transformed animals into magical beings. So many people died because they had pets at home." Ellia looked up.
Auric fell silent. This was the history of the world. That day from 120 years ago was truly terrifying.
People loved their pets and their pets loved them. He couldn't imagine what would happen when the pets they loved and trusted so much suddenly killed them in a brutal manner.
Ellia continued, "There are areas where magical energy is concentrated. We call these places the ruins. Until now, no one understands the ruins. How are they formed? Why do they appear in random places? This particular ruin is very rare because it requires all elements to enter."
Auric crossed his arms. "Since you are relying on me, shouldn't I get a higher portion as well? Like 70%? I will have to supply seven out of the nine elements after all."
"50%. We will also guarantee your safety as well and handle most, if not all, of the fighting. But the details can be discussed later."
"That should be fine." Auric agreed. With Ellia around, they should be fairly safe. They could simply run away if they encountered any danger.
Besides, he also had Void Step, so he was pretty safe. "Still, I'm just a freshman. I don't have much combat experience."
"That's why we're going there. Although such places are rare, they're not necessarily dangerous. The location itself is quite hidden, but it's not that far from our city, so we don't have to venture deep into the dangerous zone."
Auric could probably get combat experience this way. And with the two seniors watching from the side, he could feel reassured.
In the end, Auric also needed combat experience, even though he wanted to become an evolution master.
If he pushed someone too far as an evolution master without combat experience, that person might attack him regardless of the consequences. In the end, it didn't matter, he wouldn't be alive to watch how the person who attacked him was punished.
So, Auric needed strength to protect himself, especially since the things he offered were too valuable.
Auric contemplated for a moment. "Well, I don't think it's a bad thing. Please send me the relevant materials. I want to review them first."
"I will send it next week."
Auric nodded and accepted. They still had at least three weeks to prepare, so it wasn't urgent.
"By the way, since you are done with the Element Department, are you going to the Evolution Department next week?"
"That's the plan."
"The teachers there will probably hear what has happened, so they might bother you a lot. You know, an evolution master with two elements."
"I know. I will just have to deal with it. After all, that place is a must-visit if I want to set up my evolution service." Auric had no trouble with money for the time being, so he could probably use his service to get points for a week or two.
"A service, huh? Are you planning to use the contribution points? Well, the training hall is quite good as it offers a variety of services. In that case, I will look forward to your growth from now on. Do you need my help in acquiring any elements?"
"No. I will take care of it myself." Auric needed the light element, but he should be able to get one in one way or another. At the very least, he still had over three weeks to find the light element.
"All right, then. Do you plan to go anywhere else?"
"No." Auric waved his hand. He wanted to go home because his mom was missing him.
Besides, there was no schedule for the weekend, so he planned to fully focus on opening his store.
Still, with this one fight, he would become more famous, and people would visit his store. At this point, he might have to consider getting a guard for the store.
Nevertheless, he would think about it later. Since he had nothing else to do on campus, he just wanted to go back home.
"You want me to drive you back? Think of it as an apology."
"Don't you think that will cause an even bigger scandal?" Auric rolled his eyes.
"Who are you talking to? I have a hidden car somewhere else. Besides, we can use the other exit."
Auric pondered for a moment. It didn't sound too bad to get a ride home. Besides, even if they wanted to find more information about their relationship, they needed more time to react, so no one should even be spying on him or his home yet.
Hence, Auric agreed. "Sure."