"Welcome." Auric politely nodded while opening the door for them.
The man he was supposed to treat was one year older than him. He had short blue hair that seemed to have mutated due to his avatar. He had big bags under his eyes.
After the assassination, he couldn't advance anymore, so it might have led to severe depression.
Behind him were two older men. The first one was a thin, middle-aged man, Dexter. Even though he was thin, the energy around him was exceptionally robust.
However, the most terrifying one would be the old man next to him. The old man covered his right eye with an eyepatch. His body was the exact opposite of Dexter's.
His build was big and muscular, and his entire being seemed to be screaming, "Power!"
They were accompanied by a butler and an evolution master.
Of course, even though the old man looked strong, Maya came with them. Her eyes glared at the old man as if she was warning him not to do anything.
To his surprise, the old man actually recognized the person in the store.
"Ah? Aren't you… Mr. Popo from the X-Guard?" The old man raised his eyebrows.
"Mr. Kevin. It's a pleasure to meet you. I heard a VIP was coming, but to think it would be you." Mr. Popo smiled.
"What? You're working for him? But aren't you supposed to be the new director of the X-Guard?"
"Well, it happens. I'd rather not talk about my circumstances. Just know that I'm willing to do this. Of course, please don't pressure our master, or I will make my move as well." Mr. Popo gave a small threat.
Kevin was quite surprised. He didn't expect that Maya's student was actually connected to Mr. Popo.
Auric just looked at Mr. Popo, wondering what was going on.
Mr. Popo whispered, "Remember what I used to do? I used to take care of him and Mr. Dexter."
"Oh." Auric nodded in understanding.
Kevin realized that Maya's student was truly extraordinary.
"So…" Kevin said as he turned to Auric.
"Please come in." Auric smiled and pointed to the evolution chamber with his hand.
Kevin explained, "This is my grandson, Axel. He was originally an energetic young man until three months ago. A few days before he was supposed to evolve, he was ambushed by an assassin.
"That assassin left behind a poison that contained two elements—fire and lightning. If we asked a plant element master to treat him, the lightning element poison would erupt. If a wind element master treated him, the fire element poison would erupt.
"There was no way to bring two evolution masters who could work together to treat him. Therefore, if you can treat him, consider me owing you a favor."
Auric thought for a moment. "I will need to check him first before I can give you my judgment. Can your grandson use his battle technique?"
"Yes. He can still use his power, but he just can't advance. The poison will be triggered the moment any elements that can affect the fire and lightning elements are injected into his body."
"I see." Auric nodded. "Please enter the evolution chamber first and show me the battle technique you're most confident with and the most explosive one."
"This is illogical. I've never heard of an evolution master—" The evolution master that Kevin brought suddenly spoke up, but he couldn't finish his words as his neck was already grasped by Maya's hand. "Ghh…"
Maya's gaze was extremely cold. "Hey, old man. I've told you that if you plan to bring someone, they need to shut their mouths. Should I kill this man first for you to understand?"
Kevin looked at Maya, but his body was restrained by Mr. Popo's gaze. Hence, Kevin lowered his head. "My apologies. It looks like I've failed to control my subordinate. Please release him."
"…" Maya gave him a cold gaze for a few seconds before releasing him.
The man coughed and gasped for air as he fell to his knees.
Auric widened his eyes in shock. Even Lindwurm couldn't help but say, "Back then, your teacher said to inform her if the Lightning Emperor made a move against you because she could take care of him. I doubted it at first, but your teacher might be crazier than I originally thought."
'Well, it's nice to have such a teacher.' Auric smiled before explaining to the others. "I can read a person's condition more accurately by looking at their battle techniques. That's all."
"Of course. Please check my grandson's condition." Kevin nodded solemnly.
The evolution master didn't dare to say anything else. His face was filled with horror. He really thought Maya was going to kill him if he opened his mouth one more time.
Auric led them to the evolution chamber and asked, "Please show me your battle technique, starting from the one you're most confident of."
Axel looked at him without saying anything. He had already given up on his situation, so he just obeyed whatever Auric wanted, thinking it wouldn't matter anymore.
The moment he released his battle technique, Auric could see the particles moving around him.
There was no problem with his arms or head. However, he noticed two different particles coming out of his heart. They were red and yellow, respectively.
The poison indeed contained two elements, making it such a vicious poison.
However, Auric noticed one more thing. The flow of energy in the bottom half of his body was unnatural.
This energy moved to the heart. Once the energy started flowing, there was a sudden fluctuation of energy in the chest area.
Auric suddenly bent down to get a closer look at the movement of the energy.
"Hmm?"
"Is there something wrong?" Kevin asked.
"When you tried to treat him in the past, did you have an eruption of energy once the poison started to react?"
"How did you know?" Kevin's eyebrows rose. "Wasn't it because of the poison?"
Auric looked at Axel. "Do you have a battle technique that directs the energy in your lower body to your upper body?"
Axel nodded.
"The poison might react to the plant or the wind element, but this battle technique worsens it."
"What? Is he going to be okay? Will this make it impossible to treat him?" Kevin panicked.
"For now, please show me your strongest battle technique." Auric waved his hand, gesturing for him to calm down.
Axel obliged and showed him the second battle technique.
As expected, the battle technique that caused the surge of energy from the lower half of his body triggered an eruption.
The battle technique had created an accumulation that resulted in an excess of power.
In fact, Auric believed that this person had 105% of the element, of which 10% came from this battle technique.
Unlike with Arina, Auric couldn't ask this person to stop using the battle technique because the energy gained wouldn't be sufficient for him to evolve.
He needed to use his own energy to gradually lower it to 100%.
At the same time, the eruption might cause his power to be less effective. Once he took into account the intensification of the element during the evolution, the situation became even more complex.
Auric's expression turned solemn, assessing the entire situation.
He talked to Lindwurm in his mind. 'As expected, this is not going to be easy.'
"Indeed. If you pour your plant element to suppress his element, the fire poison will erupt to weaken the plant element. In addition, the intensity of the element will increase during the evolution, weakening your plant element even further, not to mention the battle technique."
'Yes. My plant element may have reached 24%, but it may not be enough. I need the help of a material, possibly around 8% to 10%, just to help me get rid of his excess 5%.'
"If it becomes too much, you would need your wind element to stimulate the earth element. But that wind element would become less effective due to the lightning element within the poison."
'Yes. The biggest problem will be control over my energy. The plant element is severely weakened, so I have to pour a lot. I don't have to pour much wind energy, but I have to adjust it quickly.'
"Looks like you've figured out the problem. That's right. Once it is brought to 100%, you need to change the flow of your two elements right away. At that time, his earth element will become stable, but looking at his condition, the ratio between your wind energy and plant energy is…"
Auric was the one who answered that problem. 'A 1 to 2.2 ratio. We don't have to worry about the battle technique anymore after that time.'
"Now that you've formed your plan, shouldn't you break the news to them?" Lindwurm smiled. He only guided Auric in the correct direction, and Auric already knew the answer for the rest.
Auric stood up. "It's possible to treat him."
"!!!" Kevin, Dexter, and the two others were shocked.
Axel's expression finally changed. "Really?"
"Yes. There are currently three problems in your body. The first problem is your battle technique. As I explained earlier, your battle technique caused the eruption, which makes it harder to adjust the flow of my energy.
"The second problem is your poison. I'm not as concerned about it, because the one causing the most issues is your battle technique.
"Lastly, the evolution itself. As you may already know, if you evolve, your energy will become stronger. Due to your battle technique, I have to adjust my power right away once I lower your element to 100%. Then, I have to consider the aftereffects of the evolution."
"Aftereffect?"
Auric nodded. "First, I will use a material to lower your energy, which will definitely flare up the fire element poison and weaken that energy. This will make your earth element unstable, so I will pump the wind element to stabilize your earth element, which will then activate the lightning element within the poison. However, by activating both elements, we can create a balance to stabilize your element."
Axel gulped.
"Normally, I prefer to solve your problem before the evolution, but since we want to wash away your poison after the evolution, I will have to treat you during your evolution so that the residual energy can help wash away the poison. In other words, my energy will be less effective, so I have to adjust my energy in that condition."
"I'm sorry." Axel lowered his head, but the light in his eyes began to return as he found hope.
Auric continued, "Then, the last hurdle is once your element reaches 100%. I have to adjust my power once more after your condition stabilizes. That's basically how I'm going to treat you. However, I need to take a look at your battle technique. Do you have a copy of the battle technique that causes the problem? I need an accurate grasp on how much energy I need to pour into your body."
"!!!" Kevin was dumbfounded. Maya wasn't joking when she said her student could treat his grandson. "Hurry, Axel. Show it to the master."
A battle technique couldn't be revealed easily, but compared to his life and future, it was a small price to pay.
"The copy is in my drawer…"
"Call your mother right now, or whoever is at home," urged Kevin. "Ask them to take pictures of the battle technique and send them right now. No, Butler! You call the maid as well!"
"Yes." They started getting riled up as they were trying to contact anyone who could solve the problem.
Meanwhile, the evolution master couldn't speak, nor did he dare to speak. Auric's explanation was reasonable. Even though he had some doubts, the theory sounded plausible.
He was a bit skeptical about Auric's skills, considering he was only a bronze-grade evolution master, but he didn't dare to voice his concern because Maya's gaze was locked onto him.
If he dared to speak even a single word, his life would be gone instantly.
Maya, on the other hand, felt proud. This was her student. She could definitely brag about this to anyone.
Mr. Popo simply sighed in his heart, thinking, 'Those people from the Evolution Department will need a reality check. They're probably going to cry once they learn about his true abilities.'
Auric, on the other hand, didn't care about their reactions. He simply walked out of the chamber to get the materials needed for the treatment.