Fortunately, the return trip was not as dangerous. They didn't find any beasts coming in their direction, so Auric once again enjoyed the luxury.
Still, he was wondering what his teacher had gone through for her to be demoted here. It didn't seem to be a simple problem.
Nevertheless, he didn't ask her. Even if he knew, there was nothing he could do.
He would just focus on what he could do.
The next day, Auric returned to his store as usual. It was time to open his store again, or he wouldn't be able to afford to feed Lindwurm.
Mr. Popo had been waiting for him as usual. Surprisingly, his daughter, Milinda, was also there.
"Good morning." Mr. Popo smiled, noticing his arrival.
"Good morning. Thank you for coming here again today." Auric nodded politely. "And Miss Milinda."
"Miss is too stiff. You can just call me Milinda. If not, I would have to call you Master Auric." Milinda chuckled. "We're only a year apart, so who cares about seniority? Once you grow older, seniority is based on abilities, not age."
"I understand, Milinda." Auric nodded calmly. "So…"
"I came to help." Milinda smiled.
"Well…" Auric thought for a moment. "You don't have to feel indebted to me. I helped you, and you paid me."
"I am going to rely on you for future evolutions, so I have to make sure no harm comes to you." Milinda shook her head. "Besides, isn't it good to have me around? I can take care of the cashier duties. I'm also learning about materials, so if you want any material, I will bring it to you."
"Is that so?" Auric would definitely need an assistant. Mr. Popo might be good as a guard, but he didn't seem to be that knowledgeable about materials.
Lindwurm glanced at Auric. "Are you going to accept her?"
Auric scratched the back of his head. "I understand. Now, let's talk about the pay."
"You don't have to pay me." Milinda waved her hands. Their family's economic condition might not have been good before, but after she evolved, her father immediately demanded a promotion. His salary alone would be more than enough for them to have a lavish life.
"No can do. Those who work shall be paid."
"In that case, how about paying me in a different way?"
"Different way?" Auric frowned.
"Yes, please teach me about materials. I heard this place used to be a material shop. Before, I was too focused on evolution, so I never really learned about it. Now that I'm free of my worries, I can finally focus on what I want to do."
Auric crossed his arms. "So, you want to work in the related industry?"
"I want to be a material processor. As you may know, when you fight a beast, you will have a hard time preserving the essence. That is because you may end up damaging the body 95% of the time.
"That's why I want to process the material so that it will become as perfect as possible."
Auric remembered Mr. Popo once mentioning that it was because of his mistake that she ended up at 99%.
The mistake was hidden in the material. It was a very small defect that went unnoticed.
"All right. We can work with that. During work hours, whenever we have time."
"Great!" Milinda felt delighted.
"Since we're done here, we need to prepare the store." Auric inserted the key and opened the door. "Please come in."
While wiping the floor, Milinda asked, "How did your training go?"
"Hmm?" Auric raised his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"
"I heard your teacher had taken you to another city."
"Oh." Auric fell silent for a few seconds. "It wasn't too bad."
"You sound disappointed." Milinda chuckled.
"It's nothing much. I just didn't accomplish my objective."
"Your objective?" Milinda tilted her head.
"Yeah. As an evolution master, you need to be familiar with elements. Currently, I have seen all elements as well as their battle techniques. All except for one element. The light element."
"The light element?" Milinda gasped. She turned to Mr. Popo. "Papa, isn't that your element?"
"Hmm? Yes." Mr. Popo was confused. "Why?"
"Can't you show Auric your element?"
"What's going on?" Auric frowned.
"My father has a light element. Don't you want to see the light element? Why don't you ask him to show it?"
"That's…" Auric didn't expect Mr. Popo to have a light element. At the same time, it was inappropriate to ask him.
Mr. Popo, on the other hand, finally understood what was going on. He wouldn't mind showing his element to Auric, just as he didn't mind Auric trying to spell his name. "Sure. Do you want to see it? You ask people for their battle techniques as well. Do you want to see a copy or see me using it?"
Auric looked hesitant. "Is that fine?"
"I don't mind." Mr. Popo chuckled. "Just tell me what you think about my element after you're done."
"Well, sure, I guess."
"I guess I should show you first." Mr. Popo raised his hand. He summoned a ball of light.
The light was quite blinding and radiated heat.
However, Auric couldn't help but cover his eyes. "Ugh…"
"What's wrong?" Mr. Popo was startled to see Auric uncomfortable. He immediately stopped and checked Auric's condition.
"Papa?!"
"I didn't do anything." Mr. Popo was perplexed as well.
"Yeah. It was my bad." Auric shook his head helplessly. "I was a bit overwhelmed. My sensitivity didn't allow me to see through your energy. It must be a battle technique for an avatar that has surpassed the baby form."
"Oh? You can see that?" Mr. Popo was amused. "Indeed. It was a battle technique that I created while my avatar was in adult form. Since you couldn't see it, I should lower it down. Let's see… I think I have found a good example."
Mr. Popo raised his index finger. At the tip, light started to gather.
He then casually wrote his name in the air.
"Papa, shouldn't you use the most explosive one?" Milinda asked. Since Auric used to ask for such a thing, she thought it would be more beneficial to use that type of battle technique than something like writing in the air.
Auric, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes, noticing the power within those words. "No. This is a powerful battle technique."
"It looks like you noticed it. Impressive." Mr. Popo smiled. He first retracted his energy. "That's right. This technique is called the Golden Finger. I created it when I was at school.
"If I fully activate this power, it will expand according to what you draw. If I draw a circle, it will expand into a circular slash.
"Though, when I made it back in the day, I used it to chase some skirts. You know? This was a good technique for a trap. Just mark the ground and activate it when a girl comes. Then, you slide on the floor and see the peak." Mr. Popo chuckled.
"Papa! What are you saying? You're the worst." Milinda raised her voice.
"Well, this technique always has a special place in my heart. After all, that's how I met your mother."
"What?" Milinda looked at Mr. Popo with a judging gaze.
"Yep. She didn't fall for this trick and just stepped on my face." Mr. Popo chuckled. He took out his phone and showed Auric the copy. "This is a copy of the battle technique. It is a very simple but potent one. I'm sure you'll like it."
Auric didn't care much about the origin, especially since the one who created it was fond of the memory. Milinda was embarrassed, though.
Auric took a closer look at the battle technique. As Mr. Popo said, it could be useful. And with the delayed release, he could think of a way to utilize it. He might even be able to adjust it to other elements.
And the power it could unleash would be unimaginable. It might be similar to the Dark Arrow technique.
"So, what can you tell me about my element?"
Auric paused for a moment before asking, "When your avatar evolved to the juvenile form, did you feel pain in your right hand?"
Mr. Popo was taken aback. "How did you know?"
"Well, the battle technique and your element told me. Your element rating should be 4.3 out of 5. It is quite a powerful extreme variant.
"Meanwhile, your battle technique made you push your energy even further. The surge of powerful energy damaged your hand.
"It disrupted the flow of energy in your hand, resulting in the accumulation of bad energy. If you evolved in that condition, the evolution master would need to focus on your hand. Or if it were me, I could simply flush it with the Terror Bat.
"The Terror Bat possessed a slightly higher fierceness compared to your energy. With a surge of this energy directed to your hand, it would remove the energy, and you could probably evolve without any pain."
Mr. Popo expected Auric not to say much about his element. After all, it was hard to track one's element history, especially since Auric couldn't even read his current energy.
Yet, with only the battle technique and the intensity rating, Auric could get an accurate read on him.
It seemed he had underestimated Auric's abilities.
"That was amazing!" Milinda clapped her hands.
"Just doing my job." Auric shrugged.
"If you are this good, do you even need to enter the Evolution Department? My mom said the department has voted not to support you."
"I don't really care. I just want to learn more about evolution. There is no need for special benefits. I don't exactly need them." Auric shook his head.
"So, you are going to focus on the Element Department next week?"
Auric had thought about this before. With the upcoming mission, he really needed to start preparing.
So, Auric explained, "Since it's still in the introductory phase and I have no interest in other departments, I will probably focus on increasing my energy and mastering my techniques. I'm going outside the walls, so I need to hone my skills a bit more."
"What? You are going to the wilderness?" Milinda's jaw dropped.
Even Mr. Popo couldn't believe it. "Isn't that too dangerous for you?"
"Well, it may be dangerous, but I have to do it sooner or later. And it's not like I'm doing it alone." Auric waved his hand, reassuring them. He didn't mention any specific details about the mission.
"Not alone? With whom? Your teacher?"
Auric didn't plan to lie, so he answered, "I can't tell you their names without their permission. I'm sorry. Just know that I won't be in class for the next two weeks, I think. Unless there's an extraordinary circumstance, I will still open the store."
Milinda frowned. She looked concerned, but demanding an answer in this situation would make Auric feel uncomfortable.
"I have gone outside as well. Do you want me to accompany you?"
Auric shook his head. "It's fine."
"Don't ask any more." Mr. Popo placed his hand on Milinda's shoulder. Milinda turned around in protest, but Mr. Popo said, "Judging from his words, it won't be a normal trip. In other words, it's not hunting for beasts. There are only two purposes if you don't plan to hunt for beasts. You either try to gain some experience by learning about the wilderness directly or go to the ruins."
"!!!" Auric never thought going outside would be so predictable.
Now that he thought about it, there were not many reasons to go outside. People hunted beasts to gain their essence for progression. A mission from the school was possible, but Auric shouldn't take on any mission yet.
So, it was only natural for him to suspect that Auric was planning to go to the ruins.
"It looks like I'm correct." Mr. Popo sighed. "Those places are dangerous, you know."
"That's right. It's dangerous." Milinda nodded furiously as though she was asking him to reconsider it. "Or you can bring me. With me around, you should be safer."
"No. I'm really fine." Auric smiled wryly. With her business empire, Ellia wouldn't risk her own life. So, if she said it was all right, it was probably going to be all right.
Mr. Popo knew it was useless to convince Auric. So he asked, "In that case, what do you know about the ruins?"
"I am supposed to research them next week."
"In that case, how about you teach him about the ruins?" Mr. Popo asked Milinda.