"Right?" Milinda nodded with a serious expression. "I have been to the ruins once. It is not a dangerous one, but it's still more dangerous than you might imagine."
"Really?" Auric raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah." Milinda raised one finger. "The ruins are mysterious zones created by the accumulation of energy. You may have seen several of them in textbooks or on TV.
"The most famous ruins are the Forest of the Gods, the Sky Mountain, or the Mysterious Lake. In the Forest of the Gods, it's said that there is an overwhelming concentration of the plant element. The trees in this forest are moving. People even expect that there are dryads coming to live there."
"Are there?" Auric tilted his head.
"No." Milinda waved her finger. "The concentration of the elements is affecting the trees for sure, but the trees are not magical beasts. Instead, they are forming a symbiosis with the beasts, making them semi-magical beasts.
"You can think of it as using the bodies of the trees and the abilities of the beasts. The beasts are still the core."
"I see. So, the Sky Mountain and the Mysterious Lake are the same?" Auric asked.
"Yes. There is a mountain with a high concentration of the wind element. It is said that the wind is gushing out from below when you are on this mountain, allowing you to counter gravity.
"The beasts there are able to move by taking advantage of the wind element, making this zone extremely dangerous.
"The Mysterious Lake, on the other hand, has a combination of the water element and the fire element. From time to time, the water of the lake will boil. There have been tests, but there is no source of underground activity, meaning there is no geothermal source that can boil the water."
"I see." Auric crossed his arms. "How do we enter these ruins? Do we need a key?"
"There are different kinds of entrances. The most famous ones are four—the barrier entrance. Due to the concentration of the elements, it will generate a kind of barrier.
"For example, the plant element can create a dome made of wood, or the wind element can create many tornadoes around the area.
"To enter this area, you need to break through the barrier somehow.
"The second type is a lock. The concentration of an element isn't necessarily found in an open space. It can be in a mining area or even a large building."
Auric crossed his arms. "A lock?"
"Yes. This is much more troublesome. To open the lock, you need a corresponding element. For example, imagine a frozen door. To open it, you need to burn it or undo the ice. In other words, only those with the fire element, the water element, or the lightning element have a chance to undo it."
"Can't we just overpower it?" Auric asked. "Just use a bulldozer or another element? Maybe like a space element?"
"No. You can't do that." She shook her head. "There is a difference in density between the ruins and the natural environment. If you forcefully enter, you will feel like you're drowning in magical energy.
"I don't know if you have encountered this type of problem as an evolution master before. Have there been patients with a high concentration of an element in their body, even worse, a different element from their original one?"
Auric couldn't recall a single one. "I don't think I have encountered one."
"Well, if you forcefully enter the area this way, the difference in density will cause the concentrated element to enter your body. It can be fatal as well."
"I see. That's dangerous. And this entrance… is the place with the lowest density?"
"Yes. It's easier to use the 'tornado' entrance as an example. There are multiple tornadoes lined up, with a small, narrow gap between them. If you can sneak between them and enter, you have successfully entered the ruins."
"So, the gaps between the tornadoes are the entrances. Now I understand." Auric nodded. "Then, how about the last two?"
"The third type is a natural entrance. The Mysterious Lake belongs to this category. The entrance is the boiling water. The zones with this type of entrance have their entire environment similar to the entrance. In other words, whatever you're going to do inside the Mysterious Lake, you will have to endure the boiling water."
"That's rather annoying." Auric nodded in understanding. "And the last entrance?"
"The last one is the maze entrance. This type of entrance is the most annoying. Because the concentration of energy is irregular, we usually need the help of evolution masters for their sensitivity."
Auric could imagine the puzzle. But it wouldn't really be a problem for him.
Still, judging from all four types, he believed the ruins that Ellia planned to go to belonged to the second category. It would be similar to a locked entrance.
The locks would require all elements. Auric was there to fill the remaining keys.
Auric thought for a moment. "Now that we've gone past the entrance, what should we do next? What exactly are the benefits of the ruins?"
"There are multiple benefits. First of all, the concentration of elements there is higher than in the natural environment, right? That also means most of the beasts within those zones will have their corresponding elements."
"Oh?" It wasn't particularly enticing for Auric, but other people would find this place like a treasure trove.
"That's not all. There are three other reasons I can think of."
"Three? That many?"
"Yes. Actually, the beasts may be a target, but they're not a priority."
"Not a priority? What do you mean?"
Milinda continued, "As an evolution master, you should know that beasts are not our only sources of elemental energy, right?"
"Absolutely."
"In the ruins, you will encounter artifacts. These artifacts are simply items that have been exposed to a large amount of elemental energy. So, the energy lingers around them."
Auric asked, "Are there any other benefits the artifacts offer for us to make the beasts have lower priority?"
"Yes. The artifacts are actually doing what you're doing."
"What am I doing? What exactly?"
"Increasing your energy a little at a time. When you eat the beast essence, the energy will surge within you, right? It will dissolve and find a new place to reside. Even if you don't do anything, you will end up absorbing most of the energy. However, helping the absorption can give you more."
"Yes. I'm aware of that."
"However, the artifacts are different. They have been exposed to an absurd amount of energy, to the point where the elemental energy stays with them. If you think about it, the items won't dissolve and the energy will reluctantly leave unless you forcefully absorb it. Hence, the increase will be gradual."
"Oh? You mean like the gathering technique? It increases your element by a little at a time?"
"Yes. This is the safest way for a unique-element user to evolve. However, finding an artifact like this is easier said than done."
"Figured." Auric nodded in understanding. When he looked at Mr. Popo, he knew how difficult it was for him to get his hands on an artifact, especially an artifact possessing a unique element. Even after looking around with his connections, he still didn't manage to get one.
The pull from the artifact was greater than a human's natural pull. So, the elemental energy would only flow into the human body if the human actively absorbed it.
Now that he had heard the explanation, he finally figured out what Ellia was trying to do.
In her condition, the ruins would be her last hope to evolve. However, Auric's existence made the ruins less valuable to her.
Hence, Ellia planned to use it as a training ground while giving Auric some benefits.
Her objective had changed from collecting artifacts to hunting beasts. There would be various beasts with a unique element inside the ruins, so she wanted to use those beasts to catch up with others' progress.
After all, Ellia had been stuck for months. As she said, she would rather not share the reward with others. So, Auric was the perfect candidate.
Ellia must have figured out that he didn't need any materials. If not, he would have used the materials to increase his own elemental energy.
Since the energy from the rank 1 beasts was not effective anymore, she passed those materials to him.
'So that's what has been going on. She is very calculating.'
"That is true. Well, you are also calculating, don't you think?"
'Fair point.'
Auric asked, "So, what about the other two benefits?"
"The third benefit is the energy itself. If you enter the ruins, you will be exposed to this energy. In other words, some of your problems may go away."
"Oh? You mean like using herbs to get rid of the accumulation of elements within your body?"
"Exactly."
Auric contemplated. "It is another way to do it, I guess."
"The last benefit is money, I guess. You can bring artifacts or beast essence back and sell them for money."
"Well, I can't deny that." Auric thought for a moment.
Lindwurm suddenly spoke. "There is actually one more benefit. It will only benefit you."
'Hmm? What is that?' His statement piqued Auric's interest.
"As she mentioned, the energy within the ruins is more concentrated. Don't you think it's more beneficial to absorb the energy here?"
'Oh?!' The moment Auric heard about the benefits, his heartbeat quickened with excitement.
That was right. He could absorb the energy here, which would allow him to progress much faster than anywhere else. It would be similar to what happened when he absorbed the energy from a material.
He didn't absorb the energy from the materials because his absorbing speed was extremely fast, and it would be a waste of materials. The best the materials could do was to speed up his progress by a few days at most.
So, the cost was not worth the benefit.
However, if he entered the ruins, there was no cost for the materials. He simply absorbed the energy within the ruins.
Of course, this also meant that the energy had to be compatible with his own gathering techniques. As long as the intensity matched, he could absorb it.
That would mean that he could only absorb the energy of that particular element. For example, his dark element consisted of the eternal night element and the shadow element. Their intensity ratings were 4.9 and 3.4, respectively.
If the intensity rating of the dark element within the ruins was 4.0, that meant neither element could absorb it. After all, it was 0.6 points above the shadow element and 0.9 points lower than the eternal night element.
However, Auric had a variety of elements, while Ellia mentioned the ruins having all elements. This meant that Auric had a higher chance of being compatible with them.
In other words, he could progress all compatible elements to the highest degree, just like what happened to his own elements.
Lindwurm was actually telling him the benefit that made visiting the ruins even more exciting.
Gaining experience was good, but he really needed more energy. For someone who had to focus on all nine elements, Auric had to reduce the time required to absorb them.
That was why going to the ruins might solve his problem.
Auric smiled faintly. "Thank you for teaching me about the ruins."
"Are you sure you will go to the ruins after my explanation? It's going to be dangerous, you know? The beasts may be stronger than the ones outside. You need to be fully prepared."
"Yes. I have to go. I'm not playing around with my safety, so you don't have to worry about that." Auric shook his head. In the worst-case scenario, he had the Blink technique and multiple clones. He should be able to get away.
Besides, Ellia wasn't the type to underestimate the area. Since she was planning to enter this place to evolve, she must have scouted the area thoroughly.
Of course, since she couldn't go past the entrance, she wouldn't know for sure. However, she had enough resources and influence to gather as much information as possible and make some predictions.
So, he wouldn't entirely rely on Ellia, but he still believed in her.
Auric said, "My plan to enter the ruins hasn't changed."
Milinda looked at Auric's resolute face before letting out a soft sigh.