The Genius Evolution Store

Chapter 101: Another Target

After parting ways with Mr. Popo, Auric immediately reached for his phone.

"This..." Auric widened his eyes in surprise.

"Is this what I think it is?" Lindwurm blinked his eyes in disbelief.

Auric immediately checked the store and saw the count.

[Heart of the Storm Method]

[Purchased Count: 1]

Auric and Lindwurm were excited. After so long, a book was finally sold.

"We got it! A book has finally been sold." Lindwurm cheered.

’No, no. We can’t be too happy yet. It’s true that if this book has been sold and the buyer is shocked and recommends it to their friends, we have to consider the possibility of them never even taking a look at it.’

"Don’t be so negative..."

’I’m just being realistic. I know how ridiculous the gathering techniques are.’

Lindwurm’s eyebrows twitched. "So, we will have to wait for the review then?"

’Unfortunately, yes.’ Without a review, there was no telling whether the buyer had taken a look at the book or not.

So, they had to wait a bit longer.

’I’m curious, but I think I know a perfect way for us to wait while getting that review.’ Auric smirked.

"What is it?"

Auric immediately sent a message to Maya.

[Teacher, do you have time right now? Is it possible for me to bother you with something?]

Maya replied to his message quickly with a thumbs-up.

’Let’s go to campus. No, she’s probably in her villa right now.’

Lindwurm realized that Auric wanted to talk about the incident with Maya. After listening to Mr. Popo, Auric realized that he needed advice from other adults. Maya was the best person among the people he was acquainted with.

So, Auric headed back to the villa, his mind kept going back and forth to the matter of the book that had been sold.

Unfortunately, the review wouldn’t come that soon, so he had no choice but to wait.

"What’s wrong?" As soon as he arrived, Maya noticed the change in the atmosphere around him. She realized that something must have happened.

"I need to consult you about a serious matter."

Maya fell silent. This was probably the first time Auric looked so serious about something like this.

"All right. Come here." Maya brought him to her office. "So, what happened?"

Auric told her about the murder attempt as well as the culprit.

Maya couldn’t help but look down, contemplating. She had never heard of Auric clashing with Simon again, so there was no reason for Simon to order a hit on him, not after a month since their previous conflict.

That conflict was never that big in any case, considering Simon ended up becoming a member of the Phoenix and Dragon Society.

"So, why now?"

"You’re not going to doubt my stories or ask me whether I’ve done something wrong?" Auric asked with a wry smile.

"I may not be with you all the time, but I have seen how you behave. You are not the type of person who intentionally provokes other people, let alone reaches the point of no return. I have no reason to doubt you. Unless... you’re confessing to me that you’re wrong."

Auric shook his head. "I don’t think I have done anything that pushes him to that point."

"Okay then." Maya shrugged. "So, what do you want to know?"

Auric considered his words carefully. "This may sound a bit too extreme coming from me, but if I wanted to kill Simon, what should I do?"

"Ah." Maya crossed her arms, fully understanding the situation. "Just the legal aspects?"

"Everything."

Maya smiled. "You’re lucky that I’m your teacher. There are three paths you can choose right now.

"I’m sure you want to kill him with your own hand, and I’m not going to criticize you about that. I have killed many people with my own hands, after all.

"Instead, I’m going to present you with three options. The first is to just walk away, even if it means forgiving your enemy. It’s hard, but things will get better over time."

Auric shook his head. "I may not want to cause unnecessary trouble, but I’m not going to be a pushover."

"I know. That’s why I’m giving you the second option. Prosecute Simon."

"But if he’s in jail, I can’t act according to my principles, right?"

"Not exactly. There are so many ways to kill a person. You can ask another inmate to kill him. Or you can ambush him during the transport. In any case, prosecuting him will allow people to see the situation. The Lightning Emperor will probably decide to sever their master-and-disciple relationship, which means you don’t have to worry about him anymore."

Auric contemplated. If it worked that way, it might be the best option. But he had to confirm the third option first, so he remained silent while staring at his teacher.

"The third option is simple. Discredit Simon. We are in an era where information spreads so fast.

"That means this news will reach the Lightning Emperor quickly, and there will be an internal investigation.

"Depending on how you do it, you can make the Lightning Emperor expel him from the Lightning Dojo.

"Your reputation is quite good on campus, so use it to your advantage."

Auric closed his eyes. The third option might be the best. It wouldn’t take too long for him to achieve his revenge. If he were to prosecute Simon, the process itself might take a year or two.

So, Auric was considering the third option.

"However, once you start killing people, it won’t stop. You will start killing more and more people, and gradually, your judgment about killing will change. You’ll get used to it to the point where you think killing another person won’t matter much. So, I’m going to ask you first, are you sure about this?"

Auric took a deep breath before answering her question with his resolve. "I know. I may change in the future, but all the present choices will lead me to a certain future. I don’t plan to back down from anything."

Even when he didn’t awaken an avatar, he wasn’t crying and lamenting how bad it was. He chose the next best path, which was to focus on the store and possibly lead the store to greater heights.

That was why he didn’t plan to back down from this matter, even if he would change in the future.

Maya nodded. "In that case, I won’t stop you. Instead, I will support you. If the Lightning Emperor wants to kill you, I don’t mind fighting a few rounds with him. It’s not like he can defeat me."

Auric didn’t know what to say about it. It was true that Maya’s strength far surpassed that of her peers.

She was confident enough to actually beat the Lightning Emperor.

In fact, she could probably kill Simon and the Lightning Emperor if she wanted to with little to no repercussions.

However, this was Auric’s problem. If she supported him too much, he wouldn’t grow.

That was why unless Auric asked for her help, she would only monitor the situation.

Auric nodded. "For now, I will see what I can do."

It looked like she was right about Auric. He wasn’t the type of person who would cry to his teacher for every little thing.

Since Auric planned to settle it by himself, she should stay back and ensure that the Lightning Emperor wouldn’t interfere.

"Well, after hearing your stories, there is something that I want to ask."

"Yes?" Auric tilted his head in confusion.

"Have you ever considered another target besides you? You believe that this incident is related to that betting game you played in the arena, right? At that time, weren’t you supporting someone?"

"!!!" Auric was taken aback. All this time, he considered himself the target.

But this betting game was not enough to kill him. What if the target had been someone else?

There was actually someone who would most likely be the target before him.

"Eric?!" Auric gasped.

That was right. Eric was the one who defeated Simon. Being defeated by someone who had many disadvantages was too embarrassing.

Auric couldn’t help but stand up. "I have to check on him."

"Sure." Maya nodded. There was nothing else she could do for him after giving him the advice.

Once Auric left, Maya’s expression turned solemn. "It looks like someone has to die. I’m not planning to do anything yet, but I hope that old charger crosses the line."

Maya was smiling, her eyes brimming with excitement as if she were saying, "Come, attack me. Give me the reason to cross the line as well."

If it were her, the Lightning Dojo would cease to exist in three days.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t do anything yet for the sake of her student’s growth.

"Still, this matter is a bit strange. I might have to investigate it myself."

...

Auric rushed to the dorm where Eric was living.

Someone opened the door for him, but there was only one person inside the room.

"Hello? You are Auric Elfe, right? I know you. Why are you here?"

Auric looked around first before asking, "I am actually looking for Eric. Do you know where he is?"

The guy was confused. "Do you need something from him?"

He looked a bit defensive. It looked like Eric’s relationship with this person wasn’t bad.

Auric immediately explained, "It will be better if I discuss it with him directly. However, you don’t have to worry. It’s not something bad. Eric is someone I can consider a friend, so I’m not going to harm him or anything."

The guy was a little suspicious, but he had heard about Auric betting on Eric in that match. There was no sane person who would bet on Eric at that time, so he knew Auric wasn’t an enemy.

So, he pointed to the right. "If you go out to the right, there should be a small space surrounded by trees. That spot is where Eric usually trains. It’s only 7 p.m. right now, so Eric must still be there. He doesn’t come back until two or three in the morning."

"All right. Thanks, man." Auric immediately rushed to the spot to find Eric.

There was indeed a small, secluded spot, as the guy had mentioned. However, Auric’s heart skipped a beat when he saw a body lying on the ground.

"!!!" Auric widened his eyes.

"Is that... Eric? Something must have happened to him!" Auric panicked and rushed to the body and confirmed it was Eric.

"Eric? Eric? What happened to you? Who did this?" Auric infused energy into his body to check his condition. Eric’s body was extremely weak.

Although there was no wound in his body, Auric couldn’t be careless. "I should call for an ambulance right now."

Before he could reach the phone in his pocket, Eric’s arm moved.

"Eric?" Auric looked at Eric, trying to figure out if something had gone wrong in his body.

Eric’s eyes were still closed, and it looked like his consciousness was a bit fuzzy. He murmured, "I..."

"Yes?" Auric moved his ear closer so that he could catch anything that Eric said, only to be shocked by what he said.

"...got too excited. My blood sugar is low..."

"What the—" Auric felt like cursing, but he was actually speechless because of Eric for the first time.

As someone who controlled the blood element, it looked like Eric was able to control his own blood. No, it would be more accurate to say that his power came from his blood.

There might be a case where he actually used nutrients in his blood to power up his technique.

Although Auric didn’t know what actually happened, it was clear that it wasn’t exactly a big problem. Eric might have experienced something like this a few times, considering he could identify his own condition.

Still, he never thought this was the problem. He thought someone had killed Eric.

In the end, Auric just let out a long sigh before bringing him a few energy bars and some energy drinks, which were all it took for Eric to fully recover.