Chapter 215: Presentation
"Well, I will send you a contract tonight. You can ask your lawyer about it and see if everything is fine with you. However, you need to be fast. The moment Ellia leaves the capital, the fight might end up dying down." Floyd grinned.
"I know that." Auric stood up.
"By the way, you should be the first one to show whether this deal can work or not. You know tomorrow."
"Don’t worry. That’s what I plan to do. You should be the one to worry if you don’t follow your promise."
"I know what is troublesome and what is not. And backstabbing you is very troublesome." Floyd took out a black card. "By the way, take this."
Auric glanced at him and caught the black card. He recognized this card. It was the same black card that Maya possessed.
No, it was slightly different. Maya’s black card had a silver plating, but this one had a golden plating. "This is...?"
"You should already know about it, considering you have gone on a trip with it a few times. This card will allow you to fly anywhere you like, free of charge. Take it as me showing my sincerity."
Auric thought carefully before accepting the card and leaving.
...
No matter whether he was satisfied with the contract or not, Auric had to complete the challenge before him first.
If he couldn’t establish his work at this conference, the plan wouldn’t work.
And finally, Auric took the stage.
"Now, the eighth presentation will begin. The presenter will be Auric Elfe, who is a first-year student from Grand Magica College, currently attending Kallarnos University as an exchange student.
"I’d appreciate it if you could give him a round of applause." Professor Schad was sitting on the side, helping him with the presentation.
"First-year student?"
"Does he even know anything?"
"Professor Schad might be trying to give the young man a chance."
"But a first-year student is too much. Does he really want us to listen to a mere first-year student?"
A lot of people from different fields had gathered. Some of them focused as researchers, some of them focused on their path as evolution masters, and some came from technical fields.
However, a lot of them came from good backgrounds. The head of a famous research center sat among the participants.
That was why they were skeptical about a first-year student’s presentation. He had yet to establish anything. In fact, all of them believed that Professor Schad was the one who handled everything and just let the students take the presentation.
That action displeased them.
Surprisingly, the atmosphere became tranquil when Auric took the stage. Auric’s atmosphere was calm and collected.
There was no shred of nervousness reflected on his face.
Despite having a lot of pressure on his shoulders, Auric didn’t think that this was the only option. It was fine to fail because he could try to find another solution.
That was why, rather than being fixated on success, he just wanted to make sure that he could deliver everything he had prepared.
In addition, Auric’s appearance could take people’s breath away.
"Good morning to you all." Auric smiled. "I’m Auric Elfe, a first-year student at Grand Magica College. The topic I will be presenting today is ’Active to Passive Energy Conversion.’"
"Let’s begin with a simple demonstration. Active energy is energy linked to a living being. Meanwhile, passive energy is energy that comes from nature. When you release your energy, you can only release active energy, but what if you can release passive energy?"
Auric raised his hand, forming a sphere.
Even the people who focused on research also had some knowledge of energy. They might not be as sharp as evolution masters, but they could see what Auric was doing.
Auric first showed the sphere of active energy. He then created another layer, which allowed him to cut off the connection between him and that energy.
Of course, he still enveloped it with his own energy so that this passive energy wouldn’t disperse.
"!!!" A lot of evolution masters couldn’t help but notice what Auric had just used.
Although the shell of that sphere was built of active energy, the inside was passive energy.
"I’m sure that you have encountered this kind of problem before. When you try to use the energy in the air and compress it, you will find yourself with a lot of unnecessary energy.
"After all, the energy in the air doesn’t strictly belong to one element. However, what if you use your own energy? That means you can create a passive energy with at least 97% purity.
"The remaining 3% impurities come from the energy in the air that is used to cut the connection between the user and the active energy. And..."
Auric continued with his presentation. He explained everything that needed to be established to make the case.
He didn’t show any nervousness. In fact, there were some reporters who actually came to the conference. They would usually find a good topic and interview the person in charge.
They thought that a student like Auric would ultimately crumble, so it was quite surprising that Auric completely dominated the presentation.
He talked for a total of twenty minutes, since that was the time allocated to him.
"...thank you. That concludes my presentation." Auric ended his presentation with a smile.
It could clearly be seen on the projector that Auric was actually the first author, while Professor Schad was the second author.
After he finished, the people in the room couldn’t help but feel astonished.
"Hey. Is the presentation okay?"
"I think so. It’s definitely much better than I thought."
Some people whispered to each other.
"If you think about it, this research can have a lot of branches, right?"
"Definitely. If we can use this concept, we might be able to create an even more powerful weapon or other things. The biggest advantage must be the cost-effectiveness."
One evolution master crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, glaring at Auric. ’It’s not bad, but a student’s presentation shouldn’t end so smoothly.’
He didn’t think that a mere student like Auric would be able to create such research. There was no way he would let a student take all the glory because the teacher was paving the way for him.
"Does anyone have any questions?" Auric asked. This was the real test, so he was ready with all kinds of questions.
"I have!" The man stood up and grabbed a microphone. "I am Silvester Gudjab of the Teranos Evolution Center."
The people in this room instantly recognized him.
"Look. It’s Silvester, a gold-grade evolution master right off the bat. If I’m not mistaken, he’s going to become a diamond-grade evolution master next year."
"What is he going to ask? Is he going to bully the student?"
Silvester’s expression turned cold. "Your presentation was good. There was not much to criticize, but this was Professor Schad’s research, right? You just followed Professor Schad’s instructions and made a presentation? Well, that’s already in your mind. Let me ask if you really know about passive and active energy. First of all, how has passive energy been used?"
Professor Schad’s eyebrows twitched.
At this rate, Silvester was just nitpicking. Professor Schad wanted to help Auric right away, but Auric was ready for all kinds of questions.
With a smile on his face, Auric answered, "Yes. Passive energy has been used in various industries. That is because of its characteristics. Due to its calm nature, it is a very good fuel.
"It can be used in aerospace and even power plants. Because the energy is extracted directly, there is no need to worry whether the materials are damaged or not. As a result, this energy is more popular to be used for power generation.
"It can be for electricity generation, but it can also be for other types of generators. For example, a magic item or even embedded techniques."
"!!!" A lot of people raised their eyebrows.
Professor Schad just smiled, knowing that Auric’s show had just begun. Even when he tested him for the presentation, Auric could answer him clearly without missing anything.
Silvester was startled to see Auric smoothly answer his question. He couldn’t back down, so he continued with another question. "Then, do you know what dangers can occur if the passive energy is overloaded, not only with the same energy but also with the active energy?"
"If it’s overloaded with passive energy, it can cause an explosion proportional to the amount of energy. Passive energy originating from people or beasts who have evolved into a higher rank will also have to be taken into account.
"On the other hand, if this is overloaded with active energy, the nature of the risk will immediately shift to the characteristic of the active energy. If it belongs to the fire element, it will cause an explosion. If it belongs to water energy, it will lead to an eruption.
The people were quite amazed that Auric managed to answer all his questions calmly.
Even Silvester started to feel troubled. He continued, "How about the passive energy flowing into the body of a human and converted into actual active energy for that human?!"
"W-What...?" The people who attended the conference were dumbfounded.
"What the hell are you asking him?"
"That’s the gathering technique that is famous recently, isn’t it?"
"This fucker..."
If it were anyone else, they would probably have a hard time answering.
But those who had tried to understand gathering techniques would understand one thing.
Auric smiled and answered smoothly, "When there is an energy in the air, it belongs to all affinity ratings. For example, the wind energy in the air consists of energy of all kinds, but once it’s turned into active energy, the only thing that is converted is the energy that has similarity to the person’s active energy. The rest is expelled from the body."
A lot of jaws dropped. They thought this was a petty question, and even if Auric didn’t answer him, it would be fine. Yet Auric actually answered him.
There was no one correcting him, meaning that Auric’s answer was correct.
Silvester froze after hearing that answer. ’This is an answer that can be found only if you are very familiar with the gathering technique... Even diamond-grade evolution masters who are trying to decipher the gathering techniques would still have a hard time answering this question.
’Is it possible for a first-year student, not even a professional, to answer that...’
"Is that really a student? If you’re telling me that the one standing on the stage is a professional with a baby face, I would believe it."
"He must have a very good teacher. Professor Schad shouldn’t be his true teacher."
"Is the level of Grand Magica College that high already?"
They couldn’t help but feel even more amazed by Auric’s answer. Of course, the journalists also noticed the change in atmosphere. It was clear that the 17-year-old kid actually dominated the exchange.
"Let’s get this over with... It’s harder to watch because I feel bad." Professor Schad shook his head helplessly.
Silvester shouted in desperation. "What qualifications do you have to talk about this topic?!"
The entire hall fell silent. This was too much.
"I really can’t take it anymore!" Professor Schad slammed the table and stood up. He grabbed everyone’s attention, but before they could react to Professor Schad’s outburst, Professor Schad pointed to Auric. "What kind of qualification? There is no point in hiding it any longer.
"I originally asked Student Auric to help me find a clue about my research, but not only did he solve my problem, but he also found this new research topic.
"Student Auric. There is no need to play around anymore. Just show your badge!"
Everyone was dumbfounded. What badge?
Auric was supposed to be a first-year student, so he shouldn’t have any badge yet.
Auric scratched the back of his head before reaching for the badge inside his pocket.
Auric was a silver-grade evolution master. However, the silver badge he possessed was not just one.
After all, he was recognized as a silver-grade evolution master not only as a lightning master but also as a plant master.
He took out his silver badge, but he ’accidentally’ dropped a second silver badge.
"Ah!" Auric hurriedly grabbed the silver badge. "Sorry."
"!!!"
