Chapter 236: Sneaking into the Country
"Yes, General!"
"You’re not going to ask anything else?" The middle-aged man smiled, looking at her with a serious expression.
"No, sir. There is nothing I need to ask."
The middle-aged man was amused. "I’m still going to explain the mission regardless. This kind of talent, if supported, might become an adamantine-grade evolution master. But someone like him will be equivalent to several evolution masters.
"That alone is already tempting, but more importantly, this person has the chance to become equal to those seven stars. Just imagine how influential he will become as he becomes that powerful while still being an evolution master.
"With his help, there might come a day when a rank 8 human is born. That’s why this kind of person needs to be kept on our side.
"We will snatch him with everything we have. Since he already has a falling-out with their best university, we can offer him a good environment to keep him.
"If necessary, you can seduce him yourself. I don’t care what you do, just bring him here.
"Fortunately, this person has returned to his home, so it means that the capital city can’t protect him. This is a perfect opportunity for us.
"However, you need to be fast. Other countries are also aiming for him. We need to get him before they do. Eliminate them if necessary.
"I hope that you are able to complete this job, Major Scharff. You are..." The middle-aged man looked at her file. "...22 years old this year?"
"21, sir. I’ve just graduated this year."
"Despite having graduated recently, your power is equal to that of a rank 4 human. You’re the best we have. If you fail, make sure not to make him your enemy."
"!!!" She finally reacted this time. "Pardon?"
"Hmm? What?"
"You asked me to bring him to this country by whatever means necessary. You don’t want me to kidnap him?"
The general shook his head. "No. It’s an order from above. Apparently, an influential family vanished in a single night after he revealed his talents. According to the investigation, there was a third party meddling in the matter.
"We thought it would be those hounds, Releshas, but there was no punishment for them, so they weren’t the culprits. In other words, there was another force that was protecting him, and it was so big that even the country didn’t punish the Relesha family.
"The higher-ups are assuming it’s the work of Joker."
"!!!" She looked surprised. "The guardian of Esfrata."
"Yes. We don’t intend to clash with him. So, play it carefully. Rather than being forceful in front of our target, your main mission is to..." The general raised his thumb and slid it, gesturing for her to kill people. "...understand?"
"Yes, sir." The woman nodded. What the military wanted was to kill those who wanted to invite him. This way, they were the only ones who approached him. With enough time, they would become allies, and Auric might lean towards their country.
"If you succeed, you will probably become the youngest general in our history. Rebuilding your fallen house will be smooth sailing."
"Understood. Thank you for the opportunity, sir. I, Major Gloria Scharff, will not disappoint you."
"Go." The general waved his hand.
She saluted first and exited the room.
They weren’t the only ones aiming for Auric. However, each of them might have a different method to get Auric.
Some were willing to kill Auric if he didn’t want to come. After all, Auric might become a peerless expert in the future, so it would threaten their security, especially with the fact that Esfrata would have two, if not three, rank 7 humans in the future, including Tommi.
Tommi was hard to approach since he was in the capital city, but Auric was different.
...
Meanwhile, Auric couldn’t help but widen his eyes after seeing the ’gift’ in front of his house.
"What..." Auric covered his mouth in surprise.
Materials, artifacts, equipment, and even money.
This wasn’t a gift from people who wanted his favor. After all, in the card, there was a note for him.
"This is Kallarnos University’s sincerity. They hope that you don’t make a bigger fuss about it."
If that had been the only message, he would have believed that this was from Kallarnos University, but with the peace sign drawn on the bottom, it was clear who the sender was.
Lindwurm gasped. "That old man Mathias..."
’He must have robbed Kallarnos University. Most likely using the kidnapping incident as well.’ Auric agreed.
Eric also received a huge present, similar to Auric’s. Even without a sponsor, the gift alone would last him a long time.
Auric shook his head helplessly. "This is definitely beyond my imagination."
"However, don’t be complacent. You need to focus on improving yourself, or the others might catch up."
"I know." Auric nodded with a serious expression.
"What’s wrong?" Natalia suddenly took a peek, finding Auric frozen in front of the house.
"Ah! It’s nothing, Mom." Auric waved his hand. "I’ll take care of this."
"Is that so?" Natalia thought for a moment. "Listen..."
"Yes?"
"I know that you are worried about me, but please don’t hesitate to do something. I don’t want you to be burdened because of me. I will be fine here."
Last night, Auric kept apologizing to her because he had endangered her with his actions. Although everything was calculated, he still blamed himself for letting that happen.
Natalia didn’t want him to hesitate to do something big because he was worried about her. At that time, Auric might lose a big opportunity or even his life.
That was why Natalia said those words.
"Don’t worry, Mom. I will continue to do my best." Auric nodded with a smile.
Natalia just smiled. She knew that Auric would still be careful. "Then, have fun today."
"Yes." Auric nodded. He first brought everything inside before using his storage ability to keep everything inside. He was just being careful, thinking that someone might be watching from a nearby house.
So, he just made sure to leave no gaps to exploit.
Auric had to be even more careful after being popular.
Once he had put everything inside his storage space, Auric finally went to the academy.
To his surprise, his campus had a rather festive atmosphere.
When he arrived, he could see a few banners.
"Congratulations, Auric Elfe, for becoming a silver-grade evolution master."
"Congratulations, Auric Elfe, for becoming the youngest person to submit a journal on STEM."
They were really going all out.
"What’s going on?" Auric was astonished. When the students saw Auric entering the gate, they couldn’t help but cheer.
There were at least a hundred students standing here, and it wasn’t just the freshmen.
"Congratulations, Auric!"
"You are the best, Auric!"
"Thank you for beating those scums from the capital city!"
"Welcome back!"
He was startled. "What’s going on?"
"Oh, you’re back. No one is with you right now?" Ran suddenly waved his hand, approaching him.
"Ah, Senior." Auric nodded. "What’s going on here? Why are they congratulating me for this kind of thing? I don’t think I have done anything that would bring such attention."
Since Ran was the information broker at this academy, he definitely knew what was going on.
"Well, you don’t want me to start." Ran shook his head helplessly.
"Did something happen?"
"Yeah." Ran sighed. "During the exchange program, those people from Kallarnos University were flaunting their abilities and bullying a lot of people here.
"They looked down on us, treating us as a waste of space. It was unbearable. All the first-year and second-year students challenged them but were defeated. They defeated plenty of third-year students as well, and even one of the fourth-year students was defeated.
"That was why they were furious. When they learned about the mess you created at Kallarnos University, they felt satisfied. It felt like you had paid them back."
Auric smiled awkwardly. "Sounds like you had a hard time."
"Not me. I don’t fight. I just circulate the information. Last Thursday, after you caused a big mess at Kallarnos University, they suddenly became docile. They might be afraid that they would be investigated and punished because of it."
"I am not exactly interested. So, is this all because of it?"
"Of course not. Do you not understand how big your achievement is? Becoming a silver-grade evolution master at that age is insane. Do you know how many silver-grade evolution masters there are in this university? There are only 12 students, but most of them are already in their senior year.
"Before you graduate, there’s a chance that you will become a gold-grade evolution master, if not a diamond-grade evolution master. Just thinking about that makes everyone go wild. There are probably a lot of girls who are willing to marry you immediately." He smirked. "So, have you got a girlfriend yet?"
"You know me. My romantic life is nonexistent." Auric rolled his eyes.
"Hehehe, I know. That’s why it’s hard to get dirt on you. Even after doing my best, I couldn’t find any."
"So, you have tried..."
Ran suddenly froze. "Ah, this... this is for your sake. I’m just making sure that they can’t use any information to harm you."
"..." Auric stared at him with a judging gaze.
"Please believe in me."
"How about you escort me inside? It doesn’t look like I can enter peacefully. I will forget about what you said afterward."
"Heh..." Ran scoffed before resigning to his fate. "I guess I will have to flex my nonexistent muscles."
"..." Auric just chuckled. Fortunately, they managed to break through, and Auric immediately hid within Maya’s mansion.
"Ha... Ha... this is a mess." Auric breathed heavily.
"Yo, National Husband. You’re finally back." Maya waved her hand.
"National Husband? You’re teasing me as well, Teacher?"
"You know? A clear life, that handsome look, your talent... That’s the title trending recently." Maya laughed. It looked like she had been having fun in the last couple of days because of him.
Auric sighed. "I’m tired. This is more tiring than attending my shop."
"I’m just worried about what will happen to your store after this. More customers?"
"I don’t think so. I’ve evolved a lot of avatars, so there’s a limit to how many customers will come in this city."
"Though there will still be an influx. People from other cities might come here."
"Well..." Auric scratched the back of his head. "I guess so."
"No need to feel down. It will soon die down anyway. Of course, it will be different if you cause another big mess, which I don’t doubt you will do."
"I hate problems, Teacher. You know that."
"Yeah, but problems just love you so much that they become your stalkers."
"..." Auric’s eyebrows twitched.
"Anyway, it’s good that you beat those people from the capital city. They need to get off their high horse. However, revealing your talents will present a new challenge."
"I know." Auric nodded. "I’m going to prepare myself for it."
"Such as?"
"I’m planning to evolve all my elements first. I should be able to evolve everything in one and a half months. Well, there might be some useful artifacts, so I can probably do it in a month."
"Very well. I will assist you in any way I can."
"Yes, thank you, Teacher."
"However, be careful, Auric. There are plenty of rats sneaking into this country."
"!!!" Auric looked surprised, but he could imagine. Other countries would definitely want him as well.
At this point, there was no telling what would happen to his life. He knew it was bound to happen, but this was indeed faster than he had expected. If that incident hadn’t happened, he would still have his peaceful life.
Unfortunately, it seemed he had no choice but to confront the consequences of his actions head-on.
Auric nodded with a serious expression. "I understand. I will be careful."
...
As Maya said, a lot of people had entered the country. Their objective was pretty clear. They wanted to invite Auric.
One of them was Major Gloria Scharff.
She lifted up her sunglasses and muttered, "So, this is Esfrata. I wonder how many people I have to kill in this country."
