Chapter 248: Proactive
"!!!" Auric abruptly stopped and asked in his mind, ’Who?’
Lindwurm checked it and said, "It seems to be Evangeline. Is it because she belongs to the government that she is also tasked to find out more about you?"
’I guess that’s true.’ Auric thought for a moment before raising one finger. "So, you want to use my sensitivity to stop you the moment you reach 100%?"
When Auric said this, he gave a wink to Ellia, as if asking her to cooperate.
"Y-Yeah. So, you know about that already."
"I see. Well, if we use an artifact, we can do that. I guess we have to find a space element artifact for you soon. Let’s discuss it while we walk, shall we?" Auric smiled.
"Sure."
They walked further away so that no one could listen to them.
"So, someone is listening?" Ellia frowned.
"Yeah. Most likely, that woman, Eva."
"Should I kill her?" Ellia narrowed her eyes. "Our strength might not be enough, but once Vera and I evolve, we will be able to surround her and somehow kill her."
Auric shook his head. "There’s no need to be reckless for the time being. For now, I’m asking Chief Lucas about her deployment. He said he would check it with the government.
"If that woman was dispatched by the government, she would be pulled back after this event. Of course, I have no intention of taking this lightly."
"So, you will fight the government?"
"I won’t fight, but I won’t trust them anymore."
Ellia rubbed her chin. "What if she is not a government agent?"
"Then we will have a more serious problem. For the time being, we can try to play dumb about it. Once we’re done with this event, I’m pretty sure that Chief Lucas will capture her. For now, let’s not make her suspicious of us."
"What will we do if she kidnaps you?" Ellia was concerned because the last time he trusted Professor Schad, the latter had kidnapped him.
"I don’t trust her. Besides, we’ve made this arrangement so that Katarina can restrain her."
"Well, that’s true, but this is quite reckless."
"I know." Auric nodded. "Haven’t you heard that idiom? Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."
"People do use idioms whenever it suits their own agenda. What’s next? Deceive your friends before deceiving your enemies?" She sighed. "I’m not really a fan of idioms. Just do it. A mistake is a mistake. A success is a success. Don’t make it philosophical."
Auric froze. "Well, let’s talk about your condition, shall we?"
"Fine." Ellia looked away.
"You currently have 80% element. Well, I already have one for you." Auric took a book out of his storage.
Ellia looked at the book titled ’Song of Spacestress.’
"It can increase your element by up to 28%. To be honest, you don’t need anything else other than that book. I intended to give you that book when you reached 72%, but for some reason, your element already jumped from 68% to 80%."
"Well, after feeling helpless against those kidnappers, I knew I should get stronger. Since you have given me my freedom, I could finally focus a bit more on my own development. I came here to increase my element to 90% before asking you for a gathering technique, but..." Ellia tossed the book into her space storage.
"I guess we both have our own plans." Auric chuckled. "Now that I think about it, why isn’t Arina with you?"
"Arina..." Ellia looked down, recalling the discussion they had prior to this trip.
Arina looked at Ellia with a serious expression. "I think... this is the right time for me to step back, Miss."
"Arina?" Ellia looked shocked. "What do you mean by stepping back?"
"Do you remember my dream?"
"!!!"
"I never want to fight all those beasts. It’s not that I don’t mind getting hurt, but I’m just... a coward. I keep talking to people to hide my fear of dying. Whenever we went on a trip, I couldn’t sleep for a few days both before the trip and after the trip.
"Still, I don’t want you to be alone when I know you are not in a favorable situation.
"All this time, I have been supporting you so that you can take on the challenge, but you know that I’m your limiter to prevent you from doing reckless things.
"Now that you don’t have to worry about your family anymore, it’s time for me to step back. I do intend to evolve my avatar to the adult form or even the mature form, but that’s a long-term plan. I don’t have to rush anymore.
"I shouldn’t be your limiter anymore, Miss. Rather, I prefer to become your support. I will support you from behind. I’ll take care of your company when you are not here.
"You should go with Auric and do whatever you want to do... do everything that you’ve been holding back all this time."
Ellia bit her lip and clenched her hands into fists. That was indeed what Arina said back when she first supported her.
"There will be a time when you will be free. At that time, I’d like to rest my weapon and become the witness of your success..." Ellia muttered.
"You even remember everything." Arina chuckled.
Ellia wanted to persuade her, but looking at Arina’s sincere expression made her not want to do it. She wanted to respect her childhood friend’s wish. Arina had been on her side all this time. If she suffered because of Ellia’s selfishness, Ellia couldn’t forgive herself.
Ellia closed her eyes and hugged Arina. "Thank you for everything."
"What are you saying? You make it sound like I’m going to leave you. I’m still going to be here." Arina stroked her back, reassuring her.
"And I have to correct one thing. You are not my limiter. You are like... a sister to me."
Arina looked surprised, but soon smiled. "Geez... Crying is not on my bingo list today."
...
Remembering their conversation, Ellia said to Auric. "Arina is trying to pursue her own goals. Unfortunately, our goals don’t cross paths. We will still be with each other, but she might not fight anymore."
Besides, Arina also knew her limit was approaching. Kallarnos University aside, even Grand Magica College was quite hard for her.
After all, Arina didn’t even make it to the top ten students in her year.
"Is that so?" Auric nodded. "That’s unfortunate, but we have to respect her wishes."
"Yeah." Ellia took a deep breath before smiling again. "Let’s not talk about something depressing. Instead, we should talk about this. What should I do now? Should I absorb the energy from the artifacts?"
"Actually, absorbing the energy inside the ruins will help you tremendously. You can actually speed up the absorption process as long as your element and the ruins’ match. You don’t need an artifact or any materials."
"However, we still need to cover it up, right? We can’t let them think that you’re a unique-element evolution master."
"Yeah. Hence, I have a suggestion. You can increase your element to 95% but you need to stop after that. We will then use the artifact as a cover."
"So that’s why you gave away that information earlier. You said that you planned to watch me until I got 100% element."
"Yep. You can put away the artifact later."
"I got it. Sorry that I inconvenienced you."
"No problem. At least we can spin it in one way or another. If it’s truly impossible, I will refuse."
Ellia nodded. "I understand. I’ll follow your arrangement."
"For now, we can just camp inside the ruins with the space element. Then, you will absorb the energy during the night watch."
"Yeah. Since we’re together, it’s easier for you to observe it. But are you sure you don’t want to do it yourself?"
"Nope. I don’t have the elements necessary to increase my power yet. The only thing I have is access to a bunch of other elements. In the end, I can only absorb the energy that matches my elements. For example, this big one..." Auric pointed to the bigger ruins. "...I can only absorb the water element. The wind is not suitable for me. However, the Wind Temple is quite suitable for my wind element."
"Hmm... In that case, shouldn’t we camp inside one of these two places?"
"Don’t worry. Unlike you, I can absorb energy very fast." Auric winked playfully.
"Now that I think about it, you could do it in that mall, right? But I never saw you do it."
"That’s how it is. If I were to say, my affinity would be something like SSS or beyond that."
"Are you sure it’s okay to tell me about that?"
"Of course. It’s not like you’re going to use that information as leverage again, right?"
"..." Ellia felt embarrassed. She remembered the time she used that information as leverage. It was just for negotiation.
But Auric had given her the freedom she longed for. Besides, he also agreed to become her evolution master, not to mention the fact that her affinity had reached SS grade.
With all that, even if they became strangers in the future, she wouldn’t use that information against him. In fact, she would remain his ally no matter what.
Ellia scratched the back of her head.
"It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m not mad. It’s true that I have been too naive. Thanks to you, I could survive in the capital city. Well, I would say that the folks in the capital city were able to get three or four birds with one stone in every major decision they made. Without you, I would have been taken advantage of by them." Auric chuckled.
Ellia finally accepted his gratitude. "Now that I think about it, I haven’t received any money from the other store you have."
"The Sun Store?"
"No. The Moon Store."
"My teacher is the one managing that, but there’s no customer yet."
"I know that, but in the end, I’m still the one managing the money." Ellia thought for a moment. "You’re not going to advertise it?"
"No. Besides, it’s registered in another country." Auric shook his head. "And even if someone buys it, there’s no guarantee that they will try it due to the complexity."
"But once it’s been confirmed and becomes popular, it might surpass the popularity of the Sun Store."
"Only until I produce high-ranking gathering techniques."
"That’s true. Both of them have the same potential."
"Yep."
Ellia sighed. "Even though I want to suggest a few things to let you earn more money, I guess I shouldn’t suggest them to you yet. At least until you are willing to focus on the business. Most likely, until you are able to reveal your identity."
Auric smiled. "Are you my business consultant now?"
"I can be anything as long as I have the capability to do it." A sly smile suddenly appeared on Ellia’s face as she whispered, "I can also be your girlfriend if you want."
Auric got goosebumps as he took a few steps back, looking at Ellia in shock. Ellia had been guiding him the whole time. She also helped him a lot. Still, until now, Ellia had always acted calm and composed.
Yet, this was the first time he had seen Ellia acting so proactively.
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