The Genius Evolution Store

After learning what was about to come, Auric started to focus on finding new elements.

Thanks to Mr. Popo, he received a light element. He was quite fortunate to find another wind element. It was called Tempest Wind. The element was about to become an extreme element with a rating of 3.4.

Unfortunately, the rest didn’t match his standards, so he could only wait for better ones.

Before closing the store, his phone started ringing. His mother wouldn’t usually call him unless it was necessary, so he thought the call was from Maya.

However, when he looked at his phone, he was surprised by the caller. It was Ellia.

”Hello?” Auric picked up.

”Do you have any time tomorrow? I want to talk about the ruins.”

”Sure. I have time.”

”You are not going to class?”

”No. I am waiting until the introductory period is over.”

”All right. In that case, let’s meet at the coffee shop not far from campus. Let’s see... 2 PM? Sounds good?”

”Sounds good to me.”

”Great. I will see you tomorrow. Bye.” Ellia hung up.

Auric put his phone back and then grabbed the key. He politely nodded to Mr. Popo and Milinda. ”Thank you for helping today.”

”No problem.” Mr. Popo waved.

”You’ve worked hard. Good night.” Milinda smiled.

”Good night.” They parted ways quietly. Little did Auric know that Milinda’s expression turned solemn right after she turned around.

...

The next day.

Ellia sipped her tea calmly while looking at Arina. ”What’s wrong?”

”I’m just wondering if we are really going with this plan. That place might not sound dangerous, but the entrance is extremely hard to break.”

”What of it?”

”Weren’t you planning to bring in evolution masters from all elements just to enter this place? And they wouldn’t be just normal evolution masters. They would be diamond-grade evolution masters.”

”It’s fine. Our evolution master this time is far more suitable for the job.” Ellia smiled before sipping her tea again.

”But you are going to explain the situation, right? You’re not going to hide any information just to bring him there, right?” Arina narrowed her eyes.

”Of course. I may not be entirely normal, but I do have common sense.”

”Let’s agree to disagree.” Arina rolled her eyes as if the proof that she didn’t have common sense was right in front of her.

Suddenly, the shop’s bell rang.

”Speaking of the devil, he has come. Thirty minutes early...” Ellia suddenly stopped mid-sentence as she realized Auric wasn’t the one coming this time. ”Hmm?”

”What’s wrong?” Arina was confused and turned around, finding a woman entering the store.

The woman found them immediately, since there were no other customers in the store.

”Well, well, well. Who do we have here?” Ellia smiled while closing her eyes. ”I always think that we’re going to meet sooner or later, but this is definitely sooner than I expected.”

”You are...” Arina gasped. ”The transfer student, Professor Vienna’s daughter, Milinda. Pardon me for saying your name directly, but your family name is difficult to pronounce. Why are you here?”

Milinda slammed her hands on the table and looked at Ellia with a solemn expression. ”Let me join the mission.”

”What mission are you talking about?” Ellia responded with a calm expression, as if she weren’t disturbed by Milinda’s actions.

”Don’t play dumb. I know you are planning a mission to enter the ruins. I want to be a part of that team.”

Ellia chuckled. ”It must be because of Auric. He has helped you, hasn’t he?”

Milinda didn’t say anything, but her expression had said it all.

However, Ellia shook her head. ”Unfortunately, I can’t help you with that. I won’t allow you to join the team.”

”Why? I am strong enough to become a part of the team.” Milinda gritted her teeth.

”Should I tell you two obvious reasons? Well, there is one more, but you may not have realized it.”

Milinda glared at her.

Ellia calmly sipped her tea again before continuing, ”The first reason is very obvious. It doesn’t look like Auric has told you anything about this mission. You must have heard it or predicted it in one way or another. If you already know the mission from him, then I will gladly have you on board, but you don’t, right?”

Milinda bit her lip. ”That’s not the reason to reject me.”

”It is one of the reasons I have. If he doesn’t trust you, that means I don’t either. Do you think that just because he has helped you evolve means that he has told you everything he knows? No. The fact that he doesn’t tell you anything about the mission means he doesn’t want you to be on the mission.”

Milinda was shaking. She couldn’t refute that statement. ”I’m just trying to help him... protect him. Do you think you can protect him by yourself?”

”Who knows? I can’t guarantee that I can, but I certainly can protect him more than you can.” Ellia smiled.

”I don’t think so.” Milinda also had her own confidence in her ability. She wasn’t going to give up so easily. If necessary, she would fight Ellia in the arena to prove it.

”Really? What if I tell you that you are already dead once just by standing next to me?” Ellia finally looked at Milinda.

In that instant, Milinda felt chills down her spine. She felt as though her vision was spinning as though her head had been chopped off from behind.

”You...” Milinda hurriedly jumped to the side. A spear formed in her hand.

”I haven’t done anything yet.” Ellia sipped her tea. ”Besides, you need to retract your energy, or you will end up damaging the wall. Not a good track record, don’t you think?”

Milinda became even more frustrated. Ellia said she hadn’t done anything, but she had let out a small trace of killing intent.

That killing intent was fierce enough to make Milinda feel like her head was being chopped off.

Ellia sighed. ”Either way, I don’t plan to take you in. Even if you challenge me, there is no reason for me to accept. The first reason should be sufficient. But if you feel it’s not enough, then I will tell you the second reason.”

Arina smiled wryly. ”Miss, I think you should stop talking already. The atmosphere is already bad. I don’t want the two of you to fight, especially since Auric will come at any moment.”

Ellia ignored Arina’s words and continued, ”The second reason is you. You need to respect someone’s boundaries. This is originally none of your business. I may consider you joining the team if he also wants you to join. This time, however, is something you shouldn’t touch. Please respect people’s decisions.”

Milinda clenched her spear tighter. It was as if she were ready to thrust it directly at Ellia’s throat.

”What you are doing right now is stalking. He may have trusted you to take care of his store, but other than that, you are pushing yourself a little too much.” Ellia turned back to Arina. ”Besides, it’s not me who needs to stop. It’s her. I’m supposed to meet him in thirty minutes, while she came here uninvited. How do you think you’re going to explain yourself to Auric?”

Before Milinda could say anything, Ellia lowered her gaze before having a smile filled with pity. ”Well, I will tell you about the third reason that may not be so obvious to you.

”You are currently obsessed with him. You may think you like him, but you are wrong.

”You must be someone like me. When we were at our most desperate moment, he came to us, offering a solution. That is why both of us could evolve.

”The human mind is mysterious. The figure of a hero that appeared when we needed him the most made him look even better. Well, coupled with his charming face, it was normal to fall for him.

”However, we were slightly different. You were more desperate than me, so it might not be so obvious to you. But because I wasn’t as desperate, I could still think about it more clearly.”

Ellia was certain she wasn’t as desperate because she still had the means to evolve. She had enough capital to get many evolution masters, and she had the ruins that could help her with the evolution.

If Ellia had gone to the ruins and found nothing, she would have felt as desperate as Milinda.

That was why Ellia could say, ”You need to go home and think about it carefully. Please don’t mistake liking someone and obsessing over someone. Once you are able to differentiate between those two, you can come to me again. At that time, I will definitely consider your application.”

Arina didn’t have any comments on Ellia’s words either.

Still, she definitely wanted her to hold back sometimes. Arina couldn’t help but add inwardly, ’Miss. If you can somehow filter your words by half, you can probably have many friends. And this is why I’m your only friend right now. I’m the only one who can put up with your personality.’

Arina sighed. She stood up. No matter what, she had to de-escalate the situation.

She raised her hand in a calming gesture and said carefully, ”Hey, Milinda. I apologize on her behalf, so why don’t we calm down and—”

Before she could finish, Milinda took a deep breath and said, ”You are a psychopath.”

”Wow? That’s not nice.” Ellia chuckled. ”I may not be normal, but I am not a psychopath.”

”That’s right. It’s not nice. I need you to take back your words.” Arina frowned.

”I’m not going to.” Milinda shook her head.

”I have been trying to reason with you this whole time. If you are just going to insult me because you lost in an argument, then I won’t play nice anymore. Surely, you have an explanation that will satisfy me, right?” Ellia’s expression turned cold.

”An explanation? Who drinks tea in a coffee shop?”

”...” Ellia didn’t expect this reason.

Arina’s jaw dropped as she subconsciously muttered, ”Miss... How can I not have anything to refute her?”

”Hey, don’t agree with her. And why is my having tea a problem?” Ellia was dumbfounded.

”Yeah, but you pay for the entire store to close for a day. The barista wouldn’t have let you make the tea...” Arina shook her head.

”Why are you supporting her right now?” Ellia glanced at her.

”Sorry.” Arina looked away.

Ellia then sighed, ”Tea is nothing short of a perfect creation. The aroma alone energizes you. Just take a sip and feel that warmth and the sweetness...”

Arina rolled her eyes before glancing at Milinda. She whispered, ”It’s probably better for you to leave right now. If you don’t, she’s not going to stop for at least ten minutes...”

”...” Milinda’s eyebrows twitched. She snorted. ”I will be back next time.”

Without waiting for Ellia, she just stormed out of the coffee shop.

Arina let out a sigh. She had resigned herself, as she listened to Ellia’s nonchalant praise of tea again.

”So, you side with her now?”

”No. I’ve just de-escalated the situation. You’re welcome.” Arina shrugged.

”What do you mean? I am the one de-escalating the situation. My love for tea can conquer all, even if it’s someone who almost stabbed me with her spear.”

”Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Arina rolled her eyes. ”So, you were serious about all those three reasons?”

”Of course. I would have let her join if Auric had told her about the mission. Since he hasn’t told her, it means he is not ready to reveal the fact that he can wield all elements. Since I plan to burden him with a huge task, the least I can do is respect his privacy.”

Arina pinched the bridge of her nose. ”I hope that’s the reason, not just because you want to slap her hard.”

Ellia raised her head. ”Well, speaking of the devil, he has come. Still 15 minutes before the agreed time. How about you make some coffee, Arina?”

”Well, I can make one for you as well.”

”I’d rather drink soda than coffee.”

”Then why are you even setting up the meeting in a coffee shop...” Arina sighed. ”You are really a psychopath.”

”I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”