The Genius Evolution Store

”What? Did he just...” Instructor Cleo widened her eyes as she saw Auric with so many beads.

”Exactly.” Supervisor Jacob nodded with a serious expression.

”Is that why you put a thousand beads even though we only need a hundred and fifty, Jacob?” Instructor Colt asked.

”Exactly. That guy could find artifacts with his eyes closed, so he should be able to do the same with these beads. Unfortunately for him this time, I have made ample preparations. By putting more beads than he could gather within that time, he wouldn’t be able to ruin this test. Just imagine what happens if he ends up with that many beads when there are only a limited number of beads?” Supervisor Jacob harrumphed.

”It’s obvious. He might even sell it or control the people who will join the training program.” Instructor Ascott nodded in understanding.

”That’s right. That’s why I came up with this test and made sure that one person can only scan one bead. Even with his trick, he couldn’t ruin this test.” Supervisor Jacob pumped his fist as though he had already won.

The three instructors were rather speechless. On the one hand, Auric might indeed have a chance to ruin the test. On the other hand, Supervisor Jacob’s preparation felt somewhat petty but hilarious.

”You must have been stressed with all this preparation. Let’s have a drink tonight.” Instructor Colt patted Supervisor Jacob’s shoulder.

Supervisor Jacob looked at him, startled. Then, he let out a long sigh. ”Right? Maybe we should.”

”By the way, what’s his rank?” Instructor Cleo asked. ”After getting chased by those people, he would end up with a pretty low rank, right? That means he still has another chance to cause trouble.”

”Nope. I have already checked it. He got first place.”

”First?” The three instructors looked dumbfounded.

”I didn’t know what happened, but judging from the recorded time, he scanned it while we were explaining the rules.” Supervisor Jacob shrugged.

”Did any of you leak the secret?” Instructor Colt asked.

”I don’t care if you gave him the secret because I don’t have to worry about this guy anymore.” Supervisor Jacob scoffed. A smile appeared on his face as though he had just achieved a great victory.

While Supervisor Jacob was celebrating his victory against Auric, Auric was scratching his head. ”Why are you guys looking at me like that? I haven’t caused any trouble.”

”What do you mean you haven’t? Just look at how many beads you’ve gathered.” Vera facepalmed.

”There are a thousand, so why not?” Auric shrugged. ”I mean, it’s not like you have anything else to do after you’re done with the test.”

They couldn’t exactly refute that statement.

”So, what is your rank?” Vera asked. ”Are you going to participate in the third test?”

”Nope.” Auric took out his phone, showing his result. ”I was first.”

”H-Huh?” Vera raised one finger but was unable to continue. ”How in the world? Weren’t you supposed to be the last person to leave this place? And you had to escape from the people chasing you first?”

”Ah!” Auric scratched the back of his head. ”About that... I actually noticed the beads from the very beginning. I thought they might come in handy, so I grabbed a few and put them in my pocket. When they told us about the test, I scanned one first and put it back.”

Vera was dumbfounded. ”You could do that?”

”Well, I did notice over a hundred near the academy, so I was sure they were part of the test.” Auric shrugged. ”Besides, I didn’t break a single rule. It wasn’t my fault that you couldn’t notice them.”

Katarina couldn’t help but chuckle. She really had a hard time containing her laughter. ”This is seriously hilarious. No, I can’t... Other than the problems you somehow keep encountering, it’s truly fun around you.”

”Oi.” Auric rolled his eyes.

Ellia just shook her head helplessly. This was Auric they were talking about. ”If the training program has something like this, you need to tell us. Let’s get ahead of other competitors before it even begins.”

”You got it.”

”You two are enabling him.” Vera simply couldn’t believe these two girls acting this way.

Auric shrugged. ”Anyway, I won without breaking a rule, so it doesn’t matter.”

Vera just resigned herself to her fate. She really had no choice but to accept whatever came if it was related to Auric.

After the rest of the students returned, Sera came back and raised her hand. ”Congratulations to everyone who has passed. We are now going to start the last test. The top ten people don’t have to participate anymore, but please stay around. The test will take approximately three to four hours. We will announce everything that will happen in the next thirty days after this.”

Auric was quite interested in the fight, not as a fighter, but as a spectator. After all, this place was where the geniuses from across the country gathered.

In other words, he could take a look at their elements, perhaps copying a few of the useful ones.

Even though he already had a list of elements he could use to reach Rank 3, he might be able to find a few more interesting elements during the battle.

That was why Auric followed them to the arena.

They made ten sparring stages within the arena, so it sped up the time it required to finish the last test.

Auric watched the battles carefully and found quite a few useful elements that he considered picking. He first made some notes or even took videos so that he could review them later.

The video might not be able to capture the particles, but it could jog his memory in case he forgot.

The test for the evolution masters had finished, as all the passing students rejoined them in the arena.

After some review, they had also handpicked ten students who were worthy of receiving a special pass. Out of those ten, one of them happened to be an evolution master.

With this, they managed to get the hundred students who would be participating in the training program.

They led the students back to the field.

Supervisor Jacob took the stand. ”I want to congratulate all one hundred of you who have passed the test. I welcome you to the training camp for the upcoming Europe Training Program.

”I’m sure you’re already aware of what kind of place it is, so I don’t have to tell you everything right now. There will be another briefing one or two days before we leave, so you don’t have to worry.

”Okay, right now, I’m going to tell you about your schedule for the next thirty days. All students, including anyone living in the capital city, have to live in the dorms for the next thirty days.

”Because there will be 500 students, more staff, instructors, and other personnel, accommodations will be limited. So, all five countries have agreed to let you guys stay together. The teachers will be either in pairs or in groups of three, so it’s not just your problem.

”For the students, I want you to create groups of four. While searching for your teammates, I want you to remember that this group will also be used during the ETP.

”I will give you thirty minutes to find your group.”

The students were startled. They didn’t expect that they would have to form a group. Obviously, there were two things that first popped into their minds.

The first one was to find their friends or other people from their school. The second was to find peerless geniuses to carry them through the training. One of them happened to be Auric.

Unfortunately for them, before they could even make a group, Auric had already formed one.

”Well, I don’t think there’s any need to argue about this group, right? I mean, we have slept with Auric plenty of times.” Vera smiled.

”Girl, phrasing.” Katarina chuckled. ”But anyway, I don’t see any problem. Rather than sleeping with strangers, it’s best to stay with people we know.”

”I don’t personally have a problem, but don’t you guys have any friends at Kallarnos University?”

”I do, but they can handle it themselves.” Katarina shrugged. ”It’s my duty to be with Auric.”

”And you’re warning me for phrasing.” Vera crossed her arms.

”You two, that’s enough. That’s borderline sexual harassment.” Ellia glared at both of them.

”It’s fine. It’s fine. We all know it’s just a harmless joke.” Auric laughed, not caring about anything. As long as there was no killing intent or insult, he would just play along.

”Well, the team has now been created.” Katarina clapped. ”I’ll be looking forward to the next two months with all of you.”

”Yep.” Auric smiled.

Other students were trying to join, but they lost hope upon knowing Auric had formed a group. In the end, they searched for anyone who was available. There were no restrictions on age or strength, so even a Rank 4 student could be in the same room as a Rank 1 student.

After the time was up, Supervisor Jacob announced, ”This group is also for training and exchanging knowledge and insights. The stronger students can provide insight from their experience, but don’t be too complacent because your juniors’ words might still be useful. Sometimes, teaching others is also a form of learning, so keep an open mind.

”Each group will receive a key to their dorm while you register your group later.

”First, I’m going to tell you what we’re going to do. We have selected 25 instructors to accompany you. They will also accompany you to this training program. They consist of five main instructors, each of whom will be Rank 6, and twenty assistants, all of whom will be Rank 5.

”Of course, all of us who are standing here, except for Miss Sera, who was helping us host the training camp, will be instructors. I myself will supervise the training camp.”

The students were quite surprised that the supervisor would join as an instructor. They thought he was here just to grade them.

”The supervisor himself?”

”Who exactly is he?”

”What are you talking about? Do you really not know who he is? He’s Jacob Ecleid, the former four-star general, who single-handedly killed three Rank 6 beasts at the same time. He sustained a heavy injury after that fight, so he had to retire, but his experience and knowledge are something we can learn from.”

Auric just listened to them. He already knew he was a Rank 6 human, but he didn’t know about his true identity.

Still, it was true that Supervisor Jacob’s injury remained on his body. Just looking at the flow of energy in his body made Auric realize that he might still be experiencing sharp pain from time to time.

”And now, I shall introduce you to the other instructors who will be joining us! Please come up!” Supervisor Jacob smiled and took a step to the side while applauding them as the instructors came to the stage one by one.

Everyone started clapping, but Auric couldn’t help but freeze the moment he saw who was coming onto the stage.

It was none other than Maya. She had previously left during the college test, so he thought she was just trying to avoid her responsibilities.

It turned out he was wrong. Maya was actually taking a test to become an instructor.

Maya smiled at Auric as if she were saying, ”Surprise!”

”What the f—”