"Well, isn’t this the lost child, Ellia Stroph Astler? Tired of running away? Wait, you were not running away. You were kicked out instead."

Auric couldn’t help but approach Arina before asking in a low voice. "What’s going on? Who is she?"

"Her name is Vera Schneider. She is also a prodigy with the sword, but she has always lost to Ellia whenever they fight purely with their swords. Once Ellia awakened a unique-element avatar, people’s evaluation of her increased. Just think of it as your relationship with Eric."

"But it looks like their relationship is worse than mine with Eric."

"Well..." Arina smiled wryly. "Their family has been rivals as well, so they’re often compared a lot. So, the friction is not small."

"I see." Auric nodded in understanding.

Ellia remained calm despite listening to everything. She just asked, "Are you done?"

"It looks like you know your place." Vera looked at Ellia in contempt. "That’s just your level. The moment you awakened that avatar, your future was sealed."

Ellia let out a long sigh. "I heard that this is also an opportunity for Kallarnos University to assess two people on my team, but I guess there’s no need for that kind of opportunity. I don’t think I want to stay at Kallarnos University either."

Ellia turned her head to Auric. "What do you think?"

Auric shrugged. "I don’t want to make an early judgment yet, but it’s truly a bad first impression."

"What? You..." Vera gritted her teeth.

"You must be the team leader of this group. Even though this is an opportunity for Kallarnos University, rather than giving a good first impression by showing how great you are, you actually show what not to do in a joint operation.

"You have made the mood sour because of your petty rivalry. As a result, there’s no telling how this cooperation will turn out.

"If this is what you’ve been learning at Kallarnos University, I’m good with staying at Grand Magica College." Ellia shook her head helplessly.

"You..." Vera was trying to fight back, but Ellia continued, "In any case, my name is Ellia Stroph Astler. I’m the team captain from Grand Magica College. This is my team: Arina Teneresa, Milinda Kompo, Eric Dabood, and Auric Elfe.

"After the opening of your captain, it has become not a pleasure for me to introduce ourselves, but it’s my duty to introduce my team to you."

Tommi simply rushed to Auric and extended his hand, shaking Auric’s hand. "We finally meet again."

Auric nodded with a smile. "It looks like you’ve been doing great there."

"Can you see it?" Tommi grinned. "If we fight again, there’s no telling who will win."

"Also, this is the first-year student who came with me?" Tommi turned to Eric.

Eric looked at Tommi with a serious expression. The two seemed to be staring at each other for a bit longer than they were supposed to.

As if they had reached a tacit understanding, both of them extended their hands at the same time and shook each other’s hands.

"Tommi."

"Eric."

The two smiled. "Looks like we can be friends."

"..." Auric smiled wryly. He didn’t know how it happened, but he almost forgot that these two were actually pretty similar.

Nonetheless, it was good that they could be friends.

"Right? It had been interrupted earlier, but I guess I should introduce you to the others." Tommi immediately pointed to each of them. "She is the first-year student who comes with me, Ruka Alekha. Next to her is our sniper, Senior Maxwell Kelp. The other one is Senior Christopher Memphis. The last one is the captain of this team, Vera Schneider."

Ellia let out a small smile.

The veins on Vera’s forehead bulged as she could see the salt on her smile.

But that smile soon disappeared as Ellia’s expression turned solemn and she politely said, "In that case, let’s head to the accommodation. Have you found your accommodations yet? How about staying at my hotel? My team and I will stay in one suite, while you guys can stay in the other."

"We’ve booked our own rooms! We don’t need your sympathy." Vera glared at her.

"Well, I tried." Ellia shrugged as if showing that she had tried to mend the relationship by letting them stay in her hotel for free, but Vera was the one rejecting it.

"In any case, the introduction is over. We should unpack our luggage first. How about having dinner together? We can discuss our strategy after that."

Vera could feel the gazes coming from the others. If she rejected it again, they might end up causing even more trouble.

"Since there’s no objection, please come to the restaurant in my hotel at 6. Just mention my name and an employee will guide you." Ellia nodded calmly.

"Senior. Do you mind?" Tommi asked Maxwell. Maxwell nodded in agreement. "Sure. Just be back one hour before dinner."

"Thank you!" Tommi smiled and pointed at himself. "Let’s go, Auric. You too, Eric! I will guide you around!"

"Do you live in this city?" Auric raised his eyebrows.

"Nope."

"So, you don’t know about this city?" Auric smiled wryly.

"Just go around and find out." Eric shrugged, supporting Tommi.

Tommi grinned and added, "If we ever get lost, it means we’re just exploring."

Eric and Tommi had a fist bump.

Auric was somewhat speechless. Lindwurm was laughing on top of him. "Hahaha. These two are in sync already. If one is not enough, I guess two will make you have a hard time, Auric."

’Not you too...’ Auric’s eyebrows twitched.

Auric turned to Ellia, who acknowledged his request. "Just be back by dinner."

"Let’s go!" Tommi raised his hand, leading them to explore the city.

While walking around, Auric couldn’t help but ask, "So, what have you done this time? To think that you ended up creating this mission..."

"I created this mission? Surely, you’re mistaken." Tommi shook his head.

"No? I don’t see any reason for this mission to exist other than because of you."

Eric paid close attention, wondering what Kallarnos University saw in Auric.

Tommi grinned. "I guess I can’t fool you. Actually, I’m wondering why you haven’t gone to Kallarnos University. So, I went to the principal to see whether you were under consideration, but it turned out your name had never been entered into their system.

"I told him that you were amazing and had defeated me once, so he created this mission. That’s all."

"Why would I be in their system in the first place?" Auric shook his head helplessly.

"What?" Tommi tilted his head in confusion. "As I expected, have you never received any recommendations from the governor?"

"The governor?"

"Yeah. I met him after the conference, and he told me he would sponsor me. He also mentioned your name, so if he sponsored you and you rejected him, your name should at least be in their system. You never received any sponsorship?"

"No." Auric shook his head calmly.

"As expected, that guy..." Tommi gritted his teeth. "I will also revoke my own sponsorship! He doesn’t even fulfill his own promise, so I can’t trust him!"

"Why would you do that? It’s good that you have a sponsor. This means you can grow without worry." Auric shook his head.

"He promised to give you his support! This means he also has the chance to take back his promise to me as well!" Tommi glared at him.

"You haven’t told him?" Eric asked Auric.

"Told me what?" Tommi narrowed his eyes. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Auric shrugged, so Eric continued, "Auric has a unique element. You should know the prejudice against unique-element users."

"What? You have a unique element?"

Auric just shrugged as if saying, "Does it really matter?"

Tommi grinned. "Right? It doesn’t matter. You’re the man I’ve acknowledged."

Eric asked, "So, how is your life at Kallarnos University? Are they really as good as they claim?"

"Yes and no. It’s true that there are so many geniuses around, but even when you go to local universities or colleges, there are a few geniuses at their level. Only the number of geniuses at that level is significantly higher than in the rest of the country. So, if you want a challenge, you can go there."

"That’s it. I don’t want to be bothered, so it’s better for me to remain in Grand Magica College. If I go to Kallarnos University, I will have a hard time running my shop." Auric shrugged.

"I bet you will shock those people even if you come as an evolution master. After all, your talent as an evolution master is higher than all those people." Tommi harrumphed.

"It doesn’t matter." Auric shrugged. "Why should I bother whether I go to the best university or anywhere else? I can sustain myself and progress just fine."

"That’s where you are wrong!" Eric snorted. "This is why someone who has never lost can never understand!"

"Indeed." Tommi nodded in agreement.

"There is no A, B, C, D, or E. There are only A and E. Second place? That’s just the first loser. If you are not at the top, you are a loser." Eric glared at Auric.

"That’s right. People remember the first but seldom the second." Tommi supported Eric.

"You guys are really in sync." Auric sighed.

Eric and Tommi had another fist bump.

"By the way, have you seen this book? It has become an interesting topic in our university recently." Tommi suddenly took out his phone and opened a book.

It was his gathering technique book. The moment Auric saw the content, he instantly recognized it. It was definitely his book, but he definitely couldn’t admit it.

At the same time, Eric also recognized it. Because he had seen Auric’s writing before, he could recognize the penmanship in this book. He had seen Auric’s writing style for three years after all.

As his biggest rival, Eric had observed Auric more than anyone else, so he definitely recognized Auric’s writing style.

Eric was startled, not expecting that Auric had actually written such a book. Eric couldn’t help but ask, "What is the book about?"

"It’s called a gathering technique. It’s said that you can gather energy from the air and let it remain in your body to increase your element.

"There are two popular ways to use it. The first one is to use it when you are about to evolve. This gathering technique can increase the remaining energy to reach 100%. This way, you can evolve without any help from an evolution master.

"The second way of using it is to build up your initial energy. Most of the time, people have to buy their first material to get the initial energy. With this book, you can get the initial energy while learning other things in school."

Eric was astounded. He truly didn’t expect that Auric had actually made such a thing.

This meant Auric had been focusing on other things rather than on his own improvement. Yet Auric was still strong enough to defeat Tommi.

As expected, he was indeed chasing a monster.

"By the way, do you want to hit a training center?" Tommi raised one finger. "Since we’re all here, we should know each other, right? Eric, do you want a spar?"

"Sure. I know you’re stronger than me, but we don’t know who will win." Eric harrumphed. "I don’t mind defeating you first."

"I like your confidence." Tommi grinned excitedly. He could feel that Eric was someone who had never given up. He was someone who would most likely surpass him, if Tommi didn’t improve. That was why Tommi treated Eric as a friend. "Let me ask someone!"

Tommi hurriedly went to the first person he could find on the street. "Hello, Mister. Do you know any training centers around here?"

Eric, on the other hand, stood next to Auric before saying in a low voice, "To think that you are the creator of that bizarre technique... You should have focused on your own improvement, or else I will defeat you soon."

Auric’s eyebrows twitched. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Do you think I can’t recognize your writing style? Just play dumb as much as you want."

"..."