Chapter 447 New Form of Gathering Techniques

Auric was looking through his notes before looking up.

He had received the promised breathing technique two hours before Song Xue returned to her family.

’The breathing technique allows them to create multiple channels to circulate the energy. It’s the same as adding another lane to the highway. However, will this be enough?’

Lindwurm answered, "It will definitely increase the output."

’Indeed. By increasing the number of channels, I will be able to bring the output to an average of a 40% increase. However, that will be the limit.’

"Or maybe 100% is just too optimistic?"

’Not exactly.’ Auric thought for a moment. ’No, wait a minute. According to the breathing technique, it forcefully withholds the energy so that it can give a bigger push. If you think about it, I can interpret it in another way.

’Instead of adding another lane to the highway, we’re doubling the input before letting it enter the circulation. If that’s the case, can I not just increase the amount of energy gathered before the gathering technique is used?’

"That... might be possible, but do you think it will work? I just can’t see how it’s going to work."

’I’m talking about using passive energy in the air.’

"Hmm?" Lindwurm frowned. He felt that something clicked in his mind, but he couldn’t figure it out yet.

Auric continued, ’For example, I have a flame element with a rating of 3.0. My original thought was to absorb energy with a rating from 2.8 to 3.2. After all, the gathering technique has always been a technique that can be used as long as your element is within 0.5 points of your element rating.

’However, this might not work because the energy from the gathering technique is converted by the avatar to match its own rating. If we increase the input, the avatar will think of it as a poison, and there’s no telling what will happen afterward.

’I mean, I can do some tests and maybe ask people to volunteer, but the risk is simply too high. Besides, I can’t imagine how to combine all those elements into one by using the gathering technique.

"That might work, but there might be side effects. In the worst case, it will be considered a forbidden technique." Lindwurm nodded.

’Exactly. So I’m thinking about using the gathering technique to first hold everything and gather even more passive energy. Normally, it will pass through the avatar first before it’s turned into active energy.

’What if I just channel the energy from the outside so that it will turn the passive energy into active? It’s like the treatment for Supervisor Jacob but in reverse.

’We’re using the breathing technique as the foundation.’

Lindwurm looked down, contemplating. "However, the breathing technique only affects the inside of your body. Its purpose is to circulate the air in your body."

’That’s where the gathering technique comes in. I will create another anchor point for this accumulated energy. Then it’s only going to be converted after reaching a certain amount.’

"I don’t think that’s going to work. Try thinking about Ellia. Reaching a certain amount will just put her plan in jeopardy."

’Fair enough. In that case, should I force the energy to enter the circulation first but not flow into their avatars? It will create some sort of pseudo energy?’

"I think we’re missing something." Lindwurm shook his head. "Your theories have a chance to succeed, but they’re not optimal. Besides, creating a gathering technique like this is going to be hard. There’s no need to rush it."

’Right.’ Auric took a deep breath.

"The breathing technique and the gathering technique can be combined, but you might need to add something else to create harmony for the new technique."

’I will think about it for now.’ Auric closed his eyes. ’Or maybe the breathing technique can be changed to somehow suck in multiple elements. That rating system again can also be optimized as we find a way to ensure that there are no side effects.’

Lindwurm narrowed his eyes. "Maybe, but you still need to find a way to fuse them together."

’I will find a way to make it work. I did tell Ellia that the unique element would be the key. After all, the unique element is pure gray energy. They might have a tinge of other colors that signify their exact elements, but in the end, they can still be absorbed. So I’m thinking about using the unique element system to somehow absorb elements from other ratings.’

"I think that’s the correct one, but if you do it like this, the speed will decrease significantly. After all, you’ve just added a few more processes before that."

’Well, yeah. For an average person with C grade affinity, getting 10% of energy requires one month. That’s only for Rank 1 humans. The higher the rank, the longer it will take. So ten months if they want to reach 100%.

’However, because of the addition of a few more processes, they have the chance to finally get all of that energy instead of just 20% or something. But each 10% might take two or three times longer. So taking two to three years to just reach Rank 2 is not optimal for all of us, but it’s a safe path.’

"If you put it that way, the biggest benefit is safety. You don’t have to fight beasts. This means that beast materials will become a supplement instead."

’Yes. Besides, one of the biggest challenges for evolution masters is that they have low combat power. This will help them pursue the higher stages. Besides, since it will take too long for average people, their jobs won’t get pushed aside by the gathering techniques. People will still use the materials to get a steep increase.’

"I guess those evolution masters won’t come to you with a pitchfork and a torch anytime soon." Lindwurm grinned.

Auric scoffed. He was considering all the aspects, which wasn’t easy. Still, if the new gathering techniques were successfully created, the world would change. Even normal people who didn’t have any talent could reach Rank 2 or Rank 3 in their lifetime.

It doesn’t mean they would be strong, but they would become healthy. With a stronger body, they could do a lot of other things too. Even the construction workers could finish their jobs faster.

In that case, he really needed to figure out how to combine the energy from different ratings.

To do that, he needed to find more people to experiment on.

’I guess I should ask Katarina to tell the people in the Unique Temple about it.’

Lindwurm crossed his arms before smiling. "Why don’t you do it? There’s nothing wrong with you taking charge of it, right?"

Auric paused for a moment. He could definitely do it, but he decided, ’If you hire a PR or a manager, let them do their job, especially if they’re good at their job. Don’t let your ego ruin because you can’t keep your mouth shut.’

"I’m not talking about an announcement for an experiment. I’m talking about simple thoughts. You can just ask them what they think about it. That’s all."

Auric pondered. Lindwurm wasn’t exactly wrong. If he relied too much on Katarina, he might lose the ability to do it himself. He had experienced the same thing when he relied too much on his mother. Doing the chores had become so difficult for him that he had to use his elements to help him.

In the end, Auric took out his phone and opened the group chat.

[Sunlight: What do you think of a gathering technique that will allow you to get 100% element but takes two or three times longer for each percent?]

The rest of the group immediately went crazy.

[The Great Sun has spoken!]

[This is the first time the Great Sun has spoken.]

[100% element? Doesn’t that mean we don’t have to hunt the already rare beasts to evolve? It might take longer, but doesn’t that mean we can constantly improve without worrying about our safety?]

[So the gathering technique’s limit is not 40%?]

Auric was typing his reply, but suddenly, the bedroom door was slammed from the outside.

Katarina panted heavily as she rushed over in a panic. "W-What are you doing?!"

Auric was startled. Even Maya, who was brushing her hair, had her heart skip a beat.

"I was... asking questions," answered Auric with an innocent face.

"You can just let me handle it. If you release that kind of information without filters, it might end up spreading."

"It will be fine." Auric nodded. "I’m just wondering if anyone is willing to become a subject in my experiment. The risk is higher, but it’s only for those who are about to evolve. Even if it doesn’t work, they can switch back to the original gathering technique and evolve just fine."

"That’s exactly the problem. If you really ask that question, there’s a chance there will be a riot in the group chat. If the rumor spreads that the Sun Store is preparing for a gathering technique that can give them 100% element, it will cause a massive eruption."

Lindwurm was simply flying around, using the store authority so that Mathias couldn’t overhear them.

Maya smirked. "Katarina, you need to calm down. Don’t forget the fact that he’s your boss. You can complain, but you can’t just come here with all that outrage. Even if you want him to consult you first, you should have been the one to remind him about it."

Katarina looked at Maya, her eyes still bloodshot. However, she couldn’t exactly argue against her point. She already knew that Auric was working on that kind of gathering technique, so she could ask him to share it with her.

She was so occupied with the magic items that she didn’t think Auric would work on it so fast.

That was why this was her blunder.

"You’re right." She took a deep breath and calmed down. "Sorry."

"Ehm, sorry..." Auric felt a bit bad since Katarina was just thinking about his well-being.

The one who persuaded him, Lindwurm, was already flying away.

"Okay, boss. Can you please tell me about it? I can arrange it for you in a way that it won’t cause a lot of trouble for you."

Auric explained everything from the beginning, but he didn’t mention the methods. After all, he hadn’t figured out how to do it yet, but he thought he could do it in the near future.

Katarina thought for a moment before saying, "That’s indeed a good question to ask. I can tell them to sign up for this experiment for preferential treatment such as having a higher priority for the gathering technique and so on. People know that the gathering techniques are not easy to make. Even the Sun Store releases one technique every week.

"Hence, asking about it first will be good, and it’s understandable why the rumors are fine for us. The evolution masters won’t cause a riot because of the speed. They just have to adapt to new structures. Besides, you have the artificial heart method to upgrade their speed as well.

"There is just one flaw in your plan. You can’t do it now without any proof. Right now, it’s just a theory. This is the same as giving them false hope even if you think it will succeed.

"If you want, you can spread your intention while we’re inviting the fourth or the fifth batch, where the rumors of the Unique Temple will start. This way, we will be able to track them and kick them out to set an example for those who break the rules. Of course, people will go crazy if the Unique Temple is discovered, but that’s it.

"I apologize for raising my voice earlier."

"Now, I feel like an ass." Auric scratched the back of his head.

"I know you are just curious, but I’m just one phone call away. If you need my help, you just have to call me, and I will rush to you."

"I understand. I will keep that in mind. Sorry and... thanks."