Affinity: Chaos



Grey was focused on reading the book while Klaus was studying the building from the side. The ice was so powerful that no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to leave a scratch on it. He had even tried using the sword he obtained from this place, but the result was the same. He was bounced back by the ice. 

Some hours later, Grey's eyes glowed with an understanding light. 

"I see. Such intricate arrays. Good stuff." He exclaimed. 

"You can leave this place now?" Klaus asked from the side. He was tired of playing with Void and the bunny leader. 

"Not yet, but I should understand more about it after reading more books." Grey replied. 

He finished the book after a few hours. An Elementalist's memory was terrifying, the fact that Grey read it for so long was beyond Klaus' comprehension. Only the old man stared at Grey with a shocked expression. 

Grey was a genius, he couldn't deny this fact. Most people would only think of how to leave this place, Grey was different, he didn't want to just leave this place, he wanted more. If he could understand this array, his ability in terms of arrays would skyrocket. 

Klaus was a bit disappointed and walked to the side. Staying here was almost like the Moonlight Faction. Inside the Faction, he was covered in snow almost all the time. No matter where he went, he would either see snow or water. He was getting tired of seeing the same scenery. 

Void and the bunny leader were not as enthusiastic as they were the first time they saw this place. 

'At least it's better than the Faction.' Klaus thought to himself as he caught a snowflake. 

He could sense some things that were different with this snow and the snow in the Moonlight Faction. 

After a while, he sat down on the snow outside the building and started cultivating. It was unknown what he was doing. 

"A Water Elementalist. This place is great for him." The old man muttered as he looked at Klaus. 

Klaus discovered the difference on his own and started to cultivate it. There was a high possibility that Klaus would have a major power-up once he understood a few things about the water element. His domain's strength would also see an increase as well. 

Time passed by in the place. 

Two days went by in the blink of an eye. 

Grey had been reading nonstop, while Klaus was still cultivating. It could be said that the duo was lost in what they were doing. 

Only after the third day did Grey stop reading the books. He already understood some of the things in this place, even a certain cultivation technique that caused the snow here to be different. 

"Good stuff!" He exclaimed. 

"Tell me we can leave now." Klaus walked into the building once again. 

"We can." Grey's answer made some of the people present look at him. 

When he came here, Klaus was not the only person present. There were still a few unfamiliar faces here, and more had entered the place. 

Some of these people were lost in the books, it was evident that they were able to understand a few things like Grey. Not everyone was like Klaus who was not serious about these things. 

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." Klaus urged. 

Grey chuckled and turned to the old man and bowed, "Thank you for the opportunity senior, we'll be leaving first." 

The old man looked at Grey and shook his head, he was about to respond when he saw something. His eyes enlarged when he saw this and he chuckled unknowingly. 

Grey was taking the book that would enable anyone to comprehend the technique. This was a top ice ability technique that would increase the strength of any Water Elementalist. 

Grey not only understood how the place was built, but he found a way to gain access to it. 

'How did he manage to use the technique so quickly?'

The old man had some doubts. Even if Grey was able to figure out the technique, he shouldn't have been able to use it so soon. What Grey did was use a backdoor to remove the most important aspect of the technique. At this rate, no matter how others understood this place, other than leaving, they wouldn't be able to get anything. 

The old man didn't know if he should be impressed by Grey's genius or annoyed by his actions. 

With a shake of his head, he watched as the duo and the two small Magical Beasts vanished. 

He was quite curious about the next place they would be visiting. 

….

In another location. 

Grey appeared in a volcano, but he didn't find Klaus with him. 

"Could he have passed this stage?" He looked around curiously. 

Void and the bunny leader were still with him, but Klaus had been teleported to another location. Luckily he thought of this happening and imparted the technique to Klaus. 

Klaus was a Water Elementalist, unlike him who had so many elements, Klaus depended fully on his water element. 

Grey had no idea that this was the first place Klaus appeared, and that he had passed this stage. 

Grey was still thinking about some things when some creatures made from flames attacked him. 

The strength of these creatures was average, with a wave of his hand, Grey sent them flying. He didn't have the time to be bothered with things in the Sage Plane. Even An Elemental Venerable in the Early stages wouldn't be able to make him flinch. 

After destroying the first batch, more appeared. 

"I see." 

He didn't leave immediately, rather, he used his fire element to fight against these creatures. 

He noticed there was an increase in his fire ability, although small, he could still sense it.

After using his icy flames to attack, he didn't sense the same increase as before. He continued fighting with the creatures that formed from the flames in the volcano. 

As the battle progressed, Grey learned some things. 

'Increase the hotness.' 

Void and the bunny leader were already at the top of the volcano where it was safe. The longer they stayed there, the hotter it got. 

Not just that, but the creatures are getting stronger. Only someone as crazy as Grey would stay there at the moment. 

Grey didn't want to just leave this place. Each place had its benefits, he wouldn't leave so easily. There should be something to be gained from here. 

He continued fighting under the intense heat, not withdrawing. 

If Klaus were here, he would've cursed at Grey's stupidity. This wasn't the place where the main treasure was located. 

Grey was unaware of this and continued fighting with the creatures. The creatures had started to show the strength of an Elemental Venerable, given their numbers, Grey knew he would have to leave this place soon enough. 

As he continued fighting he suddenly started to realize something different. 

'It's just like the snow. The heat is different.' His eyes widened. 

At first, he didn't notice it, but as the hotness increased, he sensed the difference between them. The hotness here was more intense than in any other place he had been to. 

He tried to study it, but it was futile. He couldn't feel anything from it. 

His eyes showed disappointment. From how things were going, he knew that learning this technique was going to be difficult. 

He had been trying for a while now, but he hadn't been able to understand anything. What was worse was that the heat was getting more intense. If he didn't leave soon, he would be in danger. 

After a few more minutes, he gave up and left the volcano. He was sweating profusely. 

Void and the bunny leader looked at him like he was a moron. They didn't see the reason behind his actions. 

Grey didn't bother to explain anything to them. When he stepped out of the volcano, he couldn't help but give a self-deprecating laugh. 

If he stayed inside the volcano for the next three years, he wouldn't be able to understand it, the reason for this was that there was actually nothing inside to comprehend. The reason why the place was getting hotter was that there was someone who was adding something that looked like a coal inside the volcano. 

This place couldn't even be called a volcano, it was more like a furnace, shaped like a volcano. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked the duo. 

"You seemed to be enjoying your fight with them. We don't have any form of entertainment here, so why not watch you get cooked?" Void replied honestly. 

They knew Grey wouldn't die, so they didn't think there was any problem with not telling him. 

Grey on the other hand felt a bit strange when he heard the word 'get cooked'. As funny as it sounded in his ears, it was the truth. He was literally getting cooked. There was a giant figure adding coal to the fire, making it hotter.