Affinity: Chaos

"What took you so long?" Alice asked when she saw Grey walking down the tunnel. She was still in the tunnel, deeper than where she originally stopped. Looking at her pale face, it was easy to see that she was having a hard time staying there.

"I had an encounter with something, sorry I took so long." Grey was a bit fearful when he saw Alice's condition. She was panting heavily and looked like she would collapse anytime soon.

Since she took the risk of advancing, it was mainly due to the fact that she was worried about Grey's well-being and wanted to check up on him.

"Let's go."

Grey didn't want her to suffer any longer, so he hurried her.

…..

Outside the cave.

The projection appeared when Grey and Alice walked out.

He looked at Grey deeply. There was a strange feeling he was getting from him at the moment, different from how it was when he went in.

"What distance did you reach?" He asked the duo.

"About eight hundred meters or so." Alice replied.

The projection nodded, impressed by Alice's statement, he turned to Grey, "And you?"

"I had a nice chat with the senior inside, he even gave me a gift." Grey grinned.

He had shown Alice the armor on their way back, so she knew he got to the end and even faced another trial he succeeded in, before acquiring the top treasure there.

The old man looked at him, a bit disbelieving.

Grey saw the doubt in his eyes and laughed, "You're doubting me?"

"Don't take it the wrong way young friend, but countless geniuses have gone in, and only a few have been able to get to the last part. The few who succeeded in getting there all failed, without exception. So you might have managed to get there and speak with the master there, but there's no guarantee that…" The old man was still speaking when an armor appeared on Grey's body.

He froze, unable to speak any further. His eyes widened.

He knew the difficulty of the last challenge, breaking through the defense of the master. When the master was still on the Continent, he was known as the best defense master. He not only has the earth element, but he also has the lightning element as well. He had a total of four elements and each of them had been honed to the peak.

The fact that Grey was able to break through his defense was something he was finding hard to accept. He had seen Grey during the first trial, and although he was a bit unorthodox in his ways, he didn't think there was anything special about him.

"It's a nice armor. I also have the sword that makes them a pair." A sword appeared in Grey's hand as he swung it around.

"It should be nice when cutting down wood for fire." He muttered.

The old man, on the other hand, almost had a breakdown. He didn't expect Grey to also have the sword. He knew of this sword, and it was on the same level as the armor.

After moving it a few times, Grey kept the items in his body again.

The old man paused and looked at Grey, shocked.

"You've fused with it already?"

"It wasn't hard. I touched it and it entered my body." Grey replied nonchalantly.

The old man almost spat out a mouthful of blood in dejection.

Grey kept exceeding his expectations.

A portal appeared and the old man pointed at it. The duo could leave now, there was nothing left to get here. Even if others came and managed to get to the building inside, they would not be able to gain anything.

Grey and Alice didn't stay any longer and left.

After the duo left, the old man looked at the cave with mixed feelings.

The figure of the young man appeared behind him.

"You don't need to be this way, you're already so old."

The old man knelt down the second he heard the voice, "Teacher."

The young man sighed, "It's already been so long, why did you have to keep a wisp of your spiritual sense here?"

"I was hoping I would have the chance to meet Teacher again. Besides, after you left, I took charge of the Faction." The old man said with a proud smile.

"I see." The young man nodded, his eyes showing no emotions. This was within his expectations.

"Did he really defeat you, or did you give it to him?" The old man still couldn't accept Grey taking the armor.

"In one attack." The young man replied, not bothered by it.

The old man's eyes bulged out when he heard the young man's words. He thought even if Grey won, it would've been a hellish battle for him, succeeding by a small margin. But Grey actually won with a single attack.

"The kid doesn't follow the rules, well, it can't really be said to not be following the rules, more like exploiting it." The young man chuckled, impressed by Grey's wisdom.

"I see. He has done that previously as well." The old man immediately understood Grey might've used his cunningness to get the better of his Teacher.

"I wonder how far he can go." The young man muttered.

"I can't really say, but he has passed two stages in the shortest time. Not just that, but he's the only one who has gotten the most benefits from all." The old man explained, "Other than him, there's another person. I don't know if this person is talented or lucky, but he took all the benefits from the first stage he passed too. He is currently in the second stage."

"There will always be monstrous talents whenever youths are gathered." The young man said.

"I've seen a few special ones." The old man said, "Of course, none like him."

The old man and the young man conversed for a long time before the young man's body disappeared.

The old man sighed and looked at the sky with a melancholic smile, "Maybe we are all pawns in the end."