Affinity: Chaos

Grey and Klaus set out from the Moonlight Faction, heading in the direction of the Faction Reynolds was part of.

It didn't take them long, after a few days of traveling, they got to the Faction.

....

Just like Klaus, Reynolds was highly valued in the Raiden Faction.

"You're lucky you came this time, I was about to head out for a mission." Reynolds said while taking a sip of his tea.

He encountered the duo on their way here and took them with him back to the Faction. Unlike Klaus' situation, he was more free and didn't have to bother too much about his friends who came to visit. His status was quite high, and he was already in the Sixth stage of the Sage Plane, but that was not where his true strength lies. His true strength lay in his Elemental Warrior that was already close to the Peak of the Sage Plane. The moment he breaks through to the Seventh stage, his Elemental Warrior would be at the Peak of the Sage Plane.

Its strength would not be comparable to an ordinary Peak Sage Plane, rather, it would be on par with those unrivaled geniuses. Not on Grey's level, but close to the Prince of the Gnome's race level.

"You've improved, no wonder you rarely have time to talk anymore." Klaus said with a cold expression.

Of all of them, other than Grey who was almost out of reach, the others were still somewhat reliable. However, some time back, Klaus and even Alice hadn't been able to speak to him as much as they did from the start. He already knew this would happen since they were all in different Factions, but he still felt a bit annoyed that he couldn't speak with his friends, just like before.

"When we reach the Elemental Sovereign Plane, then we can have all the time in the world, for now, we're still too weak." Grey commented.

"It's easy for you to say, you don't have to worry about not being able to step out of your own manor. I, on the other hand, can't even leave the cultivation ground. I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse." Klaus sighed in dejection.

Reynolds couldn't help but ask, "That bad?"

"He made a deal with his Faction Leader, he's only fulfilling his part of the deal." Grey said with a nonchalant expression.

Klaus felt even more aggrieved when he heard this, "It's already been so long. The Mistress is just taking advantage of me. If I was strong enough, I would've beaten her up."

"Stop whining. You're already advancing so quickly, what is there to complain about? Do you know how many people are praying for an opportunity like yours?" Grey looked at Klaus, speechless.

"Let them come and have it then, I prefer my freedom." Klaus replied.

Grey almost wanted to beat the crap out of Klaus. If others heard this, they would beat him up as well.

How could someone say that staying in a top Faction and being valued so much was a problem? He was even advancing at a fast pace, yet he was complaining because he couldn't go out.

Grey had encountered people who didn't think twice and directly killed people, using their blood and life essence in a bid to advance, yet Klaus had so many resources and was complaining.

"Forget about him." Reynolds didn't bother with Klaus anymore and turned to Grey with a serious expression, "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Kill order?" Grey guessed what was on his mind.

"You know about it already?" Reynolds was surprised when he heard Grey ask about this.

Grey nodded and told him the general situation of things.

Reynolds couldn't help but feel regretful that he didn't go with Grey. If he had gone as well, he would've been able to advance faster and even enjoy his time there.

Grey sighed when he saw Reynolds' expression, it was just like that of Klaus, they all wanted to have fun. Although training was important, they felt that there was an opportunity to have fun in the process, so they didn't mind entertaining themselves.

Of all of them, Alice was the only one who liked training almost as much as Grey, although she couldn't compare to him, in front of Reynolds and Klaus, she was still better off. Void was even worse, all he did was sleep and he would advance his stages. He rarely even trained elemental attacks. He seemed to wake up to new abilities every day, just like Grey.

"Where are you headed this time?" Grey asked Reynolds.

Since Reynolds wanted to go on a mission, he didn't mind tagging along. It's been a while since they fought as a group.

"Yeah, where are you going?" Klaus also asked.

"Well, there's a group of Magical Beasts destroying some towns and villages. According to what I know, the leader of these beasts is at the Peak of the Sage Plane..." Reynolds explained the situation to them.

"Let's go then. I don't have anything to do in the meantime." Grey said.

Klaus nodded in agreement as well. He was just like Grey, a little different since he lied to come here, but he was free for now.

Reynolds didn't object to their proposal and readily agreed. He also wanted to spend some time with his friends.

....

Two weeks later.

"I thought you said only the leader was at the Peak?" Klaus complained as he was sent flying by a flying Magical Beast.

This was no ordinary Magical Beast, it was a Winged Tiger. These beasts were not only powerful, but they were extremely difficult to deal with. That was not all, it was at the Peak of the Sixth Rank.

Klaus was only in the Eighth stage of the Sage Plane. How could he fight against a Magical Beast at the Peak of the Sixth Rank?

He was not the only one in a tough situation, even Reynolds was in a bad position as well. His expression didn't look too good.

'When I get back, I'll speak with the Elders. How can the information be so unreliable?!' He complained internally.

Luckily, he met up with Grey and Klaus, if not, he would've been in danger once he was crowded by these Magical Beasts.

He was fighting against two Rank Six Magical Beasts, one at the Peak, and another in the Ninth stage. Fighting against one at the Peak was already his limit, yet he had to fight against another one in the Ninth stage as well.

He was cursing whoever placed the mission there in the first place. Originally, he wanted to test out the strength of his Elemental Warrior, now, he was fighting for his life.

Grey was the one who was relatively more relaxed, although he was surrounded by two Peak Sixth Rank Magical Beasts and others who were also in the Late stages. He didn't lose out, but he couldn't gain the advantage in a short time.

One has to know that in terms of strength, a Peak Sixth Rank Magical Beast was stronger than its human counterpart in the same stage. If not for Grey's strength, he would've already died.

"Stop complaining and fight. Aren't you the one who said you haven't tested your strength yet, well, here's your chance." Grey said calmly.

"I didn't mean it against these guys. A Ninth stage Sixth Rank Magical Beast wouldn't be too bad." Klaus replied, he soon thought of something and said, "Why don't I bring this guy to you and handle one of those in the Late stages?"

"Dream on, I can still deal with two, three would be too much." Grey replied.

"Why are you holding back, do you want to see us dead?" Klaus couldn't help but complain.

They all knew how terrifying Grey was when fighting against multiple opponents, however, Grey was fighting against the Magical Beasts with his bare hands, not even using any elemental skill. This was the reason he was still entangled with them.

"What do you know?" Grey snorted, "I don't want to expose myself. What if someone's watching from the side?"

"You know there's no one... F*ck! I'll beat..." Klaus paused mid-sentence to curse when the Winged Tiger almost bit his head off.

He was scared silly. Even after fighting for so long, he was scared of death. It can't be helped, he didn't want to die this young.

"Stop complaining and fight, it's not like you're not able to hold on for long, you're just being lazy." Grey laughed when he saw Klaus' plight.

The Winged Tiger seemed to be stronger than the other two Peak Sixth Rank Magical Beasts he was fighting against, this made life difficult for Klaus.

Reynolds didn't even have the time to talk, focusing on the battle in front of him. He couldn't be careless like Klaus who was fighting against a single opponent.

Klaus felt like beating Reynolds up.