Affinity:Chaos

The duo spent a total of three days in the secret realm before stepping out. When they came out, there wasn't any difference from when they entered the place.

The Elder from the Burchard Family guarding the portal expected to hear stories of Grey's exploits in the secret realm once again, but when he was greeted with people casually stepping out without any breathtaking stories, he was astounded. It was common knowledge that whenever Grey steps foot in the secret realm, he causes chaos in the camp of the Gnomes, sending them into retreat.

As a matter of fact, the geniuses who entered during the time Grey came the last time grew the most. They had the opportunity to explore the place and search for more treasures thanks to the fact that the Gnomes were nowhere to be seen.

Humans and Giants don't have any conflicts and they rarely encounter each other, much less fight for treasures unlike the Gnomes who actively seek out humans. The Gnomes need humans to turn into corpse puppets, so they naturally search for them even when the humans are hiding.

The Burchard Family.

Sylvia was sitting in her courtyard, drinking some tea while lost in thoughts. Her serene appearance was a contrast to her feisty nature. The flowers in the courtyard made the atmosphere exceptionally calm as she looked into the sky.

"I never thought I would see you in such a manner." Grey's voice brought her back from her train of thoughts.

Sylvia turned to look at him with a dazzling smile, "You returned earlier than I expected."

"Yes, I've accomplished what took me there." Grey nodded and took a seat.

"Your friends went out to explore the City, they will be back shortly. Why don't we reminisce about the old times?" Sylvia offered Grey a cup of tea.

Grey didn't shy away and took the cup, taking a gulp down, "As much as I didn't like how you oppressed me, I must say your aggressive method was quite effective."

"It's not aggression, you're just not wanting to grow and I had the feeling I needed you." Sylvia chuckled and added, "In the end, I indeed needed you. You helped us defeat them, which was out of my expectations at the time. After all, you were only a weak Origin Plane Elementalist at the time."

"Thinking about it now, I wonder what came over me to believe someone like you would be able to help us in such a battle." Sylvia shook her head.

Grey didn't know the answer to this as well, it was a battle on a stage that he couldn't dare to think of at that time, yet he still managed to not only attend, but even defeat the top people there. It was an interesting experience.

The duo continued talking and before they knew it, a few hours had gone by. They spoke about their travels and how Sylvia forcefully made Grey fight battle after battle at that time.

"My friends are back. We better get going, a war we can't escape is coming, and I don't want to be a burden to my parents." Grey stood up, before walking in the direction of the exit.

"What did you do in the secret realm?" Sylvia asked, making Grey stop in his tracks.

"Let's say I found a way to sneak into the Gnome world." Grey grinned as he replied, "Don't divulge this information, the entire Gnome world wants me dead. It's best if they don't expect me."

Sylvia dumbfoundedly stared at Grey, unable to utter a word, she watched as Grey's back view disappeared from her courtyard. She couldn't believe what she just heard. Grey, a known fugitive of the Gnome world, wanted to sneak into the Gnome world.

'I think the repeated battles have messed up with his head.'

This was the only thought in Sylvia's head, she couldn't even stand up, much less think of how to divulge such information. Even if she was being beaten, if she said something like this, the people would think she's crazy and might angrily kill her. Only a crazy fellow would dare to make such statements.

"He truly is something else." She gave a self-deprecating laugh as she continued drinking her tea.

….

Grey and his friends left the Burchard manor immediately.

When the others saw Grey, they didn't ask any questions and decided to continue their journey.

On the way, they heard something that made their blood boil. Grey wanted to sneak into the Gnome world, and he wanted them to come with him.

This was heaven-shaking news. If they entered the Gnome world and caused havoc there, they would be able to slow down the process with which the Gnomes would want to invade their world. Of course, there's also the possibility of them increasing the speed. All in all, it was a risk worth taking. Grey and his friends were a group of psychopaths, and it's natural that none of them even had the slightest hesitation towards this, rather, they were all riled up.

Among the group, Robert was the only one who was thinking properly, and he was praying deep down that when the day comes, Grey wouldn't need him to accompany him. Actually, one of the reasons he willingly taught Grey the mind control technique was due to this fear. Yes, Grey wanted to enter the Gnome world, but what about him? Did Grey think he would actually follow him there?

If he was in control of the Seventh Prince, there's a chance he would have no choice, but when he's not in control, he doesn't have to worry about anything.

'You can go there and get captured, I'm not going there with you!' This was the only thing in Robert's head.

The group of friends discussed what they would potentially do in the Gnome world while Robert watched the lunatics as they ventured deep into the Middle Continent, on their way to the Western Continent.

This set of lunatics were on a mission to save their Continent, but before that, they wanted to cross a massive bridge first, becoming Sovereigns.