Affinity:Chaos

The man was taken aback by Grey's words, but as he felt the strength leave his body as he was getting corroded by the miasma, he knew escaping was out of the picture.

"Please… help me."

The man had crumbled completely. His chances of survival were currently in Grey's hands, and he hated it, but he didn't want to die, not now that he just got to the Sovereign Plane. Everything is supposed to go well after he got to the Sovereign Plane, he would be open to greater chances to grow and become a significant person in the world, but he was on the verge of being killed by a young kid who hadn't even gotten to the Sovereign Plane.

Regret filled his mind, but the emotion in his mind that was more than regret was the will to live. He didn't want to die. This was the start of his journey, so why would he give up now and die?

At the moment, he was willing to do whatever Grey wanted, as long as he was able to live on, even as a slave to Grey, he didn't care, as long as he wasn't killed by Grey.

"You see, I wouldn't mind having someone in the Sovereign Plane to be my servant. But you're not needed. I have people who will get to the Sovereign Plane in a few weeks or months, and they're much more useful than you are." Grey didn't feel moved with the man's begging.

He could also tell the man was on the verge of death, but he didn't care. This was someone who hunted him down, and if not for his strength, he would've been captured by this guy. It was unknown if he would've met a cruel fate under the man or not. Since he had the advantage, he didn't mind killing the man.

The man was about to beg, but his eyes soon turned listless.

The man was in his weakest state mentally, and Grey used his icy flame mental attack on him. The man couldn't defend it and his consciousness was frozen instantly.

Grey destroyed the body with an emotionless expression, he looked in a certain direction and vanished. He didn't want to stay here for too long.

…..

Some kilometers away.

Conor was still in his hiding spot. He noticed the impacts of the battle had reduced, but he didn't dare to come out. He didn't know what the outcome of the battle was. If Grey was defeated or if he fled the area, he would be the one in danger.

He didn't know if Grey was able to kill those people, all he did was attack and escape under the cover of the talisman's explosion.

He was still hiding when Grey appeared before him.

"They're dead, we should get going." Grey said when he arrived.

"Didn't you break through to the Sovereign Plane?" Conor raised a brow.

Grey saying those people were dead meant that he was the one who broke through and killed them with his new strength.

Hearing Conor's question, an awkward smile appeared on Grey's face as he scratched the back of his head, "Well, I wasn't the one. I only got to the Pseudo-sovereign stage."

"Huh?" Conor found Grey's response unbelievable.

Grey was a genius well-known across the entire Continent. There was no way anyone would believe he failed to break through to the Sovereign Plane and only stopped at the Pseudo-sovereign stage. Someone of Grey's caliber shouldn't have any problems with getting to the Sovereign Plane from the Peak of the Venerable Plane.

"It's nothing. We should head back, father should have returned by now." Grey changed the topic.

To be honest, he was a little ashamed of what happened. But there's nothing he could do. He never thought that the essence he needed to break through was more than what just one phenomenon could produce.

One thing he noticed was that his physical body experienced a massive change. In fact, his body was the main thing that absorbed most of the essence, his core wasn't able to absorb enough of it, which caused his failure to break through.

Only after his body seemed to have gotten enough did his core start to absorb more. The impact of his punch on the man's body was more than what he expected. This showed that even he underestimated the strength of his physical body. His explosiveness was also on another level as well.

After the failed breakthrough, he was still fighting so he didn't have the chance to think about the process. But now that he was no longer fighting, he placed his mind on it.

Apparently, his body is a vessel that needs to be filled up. Only after it was filled did it allow his core to absorb some of the essence. But there was a difference with the essence entering his body. It was in a completely fused state. Meaning, all elemental essence was fused before it was absorbed by his body. He didn't know how it happened, but that was how it was.

His core continued absorbing the normal way, while his body absorbed the fused form.

Thinking about it, he didn't think something like this was supposed to happen. Unfortunately, there was no one he could question about what was happening, all he could do was learn on his own. As much as he liked the fact that he is able to use all elements and increase their grades, he found it frustrating that he has to go through all these things on his own.

Grey didn't let this affect his mood, he followed Conor with a bright expression. The Pseudo-sovereign stage was an upgrade, and he already noticed he could fight against a First stage Sovereign which meant he didn't have to worry about being in danger when faced with such opponents.

Grey didn't expect to achieve such a status in such a short time. But he was proud of himself and the fact that he never gave up on himself, no matter the situation.