Affinity:Chaos

'They didn't even try to confirm if I was the one.' Grey wore a somewhat odd expression on his face as he followed the guard inside.

The guard looked at him and smiled, it was as if he could tell what Grey was thinking as he mumbled, "The Lady told us at the time that you should be around the First stage of the Sage Plane or so when you come looking for her, and if anyone below the Sage Plane showed up with the same name, we should not allow them in."

"Oh, so it's like that." Grey nodded in understanding.

However, he didn't think that Sylvia would have so much confidence in him. When they separated, it was just barely around two years, Grey was only at the Peak of the Origin Plane at that time. The fact that Sylvia believed that he would break through to the Sage Plane in the short space of two years was quite stunning.

She might be a brute in some way, but her judgment was absolutely spot on.

"Did she say anything else?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, you're not allowed to cause trouble." The guard replied with a smile.

"Huh?" Grey was a little surprised, he wasn't the type that caused trouble wherever he went.

Seeing Grey's expression, the guard clarified with a smile, "I'm talking to the cat."

Only now did Grey recall that Sylvia was familiar with Void. She even dropped this warning because from the small time she spent with Void, she knew he was a troublemaker.

Void snorted coldly, while Grey chuckled when he saw this. Sylvia knew them, and it was quite rare that she was able to know their personalities from the short time they spent together.

Grey and Void followed the guard and were led to their quarters. On getting there, Grey saw that there were other youths there as well.

Seeing Grey's gaze, the guard explained, "They are just like you, geniuses recruited by the Family for the battle. There would be a small screening and only five of you can make it to the competition."

The guard looked at Grey with an apologetic expression as he explained. Although Grey was stronger than Sylvia said, he was still a little too weak compared to the others. Of all the people present, he was the only one in the Middle stages of the Sage Plane.

Including Grey, there were ten youths in total. And the rest were either at the Peak of the Sage Plane or were in the Late stages.

Just as Grey was studying the others, they were doing the same to him as well. When they sensed that he was in the Middle stages of the Sage Plane, they lost interest in him. Each one of them was a young genius who took pride in their ability, seeing that someone like Grey who was in such a low stage appeared and would actually compete for a place with them, they were dissatisfied.

"I'm sorry." The guard apologized to Grey when he saw how the others treated Grey before taking him to his room.

Grey nodded, this wasn't the first time he was being looked down on, so he wasn't annoyed by it.

After getting to his room, he once again started his research on arrays. Due to this, he hadn't been able to focus on increasing his cultivation stage. Even though it wouldn't add much to his strength since the Fusion State could easily take him to the Peak, he still wanted to break through and become an Elemental Venerable as soon as he possibly could.

There was still around a month before the competition. He would use this time to try and see if he could increase his cultivation stage to the Fifth stage of the Sage Plane.

The essence here was more than double what it was outside, so his cultivation would naturally be faster here.

The guard left, promising Grey he would notify him the moment Sylvia returned. Grey thanked him for his help before shutting himself inside.

He didn't want to associate with these geniuses now, they had the capital to look down on him since his cultivation stage was at least two stages lower than the others. Although strength was the most important, without a good cultivation stage, he would still fall behind others.

…

Two weeks after Grey's arrival, Sylvia returned.

When she heard of Grey's arrival, she rushed there the moment she arrived.

Standing outside Grey's door, she was about to knock when she sensed something.

'Oh, still breaking through? Such a freak.' She shook her head as she decided to leave Grey alone.

Grey wasn't breaking through at the moment, but he was already very close. If she were to disturb him now, it might distract him, which wasn't good.

Before the other geniuses could step out to welcome Sylvia, she was gone. It was almost as if she never arrived. If not for the fact that they sensed her aura, they would've thought she was never there.

They all turned to look in one direction simultaneously, Grey's door.

Since Grey came to this place, the door hadn't opened, not even once. Even today when Sylvia came to personally see him, he still didn't come out.

"Who does he think he is?" One of the youths snorted coldly before going back into his room. He couldn't be bothered with the others.

Sylvia wasn't the only one who went out to pick geniuses, others from the Family also did the same. However, she was the one who found the most, three, including Grey. Those who weren't brought over by her didn't have as much respect as those who she brought over had for her.

They all went back, waiting for the day of their selection round. Since they would have to compete against each other, they were all trying their best to see who would be able to make any last-minute breakthroughs, and who was stronger.

…

Three days before the competition, it was time for the group of ten to compete against each other. The others were already out, but one figure was missing, Grey.