Affinity:Chaos

"Hey, find a place to hide once the struggle starts," Grey whispered to Reynolds.

Reynolds nodded. He knew his strength all too well, getting involved in the struggle would undoubtedly distract Grey.

Grey nodded when he saw how quickly Reynolds agreed to his suggestion.

All three groups waited at the forest, none stepping a foot into the barren land. But it didn't take long before greed pushed someone to take the first step.

A man from one of the other groups dashed into the barren land, attacking the magical beast in front of him.

With one person charging forward, the others started jumping in as well. They couldn't take the risk of watching on. What if the guy manages to succeed and acquire the lightning tree, then what.

Grey stood at the edge of the forest, watching people charge into the barren land. Reynolds and the couple were standing beside him.

Most of the people from their group had also charged forward.

The couple stayed for a minute before joining in as well. They weren't the only ones who couldn't hold back anymore, even the triplet, and the leader of the expedition joined in as well.

There were different types of magical beasts at the hill, but they all had the same element, the lightning element.

"Hey, bud, should I hide now?" Reynolds asked.

"Not yet, things just started. Do you think these are the only beasts here?" Grey replied softly.

"Hmm, okay," Reynolds answered.

"What do you think about the couple?" Grey asked curiously.

"Them, well, they're good people. I don't really know much about them, but they've been good to us throughout the journey," answered Reynolds.

"Okay. But are you willing to share the tree with them?" Grey asked.

Reynolds fell into thoughts for a few seconds, "I can't say for now, I'll know what to do after acquiring it,"

"Okay." Grey nodded.

Grey and Reynolds stood at the end of the forest, watching the people who were fighting. Grey suddenly sensed someone walking towards him, he tilted his head to the right, only to see the young man from the inn walking in his direction.

"So, what's your decision?" The young man asked after getting within ten meters of them.

"I'm not interested," Grey replied in a straightforward manner.

"Hmm, working together would make things easier, don't you think?" The young man asked again.

"I prefer working alone," Grey turned his attention to the people who were fighting against the beasts.

Within the short time of three minutes, over twenty beasts have been killed. A few people had died as well due to the numbers of the beast, but they were all those in the Mid stages of the Origin Plane.

The young man squinted his eyes, looking at Grey.

"Why did you come to me?" Grey asked when he sensed the young man's gaze.

"There's something different about you. You ooze a sense of confidence even with so many people challenging for the treasure," The young man said.

"If I remember correctly, you were the one who found this place, right?" Grey asked.

"Well, not exactly. I overheard some mercenaries speaking about it in the forest, so I questioned them. They are among the people who came with me today," The young man explained.

"But you decided to spread the information instead of keeping it, why?" Grey asked, darting a glance in his direction.

"Okay, the truth is…" The young man paused and looked around, trying to make sure no one was close to them.

He gave Reynolds a look.

"He's with me," Grey said.

"I don't want the tree, what I want is below the tree," The young man said.

Grey raised a brow in suspicion, "Below the tree?"

"Yes, that's all I can tell you. You can keep the tree, but there's something below it that I want. Without eliminating these beasts, or at least most of them, there's no way to obtain it," The young man said.

"Hmm, how precious is it?" Grey asked.

"More than the lightning tree," The young man said.

"Heh! How are you so sure I wouldn't steal it?" Grey asked with a playful laugh.

"Because I'm the only one who can use it," The young man stretched out his hand, and red lightning danced around it.

"Oh! I see," Grey exclaimed softly, giving the young man another glance.

'No wonder he needed these people to kill the beasts here,' Grey thought in enlightenment.

Although he wasn't too sure of the young man's plan, he could already get the catch of it.

He had read about red lightning in an ancient book at the Academy. It was among the strongest types of lightning, but unfortunately, it came with a major drawback. It needed something like a sacrifice.

It's strengthened by a mixture of blood and lightning. If a Lightning Elementalists who possesses the red lightning wants to strengthen it, they would need to go to a place that is filled with lightning essence, and this essence must be mixed with blood.

It's somewhat of a gruesome thing to do, but there are few people who possess this rare red lightning, and there are fewer places filled with lightning essence in the Azure continent.

"What about the lightning tree?" Grey asked.

"It'll be fine," The young man replied.

"All I need is for you to take the orb you'll see after pulling out the lightning tree," He continued.

"And what happens if you were to reach it before I do?" Grey asked.

He doesn't see anything that's beneficial in this. If he were to pull out the lightning tree, he would naturally take whatever he sees below it.

"The probability isn't too high. The people I sent there are to ensure that no one reaches there before I do, but I can't be too certain if they can stop others." The young man said.

"That doesn't answer my question," Grey said.

"Fine, what do you want?" The young man asked.

"Something to show your sincerity," Grey said.

"Fine, take this." The young man threw a necklace at him, the pendant had a faint bluish glow.

"Just looking at that already shows you it's very valuable. If I get to the tree first, you can keep that. But if you do, you…"

"Can keep it as well. This is like a payment for my services," Grey cut him short while pretending to hide the necklace in his shirt.

"You… fine, but make sure you get it," The young man said.

"Of course," Grey smiled.

Reynolds looked at the face of Grey and noticed there was a notable change in his expression.

"Rey, I'll be making a move first," Grey said, taking the first step into the barren land.

As soon as his foot made contact with the ground, he shot straight to one of the magical beasts close to him.

The beast was a small lightning fox. Its size and speed made it extremely difficult to handle, but for Grey, it was easy to deal with.

Bam!

Grey kicked the fox which was moving swiftly through the air.

Bang!

The fox slammed into the ground, bleeding from all parts of its body. It shook a few times before it stopped moving altogether.

After killing the first beast, Grey charged at another beast, killing it with one clean strike again.

All the beasts he was killing were those with low stages.

'I hope this works,' Grey thought as he slaughtered his way closer to the hill.

The pendant the young man gave to him contained something he read about. It was something that helped with improving consciousness. When he first sensed it, he couldn't believe his eyes, it was only after holding it did he realize it was real.

When the young man came close to him, he had sensed it the first time, but the feeling was very faint. It was only after a few times did he confirm it. He didn't even think this was the first thing the young man would offer him when he asked for payment.

'Bud, looks like my luck is getting better,' Grey thought while dishing out another strike.

He wanted to kill as many beasts as he possibly could. The young man had already paid him anyway, and he would also collect the lightning tree for Reynolds, so it was a win-win all around.

Reynolds watched as Grey went from beast to beast, killing anyone he encountered. He looked at the young man who was smiling by the side.

"Let's hope you're not playing tricks on him, or else, you wouldn't like the side he shows you,"

After speaking, Reynolds slowly retreated from the area.

The young man looked at him but kept his mouth shut. He still had the same smile he previously had.

Grey and the others were fighting against the beasts, killing multiple beasts as they tried to get closer to the hill.

Unknown to most of them, the blood of the dead beasts were sinking into the ground, running straight to the hilltop.