Affinity:Chaos

As the trio headed in that direction, a few people couldn't help but look at them. Some people snorted, looking at them with disdain; they felt like the trio overestimated themselves.

Being looked at by so many people made Alice a bit uncomfortable, especially given how they stared at them as if they were looking at fools.

"You don't need to bother with them." Grey whispered to her as they got close to the throne.

They stood in front of it, and before they could even touch it, the throne reacted and actively sent out a gentle stream of force their way, it soon covered Grey and Void, and only after a short moment did it cover Alice as well. It was clear that Grey and Void triggered it. Alice, who was with them, was accessed by it before it surrounded her and took her with them.

It wasn't that Alice didn't meet the requirements, but Grey and Void exceeded it by far, so it was naturally triggered.

Being with the duo meant she would have to be accessed first before being sent through with them.

The strange situation made the others look at Grey and his friends with mouths wide agape. There were a few people who knew Grey, so when they saw the reaction of the throne, they were beyond shocked.

"Could it be that it doesn't access strength but potential?" Someone from the crowd asked.

Those rejected were older compared to those who entered. Age might not be the only factor the energy was accessing, but it should also be among the requirements.

The others fell deep into thoughts, and a few in the Sage Plane suddenly had the urge also to try. Since Alice could enter, then they could as well.

"Don't be rash. Do you think you're like them?" An Elemental Venerable chided when he saw someone from his Faction trying to go and try. He was the leader of his group, so he had the final say.

Everyone saw that, unlike the previous times, there was a different reaction when it got to Grey and his friends' turn. There must've been something that triggered this.

The Sage Plane Elementalist paused and looked at the throne, his eyes burning with passion. He felt he was on the same level as the trio who were accepted. Even a cat could enter. How could he be inferior to a dumb Magical Beast?

This was the question in his head.

Everyone saw the cat that entered with Grey; it was also accessed by the energy, if not, it would not have been able to enter.

…..

While those people were considering the requirements to enter with the large stone, Grey, Alice, and Void appeared in another space.

They arrived at a large compound, and looking around; they couldn't find anyone.

"Another space, I wonder what it holds. There should be rewards, I think." Grey said thoughtfully.

None of them knew anything about this place.

"Do you think those people from the Heavenly Fate Faction got to this place?" He suddenly asked.

There is a high chance that they did, but it was probably too dangerous, or the tasks were too complicated, so they needed more people to try and break through it.

"We'll only know when we explore this place." Alice said.

Grey was always overthinking things. In such a place, there was no need to overthink everything. As they advanced, they would naturally find out some things.

Grey shrugged, he was only curious.

The trio soon started to explore the place. Other than a garden, they didn't see anything else.

Void suddenly thought of something, and he brought out a small bunny. He had kept the bunny in his spatial storage under Grey's instructions, but seeing a garden, he recalled it.

The bunny looked at them with an annoyed expression. It couldn't believe they kept it in such a place for so long.

"Don't look at me that way, it was his idea." Void shifted the blame to Grey. He only followed Grey's instructions, so it had nothing to do with him.

Grey smiled sheepishly before looking away as if he didn't do anything. The bunny couldn't complain and only stared at the garden in front of it.

"Let's explore this place together." Grey suggested to the bunny.

The bunny didn't say anything and just hopped around. A few seconds later, it said to Grey.

'Something is guarding this place. It won't come out now, but it will come out later.'

Grey didn't sense anything. He relayed the message to Void and Alice, they sensed for a while but didn't find anything unusual.

"How did you know?" He asked the bunny.

'What do you take me for? I'm a top-tier expert, and I'm used to these things. You'll need to pass through a trail to break through this place. It should have something to do with this garden.' The bunny looked at Grey in disdain.

Grey didn't mind being looked down on by the bunny, it could say whatever it wanted. He told Void to keep the bunny the last time because it didn't want to fight, so there was no need to keep it there.

Grey tried to keep it in his storage ring but realized he couldn't. Void was surprisingly able to, so he left it to Void.

After some thought, he walked forward. There was nothing he could do. The compound was covered with a film, and he knew there was no way he could break through it. He didn't even bother to try.

When they got close to the garden, a projection appeared. Some sort of spiritual energy formed it.

The projection was that of an old man who looked harmless and friendly. The old man looked at Grey and Void before looking at the bunny leader. Alice was the last person it looked at, a little taken aback.

It seemed to have some sort of intelligence.

"To pass this stage, you must care for the plants."

With that, the projection vanished.