Affinity:Chaos

Grey didn't say anything to Klaus since he knew he was right. Of course, he wouldn't agree to Klaus saying he was the smartest, he'd rather he continued believing so.

For someone who makes enemies all over the place, how could someone like that be the smartest person in the group.

"What do you think this challenge is about?" Klaus asked.

"Most likely crossing the lava." Alice pointed at the group of seven as they made their way across the lava.

"They can't be serious…" Klaus had a skeptical look on his face.

"We'll never know until we get to the other side." Grey said.

He didn't waste any time and teleported to the other side with his group.

When he arrived, he was met with an attack.

The group's senses were sharp, and they reacted accordingly. The attack that shot out of the lava burned out their defenses, but they were still able to dodge it. The defenses they set up were able to slow down the attack speed of the lava.

"Damn, these things are hot!" Klaus commented and shut all the holes in his snow protection shield.

He wasn't the only one, Reynolds, Alice, and even Grey set up protection against the heat from the lava. Apparently, this heat was not beneficial to them in any way. The only thing to do was to make sure it didn't touch them.

"What the hell is this? Are they planning to kill us for some sacrifice or something?" Reynolds exclaimed.

The group of seven looked at them and the young lady explained, "You were attacked because you chose the shortcut. If you had gone across the lava like us, you would've had time to adjust to the sudden increase in heat."

"Oh, I see. Well, we're already here, there's no point going back." Grey shrugged, he looked around and asked, "Is this the challenge? If it is, I'll be a little disappointed."

The young lady shook her head, "This is only one part of the challenge. The next part is on the other side. Walk a little further and you'll see."

The young lady was from the Phoenix Faction, and her status might be high given her talent. It was normal for her to know a thing or two about this place. Grey had zero apprehension about her words since he knew it was most likely true.

The group weren't attacked again as they advanced forward. Just like the young lady said, as they walked forward by a few meters, they saw what they would be fighting. Well, it was more like individual battles.

"Is that thing alive?" Klaus moved closer to Grey and asked.

"Nope. It's just like that man. But it does have features of a living being." Grey explained.

He had the light element and had a close connection with life. He could sense if a being had any form of life essence in them or not. Seeing the creature before them, he knew there was no form of life in it, even though it looked like it was alive.

"That's scary, how do they do it? I wouldn't mind tricking a few people." Klaus asked.

"I'll find out after cracking the array the Firelord placed here." Grey replied.

"You better get the hang of it, I wanna scare the living daylight out of my Faction members." Klaus gave an evil grin.

The others knew he was planning something evil for his Faction members. It was a smile they were all too familiar with.

"Don't do anything stupid, dumb head." Reynolds said.

Klaus didn't care about what they were saying, "Oh, can we take this thing with us?"

The young lady who was still crossing the lava with her group heard his words and almost lost focus, tripping and almost falling in the lava.

"Don't you dare think about anything!" The young lady lost her composure for the first time since Grey's group encountered her. She has always been very calm and composed, but Klaus' words threw her off her feet. Not just his words, but she got to find out the reason Grey entered this place.

She recalled Grey and his friends didn't show any interest in coming in, but she suddenly saw them inside. Who would've thought their intentions was to steal the formation of the Firelord?

She panicked, but then given her status, she knew a thing or two about the array formation and calmed down.

'There's no way he would be able to get it.' She calmed herself.

However, there's a good chance Grey and his friends might be able to steal the creature that was there. She had heard about it and knew that it was a sacred beast.

Klaus heard her scream and chuckled awkwardly, "I was only joking."

The creature before them was none other than a Phoenix. The legendary Magical Beast that is said to be extinct. They've seen drawings of it and its distinct features were not something they could mistake for something else.

"To think we'd see a Phoenix here." Reynolds remarked.

"A dead Phoenix kept in good shape by a powerful being." Klaus corrected his statement.

"It doesn't change the fact that it's still a Phoenix." Alice said.

"Since it's a Fire Phoenix, I'm not too interested in it. If it had been an Ice Phoenix, then, I would've shown interest." Klaus wasn't too impressed with the Phoenix.

The others shook their heads. They all knew how Klaus was like and couldn't be bothered with him.

"This is most likely the last level. I'll be able to see the array formation after this." Grey said to Klaus, his intention was clear, be focused.

"I know, I know." Klaus waved his hand at him, "I also have use for such a magnificent formation."

"It'll cost you." Grey said.

"Don't worry, my Faction has a lot in our reserves. The Faction Leader will only be upset for a few days. She can't stay mad at me for too long. At most she'll keep me inside for a year or two." Klaus didn't seem bothered with Grey's words.

He knew Grey wasn't speaking about payment, rather, resources to keep such a formation active.

Klaus' intention was for Grey to set up a formation like this in his Faction. He knew Grey wasn't as powerful as the Firelord, but a small scale formation would be enough to groom a few talents.

Of course, it all depends on if it will be worth it or not.

If it is worth it, the Faction Leader wouldn't punish him for too long. If it is not, then he was toast.

Grey didn't speak any further. They had to focus on what was at hand. Dealing with the Phoenix before them.

"How powerful do you think it is?" Reynolds asked.

"Not above our capabilities. I don't know if we have to fight it together or individually." Grey wasn't worried about the Phoenix.

He had sensed its strength and knew it was within their ability. The only thing that has him confused is that he didn't know if all of them would fight it simultaneously or individually.

He soon got his answer when the Phoenix started to separate. It soon turned into five.

"Oh, Void, looks like it sensed you too. You can't avoid this." Grey chuckled.

Void came out, looked at the Phoenix, "Stupid bird."

After that statement he vanished, along with one of the Phoenixes.

Of the five Phoenixes, three were at the Peak. It was evident that it was for the trio at the Peak.

"Let's deal with ours and leave." Grey said to the others. He didn't know where Void disappeared to, but he knew he was safe.

….

Outside the volcano.

The middle-aged man was stunned when he saw how Grey crossed the lava. He directly disappeared to the other side. What was worse was that they managed to block the attacks. Each of these attacks was a grade seven powerhouse attack, yet they managed to survive it.

He was left astonished by the groups strength.

"How are they all so powerful?" Another Elder asked.

"I have no idea, but it's safe to say they're all grade nine geniuses." Another Elder said.

They already had this thought in mind, but now that they saw them in action, they confirmed their guesses.

Grey, Klaus, and Reynolds were the ones who drew the most attention. But from the looks of it, Alice was also on the same level as them.

"Why did five Phoenixes appear and one of them disappeared all of a sudden?" An Elder noticed the anomaly.

Void was too small, so when he appeared, they didn't know he appeared. He disappeared with one of the Phoenixes, due to how fast everything happened, some of the Elder felt there was an error.

"The formation has never made a mistake before." The middle-aged man said.

"Could it be that there are five of them?" An Elder asked.

"A Magical Beast hidden perhaps?"

"Most likely."

"How come it hasn't been sensed since?"