Affinity:Chaos

"Surprised?" Reynolds asked with a smirk when he got back to his seat. 

"A little." Grey replied. 

"What do you mean a little? He literally just merged with his Elemental Warrior, how could you not be mega surprised?" Klaus questioned. 

The shocked expression when he found out Reynolds merged with the Elemental Warrior was out of this world. He was so happy for him that people would think he was the one who made such advancement. 

"You're something else." Kyle complimented as he looked at Reynolds. 

If Reynolds used this to fight against him, he wasn't confident he would be able to win. 

When they fought at the competition the last time, he only gave up because he was getting frustrated by Reynolds' tactics, and wasting so much time because of a number one spot wasn't worth it. He was a carefree person who didn't really care about all these things. 

"Thanks." Reynolds grinned before taking his seat. 

This time, even more people flocked to their area. Reynolds' performance was outstanding, so he naturally made a lot of fans. There were a few ladies who wouldn't mind getting married to him right there and then. 

Klaus acted like his manager, dealing with everything. In no time, he had arranged a party in one of the Inns in the city. 

Kyle was once again astounded by Klaus' socializing ability. He was on another level. 

While he was speaking, a young man walked forward. He was dressed luxuriously in ash and blue, and the air of a rich family was circulating around him. He was accompanied by a few others. 

"Hello, I'm Joyner Crane." The young man introduced himself. 

"I'm Klaus, this is Reynolds, Alice, Grey, and Kyle." Klaus was the one who stepped forward and spoke. 

He hit it off with that young man and before long, the party was moved from an Inn to the garden at the Mayor's manor. 

Surprise, Joyner was the son of the Mayor of this city. It wasn't unexpected that he came over to create ties with this group of geniuses. 

If he was having second thoughts before, Reynolds' last performance had shattered it. 

Joyner introduced the people following him, and they were all from one of the big families in the city. Although most of the families were fighting hidden battles, in places like this, they had to show a unified front. 

Grey and the group were moved over to a special sitting area, closer to the big families geniuses as well as the Factions as well. 

When they got there, the young man from the Raiden Faction Reynolds fought against, as well as the one who came over to invite him approached them. The person from the Asterope Faction also came over. 

Their sitting area was surprisingly the star of the place, and Klaus didn't let the chance go. A few of the ladies from the Moonlight Faction came over and he tried befriending them. 

Being a handsome young man, as well as having a friendly and vibrant personality, he made friends with two of them in a jiffy. 

This was one of the few times Grey had been in a situation like this. As much as he wanted to escape, he knew he couldn't. Luckily, he had been traveling with Klaus for some time, so he was able to speak with the people who came over. 

The battle for that day ended and the top twenty-five were picked. Now, it was time for the difficult situation. With twenty-five people present, they could only have twelve battles, making it twenty-four fighters, which would leave one person without an opponent. 

Even after they get this, there would be around twelve or thirteen people, meaning three would have to be eliminated for the top ten to be decided. 

Lots were drawn, and contrary to everyone's assumption, the hosts did something different. Instead of having someone not fight and automatically advance, one of the battles will have three participants and only one would qualify. 

This would leave twelve participants left on for the competition. The last three winners from the battles except for the three-way battle will fight against each other, and only one will advance to the next round. This means there's currently a time for all the fighters, if your battle takes too long, you stand a chance of being part of the three. 

This might seem unfair for some, but not everyone could make it into the top ten. Only the very best can get to the top ten. 

Most of the participants prayed that either Alice or Reynolds got to fight in the first three-way battle. The reason for this was that only the duo could fight against two people simultaneously easily. 

Alice had her Seelie while Reynolds had his Elemental Warrior. This made the duo almost two. 

There were a few people who were actually praying that both of them were part of the three-way battle so that one of them would be eliminated, or hopefully both of them. 

When they drew lots, Alice and Reynolds were not part of the three-way battle to the dismay of some people. Their opponents were powerful, but not on the level where they could trouble them. 

As things stand, it was already certain that Reynolds and Alice would be able to occupy two spots in the top ten. 

Those who wanted to join a particular Faction felt frustrated. It was normal, the reason for this was that both Alice and Reynolds already got into the Faction they wanted. Taking two spots in the top ten would be meaningless to them. But since they wanted to participate in the competition, there was nothing they could do. 

A young lady who was one of the favorites was the one who unfortunately got into the three-way battle. Being one of the favorites meant that her opponents would most likely team up to take her out of the platform, giving themselves a chance. 

The young lady felt hatred as she looked at Alice and Reynolds after they finished drawing lots. She couldn't hide her anger. 

The others kept their distance, since they weren't the unfortunate ones, it had nothing to do with them.