Affinity:Chaos

Pyrmond Faction.

Grey and the others returned a few hours later.

The Faction had already been informed of the result of the battle, so most of the members who were in the Faction were waiting outside for them to return.

When the spatial tunnel opened up and the figures of Grey and the Elders appeared, the youths in the crowd cheered loudly. They've known of how the Faction has lost each of the previous competitions in a row. In fact, it was almost common knowledge that they would always lose whenever they fought against the Syphilis Faction in this particular competition. The reason for it was because of the special technique they used in increasing their strength. Unlike the Pyrmond Faction, the members of the Syphilis Faction seemingly weren't scared of ruining their cores, which was a shocking thing.

The group was welcomed by all the youths, some Elders were also present, and they were all smiles since this was something they had been waiting for a long time.

Grey and Alec were the main stars of the show, with Grey being the main person who took all the spotlight. Most of the youths tried to speak with the Grey, but since he wasn't that social, he spoke with them a little before heading over to meet Keith.

He didn't stay long before he was summoned by the Faction Leader.

The entire group, as well as the Elders who went for the competition, went along as well. The Elders led the group to the largest mountain in the Faction, and they entered the Faction's Hall where the Faction Leader was waiting for them.

This was different from the first time Grey met the Faction Leader, at that time, they didn't meet in the Faction's Hall, rather, they were taken to a secret cave.

Grey looked at the man sitting on the middle seat in the Hall. Just like the first time, he wasn't emitting any aura, but Grey could sense an incredible aura around him.

"Well done." The man said in a calm voice, but everyone could see the joy on his face.

He looked at all the participants in the competition, without giving any of them any special attention.

The youths, as well as the Elders, greeted him before taking a seat.

"I'm proud of you all for not only participating in this competition but also bringing victory to the Faction. As promised, everyone will be rewarded with two thousand points, as well as the right to train in the secret realm. As you all know, the limit for this particular realm is the Sage Plane, this is why it's so valuable to us…" The man continued after everyone sat down.

Those in the Sage Plane could enter this realm, unlike most realms that don't accept people over the Overlord Plane.

He didn't speak about Grey or Alec's performance, instead, he praised everyone who participated in the competition. The other members were elated when they heard the rewards they would be getting. They all knew they didn't do anything, although they tried their best, they were defeated nonetheless, leaving only two people to fight against eight people. If not for Grey and Alec's abilities, the story would've been the same as the previous competitions.

After speaking with them, he told them to leave and accept their rewards. There would be a ceremony later that day to celebrate the victory of the group.

Also, a few people would be chosen to go into the secret realm as well. Grey had zero interest in the ceremony, all he wanted to do right now was to use his points and improve his knowledge.

When Grey was leaving, he received a secret message to stay behind from the Faction Leader. He already expected this in the first place, so he didn't rush out.

"Grey Dawson." The man called his full name.

"Yes, Faction Leader." Grey looked up to stare into the eyes of the man.

"Can I trust you?" The man straightforwardly asked him.

Grey paused for some time, not expecting a question like this. After some time, "You can."

The Faction Leader looked at Grey for some time before nodding, "You can leave. Also, for your good work, you can bring anyone you want with you to the secret realm."

Grey thanked the Faction Leader before leaving. He originally thought the Faction Leader would want to speak about other things, but after asking if he could trust him, he didn't say anything thing other than giving him extra rewards.

Going back to his place, he went over to Keith's place. By the time he left the Faction's Hall, the tales of Grey's performance has already started to spread across the Faction.

Grey already knew something like this would happen from the start, so he tried to hide from people while going back. It was very easy for people to recognize him, the reason for this was simple, there was no one as handsome as he was in the entire Faction.

He was very famous even before this event, now that the stories of his phenomenal performance started to spread, his fame in the Faction spread even more, especially among the ladies.

With a mask and a cloak, he was able to get to his place without much disturbance. He was only stopped when he first left the Faction's Hall, this was how he knew about what was happening in the Faction.

Keith's place.

"You're very famous now." Keith said with a chuckle when he saw Grey coming into his place.

He knew Grey was not social, so he found his present situation a little funny.

"I really wished it wasn't like this." Grey said with a wry smile as he kept his mask and cloak.

"You're powerful, what did you expect? It's just like that Alec guy, he's also very famous, even though he rarely stays in the Faction." Keith replied.

They continued speaking for some time before Grey asked him a question that stunned him.

"Would you like to enter the secret realm to train?" Grey asked.

"I can't afford to go." Keith replied with a shake of his head.

This wasn't the only secret realm the Pyrmond Faction owned. To enter the secret realm, either they won a competition that would be held, or they used their points for it.

To enter a secret realm cost a whooping eight hundred points. Although it was very difficult to accumulate such a large amount of points, as long as one wanted to enter, they would have to go out more for points.

The Faction made everything all about points for a single reason, if the members don't go out for missions, there was no way they would grow stronger.

Since they would always need points for things, they had to head out for missions, and these missions were things that would make them grow stronger. Of course, there have been a few members who had died on these missions, but it mainly has to do with their judgments. The level of every mission was stated there, so they all knew what to expect when going out for a particular mission. If any of them overestimated their abilities, then they didn't deserve to be geniuses.