Affinity:Chaos

"Uh! What's this?" Grey took out a map from Quinn's bag.

Studying the map, he realized it was a map of the trial land, the part that they had explored, that is.

'How long did it take to make this map?' He rubbed his chin while carefully analyzing the map.

With the size of the map, coupled with the freshly drawn locations, it was easy for him to figure out they were the ones who made it. Looking closer, he realized the spot circled was where the valley was located.

'Seems like he was the one who found the door.' Grey guessed.

From how Quinn acted when the door just opened up, he felt there was at least a fifty percent chance they were the ones who found it.

There was also a chance he was wrong though, and Quinn wasn't the one who found the door, but he didn't care about it. He had already gotten some massive rewards thanks to whoever found the place.

After going through the map, he once again focused his attention on the bag. But at the end of his search, he was left disappointed by what it contained. Given Quinn's strength, he should have at least gotten some great stuff here. But other than the map, multiple two inches wooden objects with array lines all over it, and some tonic, he found nothing else. Not even spare clothes!

'What a disgrace. Well, I should head back.' Shaking his head, he turned to leave.

But he stopped midway his turn when something caught his eye. The object was under Quinn's body and only the edge was slightly visible.

"Oh!" He exclaimed softly.

Filled with curiosity, he walked towards the body and moved it to the side. Picking the object, he was surprised that it was actually a darkness element technique.

Without further delay, he read the content of the scroll. This was unexpectedly the technique Quinn used previously. Although Grey was stunned by its power, he didn't like it.

The technique was like a double-edged sword that not only hurts the one being attacked but also hurts the one attacking. The price of using this technique was something Grey felt was too excessive. Using the technique not only drains one of his essences, but it also takes a little bit of the user's lifespan.

But this mainly depends on how much the Elementalist allows it to. If the Elementalist wants a stronger attack, the price they need to pay would be higher. It's even stated that an Elementalist can sacrifice his entire life to use a one-time catastrophic attack.

If the Elementalist is at the Overlord Plane, then the attack from sacrificing his entire lifespan can easily destroy one of the four empires. It truly was a deadly technique. Unfortunately, it's not something Grey would ever wish to use.

'No wonder he looked so dried up when I found him, his essence had almost been completely drained for that attack. It would take at least a month or two before he could slowly recover. It's a good thing I didn't get cocky and tried to defend against it though.' Grey sighed in relief thinking of the attack.

This wasn't an attack the current him could defend against, it would be hard even if he were in the Fusion State, but not impossible. He kept the technique in his ring before searching Quinn's body.

'Note to self; remember to search the bodies of your enemies after killing them.' Grey smiled while searching the body.

Had he not caught sight of the scroll, then he would have missed such a golden opportunity. Even though this was an attack he didn't plan on using, but, who knows what the future holds. Maybe this attack might be of great use to him in the future.

When he was done searching the body, he unexpectedly found another technique and a dagger hidden in Quinn's clothes. The dagger was surprisingly a lightning elemental weapon, and the technique was a darkness element technique.

"*Sigh* What a waste of good clothes." Grey shook his head before deciding it was time to leave.

He had unknowingly spent almost fifteen minutes there. Since he had killed an enemy, and also acquired some items, he was in a good mood.

The scene of Quinn's death, ten minutes after Grey left.

A young man could be seen walking behind a floating wooden object. The object was glowing slightly in the night. Before long, the young man walked closer to the body of Quinn. His expression changed drastically when he saw the dead body of Quinn.

"It's Quinn! But…but…" He wanted to speak but he couldn't get the words out of his mouth.

This young man was Aron. Of Quinn's companions, he was the one closest to this place, but it still took him almost thirty minutes to get here.

When he saw the emaciated-looking corpse of Quinn, he was left speechless. The reason he recognized him quickly was because of his clothes. Yet, he still didn't dare to believe it.

Who was strong enough to force Quinn into using his forbidden technique? Not only that, but the person survived it and killed him in the end.

"It's definitely those bastards. They must have ambushed him!" He yelled angrily.

"He wasn't ambushed, I killed him myself."

A voice suddenly traveled from behind Aron. He quickly turned around and saw Grey smiling softly.

"Hmph! Although you're strong, you're not strong enough to kill him. Now, hand over the nine drops of the Great Earth Essence Liquid, and I'll forget I saw you." Aron stretched out his hand towards Grey.

'Okay… I think everyone in this group has a screw loose.' Grey looked at Aron weirdly.

He originally planned on leaving, but when he was about to leave, his instinct told him to wait a little longer. He hid behind a tree, and just when he was about to give up and leave, he saw Aron being guided here by the wooden object.

"What's that thing?" Grey pointed at the floating wooden object.

He noticed this was what directed Aron here. It was quite intriguing, being curious, he asked about it.

"It's none of your business. Give me what I asked for before the others get here!" Aron ordered trying to scare Grey with his companions who were on the way.

"Actually, I have a better idea. Why don't I kill you before they get here?" Grey asked playfully.

Aron didn't answer but his eyes went cold.

"Also, I'm quite surprised you're not going to take revenge for him," Grey said.

"I don't believe you're the one who killed him. But since you're already an enemy, I wouldn't mind killing you." Aron said icily.

"*Sigh* You're even dumber than he was." Grey felt speaking with Aron was a waste of time.

Without delay, he lashed out an attack.

Aron who was about to refute swallowed his words and immediately defended himself. But was sent flying from the force of the attack.

'He's this strong! I need to stall till the orders get here.' Aron thought.

He immediately changed his mind and instead of fighting back, he only defended, trying to stall Grey till his companions returned. Now he knew it was stupid of him not to run away the instant he saw Grey.

One minute later.

"Arghhh!" Aron screamed in pain as his left arm detached from his body.

"Hehe, I bet you regret not running away the moment you saw me. Well, it's already too late," Grey chuckled coldly.

Aron looked at Grey and felt he was looking at a monster. He was a stage ahead of Grey, yet, he couldn't even fight back.

"Please, spa…spare me. I…I'll tell you what the object does," Aron stammered as he dropped to his knees begging for his life.

Thud!

Aron's body fell on the ground after being stabbed by Grey's new weapon.

"Don't worry, I'll ask the next person who comes," Grey replied.

He thought of searching him, but after keeping Aron's bag in his storage ring, he decided to hide in his previous spot. Since searching Aron would take some time.

Another twenty minutes went by, and the body count had increased to three. Now, of Quinn's group of five, only two were left alive.

Grey only took the bag of his new victim without searching the body. He wanted to stay hidden until the remaining two from Quinn's group arrived. Once he's done killing them, then he'll search them together.

"Nathan!" A young man called out to another man who was one hundred meters away from him.

When the young man turned around, he noticed it was someone he knew. They were the last two from Quinn's group. They were accidentally not far from each other, so after seeing one another, they continued the journey together.

Before long, they got to the scene of Quinn and their companions' death. They looked at each other with fear in their eyes after seeing the corpses on the floor.

They subconsciously took a step back, just then, a voice came from behind them.

"I've been waiting for you two."