Affinity:Chaos

After walking past the door, the group entered a large hall with two doors. One at the side, and one ahead of them. The door they used in entering the hall disappeared just after they passed through it.

"How mysterious"

Klaus looked at the hall in bewilderment.

"How was this palace even made?"

Reynolds couldn't help but ask.

After passing each door, it always felt like they were being transported into another place entirely. They get the same feeling they had when they passed through the formation to get here. So far, this palace was the most mysterious place they had been to since entering the trial lands, they hadn't been to a lot of places, so this place definitely takes the top spot in mystery.

"The door by the side appears to lead outside the palace. We're given two choices in this round, we can either choose to continue or exit the palace"

Grey walked towards the door by the side and said after inspecting it.

"What do you guys think?"

He asked the group. If he were alone, he would have definitely tried to see what the next round would be, but since they were a group, he had to know what the others all thought about it.

"I think we should continue, maybe we could get something good if we can clear it"

Reynolds was the first to speak up.

"You should also be aware that in any trial, the second round tends to be harder than the first. We would be in a tough spot if what we are facing is an opponent in the Origin Plane"

Klaus spoke up after a while.

The others agreed to what he said, trials were usually like this. But still, there was no way they would know what they were going to face until they entered the place.

"But… I still think we should continue since this is a rare opportunity for us"

He added.

"Alice"

Grey and the others looked at her.

Now, all they awaited was her decision, if she said they shouldn't continue, then they'll have to exit the palace.

"Of course we're going to continue"

Alice's lips curved upwards. She has always been one who liked challenges, so there was no way she was going to miss this.

"Great! Since we've all agreed to this, we'll continue the trial"

Grey exclaimed in excitement, he would've felt sad if they didn't continue the trial.

The group looked at each other before walking towards the door ahead of them. After passing through it, they appeared in a cave. The only thing different about this place was that the door they used in entering the place was still there, which meant they could leave the place at any time.

Ahead of them were three paths, now they had to choose which path to take.

On seeing they had to make a decision on which path to take, Grey, Alice, and Reynolds looked at Klaus concurrently.

Feeling their gazes, Klaus stared back at them,

"Why are you all staring at me?"

The puzzled Klaus asked.

"Well, which path do you feel we should take?"

Reynolds asked what was in the mind of the other two.

"Why are you asking me? I've not been here before, so how should I know?"

Klaus retorted abruptly.

"What about your gut feeling?"

Reynolds asked with a long face.

"Damn you! Do you think I can control it?"

Klaus cursed out, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

After a bout of cursing between Klaus and Reynolds, the group finally agreed on how to choose the path. Since they were four, and there are three paths, they would all have to point at a path at the same time, the path which two or more people pointed, would be the one they'd take.

In the end, Klaus and Reynolds pointed at the same path. Which was the one in the middle, when they all walked into the path, a voice just like the last one rang out.

"The Second Trial: Lost Caves, Objective: Find The Exit, Time Limit: None"

The voice went silent after this.

"This sounds relatively easier compared to the first trial. All we have to do is find the exit right? How hard could it be?"

Klaus asked the group started walking forward.

***************

Four days later…

"We've been through here before"

A frustrated voice rang out.

"What! How's that possible?"

Another voice asked in disbelief.

"Yap, we've definitely been through here"

Someone else spoke up.

"We passed through here six hours ago"

A fourth voice spoke up, only it was softer compared to the others.

These were obviously Grey and the group, they had been wandering in the cave for four days now, and they still haven't been able to find the exit. What was worse was that they had been attacked by different groups of beasts in the cave, with bats being the most.

"I hate this place!"

Klaus yelled out loud.

"Same here"

Reynolds said.

The cave had a series of paths intertwining, and there are places where they would be faced with multiple paths to choose from. So far, it seems like they have not been able to take the correct path.

"How do they expect us to leave this place?"

Klaus asked in sheer frustration.

"By finding the exit"

Reynolds responded.

"It was a rhetorical question you dumbass"

Klaus shook his head when he glanced at Reynolds.

"Who are you calling dumbass you moron?"

Reynolds retaliated .

The duo once again started a cursing session. This was not the first time they were doing this on the journey, Grey was already used to it, so he didn't even have any plans of stopping them.

He called Alice over and showed her what he had been working on while they had been walking in the maze-like cave during these four days. He had been carefully trying to create a map after they started walking in the cave, although it wasn't accurate, it at least was better than just walking blindly.

The group once again started their journey, with the map Grey created, they were able to not walk in circles again. But there were still times the routes on the map were wrong, and they had to correct it after going in a circle.

****************

Ten days later…

"Finally!"

Klaus exclaimed in pure delight as they walked towards the exit they had finally found.

It took them a total of two weeks to find it from the time they entered the place, and unlike the first trial, there was a bunch of things inside the cave. The auras radiating from each of them was clearly stronger than when they first entered the palace, and Klaus had even broken through to the Seventh stage of the Arcane Plane.

Grey and Reynolds weren't far from a breakthrough as well, they should be able to breakthrough within a week. Among the group, only Alice didn't show any signs of breaking through yet. But it wasn't unexpected since she was already in the Ninth stage of the Arcane Plane and the next breakthrough would take her to the Origin Plane.

Klaus could be said to be the most fortunate since he hadn't even refined the ice river source yet.

"I thought we were never going to leave this place"

Reynolds shuddered at the thought of staying in this place.

The constant attacks they faced from the beasts in the cave had improved their abilities all round, and there was also a faint killing intent that would sometimes radiate from their bodies due to killing too much when they were in the cave.

Walking past the cave, they saw an open field before them. They looked behind them, only to see the big palace.

"So there were only two trials?"

Grey looked back at the palace with a glad expression. He was happy he could experience both trials since they had helped honed his fighting skills. He was confident he would be able to hold on against some Elementalist at the Ninth stage of the Arcane Plane now.

"So what do you all think should be our next course of action?"

Reynolds asked the group.

They all stared at each other, they knew they would have to separate at some time during the trial.

"I think going out separately is the wise choice for now. First, I need to find a secluded place to refine this since keeping it with me isn't a good idea, and there's no way I will agree for you all to stay with me since it would decrease your chances of gaining something here"

"And besides, I don't even know how long it would take me to completely refine it, it might take a month just as Alice said, or, it might take two months"

Klaus was the first to speak up.

"You're right"

The others all agreed with what he said.

"I'll be leaving first, you all better make sure you don't die. I'll try to find you guys after breaking through"

Klaus turned decisively before disappearing into the forest by the side.

Reynolds was the next to leave before Alice went in the other direction. Now, Grey was left all alone.

The true trial has just begun for the group…