Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2021 2021: Meeting Jonas Again

Klaus could not be blamed for acting in that manner, other than Brown, Chris's Griffin, he has had very little contact with these rare Magical Beasts. In fact, he has had more interactions with Dragons than Griffins, which goes to show just how rare they were. Never in his wildest dreams would he think there was a family that had multiple and were using them for transportation.

Alice and Reynolds had the same thoughts, even Grey was not an exception. All four of them did not grow up under such conditions, and even though they can now be considered experts in the Aurora Continent, they were still not fully aware of the capabilities of these top Families and Forces.

The group soon set off. Grey and his friends rode the Griffin that had similar colors to Brown, while the others spread themselves in the rest ones. It took a few hours before they arrived at the destination where multiple people were already waiting for them. From a rough count, Grey saw around twelve people around their age from the waiting group, as well as five Peak Sovereigns who escorted them there.

Of the twelve people, he was actually acquainted with two of them. One of them was a young lady he encountered years back who was from a top Faction, while the other was a young man he had some exchanges with. A glint flickered in the eyes of the young lady when she saw Grey and she nodded as a form of greeting. She was eternally grateful to him as he was the one who helped her with removing the mark left on her body by a Necromancer years ago. When she was first marked, she never imagined she would ever be able to travel this freely ever again, but thanks to unexpectedly meeting Grey, her situation was resolved.

The other person was surprisingly Jonas, the same young man who came from Red City like himself and got an inheritance in the Trial Land. At the time, Grey was also drawn to the inheritance, and if not for the fact that he already saw Jonas in the process of accepting it, he would not mind fighting for it with anyone else. He also came across Jonas in a Small World some years back, and was shocked to find out he had left the Azure Continent and was in the Aurora Continent. Seeing him here once again, already in the Seventh stage of the Sovereign Plane shocked him to say the least.

Klaus and the others also recognized Jonas, after all, he was from the opposing Academy years ago.

Klaus leaned over to Grey, "Isn't that the…"

"Yes he is." Grey replied, interrupting Klaus before he finished since he already knew what he wanted to ask him.

"Thought as much." Klaus remarked while studying Jonas.

Jonas had a smile on his face as he saw Grey and the others. These were people from the same place as himself, especially Grey, someone born in the same town as himself. To be honest, he never imagined their lives would be this way. During their first meeting, he was the shining star whereas Grey was nothing more than a young man who failed to awaken any element. A few years later during the competition to enter the Trial Land, he realized the same person he once looked down had already grown stronger than himself. His emotions towards Grey were certainly mixed, but he felt immense gratitude and respect for him when Grey saw him in a vulnerable state and left him alone. Most people would be consumed by greed in that position and try to take the inheritance for themselves, but Grey actually left him alone.

They met again in the Small World, and this time, he had been cultivating madly and believed he should have gotten ahead of Grey, only to be left dumbfounded by his growth. It has only been a few years since then, and he has indeed grown by much, becoming a Seventh stage Sovereign. Yet, he still fell short. Although Grey was not necessarily letting his aura spread, it was easy to see that he was already in the Eighth stage of the Sovereign Plane. Not just that, he was even showing signs of breaking through as well. This is the real reason his cultivation was so evident.

"Humph! Late as usual." A cold snort brought all the attention over to one of the Peak Sovereigns, a middle-aged man who was dressed in loose robes.

"We had some delays." The Old Lady replied calmly, not reacting to the tone of the Middle-aged man, this was not their first time interacting, so she was all too familiar with how he speaks.

"You were only able to get these few helpers, don't complain when they are unable to gain anything." The Middle-aged man commented, looking at the group behind the Old Lady.

"There's no need for you to worry about them. You should prepare your people so they can enter as soon as possible." The Old Lady replied.

"They are ready." The Middle-aged man pointed at the group behind him.

"Alright, give me a minute and we'll open the passage together." The Old Lady nodded.

"You're still going to waste time?" The Middle-aged man asked in a displeased tone.

"You've waited all these while, what's the harm in a few more minutes?" The Old Lady did not wait for his reply, moving over to where Grey and the others gathered.

She went on to tell them about the dangers they were about to face and how they should all ensure to watch each other's backs. Their safety was the number one priority and the moment they notice anything off, they should exit the Small World immediately.

Grey and his group listened intently, after all, they knew nothing about the Small World to begin with. After the Old Lady finished with the information, she turned to the Middle-aged man and told him they were ready.