Affinity:Chaos

After the old man left the arena, the men in charge of the platforms came forward. 

"Whoever wishes to challenge anyone from the Faction they desire to join should stay on the platform, the rest can go back to their seats." One of the men said. 

Most of the people on the platform decided against it. They saw the outcome of those who tried it in the Origin Plane. Those who were defeated lost their will, and only a few managed to even get into the top one hundred. 

In the end, only eight people were left on the platforms, Alice and Reynolds included. 

When they saw Alice and Reynolds standing on the platform, a few of the people who they've managed to gain their attention looked on with interest, wondering which Faction they would want to join. 

Since there were ten platforms present, then all eight battles could take place simultaneously without any need of waiting. 

Grey and his friends found it unfortunate since they wouldn't be able to watch the fight of both their friends. They would have to split their attention, watching one for some time before moving their gaze to the other one. 

"I would like to challenge a member of the Asterope Faction." Alice was the first person amongst the eight people to state her wish. 

When the crowd heard this, they chatted animatedly. The Asterope Faction was a powerful lightning Faction. It was regarded as the joint strongest lightning Faction alongside four others in this Region. The Faction Reynolds wanted to join was also one of them. 

The audience thought Reynolds would challenge someone from the Asterope Faction as well since he was a Lightning Elementalist. Being friends with Alice also meant they would want to join the same Faction. 

The other people on the platform stepped forward to declare the Faction they would like to challenge. 

Reynolds was the last person, "I would like to challenge a member of the Raiden Faction." 

The group already knew their choices so this didn't come as a surprise to them. The audience was however stunned when they realized the duo didn't plan on joining the same Faction. They couldn't wrap their heads around why they picked two different Factions. 

The Factions that had been challenged each sent out a genius to battle the participants. Being a top Faction, each member was a powerful genius. The fighters that came out were all in the same stage as the challengers. The Factions couldn't afford to send someone a stage above. 

Reynolds' opponent was a young man in the Fourth stage of the Overlord Plane just like him. The same for Alice, her opponent was in the Fifth stage of the Overlord Plane, just like her. 

These people were people who wouldn't have any problems with challenging those a stage above them or even two stages above them. 

All the platforms were occupied, and after getting confirmation from both fighters of each platform, the battle began. 

Buzz! Bang! 

Reynolds' opponent attacked with a powerful lightning attack. Small butterflies made of lightning flew toward Reynolds. 

Their numbers were massive. Reynolds created a large lightning sword that he used to counter the attack, causing an explosion. 

After that attack, his opponent didn't stop there, rather, he took a step forward, and when his foot touched the ground, a large symbol appeared on the ground. It was in the shape of a four-leaf clover. 

Lightning started to dance around the platform and lightning arrows accumulated. With a wave of his hands, the lightning arrows shot toward Reynolds. 

The strength of the attack was something that shocked Reynolds. He originally thought he might have a fighting chance against this person since they were in the same stage, but the reality was different. 

As the fight went on, he was pushed back even more. The young man's attacks were consistent. 

Reynolds has been able to counter attack a few times, but the skill level of the young man was on another level. It was easy to see that the young man had an advantage when it came to techniques. Most of Reynolds' attacks were normal attacks almost every Lightning Elementalist could use. 

The young man used one of the special attacks of the Raiden Faction. A circle made entirely of four-leaf clovers appeared behind him, and powerful lightning attacks shot out from it. 

Unlike normal lightning, there was a certain difference in this one, it was as if a certain hint of darkness was within. This was a skill that could draw a bit of the darkness particles in the air to aid the destructiveness of the lightning attack. 

This skill was best suited for Dual Elementalists who had both the lightning and the darkness element since they could use it to its fullest. 

When Grey saw the attack, he was astounded. This was like merging two elements together. It might be different from his own, but it was almost the same thing. 

The only difference was that even an Elementalist who doesn't have the darkness element could use it since the technique could will the darkness element on its own. 

'The creator of this technique is a freak.' Grey concluded. 

This was something he didn't think was possible for others, however, he could see it right in front of him. 

Reynolds, seeing the lightning attack coming toward him knew that if he tried to block this attack as he had done with the previous ones, then he would lose. 

He clapped both hands together to create a tense atmosphere, and from his expression, everyone knew he was about to call out his summon. 

The expression of everyone however changed when they saw a humanoid figure made out of lightning appearing. 

When Reynolds' Elemental Warrior appeared, it raised its sword, faced the lightning coming its way fearlessly, and charged forward. 

Its speed was well above that of a normal Seventh stage Overlord Plane Elementalist. 

All everyone saw was a lightning figure rushing through the platform, and the special attack of the Raiden Faction was successfully blocked. 

"An Elemental Warrior, so you're a high-grade summoner after all." The young man commented when he saw this.