Klaus looked at Grey in shock, "You're planning to kill us, aren't you?"
"There was a little error, I'll sort it out. If you know you can't wait, you can enter and be like those guys." Grey retorted.
Klaus looked at the group of seven and the other few people in the array that were moving cautiously. Explosions rang out occasionally, followed by screams of pain. It was clear that getting through the array wasn't easy by any means.
"I'll just wait, it's not like I'm in a hurry anyway." Klaus cowered away.
"Coward." Grey spat on the ground.
Klaus pretended as if he didn't hear anything Grey said. There was no way he was going to stress himself when Grey could easily make them walk through the array without facing any challenges.
They all knew Grey's capabilities as an array genius and knew that as long as he was focused, he would surely be able to tweak this array, no matter how old it was.
While Grey was working on the array, the group of seven, were drawn by the explosion. Seeing Grey and his group in such a lively manner, they were slightly taken aback.
"They made it this far?" One of the young men in the group asked, a little surprised.
"Well, so did we. I didn't think they would be this talented." A young lady from the group said.
The reason they managed to get to this stage was thanks to the help of the young lady leading the group and two other young men who helped out during the group battle on the previous round, if not, some of them would've been held back.
Luckily, this level doesn't involve fighting. As long as they were not hit by an attack from the array, they were good. The young lady and the other two young men were on a tightrope as they tried all their might to block the attacks in their stead. Although it was quite stressful, they knew the others needed the rewards to grow as well.
"Is he trying to work on the array, or are they just watching?" The young lady leading the group asked with a questioning expression.
"What? What if he messes up with the array and we get killed?!" Someone exclaimed from another group when they overheard the young lady's question.
"I don't think he will mess up with the array, you don't need to worry." The young lady said.
"But what if he does? What do we inside do then?" The person wasn't willing to take any chances, he has managed to come this far, and wasn't willing to lose it all due to someone else's attempt, "If you are acquainted with him, tell him to stop!"
The young lady thought about it and felt it was a good choice to stop Grey. If he costs others their opportunity in this trial, he would attract the ire of a lot of people. This was not something she wanted for Grey's group. She found them amicable, hence she didn't want them to get into any conflict while they were in the Phoenix Faction.
"Hey, what are you doing?" She used her essence to increase her voice as it traveled to where Grey was seated.
Grey, who had both eyes closed, opened them and looked in the direction of the young lady. He waved, "Oh, I'm trying to see how this array works. I overheard everything. Tell them to be rest assured, nothing bad will happen to them. If not, I'll take all the responsibility."
The young lady looked at Grey's eyes and nodded. She didn't need to relay any of his messages since they heard him clearly too. Since he was willing to take any responsibility, then there was no need to worry about it.
The young man who spoke up grunted and continued advancing. He wanted to get through before the madman finished whatever analysis he was doing on the array. They all heard how he was attacked from the start, and the attack was even more powerful than what they had been facing. From what he guessed, it was an act of retaliation from the array for Grey trying to mess with it.
Grey couldn't be bothered with these people as he focused fully on the array.
….
Outside the volcano.
"Don't tell me he's trying to figure out how the array works?" The middle-aged man felt a headache coming.
He recalled the only reason Grey entered the volcano was all out of his curiosity towards the array the Firelord placed inside. Now that he saw him seated with his eyes closed in front of an array, he started to feel it was a bad idea letting Grey enter the volcano.
Grey had already surpassed all his expectations, and he knew that if Grey manages to get the crux of the array, then this wouldn't be a challenge to him and his friends since he could use the weak links.
"It can't be that he's actually going to be able to decipher such a complicated array, right? Even the Faction Leader, a renowned array master, hasn't been able to decipher it." An Elder said.
"Should we be worried that the works of the Firelord can be taken by this kid?" Another Elder asked.
"No need to rush to conclusions, we'll see how it goes. Let's keep watching." The middle-aged man calmed the nerves of the others.
It was clear that they were all starting to get agitated, and rightly so. Grey's performances all through the trial had been eye-catching. At the moment, they didn't believe Grey would be able to get the basics of the array, but for a reason, they all felt like he would succeed in this endeavor of his, and it was a feeling they all didn't like.
They continued watching as Grey sat on the same spot, not making any moves.
….
Inside the volcano.
Grey was seated, going through the array.
Klaus and the others were standing, bored as there was nothing to do.
"Come on, hurry up."
"I thought you said you were not in a hurry?"
"It doesn't mean I don't have to tell him to hurry up, does it?"
"If you keep talking I'll throw you into the array."
"I can always walk out of it."
"Don't distract him, you're making too much noise."
"So what if I don't stop talking?"
"You're looking for a good beating."
"Don't think I'm afraid of that stupid clothes you wear when it's time to fight. For your information, it doesn't look nice. Why don't you try changing how it is when you use it next time."
"I'm not interested in how it looks. As long as I can beat you up with it, I'm good."
"I'm done, what are you guys yapping on about?" Grey's voice broke the tension between Klaus and Reynolds.
"Don't you think that stupid armor or whatever he turns his Elemental Warrior into looks bad?" Klaus asked.
"Well… as long as he can bring out the best of his abilities, there's nothing wrong with how it looks." Grey replied.
"You see, even Grey knows it looks crappy." Klaus pointed out.
Grey's slight hesitation indicated what Klaus wanted.
"I can't be bothered with how you see my body armor." Reynolds didn't care about what Grey or Klaus felt about his armor.
"Well, it looks crappy, and since you're fighting beside handsome guys like myself and Grey, it will make us look bad. Fix it up." Klaus wasn't going to give Reynolds a chance.
"I can beat people up with how ugly it looks. Fuck what you think." Reynolds' nonchalant attitude infuriated Klaus.
"Alright bud, why don't I make some suggestions for you?" Klaus asked, he knew there was no way he could get to Reynolds with such an approach, so he changed his approach.
Reynolds snorted, not willing to answer him, "Aren't we going any more?"
Grey laughed and said, "Let's go."
Grey took the first step, and this time, unlike when he tried it the first time, an explosion didn't take place.
"Take the same path as me." He said to them.
Klaus and the others nodded and followed behind him.
The group of seven were about to get to the end of the array when Grey and his friends stepped on it.
With Grey at the front, they walked casually through it. It was as if they were taking a stroll in their backyard. Not a single explosion rang off, and within a few seconds, they were on the other side of the array.
"That was easy." Klaus commented as they left the array.
"You thought I was joking when I said it'll be easy?" Grey asked.
"I never doubted you, I just wanted to mess around with you." Klaus said.
Grey chuckled, he believed Klaus' words fully.
The group of seven were in shock when they saw how easy it was for Grey and his friends. Not just them, but everyone else who was present there.
"Impossible!"
