In a secret room.
"What do you know about the formation?" The Faction Leader asked Grey.
Grey looked at him before telling him all he got from the short time he studied the array.
The Faction Leader was stumped beyond words when he heard Grey's words. The things Grey told him about were basically what he planned to teach him. If he taught Grey just those things, it would be difficult for Grey to fully utilize the array since that was just the beginning of it and it required more complexity. He never thought Grey already had the basic knowledge which means he had to tell him about a more complex part of it.
'If I teach him just one part, with his brain, I'm certain he will be able to notice that I omitted a few things.' The Faction Leader was in a dilemma.
The plan was to teach Grey the basics, but Grey already knows this. If he taught Grey anything more intricate, Grey might be able to eventually figure out how the array works in the future.
'There are a few secrets I'll have to keep. I'm sorry kid, you'll have to do the rest on your own.' The Faction Leader concluded.
Grey noticed the Faction Leader was lost in thoughts and didn't interrupt him. He knew what the Faction Leader was about to do was not good for his Faction, but he was still willing to teach him despite the issues it might cause.
After a while, the Faction Leader went on to teach Grey the few things he felt were enough. It didn't expose too much of the secrets behind the array formation, but it was enough for Grey to grasp it over time. But he was confident it would take a long period, maybe a few hundred years before Grey gets the core of the array.
However, things started to take a turn after he told Grey the first step. Apparently, this was something Grey had been thinking about for a while since he had the entire core array drawn in his head. When the Faction Leader spoke to him about the issue, Grey was not only able to quickly grasp it, but he was able to link it to three other aspects of the array formation which scared the hell out of the Faction Leader.
The three things Grey understood were among the few things the Faction Leader was willing and also not willing to show him. One was something that took him over ten years of study, and also with the help of the older Elders to understand, yet Grey was able to get it with just a hint.
The Faction Leader concluded Grey was a scary individual and someone also worth investing in. The biggest investment in the world is human investment. Find someone with a good potential, invest in them, and reap the benefits in a few years time. This was something the Phoenix Faction and a few other top Factions and Families has been doing since time immemorial. They all have a few people they've invested in due to the potential they see in them.
Grey is someone even an enemy would want to invest in just to make sure they were on good terms. A genius both on and off the battlefield was a rare sight.
For a moment, the Faction Leader was stunned beyond words when he heard Grey's analysis. It was evident that Grey had been trying to bypass this particular issue for a while now, and after being given a hint that isn't even directly relating to that issue, he was able to dissect it due to the fact that an array formation is intricately linked. So understanding one part of the formation will help him understand more parts of it.
The Faction Leader thought about it and he suddenly became curious, just how freakish is Grey?
With that thought in mind, he continued teaching Grey about the array formation while purposely omitting more information. This time, he didn't give Grey the obvious hints like the last time, but he was left speechless at Grey's attention to detail. With each of Grey's responses, it was like he could see the array formation in front of him and it was slowly being taken apart one piece at a time to understand how it works. To a certain extent, the Faction Leader saw new things he hadn't seen in the array formation before and he was also able to understand some things that he had always been confused about.
It was a strange feeling. To a certain extent, it was as if he wasn't teaching Grey, but they were both trying to unravel the same secrets and each was bringing out what they understood about it. Time went on and before the Faction Leader knew it, the short lesson he had in mind for Grey was long discarded as he was also learning from Grey's words and perspective on the array formation.
Time went by and the next day soon came.
Grey and the Faction Leader spoke throughout the night, and even when it was dawn the next morning, they still weren't done with the conversation. The array formation was so complex that even with Grey's input and the Faction Leader's knowledge, they still weren't able to cover five percent of it.
One has to know that they were only still speaking about the core of the formation. Grey had some insights thanks to the array he had been studying since leaving the secret realm, which came as a help to the Faction Leader.
The Faction Leader was the one who did most of the unraveling, but Grey's input cannot be undermined. His thinking process was completely different from whatever the Faction Leader had seen which made it possible to see a new part of the array formation he had been missing.
The middle-aged man and Aries were both shocked at the length at which Grey and the Faction Leader were speaking. They originally felt it wouldn't take more than an hour or two, but it had been over twelve hours, and the duo were speaking enthusiastically.
They looked at Grey's friends and didn't see a surprised expression on their faces.
Sensing the middle-aged man's gaze, Klaus laughed and said, "The mistake you guys made is to think he's like every normal person. You've seen him fight, do you think he used up to fifty percent of his strength?"
The middle-aged man was dumbstruck by Klaus' question. How could one who trained so much to become a master Elementalist still have the time to become such an expert in the art of array formations. From how lost the Faction Leader is, and the occasional excited screams he makes, the middle-aged man knew that he was understanding some things that had been proving difficult for him. What he couldn't understand is how Grey was able to make this possible.
Grey is a youngster who was still in his twenties, yet his insight on arrays has gotten to such a frightening level. If not for the fact that he could tell Grey's age from his bones, he would've never agreed to him being this young.
Klaus and the others were freaks, but it was clear that they only focused on being freakish Elementalists. Grey on the other hand was different, he was a freak at everything he does.
If they knew about Grey's exploits in battle, they would be astounded by his battle knowledge. Grey was too young for the abilities he possesses. This is something he knows, which is why he always tries to ensure he doesn't go overboard whenever he's doing things like this.
Seeing Grey and the Faction Leader talking, the middle-aged man looked at Grey's friends and asked.
"Can you tell us how he trains?" He asked curiously.
"No one knows how he trains. But he trains more than the regular Elementalist. That's clear for all to see." Klaus explained, "Not just that, but he has always been curious towards arrays, so he learns about to to whatever end."
Klaus didn't spill any information about Grey, only speaking about basic things like how much he liked training and learning about arrays.
The middle-aged man looked in the direction Grey was and then at Klaus and the others.
As if he could tell what the man was thinking, Klaus raised both hands, "Don't look at us, we're not like him. Who has the time to train both their elements and also master arrays. You can only he one of either, Grey is unique, as you can see."
The middle-aged man nodded, he knew Grey was unique. He didn't need anyone to tell him Grey was unique. Even a blind man could tell Grey was unique. It was just so shocking to see someone of Grey's caliber in person.
Grey was shattering everything he knew about geniuses which he found crazy. If he were to continue watching Grey, he might pass out.
