Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2012 2012: Discussion With Hugh

The group did not stop there, after killing the Sovereign Gnomes, they headed straight for the Gnome camp, wiping out all the Gnomes there. They returned to the City a few kilometers away from the City.

When the Commander saw them returning, seeing the injured Klaus and Reynolds, he knew they must have fought a brutal battle. When he heard of the outcome of the battle, he was left dumbstruck. One has to know that he was a Peak Sovereign, and had been fighting with these Gnomes for some days now. Even with him present, they have not been able to get a complete advantage, much less kill all the Ninth stage Sovereign Gnomes. Yet, in only one battle with Grey present, they wiped out every single one of the Gnomes. If not for the fact that he sensed the auras of the Gnomes vanishing one after the other, he would not have believed this.

Taking a look at Grey, he realized the latter did not even show any signs of exhaustion, it was as if he did not engage in a life and death battle. Klaus, Reynolds, and the rest had obvious signs of fighting a desperate battle, but Grey did not.

ʼJust how powerful is he?ʼ The Commander was left gobsmacked.

As the group walked past, he stopped Alice, she was the one who sustained fewer injuries. The reason he did not stop Hugh was because he knew there was no way he was aware of everything that happened in the battle of those in the Late stages, only someone like Alice can tell him what he wanted to know. He was dying of curiosity and did not even give Alice the chance to rest.

While the Commander was taking Alice away, Grey had dragged Klaus with him to pay a visit to Hugh. He was very interested in the ability Hugh used, and given the fact that he did not have any form of close relationship with him, his only hope was to get Klaus to put in some words for him. To his surprise, after Klaus brought him over and told Hugh the reason for his visit, Hugh was very welcoming.

Realizing there was a chance for him to achieve his goal, he immediately chased Klaus away, lest he distracted Hugh from telling him what he knew about his ability to control vines. Although Hugh did not know the reason why Grey was so interested in learning about the wood element, he did not mind. His eyes glowed as he started narrating how he came about with the element.

According to Hugh, he had been obsessed with studying woods from different trees, and even some plants. This is something Grey learned the first time he saw him, so he was not surprised. All his research was fruitless up until a few months ago.

”A few months ago?” Grey was taken aback, not expecting Hughʼs breakthrough to come only some months ago.

”Yes, it has only been a few months since I have been able to use the wood element. Donʼt be fooled by the fact that Iʼm only using vines and trees, this element has far more potential.” Hugh explained proudly, his eyes glowing, seeing someone so invested, he did not hold back, ”Take for instance, you know that trees and plants contain a large amount of vitality, correct?”

Grey nodded to his words, the vitality of trees is well known among everyone. There are countless trees that have stood for thousands of years, standing firm with no signs of withering away. There were even some that even after being cut down, they can regrow just from the little stumps that were left. This is common knowledge.

”That vitality is one of the abilities a Wood Elementalist like myself can have.” Hugh continued, ”The Gnome I have been fighting against is a stage above myself, and the truth is, Iʼm not like you guys who can easily fight above my cultivation stage. The only reason I have been able to put up against him is that after each battle, although both of us sustain injuries, I have a faster recovery ability compared to him. So when next we meet, itʼs only natural for me to be in a better position than he is due to my fast recovery.”

Grey furrowed his brow, trying to take in all the information Hugh was offloading on him.

Seeing Greyʼs somewhat confused expression, Hugh picked up a knife and said, ”Watch.” After saying this, he cut his palm open with the knife. The injury was not large, only about a fingerʼs length.

Grey placed all his focus on the injury, even without Hugh telling him the reason behind cutting himself, he already knew. If not to show Grey the recovery prowess of the wood element, then what else?

Grey did not take his eyes off the cut, and right before his eyes, he saw a faint emerald green glow on Hughʼs body and right before his eyes, the finger length cut started to close. It was an incredulous scene. Grey is usually the one who left people dumbfounded by his recovery abilities, yet for the first time, he was left speechless by someone elseʼs. He could not believe that something like this was possible.

He had the light element and knew just how potent it was in regards to healing. The wood element before him could not compare to the light element, but it was not far off!

This left him shocked beyond words. How could the wood element possess such amazing abilities?

The wound was not deep to begin with, so it took only a short time before it closed up.

”I still donʼt understand, why did you only get a breakthrough in your research just a few months ago?” Grey calmed down and asked.

This was the thing he found strange. If there was a possibility of the wood element being possible, why did it only appear now? From what he knew, Hugh has been researching this for a long time now, even before he left for the Aurora Continent, and it has been a long time since then. How come he did not succeed until only a few months ago?

”To be honest, I have no idea. It was a stroke of luck, and even after my success, I had to stay in secluded cultivation for these past months. Oh, and I was only a Sage Plane Elementalist at the time, when I came out of seclusion some weeks back, I was already a Sovereign.” Hugh explained.

”That fast?!” Greyʼs eyes widened so much it was almost like it wanted to pop out of his head.

Hugh specifically mentioned that it had not been up to a year since he got success and only a few months. After entering seclusion for just a few months, he came out as a Sovereign. What sort of cultivation speed was that?

Grey is someone touted for his fast cultivation speed, but even he had spent some years to go from the Sage Plane to the Sovereign Plane. Even in the Sovereign Plane, it has been a few years now before he got to the Eighth stage, yet Hugh went from the Sage Plane to the Sovereign Plane in only a few months, how could he not be shocked?

Grey did not try to think too much about it as there was no way he could understand the reason behind this, if even Hugh who had the opportunity did not have an explanation for it, there was no way Grey would be able to come up with one. Taking in a deep breath, he asked Hugh to show him the wood element so he could get a feel of it. This was what he needed the most at the moment. To him, the sudden appearance of the wood element was an opportunity he could not miss. As long as he is able to comprehend this element, then the chances of being able to use it in the future is very high. It might also turn out to be one of his trump cards as well. There was also the amazing healing ability it has, adding that to his light element, he felt even more confident in engaging in battles. For someone like him who is bound to be running from one battlefield to the other, the more abilities he had, the better his odds of keeping his life.

Hugh did not try to hide the wood element, he made a small vine on his palm, letting Grey study it as much as he pleased.

Grey did not make him keep it active for a long period, telling him to keep it after a period of time. What he needed the most right now was time to study this element, and there was no rushing it. Given his current experience, he was confident he would be able to make a breakthrough in a short time.