Gravis swam along the ocean floor with quite some speed, thanks to his Spirit. Yet, no sand or water was being disturbed. That was also thanks to his Spirit since it moved the water around him and then back into place. This made him move without sound nor wave. He moved almost like a ghost.
Gravis traveled like this for several hours. He saw a lot of Spirit Beasts, but none were up to his standards. The main reason was that they were simply too big. Beasts who lived in the sea were generally bigger than beasts living on land, and, apparently, that was also true for Spirit Beasts.
On top of that, Gravis also saw some mid-rank Spirit Beasts and even a high-rank Spirit Beast. Sadly, all of them were just too big to eat. He would need months to eat them.
After some hours, Gravis arrived in a peculiar area. It didn't look any different from the other areas at first glance, but something was definitely different.
There were a lot of ferocious beasts and Demonic Beasts swimming around. This was strange since every other territory only had ferocious beasts and only the occasional Demonic Beast. Yet, here, there were way more Demonic Beasts.
On top of that, the Energy-density was a bit higher than in the other areas. 'Why are there Demonic Beasts swimming around in this Energy-rich environment? A Spirit Beast should have long occupied something like this. Yet, there is no Spirit Beast in sight.'
Gravis also saw a high number of plants and corals. Fish and other animals were living near these corals and moving around. 'Most of the corals are Demonic Beasts. They probably only hunt occasionally when they find fitting prey. Yet…'
Gravis looked at some corals that even were high-rank Demonic Beasts. 'There is no fitting prey around,' he thought as he scratched his chin with his new hands, accidentally injuring his skin with his claws. 'As long as they don't leave this area, they won't be able to find any prey. I wonder, have they given up their path to power?'
He was rather interested in this area, so he checked it out more. The area was pretty sizable, with over 200 kilometers in diameter. This was even bigger than the territory of a normal Spirit Beast.
Wherever Gravis swam, the beasts made way for him and fled. Gravis counted as an Energy Beast, and the other beast felt his pressure. Gravis saw no other Energy Beasts around and lifted an eyebrow. 'I wonder. Are there no Energy Beasts around because there is no food or because something kills them?'
Gravis shook his head. 'The Energy density alone would help them, and beasts are drawn to places with high Energy. I doubt that it would be the first possibility. When Energy Beasts find this area, they will flock to it, and in no time at all, there should be plenty of food around. I'm pretty sure there is a Spirit Beast around that owns this territory.'
Gravis continued scratching his chin, more careful now. 'But I didn't find any Spirit Beast. I already checked through the whole territory. This is really peculiar.'
After that thought, Gravis checked the area more closely with his Spirit. He also looked at the corals more closely. He saw some of them grab a beast occasionally, but there was nothing else of note.
After another hour of checking, Gravis found something peculiar. The center of the area didn't look any different than the other parts, but the corals were denser. Another interesting thing was that all these corals were at the high-rank Demonic Beast level.
'Speaking of, I only found high-rank corals in the center of the area. On top of that, there were no weaker corals between them. They are all at the same level. This is really peculiar.'
'On top of that, the closer I get to the corals, the higher the Energy density. Beasts generally don't give off Energy like this. They are greedy and wouldn't want to lose it.'
Whooosh!
Gravis dove into the sand and used his Spirit to move it around his body. After a while, he was below the center of the area, but surprisingly, he didn't find the reason for the higher Energy-density.
'The Energy comes from above me, right from the corals. Is it between them? I can't check with my Spirit since the corals are so dense that there is no open spot-'
'Wait!' Gravis suddenly thought. 'Too dense? Why would they be so dense? Wouldn't the corals fear the other corals? On top of that, the corals further away weren't as dense as these ones. additionally, all these corals are at the exact same level.'
Gravis looked at the corals with more concentration. 'Interesting,' he thought. 'All of these corals are only of a few types. They don't have these tentacle-things that other types have. They just look like colored stone.'
Gravis watched the corals more closely and studied them like he studied the CMO. The CMOs pattern of growth also appeared inside his mind, and Gravis felt like he was about to grasp something. He felt like the corals hid a deeper secret.
Like this, Gravis watched the corals from below the ground for around an hour. He saw their synchronized movements and also saw slight wisps of Energy leaving them.
'If they all didn't have their own fluctuations and power, I would believe that this was a single organism,' Gravis thought.
But then, he narrowed his eyes. 'Single organism?' he thought as he watched them more. His Spirit traced their lines, and slowly, the strength of the corals was fusing inside his mind.
Earlier, he saw how every coral had its own power, but now, the power of every coral seemed to fuse. After some more seconds, it all morphed into a single form, and Gravis' eyes shone.
'That's brilliant!' he thought with admiration.
The corals in the center of the area weren't corals.
This was a gigantic octopus disguised as corals!
The corals on the outside of the area were real, making it incredibly difficult to spot the nearly 500-meter-long octopus. On top of that, its power had been distributed into many small segments, simulating the appearance of many Demonic Beasts.
'The octopus is exuding a slight amount of Energy so that weaker beasts and real corals flock to this place. Then, it let them live around it, creating the illusion of a natural, Energy-rich environment. When Energy Beasts or Spirit Beasts appear, they would think that they have struck it rich.'
'At that point, the octopus would fight and eat them. This is so smart. On top of that, it's a high-rank Spirit Beast. With its intelligence and power, it's probably the secret hegemon over all of the nearby areas. The other Spirit Beasts probably don't even know that it exists.'
'This beast is perfect as a guide and companion,' Gravis thought as he burst out of the sand. Then, he hovered above the center of the "corals".
"Your scheme is impressive, octopus," Gravis transmitted to it.
"Oh?" a deep and slow voice answered Gravis. "You have seen through my disguise?" it asked.
CRRRR!
A lot of corals moved to the side as two eyes opened. They looked at Gravis with interest. "You look peculiar, visitor," it said slowly. "I haven't seen your kind before."
Gravis' eyes shone with admiration. "Interesting," he answered. "You don't talk down to me, even though I look like an Energy Beast."
"I don't know what an Energy Beast is," the octopus transmitted, "but I assume you are referring to beings similar to your power," it said. "And yes, I don't talk down to you. You are able to talk to me, saw through my disguise, and show no sign of fear. You are not simple."
Gravis smirked. "Same to you. I only know of one beast that was as articulate as you while still being a Spirit Beast. Your intelligence is admirable."
"What do you want?" the octopus asked. Apparently, flattery didn't work, though Gravis preferred that.
"I require a guide that knows a lot about this world. I also require someone that watched my surroundings while I study something. Of course, this only holds true until I reach the level of a Spirit Beast. After that, I only require the guide's wisdom of this world."
The octopus remained silent for a while. "Interesting proposition," it transmitted. "What do I get out of it?" it asked.
"My protection, knowledge, experience, company, and goal," Gravis answered.
"I can understand the knowledge, experience, and company part, but I'm unsure of what you mean with protection and goal," the octopus answered. "How can you protect me, and what would I need protection from? I haven't seen a more powerful being than me before."
Whooom!
An apocalyptic pressure suppressed the octopus, making it unable to move. Gravis had activated his Will-Aura.
CRRRRRRRRRR!
Then, Gravis' Spirit lifted the whole octopus. Slowly, it reached the same height as Gravis. Gravis could lift something like this for a short period of time. On top of that, they were underwater, making it easier. Yet, that single lifting had cost him around 20% of his Spirit. Lifting the whole thing was harder than just tearing its brain apart.
"Proof enough?" Gravis asked.
Whoop! BANG!
Gravis' Will-Aura vanished, and the octopus fell back to the ocean floor. The octopus remained silent for half a minute.
"Impressive, shocking, interesting," it said to Gravis. "I want to know more," it said.
Gravis smirked when he heard that. "You know more about the specifics of the world, but I know more about its general outline and rules. For example, I can tell you that you are in the last stage of the third Realm in terms of power, also called a high-rank Spirit Beast."
"High-rank Spirit Beast," it repeated with interest.
"Yet, in this world, you can find many more powerful beasts. The most powerful beasts are in the sixth cultivation Realm. You are only at the third. In comparison to those, you only appear as strong as all these beasts living around you right now," Gravis said, gesturing with his arms.
The octopus remained silent as it continued thinking.
"What's your goal?" it asked.
"To become the strongest," Gravis said with a severe tone.
The octopus remained silent for two whole minutes.
"I want to see the wider world and further my knowledge," it said.
"I agree to become your guide and will follow you from now on."