Gravis arrived at the Mountain of Pride, but before he could climb it, the Grand Elder appeared in front of him.
"Since you are now a King, you no longer have the status of a mate to the Empress. Therefore, you are not allowed to climb the Mountain of Pride as casually as before," the Grand Elder said with an even voice.
Gravis looked unamused at him. "Okay," Gravis said evenly, "then I'm not here as a mate, but just as myself. I'm going up."
The Grand Elder held his hand out to stop Gravis. "Gravis, your status has changed. We have to keep up the rules."
Gravis rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Oh, shut up," Gravis said in annoyance. "You think I have only been able to visit you guys so many times because of my status? How about you ignore this useless shit about status and accept the reality for what it is."
If any other beast had told the Grand Elder to shut up, even if it were only meant as a joke, he would have killed them. Yet, for some reason, the Grand Elder didn't get angry at Gravis. It was just how Gravis was.
"And what is this reality?" the Grand Elder asked.
"I like you guys. You guys like me," Gravis said with a shrug. "We're companions. What's the problem with me visiting one of my companions?"
The Grand Elder remained silent for some seconds as he looked at Gravis with narrowed eyes.
Then, he sighed.
"Nothing goes as per protocol when it involves you," the Grand Elder said helplessly.
Gravis only smirked. "Don't act like my conduct doesn't feel refreshing."
"Don't push it!" the Grand Elder said with a cold look.
"Is it or is it not refreshing?" Gravis said with a smirk. "Come on, you can tell me if it bothers you."
The Grand Elder groaned. "Just go up," he commented as he flew up the Mountain of Pride.
Gravis proceeded to do so and arrived in front of the Empress quite quickly. She seemed just as neutral and absent-minded as usual, but Gravis had had enough contact with her to judge her mood based on subtle clues.
Gravis was pretty sure that the Empress felt quite amused right now. She had probably seen the interaction between him and the Grand Elder at the base of the Mountain of Pride and felt some mirth from the Grand Elder's helplessness.
"What brings you here, Gravis?" she asked neutrally. Yet, this neutral tone meant that she didn't mind his presence at all. If she were annoyed, she would have used her icy, prideful tone.
"I feel quite comfortable with my Battle-Strength right now, and I want to make use of it. If I increase my level once or twice, tempering might become awkward for me again. Right now, fighting a level four King should be just perfect."
The Empress narrowed her eyes at Gravis. "Do you know how powerful a level four King is?"
"No, but I'm pretty sure that I have a good estimate," Gravis answered.
"What do you think, how many Laws has the average level four King managed to comprehend?" the Empress asked.
"Probably between four and five," Gravis answered.
The Empress was quite surprised when she heard that. She had expected that Gravis would underestimate the increase of Battle-Strength between the different levels for Kings. Yet, Gravis had been pretty accurate with his estimation.
The Empress nodded. "Four Laws are the average for a level four King. You know this, but you still think that you can fight such a foe? What makes you so confident?" she asked.
"For one, I have comprehended two additional Laws since my last fight, and both of them are very useful to my fighting style. If I had only comprehended the Law of Lightning Speed, I wouldn't be so certain, but by understanding the Law of Suppression, I have become much more powerful," Gravis explained.
"Law of Suppression?" the Empress asked with furrowed brows, glancing at the Grand Elder. The Grand Elder also hadn't heard of that Law before. "I've never heard of this Law."
Gravis scratched his chin. "Well, I think it only makes sense that not many beasts learn the Law of Suppression. After all, it's not something you can just comprehend without coming into constant contact with different kinds of suppression. Want me to show you?" Gravis asked.
The Empress leaned forward. "I'm intrigued. New Laws always interest me," she said with a sparkle in her eyes. The Grand Elder was also very interested in this new kind of Law.
Gravis nodded.
WHOOM!
Then, he activated his Will-Aura but only made it so big that it touched the Empress and the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder and the Empress remained silent as they felt Gravis' Will-Aura. Their powers were far superior to his, which made Gravis' Will-Aura feel barely stronger than the wind, but they were still interested in the feeling of pressure that Gravis unleashed.
"That's my Will-Aura without the Law of Suppression," Gravis said.
The Grand Elder furrowed his brows while the Empress looked a bit surprised. "That was without the Law of Suppression? This aura already has the same power as the inherent superiority of a level four King," she said.
The natural aura of a level four King would not inhibit other level four Kings but would demotivate and suppress level three Kings. Gravis being able to unleash an aura equivalent to the power of someone three levels above him was already nearly unbelievable. There was more?
"Now, let me add the Law of Suppression."
WHOOOOOM!
The surroundings turned grey and dull. This Will-Aura exhibited the same feeling someone felt when they saw an overpowering army marching towards them from a distance. The army wasn't here yet, but it was only a matter of time. It was the feeling of an imminent catastrophe.
The Grand Elder fell into thought while the Empress looked with interest at her surroundings. The change in color was something new to her. Normally, one could feel the color of someone's aura, but she hadn't seen an aura that actually transformed the colors in the surroundings.
"With the Law of Suppression, you can exhibit the same amount of pressure as a level five King," the Empress said. "If the enemy knows that you are not a level five King, they would still be willing to attack, but their instincts, emotions, and speed will be suppressed quite a bit."
Whoop!
Gravis retrieved his Will-Aura again. "Do you understand now why I think I'm ready to fight a level four King?" Gravis asked.
Instead of answering, the Empress furrowed her brows. "I know your power rather well, and even with this Law of Suppression, a fight between you and a level four King would still be up in the air. There is still a high chance that you would die," she said after a while.
Gravis nodded with a grin. "Yes, exactly! If I knew that I would win, this wouldn't be tempering, would it?" he asked.
The Empress nodded once more. "Correct. Fighting a level four King is a bit riskier for you than the normal tempering for a beast, but this willingness to take these risks is probably one of the reasons why your Battle-Strength is so powerful."
"Right," Gravis said with a nod. "If I don't keep going at it, my Battle-Strength won't increase anymore in comparison to my Realm. As a Lord, my Battle-Strength allowed me to fight thee levels above myself, but as soon as I fought my first King, I felt the difference. The average Battle-Strength for Kings is way higher than for Lords."
"With the boost of my two new Laws, I think I have barely reached the ability to fight three levels above myself as a King. If I don't use that boost right now, I might regress to an awkward spot for tempering, which would then force me to regress to only being able to jump two levels. Additionally, I should be ready to understand a couple new Laws," Gravis said.
The Grand Elder nodded from the side. "You have this feeling on you, yes. You are about to understand more Laws. I presume that they have something to do with lightning," the Grand Elder said.
"I think so, but I can't know without comprehending them," Gravis answered. Then, Gravis turned back to the Empress. "So, do you know of any fitting areas or missions for me? The best-case scenario would be a singular level four King as an enemy."
The Empress thought for a bit since this was quite a stringent requirement. Even one additional level three King could ruin the whole experience.
Then, the Empress got an idea, and her eyes sparkled.