After a whole month of traveling, Gravis and Orthar arrived in an environment with around quadruple the Energy density. This Energy density was about equal to the Core-Continent of Gravis' previous lower world. Along the way, they had also seen two other high-rank Spirit Beasts.
The first one had been a sizable starfish with a diameter of around 300 meters. Orthar had immediately been interested and had engaged it in combat while Gravis watched.
Their tentacles clashed against each other in a constant wrestling of superiority. Yet, due to Orthar's intelligence, he managed to turn the starfish around so that it was facing him with its back. At that point, Orthar's beak did the rest.
"I haven't felt this alive in eons!" Orthar transmitted to Gravis in excitement. "I feel like my youth is coming back!"
Gravis only smiled and let him have his moment of joy. Orthar hadn't fought a powerful opponent in who knew how many years.
As Orthar was eating, Gravis asked him how much he would need to hunt to reach the next rank. Orthar explained to him that he hadn't hunted an equal beast to him yet but had eaten a lot of weaker Spirit Beasts. They may not be nearly as nutritious as equally ranked beasts, but quantity was also a kind of quality.
Orthar expected that he probably only needed another one of these beasts to reach the Unity Rank. At that point, he would also be able to reforge his body into a more suitable one for combat, something he had been looking forward to quite a bit.
Surprisingly, the second beast they met was also a gigantic octopus. Orthar wasn't the biggest fan of eating another octopus, while this one was just too large for Gravis. Even with his new size, it would take forever to eat all that. That's why they left it be.
The octopus probably thought something similar since it also didn't engage them. Sometimes, there was just no reason for a fight.
So, like this, they arrived at a peculiar location after a month.
"The ocean is quickly growing shallower," Orthar said. "Are we getting closer to the central landmass?"
"I think so," Gravis said with furrowed brows. "I have feared this outcome."
"What do you mean? Isn't the landmass our goal?" Orthar asked.
"Not directly," Gravis answered. "Remember the map of the world I showed you? We are aiming for the ocean territories that stretch into the landmass. Like this, we don't need to leave the water, and you can fight in your usual territory."
Now, Orthar understood why Gravis wasn't happy. "So since the Energy density lead us right to the continent, it means that we are not on the side of the continent from where we can enter via water."
Gravis nodded. "Exactly," he said. "We might need to change our plans here."
"What do you want to do?" Orthar asked.
"Traveling around the continent until we reach our destination might take us years. You may not mind the wait, but I do. I want to become more powerful and get my perfect body," Gravis said. "I think we should hunt near the shoreline until we both reach the Unity Rank."
Orthar hummed for a bit. "Because we can then form our bodies so that we can go on land without a combat disadvantage, right?" Orthar asked.
Gravis nodded. "With the body I have in mind, I can fight comfortably on land and in water, though maybe a bit better on land. Starting at the Unity Rank, beasts are also able to fly. If you make your body smaller, your tentacles longer and thinner, and attach some claws to them, you should also be able to fight on land effectively."
"I agree to the plan," Orthar said. "I can't always be bound by the ocean. Adaptability to the environment is important."
Gravis nodded again. "Alright. Then, let's get closer to the shoreline," Gravis said.
"I have never seen the shore before. I'm interested in how it looks," Orthar said.
Like this, they continued swimming for a couple of minutes. The ocean grew shallower until it was only around five kilometers deep, no comparison to its usual depth of about 60 kilometers. After reaching that spot, they stopped.
It wasn't that they didn't want to continue, but that a new situation required their attention.
A vast gathering of Spirit Beasts appeared before them. They were all tightly packed together and seemed to wait for something. Gravis saw no weaker beasts around. Everything was just full of Spirit Beasts.
"Why are there so many Spirit Beasts here?" Gravis asked Orthar with furrowed brows. "On top of that, they don't show any indication of fighting, even though there is a lot of prey for them around."
"This is a horde," Orthar said.
"Horde?" Gravis asked with furrowed brows. "Are you just referring to the fact that there are a lot, or is that a word for something specific?"
"A horde is a gathering of beasts under a leader. You can liken it to the Sects, villages, cities, Clans, or other similar gatherings of humans that you have told me about. The beasts belong to one faction and are, therefore, not enemies," Orthar explained.
Gravis' eyes shone a bit. "Interesting," he said as he scratched his chin. Just as Gravis had expected, Orthar's knowledge about beasts was useful. Initially, Gravis had only been interested in staying with Orthar until he became powerful enough, but he quickly grew to like the octopus. For some reason, the two really hit it off.
Maybe it was because of their mindsets? Orthar was rather smart and logical, similar to Gravis. Gravis might get annoyed by Orthar's constant questions, but Orthar never asked a question twice. He was also quite impressed by how well Orthar was assimilating the knowledge.
"So, this means that they are either gathered here because it's their home or because they want to do something," Gravis said as he watched the horde. He was sure that he could find some indication for their gathering.
He saw all kinds of beasts. Eels, sea snakes, octopuses, aquatic lizards, slugs, crabs, lobsters, and shrimps, nearly everything could be found here. Yet, Gravis noticed a peculiarity, which quickly explained their reason for gathering here.
"There are nearly no fish, even though the fish make up the biggest portion of the sea population," Gravis said. "I think I know what they're planning."
"They're attacking the land," Orthar said as he also realized the peculiar makeup of the horde. He didn't need Gravis' words to get on that idea. Orthar was smart enough to realize it by himself.
Gravis nodded. "I think so too. Is there a war between land and sea happening?"
"I don't know," Orthar said. "Let's ask somebody."
"I think it would be better if you do that, Orthar," Gravis said. "On the outside, you appear stronger than me. It should be easier for you to talk to them."
Gravis and Orthar didn't think about attacking the beasts, at least, not until they knew what was going on. If the other beasts got involved when one of them fought, Gravis would be forced to use his Will-Aura. At that point, they wouldn't be able to gather any combat experience.
There were plenty of fish in the sea. Because of that, they didn't need to attack everything they saw. They could find other opponents without any issues later. After all, they were as close to the continent as possible. Nearly every high-rank Spirit Beast born in the sea should be here.
Not many high-rank Spirit Beasts had bodies fitting for combat on land, which was why they wouldn't leave the water until reaching the Unity Realm. Lots of beasts didn't even know about the continent before reaching the level of a Spirit Beast. If one didn't know about the existence of a different environment, they wouldn't be able to modify their bodies to fit that environment.
At that point, they would need one more evolution to confidently go on land. That's why there should be plenty of Spirit Beasts swimming around.
Orthar talked to one beast after another, but it was difficult to glean much from their weak minds. After a while, he just decided to talk to another octopus. This should make the conversation way easier.
Orthar talked to the octopus for several minutes and then returned.
"We have a problem," Orthar said to Gravis.
