Chapter 547: Finishing the Trade
If she had reacted like this a couple of hours ago, Gravis would be surprised. Yet, by now, he had a pretty solid grasp on her personality. Her direct way of saying things wasn't meant in aggression. Gravis guessed that she probably meant these things half-jokingly and half-serious.
He also guessed that the Plant Ultimate was probably bored of all the beasts groveling at her roots. Everyone was coming to her with reverence, and seeing that conduct all the time probably bored her to death. Gravis could empathize with that mindset.
"Alright," the Plant Ultimate said, calmer now. "You can comprehend all you want, but I want more combat-experience with a weapon first."
Gravis smiled and nodded. "That sounds good, but before we begin, I first need to show you all the possible weapons that humans use."
The Plant Ultimate wanted to know how Gravis knew all these things, but if he didn't want to tell her, she wouldn't ask. Gravis had proven his power, and she could respect that.
Over the next day, Gravis showed her many different kinds of weapons and how to use them. He had the most experience with a saber, but he had still learned how to use the other weapons in his homeworld. Additionally, he had seen all kinds of weapons while fighting other humans.
Gravis also learned the Plant Ultimate's name during all of this. Her name was Meadow, and she preferred that Gravis called her that. "Plant Ultimate" just sounded way too distant and formal to her.
Meadow felt most comfortable with a spear and a shield. Plants were very in tune with the earth, and maybe that's why she also felt most comfortable with the weapon combination that earth cultivators used.
Then, Meadow and Gravis fought for several hours. In the beginning, Gravis won the battles very quickly, but just like their previous fights, Meadow's combat-experience with her weapons was growing at an astonishing rate.
In the end, the fights took even longer than their purely physical battles, but Gravis still always won. Even if they used weapons now, one couldn't forget Gravis' other weapons. A fight between weapon-users involved more than simply the weapon. Kicks, punches, shoving, and similar attacks were also relevant, and when it came down to these attacks, Gravis could fall back on his claws.
When Meadow asked why she just wasn't able to win against him, Gravis decided to tell her his backstory. Meadow had proved to be quite straightforward and honest. Additionally, Ferris had a talent for finding trustworthy beings. Ferris had said that Meadow was a nice being, and that had proven true, even though her way of being nice was not the usual way.
After hearing an abridged version of Gravis' story, she realized why she couldn't win. Gravis had basically created an upgraded version of a human's body. His body that the same strengths as a human's body but eliminated all the disadvantages. His body was simply better.
If they only used physical combat, there was no way for her to win with an equally powerful body. That was when Laws came into play. Every being would reach their maximum potential with their body at some point, and it simply wasn't possible to push a body beyond 100% of its ability. That was why Laws became so important.
Meadow didn't require any combat experience with her Laws. Because of that, they didn't start fighting with their Laws. Yet, Meadow was pretty happy with all her gains.
If they had still been Spirit Beasts or weaker, such an extended period of sparring might have dulled their sense of danger. Yet, both Gravis and Meadow had fought so many times with their lives on the line in the past that this sparring session had no adverse effect on them. If someone did something for an extended period of time, they would never lose their edge.
"Alright, that should cover everything," Meadow said. "You've been a huge help, and you're not such a huge pussy as all the other beasts. I like that! You can learn all you want about plants and wood."
Gravis nodded. "Thanks," he said.
Then, another discussion broke out about why Gravis said thanks, and it ended with Gravis saying that he liked thanking others. Meadow simply said, "ew, don't infect me with that pussy-shit," and went back to her usual spot. Her hulking body buried into the ground, and now, only the flower was visible above-ground.
Gravis only smiled and turned to Ferris. "Alright, we can start now."
"Oi oi oi, you deaf or something?" Meadow suddenly asked. "I said you can comprehend the Laws, but not your over-excited boy-toy."
Gravis groaned and turned to Meadow again. "Really? You really wanna do me like this?" he asked, his speech obviously having been influenced by Meadow.
"Ya, Imma do you exactly like this. What you gonna do about it?" Meadow asked smugly.
Gravis scratched his chin in thought.
"Gravis, it's okay," Ferris said. "I don't need to comprehend plants."
"Ferris!" Gravis said with slight aggression, "You are using up your time by following me! I can't have you wasting your time like this! You need to comprehend something, at least!"
Ferris scratched his ear in discomfort, but he decided to remain silent.
"Hey, Meadow," Gravis said.
"Sup?" she asked.
"I've got something you might be interested in," Gravis said with a smirk.
"Oh? What could you possibly have that will interest me? You're a fucking weak-ass level three King," she said.
"How about a Lord Plant that you have never seen before?" he asked.
"Dude, I don't know all the fucking plants in this world. That's not hard to do," Meadow answered.
"I do not mean the specific plant," Gravis said with a smirk. "I'm talking about the kind, as in, a kind of plant that you have never seen before."
"Pfft," Meadow uttered. "As if you have something like that. Bitch, I ain't fast, but I've been all around the world. I've seen all the kinds of plants in the world. Peddle your cheap shit somewhere else."
Gravis only continued smirking. "This plant isn't from this world," Gravis said.
"Wait, what?" Meadow asked. "Does that mean that this plant is from your homeworld?" she asked.
"It sure is," Gravis said.
"Huh," Meadow simply uttered neutrally. "Well, aight, if I truly haven't seen the plant before, your furry boy-toy can also look at my stuff."
BOOOOOOM!
The clouds parted as something truly gigantic appeared. This thing was nearly a thousand kilometers wide, way bigger than any beast Gravis had ever seen, except for the Striders. What was this?
This was the Common Fungus!
Ever since Gravis dissolved the River Tribe, the Common Fungus had become irrelevant. Gravis couldn't feed it since he needed all the food for himself, and he also didn't need to dig more rivers. Due to that, the Common Fungus simply grew widely inside his Life Ring.
Gravis kept the Common Fungus flying above the forest since it couldn't fly by itself. Plants were different from beasts and humans. Flying only became possible for them when they managed to reach the Immortal Realm. After all, that's when they could create human bodies.
CRRRR!
Gigantic roots came out of the forest as they took hold of the Common Fungus. Then, they pulled it into the ground and buried it fully. "That's neat!" Meadow said.
Gravis simply smiled. "It's called the Common Fungus since it's the most common fungus in my homeworld. Quite the straightforward name. It's currently under the control of my Artifact. I will release it from its control, so it might decide to attack me as revenge. If you don't want it to die, don't let it touch me."
Whooop!
Gravis released his control, but nothing happened. Gravis blinked a couple of times. "It doesn't want to attack me?" Gravis asked.
"Oh, it's trying its best to attack you," Meadow said. "I'm simply not letting it. I don't want you to break my new toy!"
"Anyway," Meadow said, "your little friend can also comprehend plants and wood."
CRRRRR!
A quarter of the forest vanished but was quickly replaced with a different forest. There were all kinds of different trees, flowers, and all kinds of plants in that area. Additionally, they all felt way weaker than before.
"I replaced that quarter of the forest with all the plants and wood I know. You can do whatever the fuck you want with that part. Knock yourself out, but don't expect me to blush like some maiden if you keep staring at me with your lusty eyes," Meadow said.
"Pfft, you wish!" Gravis said. "You think I'm interested in having splinters in my dick?"
"You asshole! After all I have done for you," Meadow answered in mock-anger.
Gravis only smiled and gestured for Ferris to follow him. Ferris' tail wagged happily in excitement as he followed Gravis to the newly created forest.
"Time to understand some plants," Gravis said.