Empirica #5

The forest and mountains were full of vitality and looked untouched for a very long time.

There were chirps of birds heard from up in the trees, animal calls from all around and the noise produced by the wind passing by the various plants or rocks which created a variety of different noises.

The crew walked slowly and their footsteps were very quiet, they continued unhindered as most animals kept their distance.

It was as if they had been made aware of a powerful predator and had chosen to avoid it.

Far away there were many kinds of strange animals which could pose a threat to a lot of people but they were shivering and attempting to hide themselves.

The further they were away from the presence they felt, the better they would feel.

Alyssia only did her job as a guide and pointed the way but she had made sure to target any bothersome animals along the way that would slow them down.

It was not that she did not wish to see the progress of her companions but instead was that there was no real challenge for them to have among those they encountered.

Compared to ordinary people or those at the level of the Green Cloaks who found the area to be too dangerous, it was not that threatening to the allies of Alyssia.

They had undergone strict training, had gained many experiences out on the seas and on land, had excellent resources to aid them and have had some time alone to develop on their own.

Their progress would be very frightening and would leave most others surprised.

Just as they were walking further towards their destination, they had stepped into an area which had very long grass which had extended to their waists.

They did not feel anything odd at first until they continued forward and could feel their bodies being pulled back by something.

Some had their legs or hands caught while others had been caught on the bottom of their feet and on their waist area.

"What is this?"

"So sticky!"

They begun to try to pull the selves free but they were surrounded by more of the long grass which was very flexible and sticky.

As they pulled their bodies away, it stretched out and still remained stuck to their bodies, once it had been stretched to the limits it had pulled them back.

When they had moved more recklessly to free themselves they only fell further into the grasp of the grass and had more attached to them which had further restricted their movements.

It was very easy for those caught to be stuck together through the same stalk of grass.

Alyssia watched on they they struggled to free themselves then realised how wrong they were approaching the situation. "So this is the bungee grass…"

According to the knowledge that she had collected from the Green Cloaks, there were many dangerous things within the forest and they were not limited to the animals.

The plants were just as dangerous and as weird as seen on Boin Archipelagos.

There were some predators within the forest but there were some areas where even the most dangerous animals would avoid for various reasons.

Unlike the others, Alyssia was busy examining the area and studying the grass.

The more that others struggled the more they would become stuck and entangled then would be more restricted in their movements.

If it was an animal then they would struggle to free themselves and if they were able to then they would escape by slashing or biting their way free.

The curious eyes of Alyssia sharpened as she could feel a strange life force beneath the ground.

Alyssia was not the only one to stop what they were doing, Yvie was younger than most but her experience with plants was much higher than others and she kept looking over to Alyssia then followed her lead.

Yvie turned her head and frowned. "Big sis Alyssia… something feels strange under my feet after I gave up struggling."

Ideo clenched his fist and pulled back his arm ready to deliver the best destruction fist that he could upon the grass hoping to burn it away but halted once Yvie had spoke up. "Huh? What is it?"

Alyssia rolled her eyes. "You have the right idea to free yourself but ask yourself… what is this plant and what is it releasing which is causing us to become stuck? Sure flames should work on most plants but some could release highly flammable fluids which could cause the fire to spread or explode. Some plants are known to be resistant to fire so your attack may be useless."

She made a quick warning glance over towards the other Minks who were about to rely on their Electro to aid their attacks.

The sticky fluid that was a part of the grass was unstudied and could have all kinds of properties and effects so it was best not to be careless.

Ideo dropped his arm in defeat and grit his teeth to display his annoyance. "This place is horrible, how can I possible grow stronger here? This is more of an annoyance than a training environment."

Alyssia looked away and said mysteriously. "Martial arts does not end with the pursuit to defeat other humans. You must dive deeper to understand the animals, the plants and anything else the world has to show you. It can help you understand where you are lacking."

In her thoughts she was chuckling to herself. 'Mwahaha sure there is some truth in that but most of that was just some garbage I made up on the spot to accept the present situation.'

The playful gaze of Alyssia became sharp all of a sudden then warned. "Stay alert everyone."

She was not the only one to possess Observation Haki so she was not the only one to pick up on what was coming next unless they had dropped their guard.

The quickest to escape was Yvie who had suddenly transformed in appearance and shape as she entered her Zoan form.

It had been shown that she had not yet awakened her Devil fruit and had not completely gained a perfect version of a man beast form but her current form was enough for what she needed.

The razor sharp claws cut through the bungee grass that entangled her leg but there still remained a part of it which remained attached.

Yvie cut as close as she could to avoid damaging her own body and had freed herself in the process but it was tricky to do considering the angle which she was slashing at.

One mistake would cause her to not use enough sharpness and precision which would only further entangle her while if it was too close to her, she could damage her leg just like Zoro had done to himself when trying to free himself from the Wax fruit powers of Galdino/Mr 3.

Her technique, power and precision allowed for the grass which was stretchy in texture like rubber or gum to be slice in one swift movement.

It showed how much her various hand and finger techniques had improved since she had begun learning them.

Val saw how it was done as she was observing, recording and calculating everything then proceeded to remove her spear sword.

She looked imposing and heroic as she raised her sword into the air then a flash of blades cut apart the surrounding bungee grass.

Alyssia followed up by tearing the bungee grass up within a speed that could not be caught by the naked eye then leapt into the air to observe from above.

It was like she was a god that was gazing down with a gaze filled with curiosity upon the mortals that were living out their lives on the surface of the world.

There was no warmth in her gaze and it was only replaced with coldness but also a slight hint of curiosity on how things would turn out in the end.

Alyssia was not there to baby them and assist them when they needed to overcome their challenges.

The only time when she would act was when they were truly at risk of dying.

It was time to assess their growth and to see how they would improve through the dangers on the island.