Insect Tamer's Ascension

"Hm?"

"… Even if you didn't get to this strength at this age, you would have still been tested at every little moment of your life when you get out of this castle, just because of your first beast and the unique affinity." Elias spoke while trying to be as blunt as possible.

Theo looked at him with wide eyes. Elias could already see his job being gone due to being this honest to a noble.

He moved his face down and looked away, waiting for a rebuke of a noble's tantrum.

"This is the first time, Elias." Yet Theo spoke with a calm tone, making Elias look at him.

Theo was smiling with newfound confidence, "It's the first time you have said something honest that will help me… and not just fuel my ego."

Elias was shocked. It had been many, many months since he had joined this job due to recommendation.

He had kept a professional end all this time, but there were times that he got out of it due to Theo's tenacity.

The will to become something while the world would have already given up on him.

But to see the young child in front of him this calm after he was so bluntly honest made Elias rewire his brain again.

Not all nobles were wrong. Not all of them despised the commoners.

"Yes, I need to prove my strength all the time. That is the reason I am evolving Mantis right now. Just you see—a time will come that the world will fear a beast they found weak all this time." Theo said and looked at Elias.

Elias could see a blaze in Theo's eyes he had seen a lot more times before but had chosen to see it as a child's arrogance.

But now, it hit differently. He felt goosebumps.

Theo looked outside the window again, the sound of that dramatic heavy rain falling on the window's glass, and the thunder erupting every few seconds.

It made an atmosphere in the room that was a lot more pressuring.

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It took Theo a lot more time to get to that last bit of leveling up the skills.

He didn't want to make the Mantis level 5 and complete the breakthrough mission before most of the main requirements for evolution were fulfilled.

It took him two more months to get the Spore Lash to level 4, finally, while the 'Regenerative Moss' was still at level 3 later half.

Another fifteen days later, Theo was standing in front of the forest with the Mantis's status open.

There were only three skills the Mantis possessed:

First and foremost was 'Metallic Strike', a skill that was used a lot of times; the very skill was now halfway to level 5. It had been many months of its training, and it had become the slowest ability to level up.

Yet its strength had long surpassed Theo's expectations; cutting the dummy halfway through the center was a common occurrence now.

But with an additional boost, it could get fully cut in half. That was the strength the Mantis now possessed at its current size.

The next was 'Spore Lash', the skill that was not being used in fights these days, as there was no need for it.

It was at a point that the current beasts the Mantis was tackling could get paralyzed the moment they inhale or have it on their body.

So using it had lessened, as there were skills that Theo and Mantis had to practice that wanted the beast not asleep.

Altogether, its powers were a lot better now.

Lastly, the 'Regenerative Moss' was a skill a lot more unique than the others.

It was mostly a passive one, and leveling only seemed to increase the speed it was growing.

Theo was going to have some help from medical researchers to check if the moss was getting better too, but right now, he didn't want to have a lot in the open about the Mantis—not until it went public.

All Theo knew about that skill was that whenever the Mantis felt even a little injured, it could start eating the moss and miniature leafy growths on its back.

With the ability level requirement for the Mantis's evolution now done, Theo focused on the leveling bit of the Mantis and himself.

The plan was to not only make the Mantis reach the cap but also reach it almost at the same time, even though the experience distribution was always 60% and 40%, making it difficult for the levels to be closer.

Theo started tackling a lot of vipers too; the smaller ones' speed was really good, so it was good practice for reflexes.

After another two months of just grinding the level, Theo was in a clearing of the forest, looking at the Mantis's status with a grin.

"Finally, it's level 5 now," Theo stated with a grin.

"Congratulations, young master."

"Yes, congratulations. Now only you are left to level up to the maximum capacity."

Clara and Elias both expressed their admiration, and Theo nodded while looking at his level.

He himself was now level 4 and needed 200 experience points to reach the level 5 capacity.

'Only after I reach level 5, too, will I get the message for the quest… can't believe I am already at this point.'

"Just 200 more, and I will be there too. Let's be done with it already." Theo said and looked at both his group members with a wild grin.

Both Elias and Clara looked at each other. That grin never brought good things ever.

"Let's find a level 7 viper. Been a while since I saw one." Theo stated and started stretching his body.

"Young master, do you remember the last time we met one? Its speed was a lot more than any average viper in this part of the forest—and even a level 7 boar too." Clara explained, but she knew it would get her nowhere.

Yet, getting information to Theo was an important task too.

"That's what I remembered and thought—maybe it's time I tried something new. If I defeat a few of them on my own and reach level 5, I will finally get the permission to go deeper into the forest." Theo stated with an excited tone, "Only then will you both start leveling again."