Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 103: Capturing a viper! (1)

Theo was sitting by the carriage, his mantis eating all the beast corpses collected in one area.

His eyes were on the letter to know just what else he could do right now.

"I have 5 Yellow stars now," Theo muttered.

"That is great for the first day, young master. Now, 15 more and you will get your first yellow rating," Clara said with a light clap.

Theo nodded with a smile, "I have 4 missions left before this letter is fully completed. Let's see…" He looked at the later missions, and the first one was already something he had no idea how to complete.

"What does a grade 1 herb look like, Clara? Do they have some special differences?"

In a forest as dense as this one, Theo was sure that finding a specific type of herb could either be very tough or the easiest thing to do.

"Grade 1 herbs look no different than normal plants, young master. If you looked at them without knowledge, then you won't be able to ever find them," Clara explained, making Theo stare at her.

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"Won't you help me find it?" Theo asked, his eyebrows furrowed in skepticism.

Clara first kept looking at Theo but finally muttered, "I can't. If I helped you, then it would be considered cheating, young master. You have to figure these out on your own."

"I see."

While Theo felt disappointment, it made sense too. Though herbs as low as grade 1 had no value, he had read in a book that higher-grade herbs found in the depths of forests all around the world could even fill an inventory with gold—such was their value and importance.

Theo did not waste any time and stood up. There was one mission that he could try right now.

"Let's go and capture a viper, Clara." He stated and walked toward the mantis sitting on three corpses of vipers, eating everything in its path frantically.

Clara looked at Theo in concern. The viper capture was not as easy as capturing the moss slime.

Theo started thinking of a plan as to what he could do. There was no use in asking Clara, as she wasn't going to help anyway.

The vipers were nothing like the slime—capturing one would need more than just paralysis.

'If I am going to capture one, then a level 1 viper is the one I will go for…' Theo thought and nodded.

Going for anything higher than that could be dangerous, as he needed the viper alive until he went back to the castle.

'I need a box… a bigger one.'

Theo had done this level of planning for the first time, and by now, he had seen a lot of discrepancies. If he wanted to complete so many missions, there were things he needed that he currently lacked.

He went to the letter again and read it one more time. The last one was the bonus task that he wasn't very confident about.

But only when he read the second last one again did he realize something. He looked at Clara's face with surprise, who reciprocated with a knowing expression.

"Clara… would you like to join my group?" Theo asked slowly, as if unsure whether it would work or not.

Warren looked at the interaction and then at Theo. He smiled and chuckled, then went back to brushing the stag's back.

"I will gladly join your group, young master," Clara said with a bow.

"Good. So now, can you help me with some stuff? I just got an idea I first need to validate."

Clara curved her lips into a smile and, after a second, nodded. It seemed all Theo had to do was ask her to join the group, and she could have helped all this while.

Now that he was at it, Theo decided to complete the next mission too: to make a group and lead them in a fight.

Yet, when Theo thought about it a little, he realized that defeating an ironclad boar with her might just be better. He could take care of the capturing with some help.

Theo first told her the whole plan, and Clara listened closely. She bobbed her head up and down multiple times during that explanation, and only when he finished did she start thinking about whether it was good or not.

"…You could do this, and it might just work, but… isn't it kind of dangerous, young master?" She spoke.

"If it gets even a slightly dangerous, I will give the mantis the command to kill the viper even before it could come close enough to do something."

Clara looked at Theo—mostly his eyes. They were determined, and with one look, she could tell that he was confident in the plan.

"Okay, but I will be with you the whole time. If even by the slightest chance I think it will hurt you, I will take care of it on my own."

"Do what you think is right… Now, let's make the preparations." Theo said, and Clara just nodded.

Theo first checked the stick, one side of which was slobbered with the slime's body. It was kept right beside the box with the captured slime that occasionally made the box bob.

Theo analyzed the stick yet threw it back into the carriage—it was not good enough.

In a forest filled with infinite sticks like this one, if not better, Theo decided to find the one first.

He went to his usual spot where the pup protected his front while the boar took the back.

Twenty minutes passed, and Theo kept searching for the best stick to use. He got the idea of just going back and getting the castle's blacksmith to craft him a metal one that was better.

But in the back of his head, he thought about trying to do this thing on his own this time, with little to no help from Clara too. The mission were not only about gaining reputation, but proper knowledge too.

Theo had realized that in places such as the gates and some parts of the academy, the attendants were not allowed. In the gate, or in the fight with the outer devils, it didn't matter if a person was royalty, noble, or commoner—they were all the same in the face of death.

Soon, Theo finally saw something worthwhile on one of the trees and smiled, it was time.