Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 32: Sweet Evolution (1)- The grind

When Theo reached back to his room, he went directly to his bed and lay down.

'Three days should be enough...' A long sigh left his mouth, and Theo couldn't help but feel like things were partially going according to his plan.

For the first time, he had left the praying mantis to roam around in his closed room, and while it was curiously hopping around and exploring everything, there was no damage done.

Instinctually trusting the Iron Mantis, Theo went to sleep, and when Clara came to his room after hearing the news, she simply removed his shoes and laid a blanket over him.

She wanted to say something to him—that she was not the one who snitched about him—yet seeing Theo sleeping so peacefully, she couldn't bring herself to wake him.

The mantis, after exploring everything, finally came back to Theo's bed and stared at him with its big eyes.

There was no telling what was going on in its small brain.

Surprisingly enough, it lay down on the bed, and while its hind legs still moved up and down, the praying mantis eventually slept too.

In the morning, Theo started feeling a prickly sensation on his hand.

"Ugh..."

Another prick made him jolt awake, and when Theo looked at his arm, there was a small white line on his dry skin. The mantis was sitting there, looking at him with its big eyes.

"Are you hungry, Mantis?" Theo asked with a big smile.

The mantis moved its forelegs up and down, and Theo understood what it wanted.

He offered his hand, and the mantis took it without hesitation. Still sleepy, Theo went to the terrarium room and looked at it with a deep sigh.

'If I don't do anything... they all die, huh...'

Theo never thought of them as his pets, not even once, but after taking care of them for so long, he couldn't help but feel a bond—even if it was one-sided.

Yet, he couldn't blame his father for this decision. In the Baron's eyes, Theo was already daring enough to make a contract with an insect.

If he didn't take drastic measures, there would always be a chance that Theo would go for another insect.

'I didn't want to take this evolution option right away... it seems lackluster. But on the other hand... I only have three days to prove myself. Would.... taking this mean the evolution is done? Will there be no more opportunities for any after this?'

Questions like these plagued his mind, yet there was no one or nothing to give him any answers.

There was only trial and error, which Theo knew would leave him with many regrets along the road.

'But I need to know all this before my next tamed beast. If I can decipher most of my affinity by level five, things could go right... yes.'

"Mantis, do you want to fight again?" Theo asked with a grin, and the mantis moved back into its fighting stance, making him chuckle.

After feeding all his creatures, Theo waited for Clara to ready his bath and bring his breakfast.

Once everything was done, they ventured back into the forest, having a hearty conversation along the way.

Theo had already decided that he was going to trust her. The leaked information had come from the infamous Alfred, also known as the 'Butler of Information.'

Looking at the status screen, the mantis had already defeated two slimes above its level, and only one more remained before the evolution mission could be partially completed.

When they found the first prospective slime to kill, Theo noticed that the mantis kept using the same strategy repeatedly.

It would enter the slimes, use the 'Metallic Strike' skill inside, and destroy the core in the process.

Just like that, the mantis killed another slime, and that was when Theo realized that the percentage of skill progression was also increasing with each ability use.

That realization made Theo pause.

After discussing it with Clara, he understood something important—leveling up a skill could be just as lethal a weapon as leveling up a beast itself.

And when there was downtime between fights, Theo had a sudden idea.

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He gave some mental commands to the mantis, but unfortunately, it did not listen—until Theo decided he would bribe the damn mantis.

The mantis's eyes almost perked up at this mental command, and Theo knew it had taken the bait, he was offering his favorite type of insect to eat after he completed what eh wanted it to.

Theo's plan was simple: to not waste time, he would command the mantis to attack trees and plants around them using its ability.

He wanted to see if this method would work.

At first, he had to make the mantis understand what a tree was. After experimenting for a while, Theo sent mental images of a tree to the mantis, and only then did it finally go toward one.

From then on, the mantis attacked the tree multiple times with its skill. Small cracks formed on the bark, yet nothing extravagant—just barely noticeable marks.

Theo had it continue attacking and recorded the progress.

Finally, after multiple hits, a few percentage points were added to the skill's proficiency.

Theo was thrilled.

With this, he could train not only his beast's level but also its skill mastery.

According to Clara, at a certain point in a tamer's journey, only skill usage and proficiency mattered.

When the direwolf pup finally located some slimes to hunt, Theo and Clara, along with their tamed beasts, traveled to the location.

The grind was becoming repetitive, but seeing the progress accumulate little by little was a great motivator for Theo.

It was finally time for the mantis to evolve, and Theo couldn't be more excited.