Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 376. Stronger than what now?

When the abrupt ceremony finally came to an end, the emperor led Theo into the small arena-like chamber separated by a thick glass wall.

Both the baron and the baroness moved forward, eager to see what Theo would be asked to do.

"All you need to do is have your tamed beast use its strongest ability at this thing," the emperor said before clapping once.

Two men in red robes stepped forward. One carried a stone pedestal, while the other held a gleaming orb. They carefully placed the stand at the center and set the orb atop it.

After they finished preparing to let Theo’s mantis attack, the emperor spoke again.

"If your beast can split this orb into two halves, we will consider it on par with a Level 7 aggressive attack-type beast, young Theo."

Theo nodded and called for the mantis to come out of the beast space.

The moment it appeared, the emperor studied it with curiosity. A flicker of disappointment flashed through his eyes before he quickly masked it behind his poker face.

Theo didn’t even care about that. Through their bond, he could already feel the mantis itching to move.

’Show them what you’re capable of, you glutton. Go wild!’ Theo thought through the bond.

The mantis shot forward toward the shining orb.

The more the emperor observed the beast, the more he felt like it was disappointing.

For a fleeting moment, it even came to his mind that Theo might be better off focusing on simply refining his aura rather than training his beasts.

But just as the mantis entered a comfortable range, the emperor saw the small insect fade into a flash of white light before disappearing completely.

The emperor frowned, glancing ahead, then to his left, then right.

Then he saw it.

A small crimson insect stood atop the perfectly intact crystal.

"I think the evaluation for this beast is complete. Well done, Young Theo," the emperor said.

Theo smiled with pride.

"Should we go on to the next one, Your Majesty?" he asked, making the emperor pause for a moment, about to declare that the mantis had failed the first test....

A slight ’CLANK’ and ’THUD’ sound came from the table and echoed in the completely silent chamber.

The emperor turned to the stand and saw that the orb lay cleanly split into two pieces while the mantis held a small shard of the orb between its forelegs.

Clearly, the beast was munching on it, and for every bite it took off the orb shard, a metallic ’Clank’ was produced as it echoed in the still chamber.

"This..." The emperor was momentarily speechless.

But the lack of facial expression made it difficult for Theo to read him and know what was actually happening.

But Theo was certain that the emperor had seen it due to his strength; the orb was cut the instant the mantis used its skill and became a blur.

"...Your beast is stronger than a Level 7 aggressive attack-type beast, Young Theo," the emperor declared aloud.

"We will now test for Level 8."

"Excuse me, Your Highness," Theo interjected politely, making the emperor look at him.

"Can I make a slight suggestion, if it isn’t too much?" Theo asked.

"You’re far too polite, Young Theo. Just speak your mind freely." The emperor couldn’t help but smile at Theo’s antics, and then his gaze briefly shifted to the baron, as if staring directly into the baron’s soul.

"Could we proceed directly to the Level 10 evaluation? It would save a lot of your time, Your Majesty." Theo spoke calmly.

"Hoh?" Genuine surprise flickered across the emperor’s face this time.

"...If you truly believe your beast can handle it, then we shall jump straight to Level 10 evaluation, Young Theo." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The emperor clapped twice.

A robed man hurried back only to return with another orb.

The orb this time wasn’t the same as the one before. This one was pure black, its light absorbing the light around it.

When the robed man kept it near the mantis, who was still munching on the fragment of the previous one, it quickly swallowed what remained in its mouth and then stared at the new orb brought before it.

Before Tho could even say anything, the mantis turned into a blur. In less than a heartbeat, and before Theo could even see it properly, the mantis was on the other end of the orb, standing silently, perfectly upright.

This time, the emperor didn’t make any assumptions and watched the scene playing before his eyes with sharp focus.

A second later, the mantis tugged at the upper half of the orb.

The next instant, a dull ’THUD’ echoed through the process.

"This..." The emperor couldn’t hide the shock on his face this time.

Seeing that expression, Theo felt a surge of satisfaction. The mantis had finally been able to win over the emperor too.

As the baron caught the emperor’s shocked expression, a smug grin crept across his face.

Meanwhile, the emperor instinctively stepped closer to the table to get a better look.

Theo quickly sent a few commands through the bond, warning the mantis that it could do absolutely nothing to the man approaching it, no matter what.

The mantis just gave a small nod. Theo could tell it didn’t even care. A faint cracking noise followed again; it had bitten off a small chunk off the black orb too.

Seeing this, Theo couldn’t help but shake his head.

When the emperor moved closer, he noticed everything the mantis did with focus.

"It seems I was taking your beast lightly, Young Theo," he said.

A different kind of feeling bloomed in Theo’s heart, one that was very weird to describe.

Being told by the emperor, the most important man in the kingdom, that he had taken his beasts lightly was something he had never expected.

It felt like a wish that he never knew he had... yet was still granted.

Yet his pride soon gave way to curiosity as he spoke out loud.

"If you don’t mind, Your Majesty, can we try Level 12 this time? I would like to know the limit of my mantis too."

The emperor slowly turned his gaze toward Theo, and then he saw it, a face that had numerous emotions layered on it.

And strangely enough, that was exactly what Theo had wanted to see all along, even without realizing it.