Insect Tamer's Ascension

Theo and Clara made their way back to the carriage to get home. The day had been a lot.

While the pup was sent back to the beast's space, the boar walked with them and traveled alongside the carriage to get back.

According to Clara, when a beast was injured, it was not advisable to send them to the beast's space. The beast space only helped them rest mentally, while their physical condition could only get worse depending on the severity of their wounds.

For now, Clara could only see deep wounds on its outer body and nothing more. Ironback Boars were known for their defensive hides, which made them excellent tanks and protectors.

The carriage was slow as they tried to match the boar's speed, and by the time they reached the estate, the boar's wounds had worsened significantly.

"After escorting you back, I will have to take him to the infirmary, young master. The wounds are severe." Clara, who had been calm and composed all this time, showed concern for the first time.

When Theo looked at the boar, he nodded. Her tamed beast was in bad shape. Such a thrashing by a powerful creature was brutal.

"I will go and report it on my own, Clara. Go to the infirmary with it, Clara," Theo said with seriousness. While Clara wanted to protest, she knew he wasn't going to listen.

"I will be back as soon as I can, young master. We will talk about what happened soon..." She spoke, and Theo nodded.

After a slight hesitation, Clara went to the infirmary with the boar once Theo had entered the gates of the castle safely.

It felt weird without Clara, as she was always with him, but tending to the injured came first.

The mantis was in its usual box, and Theo tried his best to travel fast. He had a lot to do today.

Several guards met him along the way, and finally, Theo arrived at the baron's workroom.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Theo waited for someone to answer, yet a minute passed and nobody did. He wished to knock again, but it would be rude to do so.

'I might have to tell Alfred if Father is not home… but why is there no one here?' Theo thought, and with a sigh, he traveled back to his room in exhaustion.

It was weird that there was no guard or even the head butler near or in the room. But Theo's mind was not stable right now, so he refrained from thinking about it for now.

When he reached his room, he closed the door, placed the box down, and then lay on his bed.

The mantis came out right away. After looking around the room for a few seconds, its eyes fell on Theo. It started moving and jumped onto the bed.

Theo watched as it came close to his face and stopped near him.

"Today was scary, right?" he asked with a mild smile.

Whatever had transpired still kept him on edge.

"It was fortunate that we had no casualties today, but… In all that happened, what did I do?" he questioned the mantis.

The question wasn't even directed at the mantis, but at himself. In that whole fight, what could a human do? The ape was three times Theo's size, and if not for the boar, he would have died.

"How can I be stronger, Mantis? What can I do to help you and the others in all these situations?"

While thinking about what a human could do, Clara's actions came to his mind.

Throughout the fight, Clara had bravely faced the ape. Throwing daggers, striking its knee, and landing that dart—all done by a human who was in no way comparable to the beast.

The more Theo thought about it, the more his eyes opened.

"I can't just expect you to protect me… Even if you were to become bigger… and stronger…" Theo muttered while looking at the mantis, which hadn't broken eye contact once.

"Even if you were to become the strongest… there will always be times like this, right? Times where I'll be in danger… If I had been alone without Clara in this situation, I would have died within seconds…" Theo spoke to the mantis.

"This is it with me being this weak, Mantis. If you're growing strong, then I will strive to become just as strong." Theo said with sharp eyes. His fear was changing into determination.

Theo aggressively got up from his bed, startling the mantis in the process. He jumped to his feet and made his way to the training dummy.

With a crude punching stance, Theo used all the strength he could muster to hit the dummy.

BANG!!

"KUGHHH!!!"

Theo recoiled, holding his hand in pain. His knuckles were burning, and his wrist felt like it was already broken.

Yet the temporary discipline and adrenaline made him look at the dummy again—it was still unfazed.

With bloodshot eyes, Theo punched again with all his strength using his other hand. Then another punch. And another.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

He kept hitting the dummy with everything he had, yet it remained standing, unfazed. It irked Theo and increased the strength behind his punches.

His knuckles were cut open from the rough ropes, but Theo didn't even feel it. The pain in his wrist was far worse.

He kept hitting the dummy until he had no strength left in him. Theo looked at his shaking hands and grunted.

'This is me right now… but not anymore.' He thought while looking at his bruised, red hands.

The mantis had been watching Theo with its big eyes. With every hit and pained groan, its face twitched as if it could feel the pain too.

The mantis hopped down from the bed and moved toward Theo's feet. When Theo looked at it, the mantis had already used its main skill.

In a flash, it reappeared next to the training dummy, and in the next moment, a deep cut appeared on it.

Theo stared at the rope-wrapped dummy and then at the mantis, which was still staring at him. A grin formed on his face, and he started hitting the dummy again with everything he had. He didn't care about his form or what he hit it with.

But one thing was absolutely clear now—things needed to change, and they needed to change fast.