Insect Tamer's Ascension

Theo saw the mantis in surprise before he took a few more steps of distance.

The mantis hadn't used its 'Metallic Strike' skill, but just brisked toward the eye and punctured it.

The boar roared with a lot of pain and jerked its face to get the mantis out.

Yet it only made the mantis move left and right, with the two forelegs still in the eye socket.

Theo winced, thinking about how it would feel—to get those blade-like legs in the eye and then move them around.

Without wasting time, he moved forward with his shoulders and arm muscles tightened. It was going to be a strong hit.

'Get out of there,' Theo gave the command as the blade already started moving toward the boar's face. The mantis only had to hop once, and it was so fast that Theo only saw a small silhouette move back, making him know that it was gone.

BANG!!

Theo banged the flat side of the blade right at the boar's head again to do some internal damage while he was at it.

The boar stumbled for a second but looked at Theo with one rabid eye.

SQUEAAKKKK!!!

It moved forward with speed to hit Theo and get done with this nonsense.

Theo was again going to dodge at the last moment, seeing that the boar was so predictable.

But when he saw that red glow form on its tusks, a shiver ran through his spine and he dodged toward the now-blind side of the boar right away.

The boar tried jerking its head at the blind side to try hitting Theo. Unfortunately, he was already a lot farther away.

'Mantis, come back to me—we will do that trick,' Theo spoke to the mantis through his thoughts and waited at the spot.

The boar had now been hit two times on the head—so hard that if it were a human instead, there would have already been some internal bleeding.

Not only the boar's skin, but its will and internal system were better than most boars he had encountered till now.

The boar's head was still a little wobbly, but with a single battle roar, it moved toward Theo with the same reddish glow in its tusks.

"This is driving me insane…" Elias, who was just outside the clearing, had his hands clenched at the battle in front of him.

"We're close enough. Tell your beasts to be ready to get in anytime." Clara spoke with a cold tone, her eyes fixed on the battle as she tried playing out scenarios in her head before they even happened.

The boar was ready, while the pup had its eyes very sharp while it stared at the boar. If it were looking at any other beast, they would've known that someone was out there—but boars were dense creatures, often missing out on vital information.

The boar moved forward again, and Theo dodged to the side, yet the boar was onto this strategy now. It moved its tusks a lot further toward the right and was almost going to touch Theo right at the armor—but Theo completely jumped back.

"That was close…" Theo huffed and went into position again. He didn't know if the skill could really pierce the armor he was wearing, and he had no intention of finding out right now.

Theo felt a tug on his leg, finding the mantis climbing onto him. The boar was still away, so he quickly grabbed the mantis in his right hand, keeping the sword up with the left.

'Get ready, I'm starting,' Theo gave another mental command, and seeing the mantis in its fighting stance on his hand made him know that it remembered.

The boar shook its head one more time, making a lot of blood splatter on the ground, only to get soaked into the soil under all the dried grass right away.

Its eye's bleeding was severe—but seeing how big its size was, it didn't seem like a worry.

It banged its foreleg a few times on the ground before starting to run again.

All the spectators looked on with focus—only to find something strange this time.

"He isn't moving. Why is he not moving?" Clara asked in a light whisper, yet there was a faint panic in her tone and eyes.

When the boar was halfway there, Theo quickly went for his small plan. He moved his hand back with the mantis on it, and with all the strength he could muster, Theo threw the mantis toward the boar in a straight line.

All the bystanders were dumbstruck, with the ape making light noises in astonishment.

The mantis, now in midair for a second, was already very close to the boar approaching Theo.

Even at that speed, its eyes were locked in. And with the prior speed as a new weapon, it activated its best skill.

CLANK!!!

A loud metallic sound resounded everywhere. The boar didn't stop—but after just a few seconds, it fell headfirst to the ground.

Clara instinctively entered the clearing as if things were over—she didn't know it, but there was this feeling.

Theo looked at the boar with hesitation before he moved a few steps forward with his sword gripped tightly.

'No message yet…' he thought, while he tried to spot the mantis on the dead-looking boar's body.

Suddenly, Theo stopped when the boar started shivering all over and its legs started kicking. It felt like a seizure.

He tightened the grip and went to give the last kill shot.

__________

Moss Carapace Mantis has helped defeat the Ironback Boar (level 7).

[Level (+) and grade (+) difference detected]

[Adding 50% to the base EXP]

[EXP gained: 99 + 50%

Distribution:

Theo Merrick – 59.40

Moss Carapace Mantis – 89.10 ]

__________

Theo saw the kill message and froze right away.

Clara stopped midway after looking at that expression; she knew it very clearly.

Elias entered too and looked at Theo.

"I-Is it down?" he asked while giving his beasts the mental command to come fight if something was wrong.

Theo's gaze moved toward Clara and Elias, and he only nodded with a numb expression.

He was still letting it sink in—the idea of him and the mantis defeating a level 7 beast while they both were still such low level.

'Wait…' he soon remembered the main thing he was doing this all for and quickly went to look for the mantis.

Yet after looking at it on the boar's body—Theo stopped again.