Insect Tamer's Ascension

"They ended the conversation soon, and Theo was a lot happier and satisfied now.

"I only need to kill 2 more level 7 beasts, and then it will just be things that I can do within the castle," Theo stated while tapping his feet on the floor of the carriage in excitement.

It was not until Clara kept her hand on his knee to stop him that he realized it.

"Young master, if you don't mind, can you please tell me what this is all about now?" Elias asked with calmness.

Theo looked at him and smiled mildly. It had been a while since Elias was his attendant, and to say that he didn't trust him now would be just a lie.

"So, you know about my affinity, right?" Theo asked, and Elias nodded.

"It's a unique affinity called 'Evolution'," Elias spoke.

"This affinity helps me evolve my beast into a greater form. But to understand that, you gotta understand what evolution in this affinity means," Theo spoke and started explaining what evolution meant.

Elias was at first calm, yet with time, he was flabbergasted.

In the end, Theo came down to the example of his own beast, "The mantis was just an ordinary 'Iron Mantis' when I tamed it, and with one evolution, it is now what you can see, a 'Moss Carapace Mantis', and that was because I evolved it, Elias."

Theo stopped and continued, "The next requirement I found through my affinity wants me to defeat 3 beasts that are three levels higher than the mantis."

"You mean… it's going to change again?" Elias asked while looking at the mantis, who was eating a chunk of the boar while sitting on it at the side.

"Yes, and this information is top secret according to the Baron, so, if you ever leak this outside, then there will be serious repercussions," Theo spoke with a serious expression.

"I will never tell a single soul about what we conversed about today, young master. Please don't worry." Elias closed his eyes and bowed toward Theo, who just nodded.

Yet there was this proud expression on Elias's face as if he was very happy knowing about this secret finally.

There was silence in the carriage after that, and Theo devised new plans in his head.

When they reached back, the boar was recorded to be killed by Theo, making a few missions to be completed automatically, giving him a lot of yellow stars.The boar's corpse was then given to Clara, who was going to sell it for a profit.

Theo was not only doing this to help Clara but also to make a good reputation for her in the market.

Bringing a level 7 beast to the market did not happen a lot of times.

And after getting that reputation up and giving Clara a lot of experience to sell things for profit, Theo was one day going to fulfill her dream of retiring while doing a business partnership with him.

He had already researched a lot about the silk that they were going to use, but it was something that needed a lot of time and a lot more silkworms to produce something useful out of it.

It was Theo's goal, yet there were a lot more important things he needed to complete first.

***

Two days later, Theo was sitting in his chair looking out from the window of his room.

There was a thunderstorm going on, and rain seemed to be falling like stones.

He soon looked at the table where the mantis was currently at, eating its veggies like a good boy.

[Evolution Information:

Next Evolution – Bloodbloom Mantis [Optional]

Requirements –

Defeat beasts 3 levels above the Moss Carapace Mantis (3/3)

Consume 3 litres of beast blood (210ml/3L)

Consume a Thornhide Viper poison sac (0/1)

Reach level 4 for 'Regenerative Moss' skill (3/4)

Reach level 4 for 'Spore Lash' skill (3/4)

Breakthrough level 5 (0/1)

New Traits:

Regenerative Moss (Ability) → Bloodbloom Moss (Ability): Healing moss feeds on enemy blood to accelerate regeneration.

Spore Lash (Ability) → Venom Spore Lash (Ability): Spores carry a neurotoxin that causes muscle spasms in prey.

Poison Spray (Ability) – Toxic poison sprayed from the mouth with a cooldown of 5 minutes per spray.

Poison Sac (Gland) – The mantis produces a concentrated venom in its body.]

*

In the evolution description of the mantis, there it was—all three of the level 7 beasts were defeated, which finally completed one of the main requirements.

'Now I need to focus on leveling the skills and passing the level 5 status.'

Theo thought and looked outside the window again.

"Elias."

"Yes, young master?" Elias was right at the table preparing his evening tea.

"How many below the age of 10 reach level 5?" Theo asked.

Elias looked at him for a moment before he spoke, "There are records about this in the academy, but to my estimation, around 500–1000 people of your age reach level 5 and break through, young master."

"Hmm…" Theo nodded, and after a few seconds, asked again, "So you know of the status of these people that reach it at such a young age?"

Elias thought for a few minutes, and there was silence. Only the sound of the tea brewing resounded in the room.

"It's mostly the royals who are forced to develop from a very young age… then there are noble families that are either trying to get back to their status or become better with the help of their heirs," Elias spoke, making Theo nod again, yet he was not done.

"There are noble families that try to help their heirs become level 5 just for the sake of it; they don't have any strength, unlike you, young master. There are some perks related to passing level 5, and doing it at a young age makes it even more beneficial."

Theo wanted to ask about the benefits one gets from reaching it, yet that was something he could ask later. Right now, Theo was still not done.

"Then there are commoners who try breaking out of their fate, trying to get better fast and often win but mainly still lose. That is all the kinds of people that reach it at such a young age."

"Hm… So I will have to prove to many that I am strong just because I am going to reach this level sooner than the others, huh."

There was a little silence before Elias spoke, "Please don't be offended, young master. But…"