Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 38: Not acting tamed?

Theo saw the Mantis pounce on the slime as it moved past the branches of the bush, making them rustle as they got pushed inside it's body.

Just as the Mantis made contact, Theo had to focus more, as everything was happening on a very small scale.

But then he realized something—the right foreleg, which the Mantis attacked with, had not entered the slime at all. Strangely enough, the slime froze in place.

Theo frowned in confusion yet was surprised at the same time. A second later, the Mantis vanished from its spot again, only for the slime to pop instantly, its core falling to the ground and breaking several small branches.

=====

[Iron Mantis killed a Moss Slime - Uncommon (Level 3)]

[Grade & Level difference detected]

[Adding 35% to the base EXP]

[EXP gained: 15 + 35%]

Distribution:

Theo Merrick - 8.1

Iron Mantis - 12.3]

=====

Theo looked at the kill message and then at the slime's level.

'It killed a level 3?' He thought in surprise.

Everything had been going so well after the evolution, yet something didn't feel right. He turned toward Clara, who had a frown on her face.

When their eyes met, she finally spoke. "Young master, your Mantis has grown stronger, and maybe it will keep getting stronger and changing with time because of your help, but… it's not acting like a tamed beast right now, which is a major disadvantage."

Theo kept looking at the Mantis, which had camouflaged itself again and was already moving toward another approaching slime. That made him think about it more seriously.

"Let me ask you this—you saw how the boar was struggling with the slimes, right, young master?" Clara asked, and Theo nodded.

"The boar also knows about its ability. It could get rid of the slimes on its own without much damage, yet it didn't. That's because it is trained to only use its ability when I tell it to. That is a tamed beast, young master." Clara stated, making Theo realize something as well.

"The Mantis keeps acting on its own… and uses its ability without being told to. I don't know what changed in it after that thing called evolution, but it killed that slime at the same speed as the pup. Which is great, but… you get my point, young master."

Clara stopped speaking, and just as she did, Theo received another kill message. He felt like the process was on autopilot. While it felt nice to some extent, he knew this was bad.

'Mantis, come back.' Theo ordered, making the Mantis halt from moving toward the next slime, which was quite close.

It looked at Theo, then at the slime, before quickly retracting from the bush and scuttling toward him with its many small legs.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

'Stand right there.' Theo commanded, pointing to a spot. The Mantis looked at his finger with confusion.

Still, it stopped in place and looked between Theo and the slimes multiple times. There were three left to kill.

'Get ready for a fight.' Theo said through the mental bond, and the Mantis moved into its fighting stance.

Clara was surprised to see the Mantis respond so well, but when she saw the serious and focused expression on Theo's face, she couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

The slimes were nearing, and the closest one was level 3. Theo waited for it to come a little closer before giving the next command.

'Spore Lash.' Theo commanded.

The Mantis became a blur and appeared before the approaching slime.

Its foreleg moved toward the slime, which seemed ready to take the hit. But as soon as the foreleg made contact, both Theo and Clara saw something strange.

A powdery substance seemed to be released from the pointed foreleg and entered the slime.

The slime, which had been rigid, suddenly became loose under Theo's gaze.

'Metallic Strike to the core.' Theo gave a more complex command, wanting to test the Mantis's understanding. He still wasn't sure whether the Mantis even knew what a core was, even though it had eaten so many of them.

To his relief, the Mantis became a blur again, and in the next instant, the slime popped, spilling its watery body onto the ground.

=====

[Iron Mantis killed a Moss Slime - Uncommon (Level 3)]

[Grade & Level difference detected]

[Adding 35% to the base EXP]

[EXP gained: 15 + 35%]

Distribution:

Theo Merrick - 8.1

Iron Mantis - 12.3]

=====

The other slimes didn't seem to care about what had happened; they were still moving forward, trying to get to the Mantis no matter what.

They even ignored the cores and slimy bodies of the dead slimes.

'Come back,' Theo ordered again, but this time, the Mantis did not return immediately.

It eyed the two remaining slimes with an unknown emotion until, finally, its legs began to move backward slowly, though its body remained facing the slimes.

Theo celebrated silently upon seeing the Mantis obey his commands. The last one had seemed forced, yet the Mantis still understood and reacted fast enough.

Once the cooldowns reset, Theo did the same with the next slime, which was level 4 this time.

He wasn't sure whether the Mantis would be able to damage the slime or not, given the level difference.

Theo quickly commanded it to use 'Spore Lash' on the slime. When it did, the same thing happened again—the slime loosened rather than retaining its usual tight, ball-like shape.

It seemed that the paralysis effect of the ability was extremely effective, and it was still only at level 1.

'Metallic Strike to the core,' Theo ordered once more, and the Mantis obliged.

It became a blur and appeared on the other side of the slime after traveling from inside it.

For the first time ever, the slime did not pop.

The slime changed its trajectory and was about to suck the Mantis in upon contact when Theo suddenly panicked.

"DODGE!" He shouted out loud.

The Mantis immediately reacted, jumping to the left with a wary posture.

Theo sighed in relief—the slime was once again far from it.

'Come back, Mantis.' Theo called it back.

It seemed there were still things Theo had to train the Mantis in before it could fight confidently against higher-level opponents.