Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 42: Skills

After Theo returned to his room, there was so much to contemplate.

"This has become more serious than I thought…"

"The way you said that your abilities could be the same as the esteemed artifact would make any situation complicated, young master."

Clara was near the shelf, brewing tea for Theo.

"All I wanted at that time was to save my Mantis. Now, all I need to do is stay discreet about my affinity, and things will be okay… at least, I hope they will." Theo ranted, making Clara come toward him.

She went down on her knees and grabbed Theo's hand in concern.

"Young master, the Baron thinks very highly of you. Nothing will happen to you when you have such a loving family. Please don't let this dishearten you, please." She stated, her eyes becoming watery.

That was when Theo realized he had been ranting for some time now over nothing.

"Hahaha, you are right. I already have countless things to worry about. Well then, how about we go to the forest again? I want to train my Mantis, Clara."

"Only train and not level up as you said before?"

"Yes, no leveling for now."

"Then there's a better way to do this. How about I get you a sparring dummy for your room? That way, you will be able to train your Mantis properly." She suggested, making Theo grin.

"That's a great idea! Then please get me that training dummy quickly. Oh, what shape is the training dummy in?"

"Shape? As in quality? It's of the most premium quality, young master."

"No, no, I mean, is it shaped like a human or a beast?"

"O-Oh~ Well, usually, it's just a high-quality broad wood pole for low-level beasts. The higher-level ones get custom-made dummies if needed. But I think the wooden pole would be the best for the Mantis, young master."

"Well, I trust your judgment."

With that, Clara left to get the training dummy, and Theo went through the Mantis's status again.

He wrote down everything he could understand about its skills. When Clara returned with some laborers carrying the sparring dummy, Theo finally resumed the Mantis's training.

It was easy to make the Mantis attack something that wouldn't yield anything. He just had to bribe it with images of its favorite insects as a reward.

Once the laborers finished setting up the dummy, they looked at Theo, gave a respectful bow, and left the room. Theo had kept the Iron Mantis in a box before they arrived.

The training dummy was nothing more than a thick circular pole wrapped in clean, light-brown ropes from top to bottom.

Theo commanded the Mantis to attack the ropes on the pole. As always, the Mantis sped toward it and used its Metallic Strike.

After the attack, Theo observed that the dummy was completely fine—there wasn't even a single scratch, much like the trees in the forest.

"Best quality, huh?" He recalled, and from that point on, he made the Mantis attack the pole every five seconds.

Time passed slowly as the Mantis continuously attacked the pole, but at one point, it stopped and demanded a reward.

Theo had to keep at it for a long time until he finally noticed progress. Within an hour, the percentage had increased to 22%, a significant rise in his eyes.

During all this time, Clara remained inside, watching Theo train so diligently. At such a tender age, most would be focused on enjoying life as they should.

Yet Theo barely rested and acted like an adult most of the time. If Clara knew his soul was old, she would understand, but seeing a child work this hard was both inspiring and saddening.

Another hour passed, and the skill's progression increased by 10%, bringing it to 32%.

'It's averaging around 10-12% per hour… Hmm, that's a good pace. The Mantis also seems more engaged in the training now.' Theo thought.

The Mantis hadn't taken a single break aside from pausing to eat for a few seconds. The past two hours had been so efficient that Theo had lost track of time.

Finally, Theo decided to take a break and glanced at Clara, who was sitting nearby, watching him with a smile.

"Are you done, young master? Should I bring some snacks now?" She asked as she stood up.

"No snacks, but the training was very good. The percentage of the skill's level increased to 32%, Clara. Is that good?"

Clara hummed in thought for a few seconds before replying, "It's a good speed, but keep in mind that skill progression is always fast at level 0. You'll start noticing it slow down from level 1, young master."

"Alright." Theo went back into deep thought, leaving Clara hanging in the conversation. Yet she didn't mind. It was a habit of his—perhaps a bad one—but nobles tended to have such quirks.

'If I keep going like this, the skill will reach level 1 today. It may take some time, but it will be worth it. I have a good feeling…'

Theo resumed training, while Clara went to handle other matters.

The day passed in much the same way. When it was finally time for Theo to sleep, the skill had reached 99%, and in just a few more seconds, it finally hit 100%.

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[Skill 'Metallic Strike' of Moss Carapace Mantis has leveled up]

[Level 0 → Level 1]

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"Yes! Finally!" Theo exclaimed in excitement.

There were now several small, barely visible scratches on the ropes.

"Alright, that's enough, young master. Time to sleep!" Finally, Clara intervened and stopped Theo from training.

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"Let me check something first, Clara."

Theo gave a command to the Mantis, and it became a blur. A faint sound echoed as a small cut appeared on the lower rope.

The Mantis stood right by the scar, staring at it intently.

"The strength of the attack finally increased. Now there's a chance to kill some level 4 moss slimes now. Hahhh~ I can't wait." Theo couldn't hold back his grin any longer.

"It's not just that, young master."