Insect Tamer's Ascension

Theo met their gazes calmly.

"As the leader, it was my responsibility to fully understand what each member was doing," Theo said, making Merek snort in response, clearly displeased.

"Attendant Cassian, would you like to share the technique you used?" Theo asked.

Cassian nodded with a grin, making Lucien feel a hint of satisfaction, like the guy really had done something good.

"I used one of these sticks they have at the side near the rope," Cassian explained, holding up a small, refined blunt stick.

Everyone looked at it, each with different expressions.

"You grab a Mirewhisk like usual, then lightly hit its head with this. Too much force will kill it on the spot; you only want to make them unconscious for a short time."

He demonstrated by tapping one of the Mirewhisks he had captured with the stick.

The little guy didn’t respond for a few seconds until its face twitched and its eyes opened slowly. It tried to move, but its legs were tightly bound.

Cassian was still grinning confidently until he noticed Lucien pointing at one of his captures.

He turned and saw that one Mirewhisk had already slipped a foreleg out of the knot.

"HAHAAHHAHAH!" Oric burst out in laughter, startling everyone.

But the instructor cared about nothing but the technique.

"You did very well, but your knot-tying skills are quite bad. You need to practice a lot!" Oric spoke, patting Cassian’s shoulders a little too aggressively.

"Instructor Oric, what did you think about Clara and Elias?" Theo asked, cutting the praise before it went on too long.

Oric looked at Clara and Elias, then at the direwolf, a more composed smile forming on his face this time.

"Perfectly done. I can already pass both of you in the small beast extraction test. Good job!"

Yet his eyes shifted back to Theo, disappointment returning to his face.

"I had expected quite a lot from you, Young Theo. But you did nothing."

Theo shook his head.

"Now that I have observed who lacks in what and who excels where, I can finally form the plan that will work the best."

He smiled, making Oric genuinely excited.

"You seem confident!" he called out and clapped his hands.

At the signal, the workers brought out another cage, this one packed with Mirewhisks clawing and writhing to get out.

"Everyone, I would like you to stand back for this one. I will call you soon enough; please join me then," Theo spoke, adjusting his collar as he stepped forward.

It was an understatement to say that all eyes were on Theo, each gaze filled with interest.

The instructors, the team members, and even the nearby workers stopped or had their eyes on, watching what he was going to do.

One of the workers opened the cage, and the Mirewhisks bolted out of the cage.

Theo’s forehead shone bright, and a beast emerged the next instant.

Lucien gulped, recognizing what it was instantly, while Clara and Elias already had a strong suspicion of what Theo was about to do without him needing to tell them.

The mantis landed among the Mirewhisks, and everything seemed to have stopped.

Oric, the instructor, froze, and so did everyone else.

At the back, the other instructors instinctively rose as a pricking sensation crawled across their skin.

Lysara and Garrick remained seated, their eyes locked on the creature, every instinct in their body screaming at them to step away from this area and run for their lives.

All the bird-beasts circling in the air above glided back to their tamers and perched on their shoulders while watching the mantis.

All the Mireshisks froze in place.

And the only one who kept moving forward was Theo.

He calmly picked up one of the creatures, its breathing violent as if it were a prey waiting to be devoured and nothing better to do.

"Alright, everyone, we can capture all of them now. Please make your way here along with your ropes," Theo called out in a tone that seemed like a command. He was still new to this leadership thing.

He sat down and began tying the creature after placing it on his lap.

Oric stared, his gaze fixed on what Theo was doing, just unable to look away.

The scene before him felt surreal, and the silence spoke more than words ever could.

Clara was the first one to move, grabbing a rope and stepping forward, followed by Elias.

Lucien clenched his teeth too and joined them soon after.

Sir Kaelor stared at them as they moved and tried getting out of the suppression too, but it felt very difficult to do so.

Every step forward felt heavy, but he forced himself forward and started brisking toward the ropes, avoiding even a glance at the mantis.

Every other person in the group remained frozen, either in shock or in fear.

With everyone’s help, Theo tied almost all the creatures.

The mantis, meanwhile, casually snatched a few Mirewhisks to eat while they continued tying the rest.

Its share was inevitable.

Five minutes later, Theo stood up and took a deep breath.

In front of them lay around sixty Mirewhisks, all tied up, while Clara, Elias and Lucien were still going on.

"These should be enough samples, right, Instructor Oric?" Theo asked, a small smile tugging at his lips, one only the instructors noticed. Everyone else was just too focused on the mantis.

Theo knew exactly what he had done there, and the instructors could tell right away from his smile. Oric suddenly burst into applause, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Theo blinked, surprised. The suppression didn’t seem to affect him anymore.

"MAGNIFICIENT, YOUNG THEO! I SEE WHAT MY LORD SAW IN YOU! TRULY MAGNIFICIENT!" Oric shouted aloud, almost like a mad man.

"Can I go near it?! Will you protect me?!" the instructor added eagerly, making Theo chuckle.

"I would be happy to do that, Instructor Oric. Unfortunately, the others are still too affected by my beast."

He gestured toward the rest of his team.

The two instructors at the back watched just as intently as Oric, though they were still clearly affected, unlike Oric.

Theo quickly recalled the mantis, making it let out an annoyed screech, clearly displeased at being interrupted mid-meal.

That screech was the last nail in the coffin.

Theo watched as everyone, except his attendants and his brother, either armed themselves with their tamed beasts or weapons or simply started to run away.