Insect Tamer's Ascension

Everyone summoned their beasts right away.

There were nine of them in the group, and with all their beasts out, the group looked almost invincible.

Theo had seen them before, but the sight of so many beasts together always left him fascinated.

Lucien stood with his monotone panther and his ape, both looking like they had nothing better to do in their lives.

Clara had her boar and the pup.

Elias brought out his ape and Chip.

Cassian had a black bear beast that looked more like a cuddly pillow than a beast; it was that cute. He hadn’t summoned his second beast just yet.

On the rest of the team’s side, Kaelor the knight had what nobody would expect someone to have as a pet.

It was a small, adorable bunny that hopped around cutely around his steps.

When someone had once asked him why he chose such a weak-looking beast and not a stronger one, Kaelor had simply replied,

"A knight doesn’t need a beast’s strength to survive, but his own. This one here is only my companion."

That answer only made Theo feel that knights were a fascinating bunch, no matter where they originated from.

Kaelor didn’t even have a second beast, despite already being at level 12, which made Theo suspect that the guy’s strength level was much greater than what he had initially thought.

Merek, on the other hand, had an ice-affinity wolf that always kept drifting toward Clara’s pup.

There had been some aggression between them at first, but it had quickly escalated into outright fights.

The pup didn’t like the wolf entering its territory, especially when that territory was near Clara.

The guy didn’t take out his second best either. He only said, "You have seen it before. It isn’t something that can travel long distances. I will bring it out when needed."

Garrick, on the other hand, had two bird-type beasts that immediately flew off to work the moment they entered the gate.

He stepped forward, and Theo saw the guy’s one eye glow green while the other shimmered golden.

"I am checking the north and south right now. It will take a moment, young master," he spoke, completely focused.

Theo could feel the same confidence from him during their little argument, making him feel like he meant every word he had said back then.

Elias moved closer to Garrick, observing him, as their abilities were quite similar.

Lastly, Lysara’s beast felt like it would stand out the most in front of the enemies.

It was a small, chipmunk-like creature perched on her armor.

Now that her armour was no longer white, everyone could see the chipmunk’s pristine, royal-white fur that stood out even more.

Theo didn’t summon out his beast, knowing well that it would hinder everyone else’s. They simply weren’t used to its presence at all.

So the plan was simple: once the area was deemed easy for the mantis to roam around, Theo would just send it to hunt on its own. That way, it would have its fun too and level up at the same time, something Theo needed right now.

"I found a beast ten minutes to the northwest, young master. It’s a gigantic python of level 10," Garrick reported.

"A gigantic python, you say..." Theo had never fought with a gigantic snake before, and the thought sparked a hint of excitement in him.

"Alright. Let’s move toward it, everyone."

Theo spoke and began marching forward beside Garrick, his sword already in hand, his dragon armor gleaming, looking tougher than anyone else’s in the group.

"Shouldn’t we start collecting some samples now?" Cassian asked, glancing at the unfamiliar trees, the flowers and everything around them.

"No, the exit gate might be too far. If we start collecting things from now, it will only slow us down," Lucien spoke.

"Once we find the exit gate, we can go for collecting samples."

Everyone agreed, feeling like this made sense. Theo looked back at his brother with a small smile and nodded.

Lucien returned the nod and went back to observing the plane.

’Here I thought he would find it hard to follow my lead...’ Theo thought. So far, Lucien hadn’t said or done anything till now that would disrupt his leadership.

After walking for a while, Theo felt like there was some presence in the front. He halted his steps and placed a hand on Garrick’s shoulder to stop him as well.

"It’s closer now. Eveyone, slow down. Prepare to hide and observe..." Theo spoke, lowering his voice as they advanced more cautiously and slowly.

Theo could feel the presence growing clearer and silently ordered the mantis to stay inside the beast space for a little longer.

"Garrick, stop scanning ahead for more. Tell us exactly where the beast is," Theo commanded.

Garrick’s eyes twitched, but he nodded.

They took cover behind a cluster of tall trees until further notice.

Theo couldn’t help but notice how thick these tree trunks were, far larger than normal, like they were ancient giants rooted deep in time.

"It’s... right there," Garrick muttered, pointing in a direction.

Theo peeked but found nothing except dense shrubs. Narrowing his eyes, he focused harder to notice something.

"Is it beyond the shrubs?" he asked.

Garrick nodded.

Theo made some hand signs toward Lucien, Cassian and Merek’s group and then toward Kaelor and Lysara, who were positioned behind another tree. He told them to stay still while he stepped forward.

He moved forward from the side, only to realize that Clara and Elias were following him, their beasts being as sneaky as always.

The ape had already drawn its broadsword out of its scabbard. It still didn’t know how to use it properly, so the scabbard hung in tatters from being yanked at the wrong angles again and again.

Everyone had noticed the sword, but they were so engrossed in the gate that nobody asked anything about it.

Theo and his group edged closer to the shrubs and looked again.

This time, Theo caught a glimpse of something, a thin, slithering red line.

His eyes locked onto it, searching for the python’s head.

Before he could locate it, Clara raised her hand sharply in the air, making Theo follow her signal...

There it saw it...

The gigantic python had lifted its head, coiling up along a tree trunk as it scanned the surroundings.

It hadn’t detected them yet.

And they were going to use that to their advantage.