Insect Tamer's Ascension

"Have you ever seen a healer take part in such tasks, young master?"

Theo had gone and struck up a conversation with Lysara, who looked at him with a clear frown on her face this time.

"Not a single healer does anything but heal. That is our main priority," Lysara replied again.

Several others glanced their way, though they continued their work in silence.

Theo looked at her for a moment and waited until she had finished her side of things before speaking. "I know you healers focus only on healing. But if there aren’t many chances to tend to injured group members, we may need you to help in other ways."

Lysara’s eyes twitched, and for a brief second, Theo caught a glimpse of her true temperament before he sighed.

"Look, Lysara. This might be my first time leading a group this big and with a healer. But if, after the end of this, we go back and see there was no need for healing and you just remained seated while everyone of different professions gave their all... it will be noted in the report. I want you to understand that part beforehand," Theo spoke.

Clara and Elis could feel the cold edge in Theo’s voice, a tone he didn’t use often. It was clear to say that Lysara had struck Theo’s nerve.

Lysara’s expression only grew more displeased as she stared at him. Theo met her gaze evenly for a moment, then turned and walked away.

He moved to the side and began cutting down a tree. Clara soon joined him.

"Are you alright, young master?" she asked to validate his problems.

"As a leader, I need to be harsh with those who aren’t contributing as much as the others, Clara. I don’t feel bad about speaking to her like that," he replied, continuing to chop down that tree.

From a distance, Lysara watched him, her emotions unreadable, but one thing was clear: she wasn’t happy about any of this.

Once most of the camp work was done, Theo gathered everyone at the campsite, a map in his hand.

"With Sir Garrick’s help, we now have a detailed map covering a few kilometers," Theo spoke and placed the map on the ground, securing its corners with rocks to keep it from blowing away.

He picked up a stick and stepped closer, pointing things out as he spoke.

"If we head toward the north, we will enter the territory of another strong beast. And according to Sir Garrick, it’s another reptilian creature, but much smaller than the python we fought."

He explained and shifted the stick.

"To the west, there’s a pack-type beast with more than ten of them. So we will all need to take part in the subjugation... or if needed, extraction."

He spoke while pointing the stick at the pack marked in fine detail.

"This gate is filled with different types of beasts, and Sir Garrick is doing his best to make more maps of the remaining directions."

Theo paused, then looked up at everyone.

"But in my opinion, we should try and find the one thing that matters the most."

"The exit gate," Merek spoke before he could finish.

Theo nodded.

"If we find it, we can start collecting all the samples we need and then return."

He said, making the smaller groups that had already formed within their bigger group exchange glances.

"Is there a way we can find the gate faster, young master?" Kaelor asked, his expression serious.

A faint smile appeared on Theo’s face. This was his chance to reaffirm his position as the leader.

"I have been inside a gate before, and I do know of a method to locate and find the exit gate. That way, I can sense the gate’s location. It’s on the east side, but I don’t know how far it is." Theo spoke with a casual tone.

Everyone stared at him, dumbstruck. But the most shocked person right now was Lucien.

"Are you certain about this? You already know the location of the gate?" Kaelor asked, seeing Theo in a new light.

"Then let’s go find the gate already... You know the location already," Merek said with a faint grin, as if he were trying to test whether Theo’s claim was true.

Garrick simply stared at him, briefly glancing at others, while Lysara’s gaze remained fixed on Theo.

"So, I am giving you all an option," Theo said. "And we can vote on it."

"First, we move toward the gate’s location, mark the surroundings, and return daily. Along the way, we can subjugate any beast that needs to be handled while also capturing those we can manage."

He paused before adding. "Or. We all spread out in all the directions and deal with the nearby beasts first."

He then explained the voting: raising the left hand would mean moving toward the gate and the right hand for clearing the nearby beasts.

And reluctantly or not, every person in the group raised their left hand, voting for moving toward the gate.

Theo nodded.

He closed his eyes once more and tried focusing. Soon, he found something unusual, and as always, there it was.

Theo could sense a massive source of spatial energy from a direction, and he turned his face to it.

And when he opened his eyes again, he was facing east.

"The python is going to attract a lot of beasts," Theo said. "We will need to secure enough food before we decide what to do next."

Garrick lifted his hand, drawing Theo’s attention.

"P-Python bones are used in many medicines. I think we should take them with us when we leave, Young Master," he said.

"I agree with him," Lucien added. "The python is just too big to waste anything it can provide."

"Good. Then we will take care of it after we return from today’s trip," Theo replied, then paused as a thought struck him.

"Or... since Sir Garrick already told us what is around our camp, we can split up. One team handles the work in the camp, while the other can go exploring. We aren’t here just to hunt and level up anyway; that will come later."