Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 36: Where is the mantis?!

"Charge!" Clara spoke loudly, and the boar stopped moving instantly.

It readied its body and faced one of the nearby trees until its legs bashed the ground and started moving fast.

While it ran, the slimes seemed chill, moving its core around safely without any sign of getting damaged.

Theo watched the Ironback Boar move toward a tree head-on, and before he could even ask what was happening, the boar slammed its head into the old and massive tree.

BANG!!

The ground and the tree vibrated, making Theo wince as he thought about how hard it had hit its head.

Yet, on a closer look, he saw that the boar was perfectly fine, as if it had done nothing too extravagant.

His gaze went downward, and shock followed soon after. All the slimes had detached themselves from its legs, steam and sizzling sounds rising from where they had been.

The boar immediately created distance, as if given a command, and the pup went to work, swiftly killing all the confused slimes with agility.

"What just happened?" Theo questioned, looking at the situation. Clara turned toward him with a smile.

"That was the Ironback Boar's skill called 'Charge.' It's very strong, and if something gets hit, there's a chance to break it apart on impact," she explained.

"Yeah, yeah, that's alright, but I'm asking how it lost the slimes. They were stuck very firmly for some time." Theo asked curiously, and Clara's smile brightened.

"That's one of the mechanics of his ability. When he attacks something with his head like that with such force, there's no possibility of coming out of it without a broken neck. That's why all the energy from the attack's impact moves from the iron head and transfers to the hooves before merging with the ground. The legs had so much energy going that the slimes couldn't latch on any longer. I find this mechanic quite useful in these types of situations, young master."

Theo nodded in understanding and awe. What Clara said made sense. The boar had hit the tree with its head so hard that it should have broken its neck under normal circumstances, but having such a mechanic acted as a fail-safe.

'Are there similar mechanics associated with metallic strikes too? I really need to understand the mantis's ability,' Theo thought, and a smile soon bloomed on his face.

He had learned that there wasn't just a skill name and execution, but a process too. He was determined to understand how the process worked to gain insights like this for himself.

At the thought of the mantis, Theo looked back at the cocoon. He was a little far from it now, but when he stared at it, a frown crept onto his face.

The cocoon had stopped moving, and from afar, it looked slightly uneven compared to before.

Now that the pup had taken care of all the slimes, Theo ran toward the cocoon, making Clara move with him.

Yet she didn't leave the injured boar alone. With a single mental command, she made the boar follow her. The boar was limping, and its legs still sizzled from the digestive juices of the slime yet it's eyes told a different story of an iron will.

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When Theo reached closer, he suddenly stopped.

"What happened, young master?" Clara asked, only to see what Theo was staring at—the cocoon.

It had a big hole in it, and it seemed the mantis had already left.

Theo moved closer and saw that there was nothing but a white shell inside, all broken.

"Where did it go?!" he exclaimed, looking around. But there was nothing—just grass and greenery everywhere.

Even Clara scanned the area until she realized something.

"The pup can find it quickly, young master. Please don't worry." Clara gave a mental command to the pup, and it soon went to work.

It sniffed everywhere until it reached the cocoon, only to jerk up with its ears sharp.

"Woooo…" The silverfang direwolf pup grumbled and moved toward a particular spot before stopping.

"It's there," Clara stated and pointed toward the location.

Both Clara and Theo approached the spot in hurry.

At first, he couldn't find the mantis, and only after looking at the grass and moss all around that he finally saw the mantis. The mantis was moving its body up and down as if calibrating its senses again after the change.

"What the hell…?" Theo couldn't help but question in shock.

The mantis was unlike anything he had seen before. It didn't resemble any species he had known of the insects up until now. And he was damn sure to have known it if it had existed somewhere else.

The grey from before on it's body was completely gone, yet from the sharp forelegs, one could tell that its exoskeleton was still metal—at least some part of it. But there were green patches everywhere. (Mantis's image in this comment)

Its back had undergone significant changes, unlike before.

The entire back was covered with fresh-looking moss—the same moss that had been present on the slime's body. Its forelegs, still as sharp as saws, now had a greenish hue.

Yet the most striking change was its size. Theo crouched down, unsure how much bigger it had grown.

Clara wanted to stop him, but she knew she wouldn't be able to.

Theo moved his hand closer to make the mantis hop onto it.

Although the mantis was in a confused state, it walked slowly toward Theo's hand and latched onto it.

When it finally rested in his palm, Theo realized how much it had grown.

Previously, the mantis covered most of his palm. But now? It extended as long as his fingers and palm combined. Its height had also increased.

The mantis looked at Theo directly in the eyes, and that was when he felt the familiarity again. The eyes—they were the only thing that remained the same, just a little bigger.

"Young master, how is this possible…?" Clara asked with a horrified expression.

Theo took a deep breath before responding.

"I hope you'll stay quiet about this till I say so… Clara." He stated slowly, looking at Clara with a serious expression.

Clara quickly nodded in understanding, yet her gaze remained horrified.

It seemed there was a lot of explanation to be done.

But more than that—it was time to see the mantis's new abilities.