"There is no problem, right?"
"Yeah, everything’s good; let’s leave." Theo patted the mantis on his shoulder and started walking ahead.
Elias looked at those eyes and quieted down. There was something Theo was not telling him, and while he was curious, it was not worth enough to irritate his own employer.
The Petra Stone Ape quickly paced up under the orders and started walking beside Theo.
It was three times Theo’s height, and he had to look all the way up to see its face from this close.
The Petra Stone Ape looked at him first and then only at the front. Theo did the same thing.
"There is a level 4 boar in the southwest side, young master. Should we go there?" Elias asked from the side.
"You can tell the levels too?" Theo asked in surprise.
"Yes, its surveillance skill is level 4 right now, so it is possible to tell the level too. There is only a slight 5% chance of it being wrong, young master."
"Fair enough..." Theo went in thought. There was clearly a gap in skill between Clara and Elias.
Although Clara’s scouting skills could only be at the beginner level as while Elias’s main beast was the scouting type, it was Clara’s second one, and the pup too had only gotten to level 3 a little while ago.
It was not possible for it’s surveillance to be high enough as a second beast.
They kept walking further, and Theo realized something—having the ape with him might have felt weird, but at the same time, its large size gave more confidence to him than the boar.
Yet he quickly shook his head. The boar was good and had done a lot for him while it could.
Soon, they reached one of the smaller clearings made by a medium-sized boar.
Theo saw a big hand in front of him with a fist made. He looked up and saw the ape look at him and then make the sign of ’stop’ with its hand.
’It can use the signs?!’ Theo felt too surprised that his mind went away from the boar in front of them.
Elias tapped on his other shoulder, getting his attention back.
"Would you like to fight on your own first?" he asked in a whisper with a mild smile.
Theo nodded and smiled. It was time the mantis fought again.
When he looked at it, Theo smirked. The mantis had already locked onto the boar, and its head was twitching a lot.
Soon, even its legs instinctively went to the fighting pose, making Elias take a single step back just to be safe.
’Go,’ Theo gave a mental command, and the mantis hopped from his shoulder.
Elias tried locating it, yet only chuckled lightly. Being told that the mantis’s camouflage was good and seeing it with his own eyes was totally different.
When the mantis was near enough to the boar, a set of light emotions came through the mental bond, and Theo nodded. He looked at the ape once, who was still trying to locate the mantis.
’Metallic strike to the eye,’ Theo gave another command, and only then did the ape’s eyes flinch and a light ’Ooh’ high-pitched voice come from its mouth.
Before the boar could react to that sound, the mantis had already taken care of one of its eyes, which burst at the slightest contact.
Theo grinned yet also had the feeling of ending the fight soon.
SQUEAAKKK
The boar ran forward with one of its eyes open—it was the only one it had left.
Theo observed the boar and didn’t know whether the mantis was on it or not.
Yet he still gave the mental commands. The boar hadn’t stopped moving, but right when it was about to leave the small clearing and Elias was going to move forward, the boar’s forelegs wobbled and it fell sideways on the ground and rolled.
Both the ape and Elias looked at the scene with confusion and bewilderment.
’Metallic strike,’ Theo stated, and another light flashed, making them all squint their eyes.
SQUEAAKK
Theo could not see from the distance how much damage was done, but he clicked his tongue in disappointment.
Even now, the boar got hit right at the middle of the neck according to the command, yet still, it was not deep enough for the boar to die in one go.
The boar came out of the paralysis right away and tried getting up, only for the mantis to use Spore Lash again. But due to its anxiety, it took some time for the paralysis to take place.
It only seemed possible for it to fall again, as most of the spores got inside the wound too.
When the cooldown was over, Theo made the mantis attack again, and the kill message soon came, and he sighed in relief.
"It’s done," Theo stated and went inside the clearing, making the ape follow him.
When they all got close to the boar, Elias crouched down to observe what had transpired.
The ape moved its face down, yet one sniff made it jerk its head back in annoyance.
"Yeah, don’t touch or go near it right now—the paralytic pores may still be on the body," Theo spoke, and Elias quickly stepped back.
The ape tried yet again, yet moved back too.
"I didn’t expect your beast to..." Elias spoke and looked at the small mantis that was almost about 20 times smaller than the boar, "I didn’t expect the mantis to handle things so easily..."
Theo only nodded and called for the mantis to come back. It made a light sound from its tiny mouth to show its annoyance, yet Theo only chuckled.
"Don’t worry, we will take it back with us," Theo spoke, and the mantis stared for a few seconds before it came closer to the feet and started climbing on Theo’s body.
While Elias and the ape were looking at the mantis climb up, Elias suddenly looked up.
"Young master—"
"Yes?"
"We have found the level 7 boar."
Theo suddenly looked up and saw the bird gliding in circles with a grin. It was about time the mantis showed its real power.