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Glowthread Silkworm
Grade - Ordinary
Type - Insect
Level - 0
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It was a pale yellow silkworm with a soft greenish body. Everything about it seemed normal, if not for the glowing white spots along its back. It was on the top of a tall plant inside the box.
Theo had realized long ago that each insect he bought for his terrarium room had one magical ability or another.
Nothing resembled the normal insects he had known in his previous world.
This fact only meant that the insects had also evolved with the help of the artifact. Yet even after their evolution, their strength was not as noteworthy as other creatures.
When even small lizards evolved into dragons over time, there was no such development with insects.
So the room of growth for these small insects that lacked the ability to attack such gigantic creatures was little to nothing.
'Not only can its silk glow in the dark naturally, but the silk also has a slight healing ability too,' Theo thought. 'But the healing is nowhere near enough to help anyone, even a Glowscale Gecko can heal an adult human in a matter of minutes… and the silk will take unbelievable amount and days at best to heal,'
Having good abilities didn't mean society would accept such creatures—they were small and weak compared to the others.
Theo gave a few big green leaves to the silkworm and closed the box.
There were not many options when it came to fight-worthy insects, and all Theo had found to this day were these five special ones.
He went to the last one. It was a small sandy biome, and it took Theo quite some time to see through the insect's camouflage, even though he knew the creature was excited to see him.
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Rockplate Beetle
Grade - Ordinary
Type - Insect
Level - 0
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It was a small, brown beetle with a rugged, stone-like carapace.
This and the silkworm were the only ones that couldn't level up at all. They didn't even have a chance, as one only ate greens while the other scavenged resources.
And now that Theo was giving it all the food it needed, the beetle was always excited to see the big human approaching.
For some reason, all five of the insects were somewhat accustomed to Theo's presence.
"Now, let's hope this is a good day for both of us," Theo muttered and threw a small livestock insect inside.
The insect bounced and started running as fast as possible, and the beetle, while looking at it, took a few steps back to its stock of plants.
Theo sighed, picked the small insect out of the terrain, and placed some insect corpses on one side while restocking the beetle's plant food.
"Maybe one day, you'll finally hunt…" he muttered and closed the lid.
Every single insect of his was taken care of, and he was about to leave the room when he heard some tapping sounds against the glass.
TAP TAP TAP
The noise was loud, and Theo, with surprise, looked toward the source of the sound.
The iron mantis was tapping its forelegs on the glass walls of its box. Theo chuckled and approached the mantis.
"You brat, I already gave you food this morning," Theo said while crouching and coming face-to-face with the mantis. The wall still obstructed it from moving, yet the mantis kept tapping its saw-like hands on the walls of the box.
While there were scratches and the body of the mantis was metallic, it still couldn't break the glass of the box due to its lack of strength.
"What do I do with you, huh? Your lifespan is already on the verge of ending. What can I do for you?" Theo thought aloud, addressing his concerns with the mantis.
One of the downsides of the iron mantis was its lifespan. They only lived around 12–15 months, which was nowhere near enough to make it a tamed beast.
Theo opened the lid and sent a lot of live livestock insects in before closing it.
The mantis seemed to look at him, then at the insects that had reached its domain.
Its forelegs gracefully expanded, and while it stayed in one place for a second, it almost teleported to another with a speed Theo had never seen it pursue.
Theo's eyes widened in surprise. "Did you become stronger?" he muttered, just as the gate of the terrarium room opened and Clara entered.
She tried to take a step in, yet her pale face said otherwise.
"Y-Young master, are you coming outside?" she asked without making eye contact, her face turned toward the gate.
"Hahahah… I'm coming outside, Clara," Theo couldn't help but laugh.
Clara nodded and tried to look at Theo as he moved toward her, yet her eyes went to the many insect boxes, and a shiver seemed to run through her whole body.
She quickly took a few steps back, and Theo jogged to the gate. "Did you get it?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Yes… Young master, here it is." Clara still had a pale expression but moved her hand forward, revealing a small milky-colored orb in her palm.
Theo quickly grabbed it from her and examined it from every angle.
'Status,' he thought while looking at the orb, yet nothing came up.
"Clara, I can't see the status of this orb?" Theo asked, confused.
"What do you mean, young master?" Clara asked, equally puzzled.
Then she finally understood and smiled. "No, no, young master, you can only see the status of humans, beasts, or artifacts made by the system bestower."
"Oh…" Theo finally realized and nodded. It felt natural to him that he should be able to see the status of objects, but it seemed that was not possible.
'Wait…' And at that moment, Theo realized something else—something he had been missing.
'System.'
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Clara Everstead
Type - Human
Level - 5
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"You're level 5, Clara?!" Theo shouted in surprise.
"Did you just realize that, young master?" she asked with a warm smile and a tilted head. "Every attendant of the Merrick Barony is expected to have a minimum level of strength."
"So, do you have two tamed beasts? What are they?"