"Young master, please don't move on your own." Clara wanted to shout but couldn't in the forest with dangers hiding everywhere.
"Clara, with your ability, you can take care of the other slimes if they are nearby. I will go fight this one. Don't worry." Theo stated hurriedly before he moved even further.
The boar seemed to snort at Theo's actions, and Clara seemed to be at a loss for words.
But in the end, she could only sigh and move forward toward Theo without having the report from the direwolf cub.
Theo was now only about ten steps away from the slime, and it was at that moment that the slime seemed to notice his presence.
"Here you go, brat." Theo quickly placed the mantis on the ground.
The mantis's eyes never left the slime, and the slime itself started to slowly crawl toward it.
'Iron Mantis, ready to attack,' Theo gave a mental command, and the mantis changed its posture to a fighting stance. The grayish glow on its body dimmed as a little light passed through the dense forest.
The Iron Mantis moved its body back while its legs stayed steady on the uneven ground of the forest, just like in every other attack before.
'Metallic Strike,' Theo commanded, making the mantis's head twitch to the side. Its body jumped forward, and all Theo could see was a blur.
Yet Clara, with her keen eyes, saw the speed of the mantis with shock. At one moment, the mantis was near Theo, and in the next, it was already inches away from the slime.
The slime itself didn't seem to realize what had transpired in front of it.
When Theo saw the mantis again, its foreleg was already inside the slime's body.
Theo wanted to celebrate, yet before he could, realization came.
'Is it stuck?' He thought with a frown.
The Iron Mantis's foreleg was inches away from the core of the slime, yet it couldn't seem to move anymore.
It swung its other foreleg into the air above and then down toward the slime with strength—only for that one to slip inside the slime too.
Just when Theo was about to sprint toward the mantis to save it, Clara grabbed him by the arm.
"What is the meaning of this? Let me go, Clara!" Theo exclaimed urgently. Losing the mantis like this would be a huge disadvantage and loss.
"Like I said, young master. You can't leave my side, not even once. And certainly not to rush toward a wild beast capable of devouring you whole." Clara said with cold eyes.
Theo seemed to realize then again that Clara was not his babysitter, but an attendant whose priority was tending to him and protection.
He looked at the mantis again, which seemed to struggle to get its forelegs out of the slime.
"Mantis, get out!" Theo spoke aloud, yet it didn't seem like the mantis understood.
He gritted his teeth in frustration, and when the slime started to elongate toward the mantis, it was the last nail in the coffin.
"Clara, help the Iron Mantis survive." Theo said with urgency.
"Are you sure, young master? If it can't defeat the slime, it won't be able to defeat anything." Clara spoke before making the boar take a few steps forward.
"Save it," Theo was adamant. His concerned eyes shifted to shock when the Iron Mantis's whole body was engulfed inside the slime.
Clara sighed, and the boar started moving toward the slime very slowly.
Theo wanted it to go faster, but another thought popped into his mind.
'Is it still worth it?'
The Iron Mantis might have been strong, but in a world where there were turtles as huge as a mountain and dragons that could turn anything into ashes with their breath.
What could the mantis do? Even after leveling up?
'Get out of the slime or kill it, Iron Mantis.' He commanded, trying to get his mind away from negativity.
The boar was now very near the slime, and it lifted its leg, preparing to squash the slime under its foot as if it were nothing more than a bug.
Yet, something stirred inside the slime for a second, catching Theo's attention.
"Wait! Pull the boar back, Clara!" Theo exclaimed, making Clara stop the Ironclad Boar in time.
Theo crouched down and looked at the slime with focus. The mantis was doing something.
'You can do it. Yes! Kill or be killed, Iron Mantis. Kill! Kill! Kill!' Theo chanted directly through his bond with the Iron Mantis.
Clara herself looked at the slime again, trying to understand what Theo was doing.
Just when she looked, she saw a light shine for a second—and the slime popped the next moment.
=====
[Iron Mantis killed a Moss Slime – Uncommon (Level 2)]
[Grade difference detected]
[Adding 25% to the base EXP]
[EXP gained: 12 + 25%
Distribution:
Theo Merrick – 6
Iron Mantis – 9]
======
It all happened so fast that both Theo and Clara were dumbstruck, frozen in place.
Even the Ironclad Boar seemed to flinch in astonishment.
"W-Wait…" Clara muttered in disbelief, then looked toward Theo with wide, shocked eyes. "The slime popping means the core has been destroyed… Young master."
"I know…" Theo seemed as surprised as she was, if not more so, if one peeked into his heart.
He saw the silhouette of the mantis licking the slime's fluid body from its forelegs and torso.
Theo stepped forward, and Clara didn't say anything. He moved closer and reached the Iron Mantis, which stopped everything it was doing and looked at Theo with its big eyes.
'I was wrong—' Theo's eyes had the same confidence in them again. The fine hairs on his arms seemed to elongate with goosebumps.
'Getting defeated mentally so early in the game and not trusting you is the saddest thing I have done in this life… but... never again,' His fist clenched in pride, and his eyes quivered with excitement.
The mantis didn't seem to understand anything Theo said. It simply went back to licking the dense liquid off its metallic body.
DING!
[Evolution Potential- Detected]