Insect Tamer's Ascension

"Will our boar be okay seeing us hurt its kind, Clara?" Theo asked.

When he saw the boar moving beside them, the sudden realization fell.

"Don't worry about that, young master. I have hunted a lot of boars with him in my time. He never falters because of it," Clara spoke softly while her eyes moved normally.

"Okay…" Theo only nodded after seeing the professional expression on the boar's face.

When Theo observed her expressions every few times, he realized that Clara was a lot more aloof this time around.

They kept traveling further in while moving past the dense grass. Clara felt disgusted when a small insect was seen on one of the big strands of the grass.

Yet the mantis was her savior, coming and eating anything that came in front of them. It even took some strands of grass while moving and ate it leisurely on Theo's shoulder while Theo walked with vigilance.

Soon, about five minutes of walking later, they entered a small clearing and that was when Clara stopped him from entering it.

The boar and the pup froze completely, making Theo do the same after watching them. Clara moved the strands of tall grass in front of them and showed the small clearing.

Theo was surprised after looking at it, it was not the usual clearing that was formed naturally, but an artificial one.

There were dug-up strands and chunks of grass everywhere, and the ground was all tilled as if a farmer had just worked past it.

She moved the grass and her head slowly to see what was in the clearing before she entered it completely.

Theo felt a tug from the boar while it looked at him with its mature eyes, making him nod. They had to walk too.

"This is why we don't do anything to the grass around, it's simply not worth it," Clara said and continued while looking at the ground.

"Boars don't like walking past big grass all around them, they get annoyed very easily and make a mess of the land they pass by. But this grass and this fertile land is another story, the grass starts coming back in a week of them moving past this area," she said, and stopped before a smile formed on her face, and she briskly walked toward a location on the side of the small clearing.

"If the boars get annoyed by the grass, why does he not do the same thing?" Theo asked in curiosity while tapping the boar's shoulder.

"It's because he has been different since I came across him. He likes making a mess of things like this, but is very obedient," she said, and touched the dug-up soil on the ground.

"Different, huh…" Theo only smiled and looked at the boar, whose mature eyes were on him. Every time he said something, it was as if it somewhat or fully understood him, which was a weird feeling as he was not Theo's beast.

"The boar came here a few hours ago, young master. It's tracks go this way," Clara spoke and pointed to the front again, where they were supposed to go anyway.

"How do you know that?" Theo tried coming forward, yet the boar and the pup made it impossible for him to do so.

"It's because of this," Clara spoke as she picked something in her hand and showed it to Theo.

Theo first looked at it with curiosity and then a frown formed on his face, "… That's disgusting, Clara."

"Hahaha, it's what scouts have to do sometimes, young master. A beast's tracks and feces tell more about its whereabouts than any map or device found in the market," she stated that after throwing the feces on the ground.

From her belt, she pulled out a small glass bottle and poured some thick disinfecting liquid made from a slime's body on her hands.

Theo looked at the chunky feces on the ground and chuckled awkwardly, it seemed there would be a time in the future when he could have to pick something like this too.

"We will go this direction now," Clara stated and started walking before she entered the tall grass again. Theo followed, yet he saw the boar looking back, which made him curious too.

"What happe—" Theo stopped midway and froze.

Right where the feces was, the mantis was standing near it, looking at it as if it were some kind of delicacy.

"N-No…" Theo quickly brisked toward the mantis who felt him coming too. It quickly took a snag on the feces and started eating a small chunk.

Theo made a disgusted face, but he pulled the mantis up in his hand carefully.

The mantis didn't mind as it already had something to snack on the way forward.

'What is wrong with you?' Theo asked mentally, yet the mantis totally ignored him.

With a sigh, he just kept it again on his shoulder and started walking toward the boar and the pup again who had been waiting for him.

"…" For some reason, the pup was also looking at the piece of feces as if it was a bone.

They entered the grass again, and Theo found Clara waiting right at the start. There was an amusing smile on her face.

"Beasts tend to put anything in their mouth as long as it's edible; it's normal, young master. At least your mantis cleaned its body after eating it," Clara spoke while looking at the mantis lick all around its forelegs, making it shiny clean again.

Theo only nodded with a chuckle. They made their way forward toward the forest, where Clara observed the footprints on the ground.

Another few minutes later, the same thing happened as before, and Clara moved the tall grass to the side to see.

Theo's eyes widened. Finally, there was a boar in front of them with its face near the ground sniffing something.

"It found gold, young master," Clara grinned widely and made a hand sign.

It was time to finally fight.