Theo felt sothing weird in his body, like sothing had just entered it after the rat's death.
'Is this how it feels to gain experience points?' he thought with curiosity.
The Iron Mantis didn't seem to care much. It started grooming its forelegs again. It was so full there was no instinct or need to eat the rat for now.
Theo quickly opened his status and found that he had gained experience points, although the amount was far less than he had imagined.
'So this is why tars don't go around defeating beasts with lower grades or levels. The penalty this ti wasn't much, but the point still stands.'
If an ordinary-grade beast defeated another ordinary-grade beast of the sa level, the experience points gained would be normal.
But if a rare-grade beast defeated an ordinary-grade beast with no level difference, it would face a 50% deduction to the base experience, which was not worth it by any ans.
This was sothing the artifact did on its own and it was believed that was done to give everything a chance.
Theo understood this clearly and felt that killing these rats was both worth it and not worth it at the sa ti.
'I can help the mantis reach Level 2 while getting myself to Level 1 with these rats… It will beco inefficient after that, I can't go for the forest just yet.'
Theo finalized his plan, but a problem still persisted. While his family might be understanding about him gaining a unique affinity, it didn't an the sa would apply if they found out he had tad a pesky insect as his first beast.
'Let's defeat all the rats I have for now. Then I'll think about sothing else.'
For the next few minutes, the mantis fought head-on against one rat after another. Its stomach might have already been full, but its aggression and will to fight still persisted.
Theo tried giving small commands to the Iron Mantis. So it understood, while others it outright ignored. The only commands it reliably followed were climbing onto his hand when asked and using the skill tallic Strike.
However, to use tallic Strike efficiently, Theo knew the Iron Mantis had to create so distance to gain extra montum and strength.
The total experience gained after the death of the remaining two rats was 6.48 EXP for the mantis and 4.13 EXP for Theo.
Apparently, 15 EXP was needed for Theo to beco a Level 1 individual, and he was now very close to leveling up.
'I need to order more rats or so other creatures from Clara.'
"Theo, co out of that wretched room already," he suddenly heard a voice from outside and couldn't help but feel surprised.
"Mother?" He questioned, quickly placing the lid on the Iron Mantis's box before heading outside.
When he stepped out, he saw his mother dressed in luxurious clothing, the kind she wore for Baron etings.
"It's good to see you well, Mother," Theo said, walking closer with a smile.
The Baroness, who had been frowning upon seeing Theo in the terrarium room, hugged him after noticing his smile.
"It's good that you're taking so ti off and playing with your insects. I hear you've been worrying a lot since the ceremony, Theo," the Baroness spoke with concern, placing a hand on Theo's face.
Theo glanced directly at Clara, who quickly averted her gaze.
"There's nothing wrong, Mother. I'm just looking for so beasts that are compatible with , that's all," he said, making Clara want to speak up but stopping herself.
The Baroness shook her head with a sigh. "As I said before, don't worry about it. Your father has decided to bring all kinds of beasts into the barony for you to examine. Everything will be clear after that." She crouched down, placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Always rember, your family will stand by you no matter what happens. We know what it's like to be different, and we embrace that. Got it?" She looked at him with seriousness.
'Am I really thinking the wrong way?' Theo wondered. There were tis when he wanted to tell his parents everything, seeing how understanding they were.
But sothing inside stopped him from doing so. He smiled and placed his hand over his mother's.
"Don't worry, Mother. I'm not scared or panicked as long as my family is with ." He reassured.
"Just as I expected from my dear son. I have to go now. Eat properly, okay?"
Theo bid farewell to his mother with a sigh. His gaze shifted to Clara, who seed intent on avoiding eye contact.
Theo kept staring until Clara finally t his gaze and muttered in a sheepish voice, "D-Do you need sothing, Young Master?"
"Clara, you are my attendant, right?"
"… Yes."
"Then why did you bring my mother here and tell her I was concerned when I didn't tell you to do so?" Theo asked with a sweet smile.
"Young Master… you have trouble sharing your problems with , so I thought they were matters only the royalty could understand. That's why I called her…" Clara said, lowering her head.
The situation couldn't be any stranger, a girl no older than 18 was scared to speak properly in front of an 8-year-old.
"Do you think I'm that shallow?" Theo asked with a plain expression, making Clara break into goosebumps.
"My apologies!" Clara bowed even lower, making Theo frown even more.
"Clara, I want to make things clear right now. I don't hide anything from you. If I do, it ans I don't want to tell ANYONE about it. If you give so ti, I will obviously tell you, but…" His eyes sharpened. "If you keep calling people on , things might get troubleso. I don't even know anymore if I can trust you with anything."
Clara's face turned pale, and that was when Theo realized he had been too harsh. She always had good intentions for him, but this ti, she had gone too far by calling his mother. In Theo's eyes, that wasn't right.
"But if you can promise that you won't do sothing like this again, then it's all good."
"I-I won't do sothing like this again, Young Master!" Seeing the opportunity, Clara shouted with an apologetic expression.
"Good… Now, get more of those rats urgently, please."
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