Insect Tamer's Ascension Chapter 439. Training (2)- Catching some Mirewhisks

Theo donned the gloves and pushed his fingers into the plant’s surface. The soft, yielding glove material compressed under sustained pressure until his fingertips met the sturdy branch below.

Driven by curiosity, he eased his hold slightly to observe the outcome and tugged lightly, only to halt in astonishment.

The sensation was like his bare fingers clutching the plant directly, ignoring the glove entirely.

Appreciating the gloves' impressive performance, Theo started to test them further.

All onlookers fixed their gazes on him intently, burning with anticipation for his approach.

He yanked the branch multiple times, slowly uncovering a handful of roots.

Inhaling deeply, he seized the branch until his fingers pressed against it directly now, then heaved upward and met resistance.

From there, Theo progressed methodically, extracting gradually until the plant broke free at last.

Drawing in another breath, Theo lifted his eyes to the instructor, whose gaze formed smiling crescents.

"You did well," the instructor said, "but it took you five minutes. That’s not acceptable, so I am failing you for this round." Despite his words, he offered a hand in approval.

Theo let out a brief snicker and eyed the new load of plants the workers were carrying over.

Oric directed the five to keep repeating the task until they satisfied his criteria.

Theo possessed just five minutes before joining the subsequent team: the extraction squad.

This stage emphasized mining. Oric showcased the method for harvesting samples from trees, stones, and valuable ores.

Undeniably the most straightforward and basic challenge, yet facing two evaluations, Theo drove himself to complete it far quicker than his peers.

The knight lingered, struggling to properly uproot the simple thorn plant using the gloves. Spotting the perfect chance, Theo stepped forward.

He coached Knight Kaelor on the right way to grasp and extract it. In time, the knight managed success. Now, mirroring Theo, he needed only to ramp up his pace.

Clara led by finishing the ten-plant trial first and advanced to finer samples.

Theo, on the other hand, nailed the log extraction in one go—a feat from endless practice alongside the baron and his retainers.

Oric marveled at his logger expertise. Such skills were rare among nobles, but Theo tackled them with obvious excitement.

Gems and stone harvesting came next, trailed by fragile plants after the tougher sorts.

Unlike the resilient varieties, these posed sheer torment. Their roots, wafer-thin, shattered even amid cautious digging.

Right as Theo dove deep into the rhythm, summons arrived for the ultimate team: the beast-taming crew.

All converged except Garrick (the scout) and Lysara (the healer), who stayed perched aside until training wrapped up.

"Alright," Oric announced, "I won’t join this demo. Solve it your way. Collaborate, summon your beasts, absorb some strikes if required, but keep the beast intact while securing it."

With those instructions, he moved to inspect the rest.

A worker ripped the shroud from a cage, unveiling a chaotic swarm right before them.

Hundreds—no, likely thousands—of tiny rat-like fiends crammed inside. The tight confines hardly restrained them, bodies squirming atop each other to block any escape.

Theo observed some nibbling the bars, yet the sturdy metal defied their chompers.

"Let’s make a plan," Lucien suggested, instinctively drawing eyes to Theo.

Theo caught the stares and promptly turned to his brother. "Do you have something in mind?"

Lucien nodded. "The ropes they provided us come in different sizes. Once they open the cage, one person restrains a creature while another ties its legs."

A few nodded with a ’hmm’ in comprehension.

"A very simple plan, but I like it. Shall we start?" Merek asked with a grin, making everyone look at Theo, who smiled and gestured to the worker to open the cage.

Immediately, the rat-like beasts surged from the cage, clambering wildly over one another in madness, while the group rushed in as well.

Theo remained rearward, scanning the chaos, and swiftly noted that all had dashed to seize beasts without strategy.

"Ah, this one died," Sir Kaelor declared, discarding it—his iron grip overwhelming the fragile beast.

"Big brother, help young master Merek!" Theo shouted from the sidelines, prompting Lucien to check his wriggling captive, which snapped vainly at his hands, but he clamped down relentlessly.

Exhaling deeply, he hurled it away and bolted to Merek, who grappled desperately with his.

Lucien managed to be the first to successfully bind a beast.

At that moment, Clara had already unleashed her silver direwolf.

Theo observed it dashing in loops, corralling roughly 15 beasts as though they were mere sheep.

Clara swiftly moved into the circle formed by the wolf and started seizing the beasts one after another.

Elias soon joined her side, and the two of them bound the beasts efficiently, one by one.

Theo also spotted numerous beasts attempting to flee in all directions, only to get intercepted by flying bird-beasts under the workers' control after traveling a short distance.

By the minute, their numbers kept shrinking steadily.

With the task finished, the instructor came forward.

"I saw everything. Young Lucien and Young Merek captured six Mirewhisks, but two of them suffered heavy injuries due to excessive use of force," he declared, reading from a paper.

"Young Clara and Young Elias captured twelve of them, out of which all have only minor injuries."

"Knight Kaelor killed five of them and captured two on his own, both of which have at least one leg broken."

"Young Cassian captured five on his own using a fascinating technique. He did injure all of them, but they were within acceptable limits."

He paused.

"Lastly, Young Theo captured ZERO Mirewhisks. He stood there watching everyone the whole time."

Theo had never witnessed so many people frowning at him all at once.