Kill or be killed (2)

In the small box, both creatures were in a corner, staring each other down.

The rat could tell that the iron mantis was looking at it, yet it didn't seem to think much of it.

There was a big size difference between the two creatures, and Theo had a feeling it might not work.

Yet another thought quickly perked up—wasn't he going to fight even more dangerous creatures later? If the mantis couldn't even take care of the rat right now, how else would it help Theo in the future?

The mantis pulled back its body, its legs still stuck to the ground.

The rat started moving closer and closer, seemingly unfazed by the posing mantis in front of it. 

Theo's heartbeat increased crazily. He had been nurturing the mantis for months now, and to see it go into a real fight made him uneasy.

But to his surprise, the mantis suddenly vanished—a blurred line came into view, and as soon as Theo could see properly, the mantis's forelegs had already dug themselves into the rat's body.

SQUEAK!

The rat whimpered and tried to get away, only to find that, although the mantis couldn't stop it entirely, it stuck to the rat and moved with it.

Theo could see drops of blood falling to the ground, drip by drip. There wasn't much yet, but it was the first time blood had entered that box.

The rat retaliated and opened its mouth wide. The mantis stayed in place, even though it could tell the rat was attacking.

The rat bit down the mantis's left foreleg, which was the closest. Theo came closer, wanting to know what had just happened.

CLUNK

A light sound of something hitting against metal resounded. Theo looked closer and found that the rat was chewing on the mantis's foreleg.

It tried moving up with the foreleg in the mouth to try sewer it but unfortunately, the mantis just kept its feet on the rat's body and moved up with it.

The mantis zapped its other foreleg right at the rat's face, seeing that a golden opportunity had come up.

Theo looked at the fight with focus, 'Did it know the rat's teeth weren't strong enough, or was it all a risk?' He wondered, concern and surprise filled his eyes.

From that point, the mantis kept digging its saw-like forelegs into the rat, and the one in the rat's mouth also began cutting it from the inside.

Before Theo could realize the fight was over, the mantis pulled its forelegs out of the rat's bloodied body.

The smell of blood filled the box, and Theo couldn't help but grin, watching the mantis casually grooming its forelegs with its mouth, as if cleaning or eating the blood.

"You are the best, Mantis," Theo said and offered his hand inside the box.

The mantis looked at the hand but went to the rat first, it took a big chunk of its flesh in its mouth before jumping onto Theo's hand.

Theo brought his palm closer to his face—the first time he had done something like this with his insects.

The mantis was munching the meat profusely, yet its eyes stayed on Theo too.

At some point, Theo knew that a single cut to his neck could sever a major artery. It was dangerous to bring the mantis this close.

He waited for a few seconds and saw the piece of meat had been devoured. The mantis groomed its forelegs again and looked at Theo, its emotions unreadable.

Theo waited for any sign of attack during their stare down, but at some point, it was clear—the mantis wasn't going to hurt him.

The mantis jumped back into the box on its own and started munching more on the dead rat's body.

It proficiently peeled off the fur with its mouth, letting it fall to the ground while eating the red meat quickly. It was as if it had done something like this before.

But that wasn't possible. The mantis had come as a juvenile when Theo bought it, and since then, it had shed its exoskeleton twice—meaning the next one was very close. It was still very young.

There was a fact in the big book of the Royal library, that after the mantis shed its exoskeleton six times, it would be the last one, as it would reach the end of its life cycle.

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Iron Mantis

Grade - Ordinary

Type - Insect

Level - 1

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'Even after killing a rat twice its size, it still didn't level up…' Theo thought. There were things he would only learn about the mantis after taming it.

He closed the lid of the box and wrote down everything he had seen just now. In his mind, the conclusion was already clear.

'I'm confident that the spider will also take care of the rat with its smartness, yet that is not what I want to rely on at the start of my journey.' His confident eyes rested on the mantis munching on its food, and a deep sigh escaped his lips.

'...Alright, it's time I finally make a contract.' Theo thought and went out of the terrarium room. Clara was waiting outside for orders.

When she saw Theo, her eyes brightened. "Did something good happen, young master?"

"Hm?" Theo didn't understand at first, but then continued, "Yeah, as a matter of fact, something good did happen," he said with a bright smile.

"What is it?"

"You will know soon," Theo said and quickly left the room, with Clara following behind him.

In a few minutes, they arrived at the gate of the royal library. It was time for Theo to finally read something beyond information about tamed beasts.

It was time for some knowledge about the system.