Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 435. A perfect shot

While everyone stared at the white-leather-clad woman in awe, the other one spoke up right away.

"My name is Garrick Solven. I will act as a scout for this mission under Young Master Theo’s command," the third member of the party said. He was a lean man who looked more like he was a runner than a fighter.

’That’s the third time now...’ Theo thought. For the third time, he had been specifically acknowledged as the leader.

"Nice to meet you, Theo Merrick," the last one said with a smirk. Theo noticed that the man was wearing better leather armor than the others and carried himself with a certain air.

"I am Merek Vaun, the second heir of the Vaun Viscounty. I will be accompanying you on this gate mission." His tone dripped with overconfidence, as if he were trying to one-up Theo or something.

Theo deduced that the man was in his early twenties and was around level 11, which to him wasn’t particularly impressive.

"I will be looking forward to our team work together against the gate this time, everyone," Theo said calmly. Most of them simply nodded, their expression unchanged. Things were going to be tough.

Theo could ignore it, but in their eyes, he wasn’t a 30-year-old man but an 11-year-old one. They, as adults, were going to take orders from a child, something that never sat well.

"Now that the introductions are over, I will be taking my leave. Good luck with the training," the butler said, walking away as if this were just one of the many things he needed to oversee.

Theo turned back to the instructors.

"Before we start with the training, I want all of you to write down your abilities and what advantages you believe you have inside the gate," Corvan, one of the instructors, said before handing each of them a sheet of paper and a quill.

The knight’s eyes twitched, clearly displeased at the idea of writing things down, but they all took seats at the table and began writing.

Theo decided to reveal only what the emperor and the kingdom already knew.

After finishing, he handed his paper to the female instructor.

Before Theo could step away, Maelora glanced at the list, her mouth slightly agape.

"Young Theo, please wait," she said, making Theo turn to her with curiosity.

"Yes, Instructor Maelora?" he replied with a calm smile, one that didn’t let Maelora believe that he was truly a kid.

He was just too mature.

"You have written that your beast has a suppression ability and that you possess sword aura. Are you certain about that?" she asked, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

Theo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry; she should have known all of this before he arrived, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

"Yes. My first beast has that ability, Instructor Maelora."

"Please, you can call me Instructor Mae," she interjected, making Theo nod while maintaining the same polite smile.

"To think you gained aura at the age of eleven..." she murmured, jotting something down on the sheet of paper.

From the side, Corvan spoke up. "Mae, you didn’t know about Theo Merrick? He has been quite the topic of discussion for a while now."

"You can’t expect her to know that now, Corvan. She doesn’t even come out here to study!" the younger instructor said with a laugh.

’So that’s it,’ Theo thought.

The other instructors were right; he had been the talk of the instructors for the past few months.

"I am looking forward to teaching you, Young Theo," Mae said, before turning back to her writing as Theo moved away to take a seat.

One by one, each of them handed in their paper to the instructors. Some of the papers caught their interest, while others received nothing more than a simple nod.

"You don’t miss a knife throw? Can you prove that claim right now?" Jarek, the younger instructor, asked with curiosity, prompting Clara to nod.

It felt more like Jarek was just in the mood for some entertainment. He pointed at one of the bullseyes to the side and told her to aim for it.

Clara didn’t look fazed at all, contrary to what Theo had expected. With a cold and distant expression, she pulled out a knife that was attached to her leather armor by a thread, which only made the instructors more curious.

Then, with a sharp flick of her wrist, she threw it.

Before everyone’s eyes, the knife directly hit the very edge of the red area, almost dead center, causing her eyes to twitch in frustration.

"WOW, you weren’t kidding!" Jarek exclaimed, clapping his hands enthusiastically, as if he were truly impressed. Theo let out a quiet sigh in relief.

"We can see how much you have practiced your aim, Attendant Clara. Your form was impeccable," Mae added with a smile.

Clara nodded with the same intensity before returning to sit beside Theo and Elias.

The moment she joined them, her demeanor changed instantly; her cold exterior was replaced with a smile, making both Theo and Elias exchange glances and chuckle softly.

She was just too different anywhere else.

Soon, all the papers were with the instructors, and they seemed most interested in the healer who had joined the party.

"You are still young, so your first priority should be to protect yourselves. I see why the kingdom is sending you on this mission," Instructor Corven said and smiled for the first time. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The healer simply nodded and casually returned to her group.

Theo’s eyes met hers briefly, and he offered a smile, which she acknowledged with a nod rather than reciprocating with one.

Before long, everything was finished. Once the instructors were done reviewing the papers, they rose from their seats.

"Young Theo, step forward," Instructor Corven called.

Theo nodded and walked toward them with quite confidence. The instructors were staring at him with eyes he couldn’t look past of and Theo felt like his heart would beat fast.

But surprisingly, it didn’t.