Insect Tamer's Ascension

Theo had already opened the envelope in his room with the Baron's crest on it.

It was the first ever official letter he had gotten from the Barony.

When Clara saw that curious and excited expression of Theo, she smiled in satisfaction.

"Here we go." Theo finally tugged the white paper from the envelope and opened it right away.

His gaze fell on so many things at the same time that he looked around in confusion.

"This is…" When Theo read what seemed like the first mission, he frowned.

"Isn't this too easy?" He stated and showed the whole letter to Clara too.

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Basic Missions

*Only inside the Whispering Forest*

1) Task: Defeat 5 moss slimes (Level 4 or above)

Purpose: Prove basic beast strength

Reward: 1 Yellow star

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When Clara looked at it, she smiled too. It seems Theo didn't know what it was all about.

"Young master, this will be great for your development. Getting yellow stars in a task means your record will always show that you did a certain task and were succesful."

Theo looked at her and nodded. He looked down and saw a big list entailing all the missions he was allotted by the Baron or the Barony.

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2) Task: Bring an alive moss slime (Level 4 or above) safely to the Barony. It should be in an enclosed space.

Purpose: Prove a basic level of strategy

Reward: 1 Yellow star

3) Task: Defeat 1 Thornhide Viper (level 1 or above)

Purpose: Prove basic beast strength

Rewards: 1 Yellow star

(*) BONUS TASK: Defeat 2 or more vipers at once

Purpose: Prove basic beast strength and strategy

Reward: 2 Yellow stars

4) Task: Bring a grade 1 herb from the forest

Purpose: Prove basic knowledge and investigation skills

Reward: 1 Yellow star

5) Task: Bring an alive Thornhide Viper (Level 1 or above) safely to the Barony. It should be in an enclosed space.

Purpose: Prove a somewhat basic level of strategy

Reward: 1 Yellow star

6) Task: Form a basic group and lead them for a fight. (1 minimum member needed)

Purpose: Prove a basic level of leadership and strategy

Reward: 1 Yellow star

(*) BONUS TASK: Defeat an ironclad Boar (level 1 or above) individually or in a group

Purpose: prove a somewhat basic level of strength

NOTE: The Letter bearer, Theo Merrick, will be constantly watched while in the whispering forest. If the letter bearer is seen cheating, then they will be disqualified from getting the star ratings.

Note: Gaining 20 Yellow stars will give you 1 Yellow rating.

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Theo and Clara read every mission and note together. When it was over, they looked at each other with different emotions.

"Young master… some of these are a bit-"

"This is great!" Theo interrupted Clara and stated with an excited shout.

Theo took the paper and read it all again.

"Some of the missions are very easy, some are weird, and some are somewhat difficult for my level. But overall, this is good, Clara."

"Do I have to go from top to bottom in this? No, Scratch that, I will do it from the first."

When Clara saw just how much excited Theo was, she sighed in relief. Not going to the gate had left him sad at first, but getting these missions helped him look past that.

"Young master, I think they have not explained all about the stars to you so I will tell you all the things I know about it," Clara spoke, and Theo looked at her with curiosity.

"So every type of noble family has their own reputation systems like this; they were inspired by the system we all have by the benevolent one, using it as an example. Every noble family came up with different means, but at the core, they are all the same."

"Usually, a person only takes part in the reputation system of their own family. There are times when they have to take part in the royal family's reputation system or for a family that is trying their hand with marriage. Mostly, it's a great way to show your strength to the world." Clara spoke and stopped for a second to make sure he understood.

"Now, for the Merrick barony's reputation system, we have the yellow stars at the very start, young master. As you have read here, 20 yellow stars gain you 1 yellow rating. But it's only the start from there on."

"How many more are there?" Theo asked, making Clara count on her hand for a second before she spoke.

"There are 4 main ones, young master. I will explain how each of them works." She said and continued.

"20 Yellow stones get you 1 Yellow rating, then 5 Yellow ratings give you a Bronze rating. The bronze rating is one of the 4 main ones."

"After that, you get to unlock missions that are known as tier 2. This is mainly to know whether you're eligible to be going to such dangerous missions."

"Then 50 Blue stars give you 1 Blue rating, and then, 5 blue ratings give you a SILVER RATING. The silver rating is the second main one, young master." Clara stated and stopped.

"There are more, right?" Theo asked when she had stopped completely for some reason.

"They are very far off for you right now, young master. You can first focus on these 2." She spoke, yet Theo shook his head making her nod and continue again.

"Then come missions that differ totally from what you will do for the silver rating, young master. There are missions in it that want you to defeat beasts in the mid-lower forest or even deeper. The silver rating will be the one that will help you get permission to enter such deep forests."

"For this part, you will need 50 red stars that will give you 1 red rating, and 5 red ratings give you a GOLD RATING. That is the second last one."

"Tell me just the name of the last one, Clara." Theo asked, there was determination oozing from his face. Clara smiled and muttered.

"Then you have black stars that change into black rating which gives you the last one, the Black Iron Sigil, young master. It's the highest form of respect one can get in the Merrick Barony."

"Aside from the Baron himself, only a few individuals have this rating in this generation."

"The black sigil rating gets you an opportunity by the Royal family to start a new noble family. This sigil lets you access to the whole whispering forest, and even the royal family gives incentives to them."

"Aside from father, who are the individuals that got this sigil, Clara? I haven't heard about anything like this before."

"It's because most of them are not a part of the Merrick barony anymore. They have started their own noble family with the sigil's help. My apologies, but I don't know their names." Clara spoke and bowed with sadness.

"It's okay, but this has made me more motivated than usual, Clara. Getting above these rankings will help me show my worth to my father and unlock incentives that I won't be getting due to my age."

When Clara heard that, she chuckled.

She imagined an eight-year-old kid having a silver rating and defeating mid-forest beasts as if they were nothing.

"Also, there are noble families that are higher in status than a barony, so they produce an even harder reputation system. Thus, getting even the highest form of honor from one family won't mean that the others will also acknowledge it, young master."

Clara's words lingered for a while before Theo nodded again. He didn't care how the other families thought about him. Getting all kinds of permissions, both from the royal family and his own, was good enough.

"The Merrick family is the only one that lets the commoners enter this ranking if they want; I also started like this, young master. And now I have this." Clara said, there was a tone of proudness in the voice.

Her hand went inside one of the small pockets of her attendant attire, and a shiny card came out of it.

"This is the Silver rating I told you about, the second main one, young master," Clara said and handed it to Theo, who looked at it with dumbfoundedness.

"Why didn't you ever tell me you has thi- No, nervermind, It's because I didn't ask, right?" he asked with a sigh and didn't even look up. Clara only giggled.

The card in Theo's hand was a finely made silver piece that had the Merrick family's crest etched on its one side. On the other side was a plain surface with a single pattern that looked like a star.

"You have a red star?" Theo asked with shock.

"Yes, I tried one mission and completed it. It was then that I knew that I didn't want to pursue strength as my main focus anymore, young master. The silver rating was what made me get this job as your attendant."