Bug was once again the unofficial chronicler of Nyxar's underground empire. His tiny wings buzzed like a squeaky quill as he narrated every experiment.
First Discoveries
"Observation One," Bug announced in a mock scholar's voice. "The Prain Mantis is fast. Not just regular fast—blink-and-you've-already-been-sliced fast."
Nyxar stood with arms folded, eyes following the green blur that darted across the cavern wall.
"Faster than anything we've found so far," he said, deadpan.
Bug swooped close, nearly colliding with a swinging claw. "And still trying to cut me into decorative bug confetti. Charming."
Stone as Butter
Nyxar tested the creature's edge next. He pointed to a jagged boulder. "Cut."
The mantis obliged with a lazy swipe. The rock split cleanly, halves sliding apart like chilled butter.
Bug's wings trembled.
"Observation Two: It cuts stone like I cut through a stale loaf—if I were big enough to hold a loaf. I am not. Please never give it a loaf."
Nyxar nodded once. "Sharp. Good."
Steel vs. Steel
Then came the daring experiment. Nyxar summoned the Steel Bear, its silver hide glinting faintly in torchlight.
"Arm," he commanded.
The bear lowered a paw the size of a door.
"Mantis. Cut."
A single flick—shhhkt!—and the Steel Bear's thick arm slid apart at the joint.
Bug shrieked, doing a barrel roll.
"WHAT. That's not fair! That bear shrugs off enchanted swords like twigs and this twig cuts it like—like—oh, I'm out of similes, that's how shocked I am!"
The Grimarca's runes flared a warning as it poured mana into rapid regeneration, reknitting the bear's limb with a hiss of black light.
Nyxar exhaled through his nose, unfazed. "Costly," he murmured, feeling the mana drain. "But acceptable."
Testing Weakness
Yet Bug noticed the downside.
"Observation Three: The mantis may slice like a god's razor, but its body is… how to put it… squishy. Wood-level tough at best. Steel Bear sneezes and the mantis folds like paper."
To demonstrate, Nyxar gave a short, sharp command. The Steel Bear flicked a paw; the mantis tumbled end over end before skittering upright, unhurt only because Nyxar halted the strike midway.
"Fragile," Nyxar confirmed. "Tool, not shield."
The Combo
That's when Nyxar's eyes glinted with the gleam of dark strategy.
"Bear holds. Mantis cuts."
Bug groaned. "Oh no. I see where this is going."
Nyxar summoned a second Steel Bear—an enemy this time, pulled from the Grimarca's depths. The cavern shook under its arrival.
He gestured. His own Steel Bear lunged, grappling the newcomer in a roaring clash of muscle and stone.
"Mantis," he said quietly.
The green blur darted, claws flashing. In a heartbeat the captive bear's head rolled free, heavy as a wagon wheel.
The Grimarca pulsed: New Creature Gained: Steel Bear.
Bug spun in a triumphant but terrified loop.
"And just like that, we have two murder-puppies instead of one. Fantastic. I feel so safe."
Nyxar only nodded. "Efficient."
Another Mantis, Another Plan
Time—whatever that meant underground—slipped by. Then Bug returned from a scouting flight, wings quivering.
"Another mantis," he reported. "Because clearly we don't have enough things that can carve me into beetle jerky."
Nyxar raised an eyebrow. "Show me."
This time he went in prepared. He summoned every remaining skeleton, a full ring of clattering bones.
"Observation Four," Bug narrated. "Our fearless leader is about to throw every disposable minion he has at the world's hungriest tree impersonator."
The skeletons rushed from all sides. The mantis whirled, claws flashing, shattering bone into glittering dust.
Then Nyxar's Steel Bear hefted a massive boulder, muscles rippling, and hurled it with a thunderous crack.
The mantis looked up—just in time to be reduced to a very expensive smear.
Aftermath
The Grimarca recorded the results with cold precision:
All skeletons destroyed.
New Creature Gained: Prain Mantis.
Bug hovered above the ink as it dried, reading aloud in disbelief.
"Well, congratulations. You now own two steel bears, two plant guillotines, and exactly zero skeletons. Truly a balanced diet of chaos."
Nyxar closed the book with a snap. "Acceptable trade."
Bug landed on his shoulder and sighed.
"Acceptable for you, maybe. For me it means twice the chance of being accidentally sliced, stomped, or—oh look—your new mantis is staring at me again. Wonderful."
Nyxar's faint smile was his only reply as the cavern settled back into heavy silence, broken only by the quiet scrape of the Grimarca's final words glowing in the dark:
Two Bears. Two Mantises. No Bones Left.