Beast Taming: Start With A Dragon Legion

Chapter 1: The Awakening Ceremony

"Welcome everyone to the 160th Awakening Ceremony!"

The Headmaster's voice carried across the hall with authority that made even the most excited students fall silent. He stood at the center of the raised platform, hands clasped behind his back, his expression serious. Beside him stood his beast, a massive lion with a mane made of actual flames. The creature was enormous, easily the size of a carriage, and heat radiated from its body in visible waves.

"I welcome all students who have been chosen to come to this school," the Headmaster continued. "And as you all know, even if today is your orientation day, you will have to awaken. This is what will be used to determine your rank in society and also in the school."

Nearly two hundred students sat in rows facing the platform, filling the awakening hall with nervous energy. The hall itself was massive with high ceilings supported by stone pillars and walls lined with torches that burned with magical flames. Behind the Headmaster stood a large crystalline pillar that glowed faintly with inner light, pulsing like a slow heartbeat. This was the awakening stone.

The Headmaster gestured toward the stone. "I do not need to explain to you about the ranking system," he said. "You have been taught this before you even thought of coming to the Royal Academy, so once again, congratulations to all students here today."

The crowd shifted in their seats, some students bouncing with barely contained excitement while others sat rigid with fear. Whispers rippled through the rows.

Among them with fists clenched tight sat Knox.

Knox did not belong to this world. Two weeks ago he had awakened in this body, the illegitimate son of a duke, with memories of a completely different life on a planet called blue star.

Unlike the Earth he previously lived in, this world was blessed with mana, magic, and even beasts that could level mountains with their power. It granted its youth aged between Seventeen to nineteen a chance to attend the Royal Academy and also awaken a beast, a moment that could define their entire future.

In those three weeks Knox had learned that monsters were divided into different ranks.

Common rank, rare rank, elite rank, king rank, emperor rank, and mythic rank.

The Headmaster's flame-maned lion was king rank, one of the highest tiers of power.

Knox watched as the Headmaster smiled softly at the crowd. "So…no pressure," he said.

Some students laughed nervously at that but nobody found it one bit funny. The tension in the hall was thick enough to cut because everyone knew the awakening would determine their entire future.

A common rank awakener would have limited prospects, maybe becoming a city guard or a hunter in the outer territories. Someone who awakened king rank or higher would become nobility or even royalty.

The Headmaster picked up a scroll from the table before him and unrolled it with a practiced motion. "When I call your name, you will approach the platform and touch the awakening pillar. Your beast will answer your call."

He glanced at the scroll. "Adrian Moss!"

A nervous boy stood from the front row and walked up to the platform with shaking hands. The Headmaster gestured toward the crystalline pillar. "Place your hand on the stone."

Adrian did as instructed, placing his trembling palm against the pillar's surface.

The pillar erupted in green light.

The glow spread outward from where his hand touched, filling the crystalline structure with vibrant radiance. Then something began to materialize beside Adrian, forming out of thin air until it solidified into a massive creature.

A stone boar.

The beast stood on all fours, about three feet tall at the shoulder, covered in rocky armor that looked like layered plates of granite. Its eyes glowed the same green as the pillar's light, and when it snorted, small pebbles tumbled from its hide.

The crowd clapped politely while Adrian looked disappointed but also relieved he summoned something at least.

"Touch your beast to solidify the bond," the Headmaster instructed.

Adrian reached out with a trembling hand and placed it on the stone boar's rocky hide. The moment his fingers made contact, light flared between them. A mark appeared on Adrian's shoulder, glowing briefly before settling into a tattoo of the stone boar.

The beast dissolved into particles of light and vanished.

Adrian bowed to the Headmaster and returned to his seat, unconsciously touching the tattoo on his shoulder.

The Headmaster continued calling names. Several more students were called over the next several minutes and most awakened common rank beasts, horned rabbits, shadow cats, wind foxes, small creatures with limited potential. Two students managed rare rank awakenings, a wind hawk and a stone serpent, which earned polite applause but nothing spectacular. The Headmaster's tone became more neutral with each common rank announcement, the initial excitement fading as the awakenings proved unremarkable.

"Noah Aston!" the Headmaster called.

Knox's head snapped up at the name. He frowned, his fist clenching involuntarily at his side.

In the crowd, several female students immediately started whispering.

"That's Noah Aston?" one girl said, her eyes widening. "I've heard his name from my parents!"

"Look how handsome he is," another girl whispered as Noah stood from his seat. "They didn't lie!"

"I heard he was engaged to the cold Ice Princess," a third girl added. "A Duke's daughter!"

"I'm so jealous of her!" the first girl replied, and they all giggled quietly.

Noah walked toward the platform with confidence radiating from every step. He was tall with dark hair and sharp features, wearing his robes with the Aston family crest on it like it had been tailored specifically for him. He climbed the steps and reached the awakening pillar without hesitation.

He placed his hand on the stone after taking a deep breath.

Blue light erupted from the pillar.

Bright, powerful blue radiance that filled the entire hall and made several students gasp. The light blazed brighter than anything that had come before, almost blinding in its intensity with faint gold streaks in the blue. Frost spread across the crystal's surface in delicate patterns. Then a beast began to manifest beside Noah.

A frost wyvern.

The creature stood about the height of a large wolf, its body compact but clearly powerful. Ice-blue scales covered its frame, each one catching the light like polished sapphires. Its wings were folded tight against its back, not yet spread to their full potential. Cold mist rolled off its body, and when it breathed, frost crystallized in the air. Even in this form, power radiated from the beast in waves that made nearby students shiver.

The Headmaster's smile widened, showing how pleased he was. "Elite rank," he announced, his voice carrying genuine awe as he studied the gold streaks in the already dimming colour. "Frost Wyvern. Ice affinity. Potential for king rank evolution."

The teachers seated along the sides of the hall all stood up at once, their faces showing awe and shock and happiness in equal measure. An elite rank awakening with king rank potential was rare, the kind of thing that happened maybe once every two years at the academy.

"Excellent work, young Aston," the Headmaster said. "Now complete the bond."

Noah placed his hand on the frost wyvern's scaled head without hesitation. Light blazed between them, brighter than the first student's bond, and a mark appeared on Noah's shoulder. The tattoo glowed ice-blue before settling into the image of the frost wyvern.

The beast dissolved into particles of cold light and vanished.

Noah smirked confidently as he walked back down the steps, the mark on his shoulder still faintly glowing.

The Headmaster continued calling names. Eight more students were called and most awakened common rank beasts. Soon enough the crowd's energy settled into routine.

"Knox Aston!"

Knox looked up when his name was called and he grimaced a bit.

This was it. His reckoning.

He stood from his seat and started walking toward the platform, and immediately the murmurs began.

"Is that not Noah's brother?"

"Why does he look so pale?"

"I heard a rumor he's not the duke's son."

The whispers spread through the crowd as Knox walked, students turning to stare at him with open curiosity and judgment. Knox kept his expression neutral and ignored them all, but he could feel every pair of eyes tracking his movement.

Noah was smirking when Knox glanced his way, clearly happy that Knox was being talked down about but Knox ignored him.

Knox climbed the steps to the platform and met the Headmaster standing beside the awakening pillar. The man looked at him neutrally. "Place your hand on the stone," the Headmaster said.

Knox took a breath and placed his palm flat against the crystalline surface. It felt cool to the touch, almost cold.

The moment his hand made contact, something happened.

Green light erupted outward.

The glow spread through the crystal, filling the hall with vibrant radiance. Students leaned back in their seats not expecting anything much and Noah’s smirk became wider.

But then the green shifted to red. Heat radiated from the stone. The red transformed into blue, cool and bright. The crowd murmured as they leaned forward, confused whispers spreading through the rows.

Then the blue became gold.

Brilliant gold that made everyone shield their eyes. The light bathed the entire hall in golden radiance.

"What's happening?!" someone shouted.

The gold began to darken.

Purple light bled through the gold, deep and rich, spreading across the crystal like spilled ink. The purple intensified, growing darker and more powerful with each passing second.

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

Then the purple became violet.

Violet light exploded outward from the pillar with such intensity that half the students flinched back.

"VIOLET!"

"That's the color of Mythic rank!"

The teachers all stood up in shock, unable to take it any longer.

"What is going on?!" someone shouted.

"Is this the birth of a mythic rank summoner?!"

The Headmaster's eyes were wide with awe. He had once upon a time taught a student who had awakened a mythic rank beast, who became one of the three mythic rank users in the world apart from the king himself, and nobody knew his whereabouts now.

In the front row, Duke Magnus Aston rose to his feet, his expression frozen in shock. Beside him, the other four dukes stood as well, their eyes wide with disbelief as they stared at the violet light.

The entire hall held its breath.

The violet light condensed, growing brighter and brighter until Knox had to squint against it.

Then it exploded.

BANG!

The sound echoed through the hall like a thunderclap. Wind blasted outward from the pillar, whipping Knox's hair back, making his robe snap and flutter. Smoke poured from the crystal's surface, thick and grey, obscuring everything.

Then the light changed. The brilliant violet shifted and turned white, replacing the radiance.

"What—" a teacher started. "Why would it go from violet to white all of a sudden?!"

The Headmaster frowned deeply, confusion replacing his awe.

The grey light faded and something manifested on the platform beside Knox.

Everyone was silent as they stared at his summon.

Someone let out a laugh.

"Pfft."

Then a voice from the back: "Is that…is that a lizard?"

The hall erupted.

"HAHAHA! A LIZARD!"