Beast Taming: Start With A Dragon Legion

Chapter 10: Swift-Step Foundation

Evening settled over the herb garden, and the light faded to dim orange across the mana herb rows.

Knox crouched low beside a blocked burrow, watching a Swift-Horn Rabbit nibble cautiously at the mana-sweet bait he had placed. Ignis waited on the other side, his body tense and ready.

The system progress glowed faintly in Knox's vision.

Progress: 7/10

Three more rabbits.

Knox signaled, and Ignis lunged.

The rabbit's horn flashed blue.

WHOOSH!

It vanished in a burst of speed, reappearing near a different burrow and disappearing underground before Ignis could adjust.

Knox exhaled slowly and wiped sweat from his forehead.

The remaining rabbits had become harder to catch. They avoided the old traps, stayed closer to burrows, and no longer rushed blindly toward the bait. They had learned.

Ignis growled in frustration, his claws digging into the soil.

I can feel it, Ignis said through the bond, his voice tight. The power. But I'm still not fast enough.

Knox scratched Ignis under the chin. "We don't need to be faster. We just need to make them choose the wrong path."

Another rabbit appeared near the edge of the mana-sweet patch. It took the bait carefully, sniffing it first, its ears twitching as it scanned the area.

Knox moved too early.

The rabbit's horn flashed, and it dashed away before Ignis could react.

A second rabbit acted as a lookout, staying near the burrow entrance and dashing away the moment it sensed movement.

Knox sat back against the stone wall and studied the garden again.

The rabbits were adapting, but they still had patterns. They avoided blocked burrows but refused to cross the bitterroot patches entirely. The smell was too strong for them.

Knox stood and gathered several bitterroot leaves. He arranged them carefully to narrow the rabbits' escape paths, creating a funnel that looked open but led directly toward where Ignis would wait.

Then he placed fresh mana-sweet bait in a spot where the rabbits felt safe.

"Get low in the herbs," Knox said. "Don't wait in front of the escape route. Hide beside it."

Ignis tilted his head but obeyed, crouching low in the thick herb growth where his grey scales blended with the shadows.

Knox positioned himself on the opposite side and waited.

A rabbit appeared.

It sniffed the bait, looked around cautiously, then started nibbling.

Knox moved.

The rabbit's horn flashed blue, and it dashed toward the false opening between the bitterroot patches.

Ignis lunged from the side.

His claws caught the rabbit mid-dash, slamming it into the ground. The rabbit struggled for a second, then went still.

Ignis tore into it immediately, and faint blue light flowed from the carcass into his body.

Progress: 8/10

Knox reset the trap.

The next rabbit was faster. It nearly escaped, dodging Ignis's first lunge and twisting toward a burrow. But Ignis felt Knox's intent through the bond and moved before Knox even spoke, cutting off the rabbit's path and catching it at the burrow's edge.

Progress: 9/10

Knox exhaled and looked across the garden. One more.

Then he saw it.

A rabbit larger than the others sat near the far edge of the herb garden, watching them. Its fur was pure white, but faint blue streaks ran along its legs like veins of light. Its horn was sharper, longer, and glowed with a steadier intensity.

The garden supervisor had mentioned that one rabbit seemed to lead the others.

This was it.

Knox approached slowly, but the rabbit did not panic. It watched him calmly, its ears twitching, and when Knox got too close, it hopped backward in short, controlled movements.

It did not rush for bait. Did not fall for the narrowed paths. It tested the trap from a distance, probing for weaknesses.

Knox looked at Ignis. "This one's smart."

Can we catch it? Ignis asked.

"We have to."

Knox studied the mature rabbit's movements. It stayed near three burrows, always keeping an escape route open. It avoided the bitterroot entirely and ignored the mana-sweet bait.

Knox needed a new approach.

He stepped directly into the rabbit's escape route.

The rabbit's ears flattened, and its horn began to glow brighter.

Knox held his ground.

The rabbit had three choices: charge through Knox, cross the bitterroot patch, or dash toward Ignis hidden in the herbs.

The rabbit's horn flashed blue.

It launched into its fastest dash yet, aiming straight for the gap beside Knox.

Knox moved to block it, but he was too slow. The rabbit clipped his leg as it passed, and Knox stumbled.

But he had held his ground long enough.

The rabbit twisted mid-dash to avoid the bitterroot and shot directly toward the herbs where Ignis waited.

Ignis lunged.

The rabbit almost slipped past him. Its speed was too much for a clean catch.

But Ignis caught its hind leg with one claw and dragged it down. The rabbit struggled violently, kicking and thrashing, but Ignis pinned it with both front claws, his body trembling with effort.

The deep hunger pulsed through the bond, stronger than before.

Knox nodded. "Finish it."

Ignis tore into the mature rabbit, and brilliant blue-white light exploded from the carcass, flowing into Ignis's body in thick streams. His legs trembled, his claws dug into the soil, and his scales flickered faintly with speed-like traces.

The system screen appeared.

[Essence Assimilation Complete]

[Mission: Swift-Step Foundation Completed]

Reward Granted:

Trait: Burst Step

Dragon Points +5

[Trait Registered: Burst Step]

Effect: Allows Ignis to perform a short explosive dash

Current Range: 2 meters

Limit: Straight-line movement only

Cost: Stamina and mana through the bond

Control: Unstable

Ignis stood, his body still glowing faintly with blue traces. He looked at Knox, his ember-orange eyes brighter than before.

I feel it, Ignis said through the bond. The speed. It's inside me now.

Knox smiled faintly. "Good. Now we have—"

The system flashed again.

Knox felt a sharp pulse in his legs, a sudden tightness in his muscles that made him gasp in surprise.

[Bond Resonance Detected]

[Summoner Echo Skill Generated]

Skill Acquired: Echo Step

Effect: Allows Knox to perform a short burst movement through bond resonance

Current Range: 1 meter

Limit: Straight-line movement only

Cost: Stamina and mana

Control: Unstable

Knox stared at the notification.

He had gained a movement skill of his own.

The bond had echoed Ignis's growth back to him.

Knox looked down at his legs, then at Ignis. "Did you—"

I felt it too, Ignis said. Your body learned from mine.

Knox took a slow breath and focused on the feeling in his legs. The pulse was still there, faint but real, like a coiled spring waiting to release.

Ignis could not wait. He activated Burst Step immediately.

Blue light flared around his legs, and he shot forward in a blur.

Too fast.

Ignis crashed face-first into a soft mound of mana-sweet herbs and rolled through the dirt, his legs tangling as he tumbled to a stop.

Knox almost laughed despite his exhaustion.

Ignis pushed himself up, shook dirt from his scales, and looked back at Knox with what could only be described as embarrassment.

I wasn't ready, Ignis said defensively.

"Clearly," Knox muttered.

He focused on Echo Step and tried to activate it.

The pulse in his legs flared, and Knox blurred forward one meter in a sudden burst.

His legs buckled immediately, and he stumbled, catching himself on a stone wall before he fell.

His breath came hard, and his legs burned from the strain.

The skill was real. But his body was too weak to handle it properly yet.

Knox straightened slowly and looked at Ignis. "We have power now. But we can't control it."

We'll learn, Ignis said.

"We have to," Knox said. "Before we start challenging anyone."

Knox focused on the system and thought about checking their progress.

The screen appeared immediately.

BONDED BEAST STATUS

Name: Ignis

Species: Wingless Drake

Level: 1

Rank: ???

Attribute: Gravity

Traits: Burst Step

First Ability: Locked

Bond Status: Stable

Essence Assimilation: Active

Physical Growth:

Strength: 4

Agility: 7

Endurance: 3

Growth Progress:

Wingless Drake — Foundation Stage

Requirements:

Requirement 1: Assimilate 3 compatible beast traits

Requirement 2: Reach Level 3

Requirement 3: Dragon Points 50

Progress:

Compatible Traits: 1/3

Level: 1/3

Dragon Points: 8/50

Foundation Reward:

Partial body strengthening

Improved manifestation stability

Evolution path partially revealed

Knox stared at the screen.

Foundation Stage. So Burst Step was not an evolution—it was the beginning of one. Ignis would need two more compatible trait assimilations before completing the foundation, and only then would his true evolution path start to reveal itself.

But what did "compatible traits" even mean? Why were some beast essences compatible and others not? And why was the system keeping that information from him?

Knox frowned. The Dragon Vault had given him a checklist, but it had not explained the rules.

The climb was not cheap, and apparently, it was not straightforward either.

Knox dismissed Ignis's screen and called up his own status.

SUMMONER STATUS

Name: Knox Morales

Level: 1

Academy Rank: 487

Mana: 50/50

Strength: 3

Stamina: 3

Agility: 2

Dragon Points: 8

Status: Provisional Student

Skills:

Echo Step — Unstable

Active Mission:

Prove Your Worth

Objective: Reach First-Year Rank 300 or higher within 30 days

Time Remaining: 29 Days

Reward: Dragon Points +50, Mana Capacity +10, Gravity Control Training Path

Failure: Tuition unpaid, Academy expulsion, Gravity Control Training Path sealed indefinitely.

Knox read through it carefully.

His stats had improved from the daily trials. Strength and Stamina had each increased by 1 point. He had gained Echo Step, and his Dragon Points had risen from the completed mission.

But his level remained at 1.

One rabbit mission was not enough to trigger a full level advancement. He would need real combat, proper training, and mana development before the system recognized him as Level 2.

His eyes stopped on the failure line.

Failure: Tuition unpaid, Academy expulsion, Gravity Control Training Path sealed indefinitely.

Knox's jaw tightened.

If he failed to reach the Top 300, he would not just lose his academy spot. The Gravity Control Training Path would be locked indefinitely.

One month. One shot or failure.

The pressure settled heavy on his chest.

Knox dismissed the screen and looked at Ignis.

"We've started climbing," Knox said quietly. "But we have a long way to go."

I'm ready, Ignis said through the bond.

Knox nodded.

He gathered the rabbit horns as proof and walked back toward the garden entrance. His legs ached, his clothes were covered in dirt and sweat, and exhaustion weighed heavily on him.

The garden supervisor looked up as Knox approached, his expression shifting to surprise.

"You actually finished it?" the supervisor asked, staring at the sack of rabbit horns.

"All of them," Knox said.

The supervisor took the horns and counted them slowly, then pulled out a small pouch of silver coins. "Fifty silver, as promised. I'll admit, I didn't think you'd manage it. Most students gave up after an hour."

Knox took the coins and weighed the pouch in his hand.

Fifty silver.

It was his first real earnings at the academy, but it was nowhere near enough to pay tuition. The academy required gold, not silver. This was enough to cover food and basic supplies for a few weeks but not what mattered.

Knox pocketed the coins.

The money was useful, but climbing the rankings was still the fastest path to solving his problem.

He turned and walked out of the herb garden, Ignis riding on his shoulder, tired but satisfied.

Knox felt the faint pulse of Echo Step still lingering in his legs and the new sharpness in Ignis's movements. They were still near the bottom of the rankings. Still broke. Still mocked by the academy.

But now, they had their first weapon.

Knox looked toward the distant ranking board visible across the academy plaza.

Tomorrow, classes would begin.

And soon after, the challenges would start.