Beast Taming: Start With A Dragon Legion

Chapter 15: Beneath the Warmstone Greenhouse

Knox arrived at the Warmstone Greenhouse with Ignis perched on his shoulder.

The building sat on the eastern edge of the academy grounds, half-buried into a slope to keep the temperature stable. Heat rolled out from the entrance, thick and damp. Inside, rows of herb beds stretched beneath curved glass panels that caught the afternoon sun.

Moonroot beds lined the center section. The plants had pale silver-white roots that glowed faintly under the soil. Thin mana lines ran beneath them, feeding the roots with steady energy.

Knox wiped sweat from his neck as he walked deeper into the greenhouse. The mission still looked like dirty pest work, but the system had reacted differently.

When he accepted it, only one message appeared.

[Compatibility Detected]

Nothing else.

No explanation or reward preview.

Knox did not know what the compatibility meant, but he could not ignore it.

A middle-aged man in work robes approached. His sleeves were rolled up, and soil stained his hands. He looked Knox over briefly, then nodded toward the damaged section at the back.

"You here for the Tremor Mole removal?"

"Yes."

The supervisor gestured toward the damaged beds. "Tremor Moles burrow beneath the Moonroot beds and feed off the mana leaking from cracked root clusters. They are weak in direct combat, but they hide underground and release tremor pulses through the soil when threatened."

He pointed at several beds where the soil looked disturbed. "Your job is to remove five moles from this section. Minimum success is three captured or driven out. Full reward requires all five removed with limited root damage."

Knox glanced at the beds. "What counts as limited damage?"

"Do not tear up the beds. Do not snap the mana lines. If you let your beast dig wildly, you will lose bonus pay and I will terminate the mission early."

Knox nodded.

The supervisor handed him a small cloth sack. "Captured moles go in here. The sack suppresses their pulses. If you drive them out instead, make sure they leave the greenhouse entirely."

Mission Accepted:

Objective: Remove 5 Tremor Moles from damaged Moonroot section.

Minimum Success: 3 captured or driven out.

Reward:

50 silver coins

3 low-grade mana core fragments

Bonus pay if Moonroot damage is minimized

Knox took the sack and walked toward the damaged section.

Ignis sniffed the air, his ember-orange eyes scanning the disturbed soil.

Knox stepped between two rows of Moonroot beds and stopped.

Someone was already there.

Serena Hale knelt near a damaged bed with her Light Spirit Fox seated beside her. She wore simple work robes instead of her academy uniform, but her posture was still upright and precise. Her hands moved carefully through the soil, inspecting the roots without damaging them further.

The Light Spirit Fox watched Knox approach with pale, unblinking eyes.

Knox frowned.

He quickly understood why the mission board listed multiple positions.

Serena was not here for the moles. She was most likely here for the Moonroot herbs.

Knox looked at her Elite-rank beast, her calm expression and the way she worked without hesitation.

Rich students did not take missions for fifty silver coins or so.

She had another reason.

Serena glanced up briefly. Her expression did not change. "You are here for the Tremor Moles?"

"Yes."

She returned her attention to the roots. "Then we will be working in the same section."

Knox crossed his arms. "Why are you doing a mission like this?"

Serena's fingers paused over a damaged root cluster. She looked at him with the same calm, evaluating gaze she had used during his fight with Venn.

"The herbs are useful to my fox. Not every mission is about the posted reward."

That was not an answer.

Knox's suspicion grew as he stared at her.

He decided not to press further. If she wanted to keep her reasons private, that was her business.

The supervisor returned and gestured between them. "Your missions overlap. Knox, you will remove the moles. Serena will preserve salvageable Moonroot herbs. If you damage the root beds, Serena loses valuable herbs and you lose bonus pay. If Serena disturbs the mana lines carelessly, the moles may scatter deeper and make your mission harder."

He looked at both of them. "Coordinate or fail separately."

The supervisor left.

Knox and Serena stood in silence for a moment.

Finally, Knox spoke. "Stay on your side. I will stay on mine."

Serena's lips curved faintly, but it was not quite a smile. "That will not work."

"Why not?"

"Because the moles do not follow boundaries, it's simple logic."

Knox's jaw tightened.

Serena returned to her work without another word.

Ignis hopped off Knox's shoulder and sniffed near the nearest Moonroot bed. His claws scraped lightly against the soil as he searched for movement.

Knox knelt beside him and placed his palm near the ground.

Faint vibrations traveled through the soil. Something was moving beneath the surface.

Ignis crouched lower, his body tense.

Then he lunged.

His claws dug into the soil, reaching for the movement.

THUMP.

A pulse shot through the ground.

Ignis stumbled backward, losing his balance. His legs buckled slightly, and he shook his head as if clearing his vision.

Knox felt the tremor travel up through his feet. It was not strong, but it slipped through his stance and briefly disturbed his breathing. His mana flow wavered for half a second before stabilizing.

The Tremor Mole had already escaped.

Knox exhaled slowly and steadied himself.

The attack was weak, but strange. It did not hit like a normal blow. It slipped through rhythm.

Serena's voice cut through the quiet. "Your beast is too direct."

Knox glanced at her.

She was still kneeling near the Moonroot bed, inspecting the roots, but her fox had turned its head toward Ignis.

"You won Venn's challenge because he was angry, predictable, and wasteful," Serena continued. Her tone was calm and factual. "The Tremor Moles are not angry. They are patient. If you chase them the same way you baited Venn, you will spend the entire day digging holes."

Knox's irritation flared at that.

He disliked that she was younger than his Earth self but acted like she was calmly grading him.

Knox said nothing and returned his attention to the soil.

Ignis circled another disturbed section, moving more cautiously this time.

Knox watched the soil for patterns.

Minutes passed.

Then Ignis sensed movement again and crouched to strike.

Before he could move, Serena spoke. "Stand aside."

Knox turned.

She rolled her eyes slightly and gestured toward the side.

Knox's irritation deepened. He had not asked for her help.

But he was curious so he made a concession and stepped back.

Serena's Light Spirit Fox rose to its feet and padded forward. Its pale fur shimmered faintly as it approached the disturbed soil.

The fox stopped near the Moonroot bed and lowered its head.

Light bent around it.

At first, Knox did not understand what was happening. The fox was not glowing. It was not releasing holy light or any kind of radiant aura.

Instead, the greenhouse light above the soil began to shift.

The fox's body refracted the sunlight coming through the glass panels, bending it across the surface of the soil like a thin lens.

Normal soil showed a smooth, even pattern.

But when something moved underground, the vibration warped the refracted image for a moment.

Knox saw it clearly now.

A faint ripple appeared where the mole moved.

A bent shimmer marked the edge of a damaged mana line.

A broken pattern showed where the roots were unstable and a spreading ring formed where a tremor pulse was building beneath the surface.

The fox did not expose the mole directly. It only made the disturbance visible.

Knox still had to read the rhythm and predict where the mole would surface.

Serena glanced at him. "Do you see it now?"

Knox nodded slowly.

Serena returned to her work without another word.

Knox studied the refracted pattern for a moment longer, then looked at Ignis.

Follow the distortion, Knox thought through the bond. Wait for the pattern to repeat.

Ignis crouched near the ripple and waited.

The distortion shifted.

Ignis moved.

He used Burst Step, aiming for the center of the pattern.

The uneven soil ruined his landing.

Ignis overshot and tumbled forward, his claws barely missing the edge of a Moonroot bed.

The mole released another tremor pulse and escaped deeper underground.

Knox felt the pulse travel through his feet again, stronger this time.

Serena did not laugh, thankfully.

She simply watched him with that calm, judging look.

Knox was more annoyed by that than he would have been by mockery.

Ignis pushed himself up and shook the dirt from his scales.

Knox placed his palm near the soil again and felt another tremor pulse pass through.

The system flickered.

[Compatibility Detected]

Knox wondered what the compatibility meant.

He dismissed the notification and refocused on the soil.

Serena's fox continued bending light across the surface, revealing faint distortions as the moles moved.

Knox noticed that Serena was not just preserving random herbs.

She knew which Moonroot beds could be saved, which roots were already damaged, and which mana lines were unstable. Her movements were precise and efficient.

This made Knox more curious about why she was here.

She did not need fifty silver coins.

She did not need low-grade mana core fragments.

And he wasn't buying her shit about coming here because it was essential for her beast.

Knox decided not to ask again.

If she wanted to keep her reasons private, that was her choice.

Time passed.

Knox and Ignis continued hunting the moles while Serena worked through the damaged beds.

Then one of the Tremor Moles shifted direction.

The distortion pattern showed it heading toward a weakened Moonroot bed where Serena was preserving another section.

Knox could ignore it and chase his own target.

But the weakened bed would collapse if the mole burrowed through it.

Knox sent Ignis forward.

Cut off its path before it reaches the bed.

Ignis used a shorter Burst Step instead of a full burst. It was still rough, but more controlled than before.

Even that shorter burst tugged faintly at Knox's mana through the bond.

He landed between the mole and the weakened bed, cutting off its path.

The mole turned and burrowed away from the disturbance.

Serena noticed.

Her fox paused mid-refraction and glanced at Knox.

Serena said nothing, but her expression shifted slightly.

Knox returned to his side of the section without acknowledging it.

Later, Knox nearly stepped onto a cracked mana line while tracking a tremor pattern.

Serena's fox bent the light around the crack, creating a false shimmer that caught Knox's attention before his foot landed.

Knox avoided the line and fought the urge to roll his eyes at her attempt to pay him back.

Serena did not make a big deal of it.

She simply returned to her work.

Knox knelt near the soil and placed his palm flat against the ground.

He waited.

A weakened tremor pulse traveled through the soil and passed through his hand.

The shock ran through his palm and wrist, disturbing his mana flow for a second.

Knox exhaled and focused on the sensation.

The Tremor Mole's attack was not strong because of force. It was effective because it entered through rhythm and disturbed the inside.

That was the key.

Knox stared at his hand.

This connected to something he needed.

A personal offensive technique.

Knox dismissed the thought for now and refocused on the mission.

He combined everything he had learned.

Serena's refracted illusion pattern showed the distortions.

Ignis's positioning cut off escape routes.

The Moonroot bed rhythm revealed where the moles preferred to hide.

The tremor timing showed when they were preparing to pulse.

So Knox waited.

The distortion returned to a predictable point.

Ignis crouched.

Knox gave the signal.

Ignis used a short, controlled Burst Step and pinned the Tremor Mole before it released another pulse.

The mole thrashed once, then went still.

Knox pulled the suppression sack from his belt and placed the mole inside.

The sack sealed, and the faint tremor pulses stopped.

Knox heaved a sigh of relief. One down four more to go.

Serena glanced at him briefly.

She did not praise him openly, but her evaluation of Knox changed slightly.

Knox remained irritated by her aloofness, but he could no longer deny that she was useful and really observant.

Their relationship shifted from suspicion to reluctant practical cooperation.

Knox returned to the soil and began tracking the next mole.

As the first Tremor Mole went still inside the suppression sack, Knox felt the tremor pattern linger faintly in his palm.

The system flickered.

[Compatibility Detected]

[Progress: 1/?]

Knox looked from the system window to the trembling soil and realized the answer was still buried beneath him.

So he decided to keep digging.