Beast Taming: Start With A Dragon Legion

Chapter 17: The Wrong Kind Of Attention

Knox woke up alone in the common dorm with his wrist still aching from Tremor Palm. His palm felt numb, his fingers were slow to close, and his legs were still sore from the recent fights and mission. He checked his condition.

[Recovery Status]

Mana: 34/55

Physical Strain: Lower Body Fatigue — Mild

Right Wrist Backlash — Active

Mana Channels — Slightly Irritated

Recommendation: Avoid repeated skill activation.

Ignis was still sleeping close to him, his legs twitching once like he was trying to use Burst Step in his sleep. Knox did not wake him. He understood they were both tired and that challenging anyone today would be stupid. He decided today was for rest, food, and recovery.

Ignis woke up minutes later, hungry.

Knox pulled out a beast feed pellet from his pouch and handed it to him. Ignis sniffed it suspiciously and made a disgusted face through the bond.

“The rabbit tasted better,” Ignis complained.

Knox was annoyed because the feed cost him silver. “Then make your own money and buy yourself better food.”

Ignis lifted his head proudly. “I made you who you are right now.”

Knox felt betrayed. “Low blow.”

Ignis stared at him for a moment, and Knox felt irritation pour in through the bond. “Pervert,” Ignis muttered.

Knox went still. “Where did you learn that?”

Ignis blinked. “From you.”

Knox had no response to that.

After Ignis finished eating, Knox prepared to leave the dorm. His wrist still ached, his mana had not fully recovered, and Ignis was still tired, but staying inside all day would only make him think too much. He only wanted to eat, recover mana, avoid challenges, and let Ignis rest.

Knox left the dorm with Ignis on his shoulder. But to his dismay, the academy students immediately started staring. The whispers were not the real problem. The staring was. Everywhere Knox passed, people looked at Ignis first, then him. Some were looking amused for some reason, some curious, and some were cautious now because of what happened with Venn.

Knox kept walking, but the attention irritated him.

Marcus Varen stepped into his path with his Stonejaw Wolf beside him.

“Well, well,” Marcus said. “The fallen Aston still walks around like he matters.”

Knox looked at him. “Morales.”

Marcus smirked. “Changing the name does not change the blood.”

Knox stared at him properly now as he assessed him in his mind. Marcus Varen. Stonejaw Wolf. Class B suitability result. Strong bite output. Decent command control. That made Marcus worse in Knox’s eyes because his beast was never the problem. His arrogance was.

Then Marcus mocked Ignis again. “But who knows, maybe your gecko will evolve into a slightly bigger gecko.”

Knox stopped walking. He was sore, tired, low on patience, and done being the academy’s entertainment.

Knox did not shout. He instead looked Marcus in the eye.

“I understand what this is really about,” Knox said calmly.

Marcus tilted his head. “Do you?”

“You cannot touch Noah,” Knox said. “So you bark at me instead.”

The courtyard quieted. The insult landed because Marcus stiffened.

“If your problem is with House Aston, go challenge the darn heir,” Knox said, gritting his teeth.

Marcus had no answer.

Knox nodded. “That is what I thought.”

Knox had done his research after Marcus kept baiting him.

Marcus Varen was not just another loud student with too much pride. He came from House Varen, a family that had spent years standing under House Aston’s shadow. They were not poor, and they were not powerless, but they were never important enough to stand beside the real noble houses.

That was the kind of thing that bred resentment.

Marcus had enough backing to look down on common students, but not enough status to challenge the people above him. His Stonejaw Wolf was decent too.

But then there was Noah.

Noah Aston had an Elite-rank Frost Wyvern, Duke Magnus’s favor, and the kind of attention Marcus could never force people to give him. Marcus could hate Noah all he wanted, but he could not touch him. Not directly, without risking humiliation.

So he turned to Knox instead.

A fallen Aston. Disowned, mocked and alone.

At first, Knox thought Marcus only wanted an easy target, but now he knows why, or at least suspected why.

Marcus did not just hate Knox because he looked weak.

He hated Knox because even as a failure, Knox still mattered.

The students were still staring, and Knox finally lost patience. “Are all of you really that jobless? Is there a secret class teaching you how to stare at me all day?”

The courtyard went quiet.

Knox started pointing. He pointed at a boy with a mushroom-looking summon. “Why is no one staring at him?”

The boy went red.

Knox pointed at another student with a stone-feather chicken-like beast. “Or her beast.”

Then Knox pointed at a thin girl near the back with a slug-like summon. “You should focus on her instead. What the hell is with you all!?”

A few students tried to hold it in. Someone snorted. Then another and soon enough the courtyard finally broke into laughter.

Knox should have felt satisfied, but when the girl lowered her head, guilt pressed against his chest. He had meant to hit the crowd. Not someone who already looked like she had been mocked too many times.

Before the laughter fully died down, a serious voice cut through the courtyard. “Do you think this is funny?”

Knox turned and saw a broad-shouldered student near the edge of the crowd. His uniform was clean but worn at the cuffs, like he had been using the same set for too long. His face was calm, but his eyes were hard.

The student spoke. “Some of us have ridiculous summons and still fight every day to keep our place.” He looked briefly at the girl with the slug-like summon, then turned back to Knox. “Do not turn all of us into your joke just because the academy made you one.”

For once, Knox had no quick reply.

The student left. Only after he was gone did someone whisper, “Rellan Voss. Rank 452.”

After the courtyard incident, Knox finally got away. He ate, drank water, let Ignis rest, and avoided using any big movement skill. His mana slowly improved, but his wrist was still strained.

Later, he checked his condition again.

Mana: 42/55

Right Wrist Backlash: Active

Condition: Improving Slowly

Knox then pulled up the new skill window.

Skill: Tremor Palm — Incomplete

Current Proficiency: 1%

Effect: Sends a weak internal vibration through direct palm contact.

Current Use: Can briefly disturb balance, breathing rhythm, or mana flow.

Limitations:

• Requires physical contact

• High mana cost

• Weak against armor or thick hides

• Backlash damages Knox’s wrist and forearm if used carelessly

Knox studied the description carefully. The skill was not a killing move. It was not even a proper attack yet. It was an opening-maker. If he landed it at the right moment, he could disturb an opponent for one breath. One breath was enough to dodge, counter, or make Ignis strike.

Knox lightly placed his palm against a wooden table and tried to feel the vibration pattern without releasing it fully. The moment he tried to push mana into his wrist, pain shot up his forearm.

The system warned him.

[Warning]

Right Wrist Backlash Detected.

Repeated activation may worsen mana-channel irritation.

Knox immediately stopped. He was not stupid. He understood Tremor Palm could help him climb, but if he forced it now, he might damage the same hand he needed to fight.

Knox closed his eyes briefly and decided he would not issue an offensive challenge today. He needed his body to recover properly first. But Rellan’s words remained in his head. If Knox climbed, someone else fell. That would not stop him, but it made him understand the ranking board differently.

Knox looked at the ranking board from a distance.

Academy Rank: 487

He still needed Top 300. But now he understood he was not the only weak student under pressure.