Beast Taming: Start With A Dragon Legion

Chapter 18: Names Above Him

Knox woke up late in the common dorm. Sunlight streamed through the window at an angle that told him it was already past morning. The other beds were empty. Most students were already outside enjoying the weekend. There were no classes today, no Professor Crane lesson, and no academy drills.

Knox sat up slowly. His wrist still ached faintly, but the sharp pain from yesterday was gone. He flexed his fingers. Stiff, but functional. He checked his recovery status.

[Recovery Status]

Mana: 55/55

Physical Strain:Lower Body Fatigue — ClearedRight Wrist Backlash — FadingMana Channels — Stable

Recommendation:Light activity permitted.Avoid repeated Tremor Palm activation.

Knox dismissed the notification and looked at Ignis. The drake was still curled up near his pillow, breathing steadily. His legs twitched once, like he was trying to use Burst Step in his sleep. Knox did not wake him.

Instead, Knox counted his silver. He pulled out the pouch from under his mattress and spread the coins on the bed. Twenty-five silver coins. Three low-grade mana core fragments. That was everything he had left after the Tremor Mole mission. Knox stared at the coins. He was almost broke again, but he still needed supplies if he wanted to climb. He decided to use the weekend to buy supplies, recover properly, train lightly, and issue his first offensive challenge.

Knox left the dorm with Ignis on his shoulder. The academy supply market was near the training complex, tucked between two large stone buildings. The weekend market was busy. Students crowded the stalls, browsing weapons, pills, beast feed, and training materials. Rich students casually picked up items without checking prices and it irked Knox because he had to count every coin carefully.

Knox walked past a stall selling recovery salves. Too expensive. He passed another selling beast cores. Also too expensive. Then he stopped at a stall displaying rows of small glass vials filled with colored liquids and pills. A middle-aged man stood behind the counter, arranging the vials with practiced efficiency.

Knox scanned the display. His eyes landed on a small brown pill sitting in a plain wooden box and almost immediately the system flashed in his eyes.

[Registered Academy Item Detected]

Item: Low-Grade Mana Expansion Pill

Price: 18 silver coins

Effect: Slightly expands a beginner summoner’s mana pool.

Estimated increase: +5 mana capacity.

Side Effects: Heavy sweating

Foul odor release

Temporary fatigue (2-3 hours)

Limit: Mostly effective once for low-level summoners.Repeated use gives diminishing returns.

Quality: LowPurity: 40%

Knox stared at the description. Five extra mana. That was not much, but it was something. The side effects sounded unpleasant, but he could handle that. But the issue was, eighteen silver was almost all his money so Knox hesitated.

“You buying or staring?” the shopkeeper asked without looking up.

Knox reached into his pouch and counted out eighteen silver coins. He placed them on the counter. The shopkeeper swept the coins into his hand, counted them quickly, and handed Knox the wooden box. Knox pocketed the pill.

Ignis shifted on his shoulder and sniffed toward another stall. Knox followed his gaze. A vendor was selling beast feed. Small cloth bags hung from hooks, each labeled with different types.

Ignis’s attention was fixed on a bag labeled “Warm Beast Meat Pellets.”

Knox sighed. “You want that?”

“Yes,” Ignis said through the bond.

Knox walked to the stall. The vendor, a young woman with short hair, smiled at him. “Five silver for the small pack.”

Knox counted out five silver coins. That left him with two. The vendor handed him the small cloth bag, and Ignis immediately perked up. Knox tucked the bag away. “You are expensive.”

“Worth it,” Ignis replied.

Knox considered selling one of the low-grade mana core fragments, but stopped himself. Coins could buy food and cheap pills, but core fragments could support Ignis or emergency training later. Selling them now would be stupid.

Knox returned to the dorm before taking the pill because he did not want the side effects happening in public. The common room was still empty. Knox sat on his bed and pulled out the wooden box. He opened it and stared at the brown pill. It looked rough, like compressed dirt. Knox closed his eyes and swallowed it dry.

At first, nothing happened. Knox waited. For a moment, he thought he had wasted his money but then heat spread through his chest. Slowly at first, then faster. The heat sank into his stomach and spread outward through his limbs. Knox’s breathing quickened. Pressure built inside his chest, like something was expanding against his ribs.

His skin prickled while sweat beaded on his forehead. Then it started pouring. Thick droplets ran down his face, neck, and arms. He noticed the fact that the sweat was not clear. It was slightly brown and carried a sour, rancid smell. Knox grimaced. Ignis jumped off the bed and moved to the far corner of the room.

“You smell,” Ignis said flatly.

“I know,” Knox muttered.

The pressure in his chest peaked, then slowly faded. The heat cooled and the sweating stopped. Knox sat there, drenched and reeking. The system appeared.

[Low-Grade Mana Expansion Pill Absorbed]

Mana Capacity Increased.

Mana: 55/55 → 60/60

Side Effect: Impurity Sweat Released

Physical Condition: Temporary Fatigue — Mild

Body Odor — Severe

[Foundation Progress Updated]

Current Level: 1

Mana Foundation: 60%

Level 2 Breakthrough Requirement: Mana Foundation must reach 100%

Current Progress: 60/100

Knox stared at the new part of the notification. Sixty percent. He was still Level 1, but he was no longer standing at the starting line.

The pill had not broken him through. It had only widened his mana pool and pushed his foundation forward. That meant reaching Level 2 would not be as simple as swallowing cheap pills. He still needed real combat, proper training, and more mana refinement.

Knox stood and stripped off his shirt. He walked to the washroom and scrubbed himself clean with cold water and rough soap. It took three rounds of washing before the smell faded. Knox dried off and put on fresh clothes.

The pill worked.

His mana pool had increased.

His foundation had moved closer to Level 2.

But he was almost broke again.

After cleaning up, Knox left the dorm again as he needed air. He walked along the side paths near the beast-care area, where students treated, fed, and inspected their manifested beasts before sending them back to the Other Side. The area was quieter than the main courtyards.

Knox turned a corner and stopped. The thin girl from the courtyard incident stood near a small enclosure. Her slug-like beast sat beside her, slowly moving across the ground. She was feeding it something from a small bowl.

Knox almost walked past. Then Rellan’s line from yesterday echoed in his head. “Do not turn all of us into your joke just because the academy made you one.”

Knox stopped. He stood there for a moment, then walked toward her. The girl noticed him approaching and stiffened. Her slug beast stopped moving.

“I need to apologize,” Knox said.

The girl looked at him but said nothing.

Knox continued. “I was angry yesterday. You were not the person I meant to attack.”

“But you still attacked me,” she said quietly.

Knox accepted that without defending himself. “I know. I am sorry.”

She did not forgive him warmly. She only nodded once. “You should be.”

Knox nodded and turned to leave.

“Wait,” a voice called from behind him.

Knox turned and saw Marcus Varen leaning against a nearby wall with his arms crossed. His Stonejaw Wolf sat beside him. Marcus had been listening, Knox realized with a groan.

“How noble,” Marcus said loud enough for others nearby to hear. “Apologizing only after someone embarrassed you into it.”

A few students passing by slowed down to watch. Knox wanted to respond, but he understood Marcus was baiting him. Marcus wanted him angry. Marcus wanted him loud and he wanted him to look like the problem.

Knox ignored him and walked away instead, clenching his fists slightly.

Marcus’s voice followed him. “Running away again?”

Knox kept walking. Marcus became more irritated because Knox refused to react.

Knox went to a quiet training area on the edge of the academy grounds. It was a small courtyard with stone posts for striking practice and open space for footwork drills. Only two other students were there, both training silently on opposite sides. Knox did not do heavy training. This was only to confirm his current condition after recovery and the mana pill.

Knox tested his dagger grip first. His fingers closed properly around the hilt, and there was no trembling this time. After that, he moved through a few basic footwork patterns. His legs felt solid beneath him, and the soreness from the past few days had finally faded.

Only after confirming that did he activate Echo Step. His body blurred one meter to the side. The movement was cleaner than before. His legs still tightened when he landed, but the mana flow did not scrape through his body the way it had during the fight with Venn.

[Echo Step Activated]

Range: 1 meter

Mana Cost: 6

Physical Strain: Mild

Mana: 60/60 → 54/60

Knox exhaled slowly. Six mana for one short movement was still expensive, but at least he knew the exact cost now. With his old mana pool, using Echo Step too many times would have drained him quickly. Even now, he could not afford to waste it.

He looked at Ignis. “Short burst.”