2026-05-20 05:21:48The first-year ranking board was carved into a massive stone pillar at the center of the academy plaza. Names glowed faintly in ranked order, updating automatically as students challenged each other and won or lost combat matches.
Knox stood in front of it, Ignis perched on his shoulder, and scanned down the list. Rank 1: Kael Drenor Rank 2: Elena Solis Rank 3: Thorne Veylan The names continued downward, each one representing someone who had proven their strength through official academy combat challenges. Knox kept scrolling until he found his own name. Rank 487: Knox Morales He stared at it for a moment. A hundred and eighty seven ranks to climb, in thirty days. A student walked past and saw Knox looking at the board. He snorted. "Good luck with that bet, Morales. You will understand something soon." Knox ignored him. He studied the ranking system posted beside the board. Combat rankings could only be climbed through official challenge matches. Completing missions, attending classes, or earning high test scores did not affect combat rank directly. That meant if Knox wanted to reach the Top 300, he would need to fight and win. Knox looked at Ignis. Challenging anyone now would be stupid. Ignis had no usable combat skill yet. The gravity attribute was still locked, and neither of them understood how to activate it. Fighting ranked students with just basic commands and weak manifestation would be suicide. He needed to get stronger first. Knox turned away from the ranking board and walked toward the academy mission hall. The mission board was located in a large stone building near the training grounds. The hall was crowded with students studying mission postings, arguing over assignments, and negotiating team formations. Knox pushed through the crowd and reached the board. Missions were divided by difficulty and pay. High-ranked students took escort contracts, beast hunts, and resource gathering in dangerous zones. Low-ranked students were left with the scraps: cleaning duty, message delivery, herb sorting, and pest control. Knox scanned the available missions. Most of them paid poorly, but they offered something more valuable than money. Field experience. Real combat situations, even against weak beasts, would help him and Ignis grow faster than sitting in classrooms. For a moment, Knox wondered why he had even bothered making the bet with Crane. He could technically grind missions like this, save money slowly, and pay tuition himself. Then he remembered. The system mission gave him Dragon Points and unlocked Gravity Control training. Crane paying his tuition would save him time, money, and effort that he could invest into getting stronger instead. And if he reached the Top 300, it would force the academy to take him seriously. If there were two paths forward, Knox saw no reason not to use both. He reached for one of the lower-tier mission slips. Mission: Swift-Horn Rabbit Extermination Location: Academy Herb Garden Objective: Remove Swift-Horn Rabbits damaging mana herb crops Estimated Count: 15-20 rabbits Reward: 50 silver coins Rank Requirement: None Knox pulled the slip from the board. A student nearby noticed and laughed. "Rabbit duty? Seriously?" Another student grinned. "That's the bet guy, isn't it? The one who thinks he can reach Top 300?" "He's doing pest control now? That won't help him win ranked fights." Knox folded the mission slip and walked toward the mission counter without responding. The mission clerk stamped his slip and handed him a small sack. "Bring back proof of extermination. Rabbit horns will do. Good luck." Knox walked out of the mission hall, ignoring the laughter behind him. The academy herb garden was located on the eastern edge of campus, surrounded by low stone walls and filled with rows of carefully cultivated mana herbs. The plants glowed faintly with stored energy, their leaves shimmering in different colors depending on their type. An older man in gardener's robes stood near the entrance, arms crossed, looking annoyed. "You're the one taking the rabbit mission?" the supervisor asked, his tone skeptical. "Yes," Knox said. The supervisor looked at Knox, then at Ignis perched on his shoulder, then sighed. "You're bottom-ranked, aren't you?" Knox did not answer. The supervisor shook his head. "Swift-Horn Rabbits are weak, but they're fast. Extremely fast. Their horns let them dash in short bursts, and they've been eating the young roots of our mana-sweet herbs. Several students already abandoned this mission because the rabbits are too annoying to catch and the reward is too low." "I'll handle it," Knox said. The supervisor gave him a doubtful look but stepped aside. "Garden's yours. Just don't damage the herbs and watch out for the rabbit leading them." Knox entered the garden, Ignis still on his shoulder. The rows of mana herbs stretched out in neat lines, their leaves glowing softly in the afternoon light. Knox walked slowly between the rows, scanning for movement. Then he saw it. A small white rabbit crouched near a patch of mana-sweet herbs, nibbling at the roots. Its body was about the size of a house cat, with soft white fur and a single spiraled horn on its forehead that glowed faintly blue. Ignis's body tensed. "Easy," Knox muttered. "Don't rush it." Ignis launched off Knox's shoulder anyway. The rabbit's horn flashed bright blue. WHOOSH! The rabbit vanished in a burst of speed, reappearing five meters away. Ignis crashed face-first into the dirt where the rabbit had been, dirt smearing across his snout. Another rabbit darted past from behind, its horn flashing as it dashed toward a burrow and disappeared underground. Ignis pushed himself up, shook his head, and growled in frustration. Knox crouched down and scratched Ignis under the chin. "Hmmmmm, chasing them won't work. They're too fast." I can catch them, Ignis said stubbornly through the bond. "Not like this," Knox said. "We need to be smarter." Knox stood and walked slowly through the garden, observing the rabbits instead of chasing them. He counted at least six visible at a time, all moving between the herb patches and their burrows. He watched their patterns carefully. The rabbits' horns glowed right before every dash. They always fled toward familiar burrows. They avoided the bitterroot patches entirely, probably because the smell was too strong. And after each burst of speed, they paused for a second or two, catching their breath. Knox crouched beside Ignis. "We can't match their speed, so we control where they run." How? Ignis asked. Knox pointed at a cluster of burrows near the mana-sweet patch. "Block those. Then use bait to lure one into a narrow area where it has fewer escape routes. I'll cut off one path. You cover the other." Ignis tilted his head, listening. Knox gathered several flat stones and quietly blocked two of the burrow entrances. Then he plucked a few mana-sweet leaves and placed them in a narrow gap between two rows of herbs. He positioned himself on one side of the gap and gestured for Ignis to wait on the other. A rabbit appeared, drawn by the scent of mana-sweet leaves. Knox stayed perfectly still. The rabbit hopped closer, sniffing the bait. Then it noticed Knox. Its horn flashed blue. The rabbit dashed—but Knox had already moved to block its escape path. The rabbit twisted mid-dash and bolted toward the only open route. Right where Ignis was waiting. Ignis lunged. His claws slammed down on the rabbit's back, pinning it to the ground. The rabbit struggled for a moment, then went still. I got it! Ignis said, his voice excited through the bond. Knox walked over and crouched beside them. "Good. Now—" He stopped. Ignis's behavior had changed. The drake's ember-orange eyes locked onto the rabbit, and his pupils narrowed into sharp slits. Saliva dripped from his mouth, and Knox felt a sharp, instinctive hunger pulse through the bond. It was not normal hunger. It felt deeper, primal, like Ignis's body recognized something inside the rabbit that it desperately wanted. Knox frowned. "Ignis?" Ignis did not respond. He lowered his head toward the rabbit, his breathing quickening. Then words appeared before Knox's eyes. [High Affinity Detected] [Compatible Beast Essence Found: Swift-Horn Rabbit] [Essence Assimilation Mission Generated] Knox's breath stopped. The system expanded, showing more details. Mission: Swift-Step Foundation Objective: Assimilate Swift-Horn Rabbit Essence Required Count: 10 Progress: 1/10 Reward: Trait: Burst Step Dragon Points +5 Possible Bond Echo: Echo Step Knox stared at the notification. Essence assimilation. Ignis could gain traits from compatible beasts by consuming their essence through the Vault system. This was not just a pest control mission anymore. If Ignis gained Burst Step, they would finally have a mobility tool for combat. Something they could use in ranked fights. Knox looked at Ignis, who was still staring at the rabbit with intense focus. "Eat it," Knox said quietly. Ignis did not need to be told twice. He tore into the rabbit, and as he consumed it, faint traces of blue light seeped from the carcass and flowed into Ignis's body. The progress count updated. Progress: 1/10 Knox stood and looked across the herb garden. There were at least fifteen more rabbits here, maybe twenty. He had come here for money. Now he was staying for power. Knox reset the stone traps and picked more mana-sweet leaves. "Let's keep going," he muttered. Ignis looked up at him, his eyes still glowing faintly with blue traces, and nodded. They worked together, repeating the strategy. Knox blocked burrows, set bait, and cut off escape routes. Ignis waited, lunged, and caught the rabbits one by one. It was slow and exhausting. Several rabbits still escaped, and Ignis missed more times than he succeeded. But with each attempt, Knox felt Ignis reading his intent faster through the bond. Their timing improved and their coordination tightened. The progress count rose. Progress: 3/10 Progress: 5/10 Progress: 7/10 The sun was starting to set when Knox wiped sweat from his face and crouched beside another blocked burrow. Ignis crouched low in the herbs across from him, his eyes fixed on a Swift-Horn Rabbit nibbling at the bait. The rabbit's horn flashed blue, preparing to dash. Knox signaled. Ignis lunged.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 80 — The Last Breath Before The Quake
The Vorul moved before the last word left him.WHUMP. It crossed the marsh in a single low rush, so fast the mud barely kicked up under it, and Knox's body dropped its own weight and threw itself sideways before his mind had caught up with any of it.[Weight Sync Activated.] [Mana: 121/200 → 116/200.]He twisted. Too slow. The claws that had been aimed at his throat missed it by a finger, then raked down across his shoulder and over his upper ribs, and his academy coat opened in four lines. The blood was running warm under the cloth before the pain even reached him.Knox stumbled back. His eyes were still catching up to where the thing had been, not where it was. It had crossed ten feet of marsh and opened him up and he'd never once seen it clearly. His breath came late and ragged, and that scared him worse than the speed had.The Vorul watched him figure it out."You are quick," it said. It sounded almost pleased. "Quicker than the little ones should be. But you cannot read my move
Chapter 79 — The Flare Above The Marsh
THWACK.Knox's knife caught nothing but air.He spun toward the sound, braced for Rellan's hammer catching the arm, the shell guard holding the line.Rellan was still standing.That was the first thing Knox saw, and for half a breath he was confused because Rellan was on his feet, upright, facing the Vorul the way he'd been a moment ago. Knox face suddenly changed.The shield guard that should have been between them hung open in two broken halves in the mud. The Gravelshell Tortoise lay sprawled beside it, legs still twitching. And Rellan was standing because the Vorul's arm was holding him up, buried to the wrist in his chest.He stood still swaying slightly."No—no, no, no—" Marcus screamed it and kept screaming it, going backward through the mud on his hands, not even trying to stand, the word breaking apart high and raw until he ran out of air, dragged in another breath, and started over.The Vorul pulled its arm free.SCHLUCK. It came out slick and dark to the elbow, a rope of
Chapter 78 — The One-Spike
Cold.That was the first thing, before the shock even caught up. A cold that came off the mist and settled into the back of Knox's throat, wrong for the marsh, wrong for the hour. He was staring at Calder's head in the mud, at the man who'd been threatening him with the board a breath ago, and the air over the whole path had changed. The insects had stopped. The water had stopped moving. Even the reeds held still, like the marsh itself had decided to stop drawing attention to itself.The fear came down on all of them at once.It wasn't the fear of a beast. Knox had felt that already today, the boar, the rats, the clean animal jolt of something wanting to eat you. This was under that. Deeper and colder and uglier, the kind that started in the body before the mind caught up, every part of him quietly certain that whatever stood in the mist was not supposed to be here and that being near it was already a mistake.Calder's body folded down into the water behind him.Orven made a small,
Chapter 77 — Still Growling
The marsh went dead quiet after the splash.Nobody wanted to be the first to move. The mist sat low over the black water, the scratched route stone glowed weak behind them, and the rats lay open in the mud where they’d been cut, cores already gone.Then Ignis growled.It came up out of his chest low and locked, smoke slipping between his teeth, his claws spreading wide and pushing furrows into the mud.Knox felt the bond pull tight, and he knew the sound was wrong before he could say why. He’d heard Ignis angry. He’d heard him smug and hungry and insulted and territorial. He had never once heard him sound like this.“We should stop,” Knox said, breaking the silence. “Reassess the route.”Calder sniffed. “We’re barely past the outer line. Stronger beasts don’t wander this close to the forward camp, and whatever’s splashing around out there is well inside Grade-C tolerance.” He let it sit. “The point of a field assessment is to meet beasts, Morales. Not to flinch every time the water m
Chapter 76 — First Blood in Greyfen
The camp noise died behind them one step at a time.By the third route stone Knox couldn't hear the dock chains anymore, just wet leaves dripping, insects, something calling far off in the trees, and the slow suck of boots pulling out of marsh mud. The Eastern Marsh Line ran along a string of dull blue route stones half-sunk in the ground, and the mist sat thick enough that each one looked farther off than the last until you were almost on top of it.Calder walked at the back."Let's be clear before we're in it," he said. "This isn't an escort which means that I am not here to pull you out of trouble.”He paused. “I watch, I write things down, and if something's actually about to kill one of you, I'll step in then and not before. Otherwise you handle it." He started placing them without slowing down. "Marcus takes front. Rellan, you're middle. Kessa, you've got supply and the core log. Orven, eyes on the markers. Morales—" a beat, "—rear-left."Knox's jaw set. He pulled his pack up
Chapter 75 — Eastern Marsh Line
The howl rolled out of the treeline and kept rolling, low and long, and the mist over the camp shivered with it. The ward crystals on the corner poles buzzed, a thin rising hum, then went quiet again.The students stopped unloading. Heads came up all down the line, eyes wide, and even Knox felt something cold walk up the back of his neck before he could tell it not to.Calder laughed, short and dry. "That's Greyfen saying good morning. You'll hear worse before dark. Keep moving."Bram drifted in at Knox's shoulder. "Marsh Stalker. That's what made that. Big one, by the throat on it." He said it casually.Knox gave him a flat look."What? You think I just talk?" Bram looked genuinely wounded. "My brother's a senior. He sat me down and grilled me on every ugly thing in this zone before I left. I'm the only provisional here who actually knows what's trying to eat him." He sniffed. "You're welcome, in advance."Knox blinked. Somewhere under the noise of the last week he'd never once stopp
You may also like
Heir of the Supreme Sky Throne
Evanscapenovel15.0K viewsThe Master of Fate
Young Master Jay24.1K viewsBeyond The Immortal
Shin Novel 36.8K viewsReincarnated in another world with a Gunsmithing System
Ashdenroth14.9K viewsRise from the Depths: Shackles of Qahara
Archie Mon162 viewsRise Of The Dual Bound Sovereign
Dream_Weaver87 viewsRISE OF THE ULTIMATE MERCHANT
ASTON CARTIER263 viewsReborn And Chosen By Three Gods
Bimbo tv 35 views