Beast Taming: Start With A Dragon Legion

Chapter 9: The Rabbit Mission

The 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.