The five Silver Credits felt heavy in Elian's pocket—a weight of pure potential. In Oakhaven, a silver credit could feed a common family for a month. For Elian, it was fuel for the Matrix.
The Oakhaven Beast Market was a chaotic symphony of screeches, roars, and the heavy scent of musk and ozone. Merchants stood behind iron-barred wagons, shouting the pedigrees of their stock.
"Bronze-Rank Razor-Hounds! Pure bloodlines! Only ten silver!"
"Water-Sprites for your gardens! Low mana consumption!"
Elian moved through the crowd, his hood pulled low. He wasn't looking for the prime specimens. He was looking for the leftovers—the beasts that were too expensive to feed and too damaged to sell. To the Matrix, a broken beast's core was just as programmable as a healthy one.
As he walked, his vision flickered with blue text as the System scanned the stalls.
[Species: Iron-Back Turtle] — Low Compatibility.
[Species: Gale-Hog] — Moderate Compatibility (Wind/Fire Mutation possible).
[Species: Copper-Claw Cat] — Low Compatibility.
Nothing felt right. He needed something that would complement Ignis's newfound power. [Fireball] was a glass-cannon skill; it was devastating but left Ignis completely drained. He needed utility, or perhaps, a way to sustain the mana flow.
He reached the "Scrap Lot" at the very back of the market. Here, the cages were rusted, and the beasts looked haggard. In a small, cramped crate sat a bird that looked like it had been dragged through a chimney. Its feathers were a dull, oily black, and its left wing was bent at an unnatural angle.
"That's a Cinder-Swift," the merchant said, spitting a glob of tobacco onto the dirt. "Useless thing. Caught it in a forest fire. It's got a broken wing that won't heal right, and it eats more fire-seeds than it's worth. I'm about to turn it into soup."
Elian looked at the bird. It didn't chirp; it just stared at him with eyes like cooling coals.
[System Scan Initiated...]
[Species: Cinder-Swift (Iron-High)]
[Condition: Crippled (Permanent Wing Damage)]
[Unique Passive Skill: Mana Recirculation (Rare)]
[Compatibility with Ash Fox: 94% (Exceptional)]
Elian's heart skipped a beat. Mana Recirculation? That was a Rare-tier passive usually only found in High-Rank Phoenixes or Flame-Spirits. It allowed a beast to pull mana back from the environment after casting a spell.
"How much?" Elian asked, trying to keep his voice flat.
"For the soup-bird? Two silver. The cage costs extra."
"One silver," Elian countered. "It's half-dead, and the mana signature is erratic. You'll be lucky if it lasts the night."
The merchant grumbled, but his greed won out. "Fine. Take the pest. No refunds when it croaks."
Elian handed over a silver coin, grabbed the small wire cage, and hurried away. He didn't stop until he reached a secluded grove outside the city walls, near the old kiln.
He set the cage down and released the Cinder-Swift. The bird hopped out, dragging its broken wing, and looked at Ignis, who had emerged from Elian's cloak. The fox sniffed the bird, and surprisingly, the bird didn't flutter away. It seemed to recognize a fellow bottom-feeder.
"System," Elian whispered. "What happens if I fuse the Cinder-Swift's [Mana Recirculation] into Ignis?"
[Analyzing Synthesis...]
[Target: Ignis (Ash Fox)]
[Substrate: Cinder-Swift (Source of 'Mana Recirculation')]
[Required Catalyst: 2 Bronze-Rank Fire Cores (Intact)]
[Resulting Evolution: Passive Skill - 'Embers of the Phoenix' (Epic)]
[Effect: Reduces mana cost of Fire-type skills by 40% and allows 15% mana recovery upon hit.]
Elian stared at the screen. Epic. He was looking at an Epic-rank passive on an Iron-rank fox. But the cost was steep—two Bronze-Rank Fire Cores would cost him almost all his remaining silver.
"If I do this," Elian muttered to himself, "I won't have enough money for food for the rest of the month. I'll be living on academy porridge and forest berries."
He looked at Ignis, then at the crippled bird. The bird couldn't fly, but through the Matrix, its essence could live on in something greater.
"Sorry, little one," Elian said softly to the Swift. "But I'll make sure your wings touch the sun through him."
He reached into his bag and pulled out the two Bronze Cores he had purchased earlier from a more reputable dealer. They glowed with a steady, pulsing crimson light.
"System. Initiate Synthesis. Fuse the Cinder-Swift and the Cores into Ignis. Origin-Point: Mana Recirculation."
[Synthesis Beginning. This process is complex. Probability of pain: High. Proceed?]
"Proceed," Elian commanded.
The grove was suddenly bathed in a blinding, white-hot light. The Cinder-Swift dissolved into a cloud of glowing soot, while the two Bronze Cores shattered into liquid fire. The two streams of energy spiraled around each other like a double helix before slamming into Ignis's chest.
The fox let out a roar that sounded far too deep for its size. Its gray fur began to smoke, and for a terrifying moment, Elian thought the fox was going to spontaneously combust.
[Synthesizing... 30%... 60%...]
The ground beneath Ignis cracked. A shockwave of pure heat blasted outward, flattening the grass. Then, silence.
When the light faded, Ignis was standing taller. His fur was no longer a dull ash-gray; it was a deep, charcoal black with faint, glowing red lines running along his ribs like cooling lava. His tail had grown longer, and the tip flickered with a permanent, low-temperature flame.
[Synthesis Successful.]
[New Passive Skill Acquired: Embers of the Phoenix (Epic)]
[Beast Rank Up: Iron-High -> Bronze-Low]
[Bloodline Shackle Status: Cracked.]
Elian fell to his knees, sweating and exhausted just from being near the reaction. He checked the stats.
[Ignis]
[Rank: Bronze-Low]
[Skills: Fireball (Uncommon), Scratch (Common)]
[Passives: Embers of the Phoenix (Epic)]
[Mana Capacity: 450/450 (Increased by 300%)]
"Bronze..." Elian whispered, a grin spreading across his face. "We broke the shackle."
An Ash Fox reaching Bronze-Rank was a feat that had never been recorded in the history of Aethelgard. And they were just getting started.