Reeling back from the aftershock of a claw to the throat, a small gasp of air escapes from my lungs.
Sensing the vying eyes of a hundred beasts, I close my eyes, intent on feeling the mana around me.
After all, I've spent the last week or so improving my grasp on mana. With my newfound understanding, I can even decompress the individual emotions of all within my range.
Hunger, rage, and most prominently: fear. These were all emotions swirling out and about as the encompassing mana hummed their tune.
"Hah, you might've been a challenge for me a few days ago," I respond, deliberately releasing my full mana so that my opponent may understand the gravity of their situation, "but the rate of my growth far surpasses yours."
As I begin to flare my mana even further, the air itself seems to tremble from the sheer volume of energy resounding from my body.
I open my eyes, staring down the gargoyle-like beast as I project my aura forward, a choke beginning to slam down onto the creature as it claws at its throat.
As my aura encapsulates the beast's body in its entirely, the earth also seems to enter the skirmish, trying desperately to resist my physical presence and failing direly, evidenced with the large crater that begins to form.
The earth giving way inch by inch, meter by meter, I strengthen the energy behind my intent, resolutely establishing the difference in strength between myself and the beast.
As the creature continues to squirm on the ground, I tense my right leg as my left is raised, aimed parallel with my torso as energy begins to surge in my foot, switching from a viscous blue to a roaring indigo, the mana so volatile that spikes begin to protrude out.
Slam!
As swiftly as the beast's head was squished into a big puddle of purple goo, leaving behind its eyes--now separated from their sockets--and teeth in a clattering mess of random tissue, so too did all the surrounding beasts begin to make their way towards me in a wave of centaurs, serpents, and giant beetles.
Hearing the whirring of a number of different modes of travel--whether it be wings, legs, or serpentine bellies--my mana waves in response, my attention aroused and determination strong.
"Tch. Power gap be damned, huh? Although that's all you guys know--hunt, hunt, hunt."
I again feel the whirring of their manas, causing such excitement in the air that I can't help but bring my leg forth, beginning my own pursuit.
The exhilaration of battle so great that I can't help but smile in response, my mana ramps up even further, my outburst of emotion causing the atmospheric motes of mana to vibrate, hardly capable of withstanding my full power.
"Mana Infusion!" I shout, this time the conjuration of such dense constructs clawing and tearing away at the surrounding space instead of the typical blinking into existence that had once occurred when I had far less mana.
Following up to my callout, two indistinct blades materialize in my hands; both blades made with the same blue mana floating around in the atmosphere, I decide to expend a bit more mana than usual into their construction, intent on increasing their sturdiness.
Briefly looking down and observing the surrounding mana tremble just by sharing the same vicinity as my newly conjured blades, I smile at a job well done.
The first wave of beasts roared in anticipation, their expressions beginning to don a feral hostility as drool ran down the mouths and snouts of a few of the larger, more rapid creatures.
Simultaneously, I could feel the surrounding mana begin to vibrate with an even greater intensity, the beasts exciting their senses to the ultimate maximum.
Swish!
With a single fell swoop, I swing my conjured blades without enhancing them with mana, instead relying on the sheer force of my swings and the resultant air pressure to mutilate my opponents.
With my first attack, the dozens of monsters in front of me are all decapitated or sliced in half, the surrounding ones getting the ends of their tails cleaved, limbs disjointed, and chests butchered.
There was a resultant pooling of purple, blue, and red blood in my line of sight, the creatures grunting in pain or roaring in exasperation, surely getting my message across regarding the power differential.
Subsequently, the smell of iron, rotten blood hit my nostrils as an even deeper animosity rings in my mind, resolved in dealing with the horde of beasts as handily as possible.
"Come at me if you dare, weaklings!"
Evidently, they felt my murderous intent as the wave left uninjured by my blow halted their charge for a second, their mana thrumming a horrific tune.
Basking in the power of my blows, I again charge forward, my body pumped with strength of combat; my mind resolved with strength of will.
The first wave that I'd initially attacked--specifically their survivors--were immediately dealt with, raising my blades to commit to a 360-degree spin, a wave of displaced air cleaving through all caught within its range.
As again the smell of blood is left in the air, I ignore the gruesome sight of mutilated beasts and maintain my attention on the incoming horde of monsters.
Closing my eyes to get a grasp on the beasts and their manas, I sense the second wave hastening their approach to me, their numbers quintuple as great as the one I'd just dealt with.
As they get closer and closer to me, eventually reaching just twenty meters from my location, I sense a deeper agitation in the mana, a response to some powerful stimuli.
It's then that I feel the strength of three or so beasts, far stronger than the rest of the pack.
"So you guys are the alphas, huh?"
Slicing away two centaurs who both jumped at me, my blade is instantly met by three creatures at the same time, all distinct in their attributes.
A light grin on my face, I comment, "perhaps you'll bring a little more entertainment than the others."