Donis used [Aura Rework] to create a spot of shade a dozen meters away which he then jumped to using [Shadow In The Dark], creating distance between themselves. Donis's mind was whirling with ideas to how survive and defeat the Sandracons.
He knew he would have to use their hunger against themselves. He saw it with the first Sandracon that died, they show no mercy to even their own kind. He could keep dodging them with his [Aura Rework] and [Shadow In The Dark] combo, and with his [Void Sense] he could see them well before they ever got within range of hitting him.
The last time he made the mistake of losing his cool, and not using his abilities to their potential. He knew he was given these amazing skills so easily, and yet he still didn't use them correctly. It had to change.
'If I'm to change, to become stronger, I have to actually utilize my abilities to their max. I need to try something new,' he thought.
He stood still, created a new shade with his [Aura Rework] and awaited the Sandracons to begin their charge. He didn't have to wait long, as their hunger didn't allow them any critical thinking. The closest one charged at Donis with reckless abandon, maw open wide.
Donis covered his Khopesh sword with Void Charged Mana and prepared a [Flashpoint Strike] infused with Fire Elemental Mana. The Sandracon charged rapidly, refusing to sink below the sand to try and attack him from below. In those few moments Donis used [Phantom Limb II] to quickly allocate whatever damage he was going to receive to fall onto the Sandracon right behind him. He didn't know the exact values of the damage mitigated, nor did he know the exact workings, but he had to try it now.
The Sandracon was a breath away, and Donis acted. He pivoted in a wide motion to the right and threw the [Flashpoint Strike] at the creatures eyes, letting the explosion hit them both. It blinded the Sandracon and hurt the one behind him, yet Donis came out of it unscathed. Relief washed over him, but he had no time to relish the new insight he got into the ability.
Donis then thrust his Void Mana covered Khopesh into the now slightly burnt eyes of the Sandracon. Power overwhelmed Donis and he was able to push through the meagre protection of the eyes. His sword penetrated the skull and embedded itself into the brain of the Sandracon.
He pulled the sword out yet the beast didn't die. Donis looked at the stats of the creature and saw that 80% of it's health had just been ripped away from it, in turn recharging Donis's lost mana because of the Siphon pill. A smile broke out on his face.
'I can do this!' he quickly thought.
Donis jumped around the battlefield, deftly dodging dragons as if it were something he practiced for years. Each new wound he inflicted on the Sandracons would send the rest of the pack into a frenzy. He didn't actually kill a single one yet, but the numbers had dwindled from a strong 10 to a measly 2. He knew he had this in the bag, but he couldn't let down his guard. They were monsters, and they were never to be underestimated.
He repeated the same pattern on the next Sandracon, glad they never picked up on what he was doing. It was potentially the Hunger driving them insane, or it was just the downside of being a monster. Their intelligence could be the limiting factor, inhibiting their ability to learn.
The battle between the last two Sandracons was gruesome and bloody, flesh falling left and right. Chunks were bitten out of each other, yet they both still stood. This is exactly what Donis was hoping for. He wanted two to live, even though he knew that it was stupid to test himself like this, he didn't know if he could make any real progress in his Draconic abilities if he didn't test himself out in real battle. He was sure that's how real dragons tempered their will.
He assumed a new stance, one ready for battle and this time went on the offensive. He timed his attack when the two were mid grapple, and released a powerful punch using [Draconic Basic Fist Techniques]. It seemed simple but it held hidden power behind it. Donis couldn't put his finger on it, but the combination of the correct stance and the correct technique increased the power behind his swing.
The fist collided with the hard skin of the Sandracon and he saw it crush the outer layer. He continued with the second punch and it penetrated the outer layer, exposing the soft and grey flesh underneath. The two Sandracons were in a death lock, and wouldn't let go of the other until one died.
Donis used this to his advantage and punched for a third time, charging his [Aura Rework] with Void Mana and then moulding it around his fist in a pyramid shape. The fist collided with the soft skin of the Sandracon and entirely penetrated it. Blood spewed onto Donis, and the beast screamed. The other Sandracon taking advantage of it's competitors momentary weakness bit down hard and snapped it's neck.
Donis knew he didn't have even a full second to dodge, so he quickly pivoted out of the lunge the final Sandracon attempted. Creating a new shade and jumping to it, Donis escaped the maws of the predator and breathed a sigh of relief.
The Sandracon was down to its last 200 health and it was panting heavily, blood pouring out of every orifice and the multiple puncture wounds from the others teeth. Donis wanted to test out the final part to his necessary growth. If this worked, it would pave him a way into how his Will and how the Draconic abilities worked.
He drew in the rage, he inhaled the horrors of the world and let them boil underneath his skin. He let the hatred consume him, and sparked a flame within. Igniting the anger with his life force, Donis cast [Dragonfury I] and bellowed out a dark red flame that carried his budding will and overwhelming power.
The Sandracon screeched in defiance, unwilling to be swallowed by another dragon after killing his own brethren. Yet it didn't mater, too many wounds had piled up and it was too slow to get out of the way. The fire burned it to a crisp, the sand turned to glass. The beast was on the brink of death, with just under 10HP.
Donis summoned his Will one more time, and cast [Immolate I], taking the life of the pitiful creature in front of him. The final beast Donis needed to take care of was finally dead.
Letting the scene sink in, Donis collapsed and took a look at his [Immolate I]. It had gone up by 10 damage!
'Fuck yes! Fuck yes! Oh my god thank you,' he mentally screamed.
'All of it was worth it, all of it was actually worth it!'
In the heat of the battle Donis didn't even notice, but he leveled up from 20 to 21! He was ecstatic but also underwhelmed. He killed 10 of these creatures, yet he only leveled up once? Maybe the [System] didn't count the others deaths as Donis killing them, which would explain why he didn't gain more experience.
He was too mentally exhausted right now to continue that train of thought and just needed to relax. Though he wished for a quiet place to sit, he knew the rest of the battlefield wasn't going to finish itself off, no matter how badly he wished so.
He looked on and saw that the group was faring far better than initially thought. It was littered with earthen prisons and patches of glassed sand, charred flesh and a copious amount of blood everywhere. It looked like war, if Donis had ever been part of such a thing.
He got up and mustered whatever energy he had left to sprint over to Striga, who was currently taking care of a wounded soldier. She ripped off his garb and created a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. The soldier looked to have lost a part of his hand, which was quite lucky in Donis's eyes.
"Kid, where were you? You weren't supposed to be all by yourself!" screamed Striga.
"I handled it! 10 Sandracons down, how many left?" said Donis trying to shift the topic.
"Fuck kid, what are you even made of? We're down to our last few there, the soldiers are handling it," she said as she poured a healing potion on one of the soldiers open wound.
"Thank god, I'm sick of this place already," sighed Donis as he attempted to help Striga by holding the next wounded soldier.
"Me too buddy, me too. Pass me that cloth there, his bleeding isn't stopping," said Striga as she pointed to the dark green cloth.
Instead, Donis put both his hands on the soldier and used [Healing Touch] to quickly stop the bleeding.
"You kiddo, are too fucking useful, you know that right?" said Striga with the most confused look of shock and awe.
"Yeah I know, I'm just doi-" he tried saying as his [Void Sense] picked something huge coming this way.
"What's wrong?" she said, worry overtaking both emotions.
"Something huge is coming. Do these things have a queen or king or something?" said Donis hurriedly.
"FUCK! MEN GET OVER HERE, NOW! A QUEEN IS COMING. SCOUTS, HEAD BACK TO BAORUIN AND GET HORRIGAN HERE, THE FAT BASTARD NEEDS TO HELP US!" Striga ordered the men.
"Oh fuck me."