Luckily, it was still quite a distance away, and I couldn't make out what it was.
So, I observed it while I ate and drank, as usual, giving thanks to Mephisto beforehand.
After a short break and massaging my exhausted legs, I set off again.
An hour or two later, a raptor circled above me, intent on catching prey, gliding through the air silently without making any noise. While walking, I watched it with fascination.
When I saw it preparing to dive, I stumbled and fell into the grass.
Again, because I wasn't paying attention while walking.
"This is really annoying," I thought, as I wanted to observe my surroundings while walking.
Wasn't there a way to do both? I pondered but couldn't come up with a solution.
I lay on the lush, soft grass, contemplating until my head felt like it was smoking, but I couldn't find an answer.
I lay there for quite some time because my legs and feet ached, causing a slight throbbing sensation.
*Low rumbling*
I snapped out of my thoughts and listened. There was a faint thundering and vibration. I now also felt the ground shaking slightly.
Despite my lingering exhaustion, I pulled myself up and looked for the source. One moving object had turned into several objects rapidly approaching.
What were these creatures? I wondered.
They had four relatively thin legs.
They had long stout faces and heads covered in hair that fluttered as they ran.
I estimated from a distance that they had a height of 2 to 3 meters at the shoulders.
However, the specifics didn't matter because the herd consisted of at least more than thousands of them.
What should I do now? I thought to myself as the creatures raced towards me.
Should I run away? No, they looked faster than me.
I pondered and pondered, but the creatures were getting closer, and my stupid head just wouldn't come up with a solution.
"Ah!" I exclaimed and decided to face the danger, the easy solution.
It was all or nothing.
My heart was pounding as the creatures were just about one kilometer away, making the ground tremble with a thousand hooves pounding the earth.
I put myself in a combat stance because, as a left-handed person, I had my left leg in front.
Shifting my weight onto my right back leg for greater flexibility.
Since I had decided to use a specific strike, I extended my left arm horizontally forward while keeping my right close to my body. I slightly turned to the right to employ a half spin.
I focused, and it felt as if time stood still. I had practiced this strike thousands of times, so nothing could go wrong.
There was only about one kilometer left between the herd and me. Their white manes and tails waved in the wind, and their fur glistened in the sun, almost like bronze.
500 meters.
"O Mephisto, lend me your power and let me create my fire, I pay tribute to you with my mana!" I murmured.
This incantation was only present for religious and cultural reasons, as one can actually control mana without divine assistance.
Nevertheless, since the Mephiscan Church discovered the principle behind mana, almost all mages are part of the church, or so Phillip told me.
*Fwoosh*
As a result, my right hand ignited with a deep green flame. I continued to channel more mana into my hand, creating pressure within it.
The animals were now only 200 meters away, which they could cover in under 10 seconds, I thought.
"Third Foundation: Hard Strike," I mumbled.
Then, I tensed all my muscles, took a powerful leap forward, pulled back my left hand, and, with a twist from my core, thrust my right fist forward – all at once.
*Whoosh*
It happened as my fist shot forward, creating a gust of wind. At the same time, I channeled even more mana into my fist, which I then released.
*FIREEEE*
A huge fiery fist detached from my hand and headed toward the herd.
*Neighing* came from the animals as they dodged the approaching fist, accompanied by a strong gust of wind.
The fist seemed about to make contact, but suddenly, all the animals vanished from its path like they just switched places.
The herd split and ran past me. I thought I saw a few angry glares, but I dismissed the foolish idea; they were just animals.
I heard a painful neigh and thought I had hit one of the creatures.
...
For a whole ten minutes, the trembling herd passed by me, and I had to maintain the green fire fist the entire time.
Now, the last straggler had passed by, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was something!" I said aloud, sweat dripping from my forehead. I triumphantly raised my arms and shouted, "YEAH!" while laughing foolishly.
Then, I dropped to my knees from exhaustion.
I circulated my mana and attempted to draw it from the atmosphere to regenerate it faster. I felt as if I'm almost completely drained.
____________
Mana: 102/221
___________
After a few minutes, I could stand again and looked ahead.
A path of scorched grass lay in my wake.
"Neigh!" I heard faintly.
Oh, what's that, I wondered, and followed the soft sound.
"Oh, two young ones?"
At the edge of the ten-meter-wide fire trail lay two young creatures. One was burned, lying on top of the other, and the other was likely just injured, still making sounds.
I lifted the dead young one off the second and took a knife from my backpack to bleed it.
I examined the other one more closely.
Like the other animals, it had a white mane and tail, which were currently dirty from dust.
However, its body was pitch black, except for its left hind leg, which was also white. Well…, it was red right now.
I found it beautiful, so I decided to keep it.
I "quickly" set up my tent and turned my attention to the creature.
It appeared to have an injured leg because it was bleeding heavily now, because it moved the whole time out of panic.
I turned the creature over, despite its resistance, as the wound was facing the ground.
However, the creature was not even a meter tall, so it was very lightweight. It neighed angrily, likely in pain. I cleaned its wounds with water and took some cowhide and string from my backpack.
Good old cowhide...
I pressed it firmly against the wound and secured it.
It continued to neigh, but I reassured it with a gentle pat and said, "It's all right, it's all right," trying to smile without showing my fangs.
(A/N: The animals are horses. I hope you had fun reading! Have a nice day and thank you for reading)