A dozen of Vulpans stood in front of Eratz, baring their fangs. Eratz focused on the beasts, each displaying similar characteristics as the one he tamed, in his own language, easy preys. "Hm... even like this, there's still a few, I shouldn't be too careless."
The red orb resurfaced, and so did his fire shield. He took the same stance as previously, this time increasing the concentration of fire in his hands, but then, he remembered the Vulpan at his side.
The Vulpan stood on an offensive stance face to its peers, like brainwashed, the beast seemed to follow the will of its master.
"...Oh, it must be his pack...but isn't he supposed to be attached to them? I thought I was supposed to train him a little."
The taming took place only a minute ago, yet the beast was already under Eratz's control, in good shape and ready to fight. Usually it needed a little time to train a beast, under some circumstance the creature could be influenced by its past life, like here the Vulpan facing his literal pack.
Eratz observed it momentarily from the side of his eye. Up till now, everything was perfect, everything he had tried was a success.
"Can I do it with him too?"
He dodged to the side as the first Vulpan lunged, its body igniting against the fiery shield. Eratz observed the creature thrashing on the ground, while ten more leaped toward him.
It was a fleeting moment, yet the hue of the boy's eyes mirrored that of his beast. A crimson blur swept through the battlefield with incredible swiftness, leaving a path of flaming Vulpans in its wake.
The pack rushed on him with high speed, but their movements became predictable, their speed decreasing.
"... It's working..." A smile grew on his lips.
Flames erupted from his hands, transforming into fierce claws reminiscent of the Vulpans. His senses heightened tenfold. With a swift spin, he deflected the onslaught of the pack; it was a fleeting moment, yet the fire swiftly covered the beasts, not strong enough to neutralize them, but as soon as they touched the ground again, Eratz's Vulpan attacked them with fast strike.
He could control his moves by thinking on different instructions, and the beast executed perfectly. It was like if the beast was an extension of his own body, and the fire spirit was another.
Controlling the 2 while fighting took a lot on his mind, but the longer the battle lasted, the easier it become.
The sun reached its zenith, and on the ground the battle reached its twilight. Eratz was sitting on a tree log in the middle of the aftermath of the battle, over 20 vulpans around him, while his beast was resting on his laps, battered and bruised from the relentless fight.
Eratz himself had a few scratches on his body, and some parts of his outfit were burnt, but his eyes were sparkling with life.
"It's so strange, I feel like I could keep fighting a little more..."
His pressure spread over the Vulpans, their body dissipating in his shadow. After a few seconds, he released his pressure again, spreading on large surface on the ground.
The ground covered in darkness, before releasing several figures, morphing in the pack of Vulpans he slaughtered.
The beasts watched the young boy with curiosity, they slightly varied in size and appearance, but all had in common the same docility.
During his time at the academy, Eratz was told that the task of taming a beast required the finest abilities, anyone could handle a little pet, but taming a true monster required the strongest abilities.
Yet, he came on this day with a single fire spirit, the weakest beast possible, accessible to anyone, and by noon he had conquered a whole pack of monsters.
"Maybe I'm pretty strong, uh? But that many..."
Controlling 2 beasts was a headache, and now he had a little army.
"I've seen many beast masters using at most 3 beasts simultaneously, and they have to be strong enough to have a good autonomy."
He concentrated for a moment on just one command: the basic act of sitting, and after that, the Vulpans followed through. He could send one order to all of them at once, but Eratz understood there was a method to give each one a different instruction.
It seemed harder than anything he had tried before,
His thoughts focused on perfecting his mastery over this small regiment of creatures. He was aware that this situation was a huge obstacle in his rapid growth, but somehow, the idea of controlling a whole army of powerful monsters had a good sound to his ears.
The wind blew gently through the forest, bringing with it scents of ashes and earth. Eratz stood slowly, adjusting his burned clothes and dusting off the debris that had clung to him. He knew that what he had accomplished was an impressive display of power and control, but he was also aware that it was only the beginning.
"We still have work to do. We need to strengthen ourselves, improve our coordination. We must show that we are more than just fighting beasts."
The Vulpans looked up at him, as if they understood every word.
Eratz turned to the pack under his control. The battle was not only a test of strength, but also of leadership skill and discipline, not only for the beasts, but also himself.
He knew he had to learn to manage this power sleeping within him with caution and strategy. He heard a lot that he has talent, and now he was well aware of his potential.
His objectives in life were a real challenge, and he was determined to achieve them, but he realized that he had more weapons than anticipated.
"Come on, follow me," He said, his voice firm, but full of warmth.
He moved forward, guiding his beasts, knowing that each step brought him closer to his goal of becoming a truly fearsome beast master.