Eren used his spell on the beast without allowing it to take countermeasures against him:
"Life Drain!"
The butcher's senses became numb when the spell started working. He felt like he had consumed a piping hot lava for lunch and it was now coursing through his veins. His body ached. But he also felt a sense of pleasure in that pain.
Blitz Bolt
Blitz Steps
Blitz Storm
Blitz Shield
Blitz Steps
The butcher's lightning-element spells that he had activated through his mana circuits were released on their own– as if to vent the excessive energy his body was consuming.
'The fuck is this feeling. I feel…. Great!'
The butcher's steps were shaking because of him staying still while the movement spell had been cast. So he controlled his mana circuits and prioritized his offensive spells.
************
Eren felt his mana core increase its rotation speed to keep up and regulate with excess mana his body was getting through the Life Drain. The ability-like spell worked differently than all his previous spells.
It would first take the mana from Eren's opponents. Then it would erase the mana signature of the ranking entity it carried then add Eren's mana signature before sending it into his system. This way, there was no repulsion.
As a slime half-blood, Eren's constitution played a major role in the assimilation of the excess mana. Otherwise, the mana core and the mana circuits might have rejected the excess mana that had entered his system even if it had carried his mana signature. This was because of the mana core's autoimmune response to the newly injected mana.
The spell was not limited to depleting opponents' mana. It would also zap away the opponent's life force– making them feel exhausted over time. Eren on the other hand would feel energized thanks to the extra dose of stamina and strength he had received.
After receiving the enhancement through Life Drain, Eren also felt his muscles bulge and his height increase. His hair turned white and his green eyes turned blue around their rims. His skin also became paler, as if it had been devoid of all its blood.
His mana storage had also been expanded for the time being.
Eren's enhanced stats weren't meant to be permanent. His body would soon return to normal once he stopped using the Life Drain spell. But while he was in this state, he was a lot stronger than his normal self.
It worked even better than the enhancement offered by Reen. This was because the threshold for the body stats to get enhanced was significantly higher than what Reen's enhancement granted.
***************
Roarrrrrrrrr!
The draconic lizard that was hit by the spell's effect roared in anger. Its pride was irked and it wanted to eat the pest that was trying to harm it. But before it could do so, Eren's spells went off over its back on their own.
Initially, the beast felt the sensation of his back being zapped by two distinct footprints caused by Eren's unwanted movement spell. But soon the annoying footprint was replaced with spells like Bitz Bolt which were executed by his legs.
Blitz Storm was detonated over the beast's back and that finally affected it. It was also affected by the Life Drain. As a result, the beast stopped roaring and started running towards the other beasts.
It wasn't obvious because of their huge physique, but the beast had lost its weight and size ever since the Life Drain had been used on him. It felt its body weakening, its mana storage depleting, as well as feeling slightly drowsy all of a sudden.
The other beasts who were following Eren's movements couldn't understand what they were supposed to do because of him standing over the remaining beast's back. But when they saw that the same beast was heading towards their way, they growled and let their intentions known to their kin– stay back or suffer the consequences.
'Now's my chance.'
Eren thought to himself and executed Blitz Bolt to its fullest potential. As a result of his Life-Drain enhancement, his body, mana circuits, and rate of mana consumption had been increased to another level. Therefore, the lightning rod-like stream generated by the spell was much more intense and potent.
The Blitz Bolt travelled through the air and hit the nearest beast that had put up a guard against the incoming lizard Eren was riding on. The spell's power this time managed to hurt it enough to feel threatened by it.
'Here it comes.'
Eren's mana sense, which had been focused on the vigilant beast, suddenly sent him warning signs. He knew what was about to happen and executed his lightning element movement spell on hyperdrive.
'Swish!'
Eren jumped hard to his left, and he was thrown about 10 meters up in the air. He looked back while he was airborne and saw the sight he wanted to see.
Roarrrrrrrr!
The vigilant mana beast's animal instincts took over its low intelligence and it executed its breath attack on the incoming beast. The stream of green flame hit the slowly running beast and it roared in pain.
The other vigilant beast didn't know what it was supposed to do. But when it heard the roar, it decided to target the incoming beast too and released the breath attack it had been accumulating all this time.
A huge ripple of mana was detonated where the running lizard was followed by the cloud of green fire. This cloud kept on increasing its size the further it levitated from the ground.
In witnessing the results of his efforts, Eren was glad to let the shock waves from the blast carry him even further than his intended landing destination.
When he landed on the ground, Eren's normal visual appearance had been restored. The excessive energy that had been pumped into his system had been depleted. But somehow, a small portion of it became a part of him for good.
'Damn. I feel I'll soon have a breakthrough.''
Eren concluded after observing the changes in his body. He flashed a cunning smile while looking at the remaining two lizard beasts. What he had assumed to be a threat turned out to be an opportunity in disguise for him.
