'The wrongs of my ancestors are not mine, yet to annihilate me and every one of my kin, the enemy comes regardless. We weren't the ones who committed the crimes which drove their bloodlust, but they did not see that, they refused to see reason, wanting us dead from newborn to elderly. Perhaps once upon a time, they were the innocent ones, the ones who were wronged, but no more. They have come to enjoy the thrill of battle, the joy of evil that comes from violence and destruction. We have learned to keep such thrill at bay with meditation and forgiveness. We repented and learned from our ancestor's mistakes. Even though we have become peaceful in all regards, they have driven us to take arms in self-preservation. If I were to choose them or us, I choose us, no guilt, no remorse. They have already burnt all bridges and I won't hesitate to fend for those I love!' — Mare, the first King of the Beast-men

****************

The second step was significantly harder. With the ball already formed using my energy only, the mana in my surroundings seemed to be avoiding it. I reached out as I gently tried to guide it towards the spinning energy orb. Bad move.

Boom!

An explosion rocked me from my place and sent me tumbling backward, luckily I did not sustain any injuries from the blast and was merely pushed back by the blast. 'It seems like this is trickier than I expected.' I inwardly mumbled.

The second the surrounding mana touched the energy orb, the balance that seemed to be holding it together abruptly broke and caused it to explode as it scattered my energy.

'How the hell did he make it seem so easy?' I wondered as I turned my head towards the direction of my father. His eyes were still closed as he ignored the explosion, this time not caring about what happened.

'Well good to know he won't just get annoyed.' I breathed a sigh of relief. Seems like my father will not intervene in my little experiments.

'Now that I think about it, wasn't the dragon breath I used before similar?' I wondered.

Trying to recall the feeling, I closed my eyes in concentration. 'Remember, it's not hard. It came to me naturally before, I can do this.' My eyes suddenly shot open with a glint full of determination.

I opened my maw and let loose a roar that shook the surroundings, a small ball of energy a bit similar yet also different than the one I have been trying to create shot forward like a bullet leaving behind a small streak of blue.

The breath attack soared through the air above the lake for a few hundred meters before it suddenly dissipated. I did not mind as my heart raced in my chest, my reptile mouth curled upwards into what I imaged would have been a hideous grin, yet I still did not care.

'So that's the difference between them.' I inwardly muttered.

It was quite simple actually, my breath attack only used my energy. I did not call for the surrounding mana, and it did not interfere. Though because of that, the range of the attack was a bit lower than I expected, seeing at how it suddenly disappeared once it reached a particular point, a point where my energy could no longer power it.

'Is that why father used the surrounding mana? To further extend the range of his attack?' I guessed while recalling his previous Dragon breath.

'I'm still a bit confused. Why does magic only work with my energy, why can't I use mana to create the orb instead? Wait, who said I can't?!' Thinking about that, I closed my eyes as I hastily called to the mana in my surroundings. I tried to talk to it like one would do with an old friend, I asked it to help me, and it did...

Right in front of my eyes, a different orb manifested itself. This one had a shiny blue color. 'Water?' I inwardly muttered. The sphere that materialized itself from the surrounding mana in front of me was a water ball.

I gently brought my claw paw and touched the orb in amazement, 'It really is water. Can I change its shape?' I wondered. My mental image soon changing from a ball to something else, a miniature dragon.

To my surprise, the mana seemed to understand my wish as the water orb soon morphed into the form of a dragon. I could feel my grin widening in surprise. From a dragon back to a ball, and then to a werewolf, from a werewolf to a human, from a human to a sword.

The water ball would change its form to whatever I desired. 'If it's like this, what's the point of using my energy instead of mana?' I grew more confused.

My energy was hard to control, and it even seemed to have a limited range, while mana did not appear to have such a problem. The water ball danced around me while I changed its form into various shapes.

It was easy, no, it was almost as if the mana was a part of me. I turned to glance at a tree a distance away, my eyes shining in curiosity. I called out for the mana, asking for its help and it complied, taking the form of a spear in which I sent flying towards the tree.

Boom!

An explosion ensued as a fist-sized hole appeared on the tree trunk. 'That's not bad.' I nodded in satisfaction before a different idea rose in the back of my mind, 'What about my energy though?' with my curiosity picked again, I dispersed the mana before opening my mouth to unleash another Dragon breath.

My energy responded as I felt it flow from my heart making its way through my blood and veins before it reached my throat, a familiar spinning ball with a bluish hue appeared before it was sent whirling towards the tree with a roar.

BOOM!

'Ah, shit. So that's the difference.' I gulped. The tree was no more, not only that, the row of trees behind it was no more. The breath attack had punched a hole in the middle of the forest taking down a whole line of trees before it disappeared.