Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

"Hello, beloved,"

Terra suddenly looked behind her when she was washing her face after waking up and then found no one. She frowned and blinked a few times and then checked the corridor on the side, but it was completely empty.

"It must have been my imagination…" Terra said and then rubbed her eyes before drying her face.

"It wasn't,"

Terra turned around so fast, and since she used Magic Boost and even Limit Breaker, her steps cracked the floor of the house, but she didn't find anyone… even though she was certain that she heard Rain's voice.

Terra moved to the closest window and then saw Rain waving his hands in the middle of the training grounds, and soon she realized that he was trying to prank her.

"I am going to kick his ass," Terra said.

Terra disliked scary things, and she disliked even more when people scared her, even by accident… thanks to that, when Rain felt the danger for his life, he had to run away until noon. One shan't test the wrath of one's wife. Discover more content at empire

"You are going to sleep on the couch for the next week," Terra said when Rain returned.

"Geez, where is your sense of humor?" Rain asked.

Rain just recalled that Terra was in her period, so he messed up with the timing. He had the courage to face several dragons, but not say out loud that such a thing was the cause of her anger.

"You'd better not do that with me, by the way, what is that magic for?" Seara asked.

"Sending messages over long distances without moving from the spot, while it isn't that useful yet for combat, I want to test a bunch of things and compile the basics," Rain explained. "It will be easier to choose the best option and then improve it later."

One thing that Rain didn't know was how the power of the sins would affect those abilities… it probably would enhance them somehow, but that was a question for later.

"... That is pretty similar to what we do underwater," Seara said while frowning. "We learn that alongside we learn how to speak, but we never thought that a human would be able to pull it off, or it could be used like that."

"Well, water is denser than air, after all," Rain said.

Rain did some other tests with that technique, but soon he changed the practice when he got the result that he wanted.

An unknown skill leveled up.

The Frost Sorcerer path received 100 experience points.

"It is an advanced skill, and it doesn't seem like it is connected to the sins," Rain thought. "Speaking of sins, if they are part of the path system, are they the inverse part of it too?"

They would be: Humility (opposite of Pride), Contentment (opposite of Envy), Patience (opposite of Wrath), Diligence (opposite of Sloth), Generosity (opposite of Greed), Chastity (opposite of Lust), Temperance (opposite of Gluttony)

Forget about Chastity, Patience and Contentment… Rain trained hard because he wasn't content with his level of strength. That would make him diligent, but he never got the skill of a path connected to it. Chastity was out since Rain had two wives, so he was the very image of a horny guy. As for Patience… it was so and so, since Rain would only let his anger out at some times.

All that and the seven deadly sins needed some study, but again, Rain wanted something more practical. Rain's next test involved the power of the leviathan dragon… their ability was also similar to what the sea folk could do regarding making their bodies absorb nutrients through magic.

They could actually become a magnet of energy… drawing mana, health and stamina from the atmosphere and water bodies.

Thanks to that, according to Isa, the Leviathan dragons could become enormous and stupidly resilient. Rain assumed that with this technique, anyone would be able to fight back the effects of the dungeon… but if a mage of his level isn't able to master that completely, then no one will.

Rain sat down and tried to learn how the technique worked, he tried to make his mana active and pull the water in the atmosphere, but that didn't work… he was only able to do that when he actively tried to control the water… that wasn't the goal Leviathan dragons could do that automatically and Rain wanted that passive skill. Eventually, Rain asked Seara for tips.

"How do we do that?" Seara asked. "We just control the water around with mana."

"Without doing that actively," Rain said. "That is probably the improved version of that technique and its effects are amazing."

"Maybe Dad have some ideas… apparently, my grandfather could do that," Seara tilted her head. "I heard that he tried to learn it too, but I don't remember him saying that he pulled it off."

Since that was the case, asking for tips would be a waste of time… Rain wanted some tips if he managed to do it even a bit, but he couldn't. Eventually, a few days passed and Rain didn't make any progress…

"Maybe I should try another technique… if my water magic improves, I should be able to do that eventually," Rain rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Rain was well aware that learning the technique would be a real challenge. Even Seadrei, who possessed the emperor's spear, hadn't been able to master it. However, as he began to think about the intricacies of the technique, Rain soon realized that having a relic like that spear wouldn't be much of an advantage.

The technique operated passively, relying on one's inner state of being after all… that was how passive skills usually worked. It wasn't about external tools or artifacts; it was about the mastery of one's own inner self and emotions.

"Since this technique is a combination of water magic and the power of gluttony, I guess I will do that… I will starve myself," Rain thought.