Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

This was a concerning development, as the Draco warriors weren't supposed to have such a high number in their ranks. The fact that they were approaching him with hostile intent made it clear that they were determined to eliminate him with numbers. Rain braced himself for what could be a challenging confrontation with this unexpectedly large and hostile group.

"Well, I have better things to do, so you will have to chase me," Rain thought and then used Limit Breaker and Magic Boost before Impulse.

Rain easily passed below that group, and then, with each step, he put some distance between them. Still, the enemies quickly turned around and began to chase him.

Even without flapping their wings, the Draco soldiers were able to gain speed and slowly get closer to Rain….they knew a trick or two as well.

"Let's see for how long you can keep this up," Rain thought while grinning and looking over his shoulder.

Rain kept going and eventually found a large camp ahead… he also found a large group of monsters there standing like it was an army. He did well going in the direction the enemies came from, it was obvious that they came from a dungeon area.

"Salamanders again, huh?" Rain thought while squinting his eyes and then turning to the side.

Rain wondered why salamanders instead of ordinary skeletons… Still, their power level seemed high enough to confirm that they were at least level four monsters. Monsters that he would find on the level floor of a dungeon. The tremors were caused because of the dungeon breaks…

In any case, the draco soldiers kept following Rain while he was dashing toward the capital of their realm. Slowly but surely, they began to get closer… it seemed that they had some resistance to friction.

"How about this?" Rain asked.

In the next instant, Rain harnessed his earth magic abilities, causing the ground to release a cloud of dust that swirled around the area. With focused intent and his control of mana, he transformed this seemingly innocuous dust into solid iron particles. As the enemies passed through this cloud, their pain was palpable, and their movements became sluggish.

The iron particles suspended in the air acted like a multitude of tiny, invisible needles, causing the intruders intense discomfort as they pierced their skin. Each movement they took felt as though they were pierced by hundreds of needles, forcing them to slow down and grunt in agony as they struggled to advance. Rain's strategic made the enemies slow down considerably..

"Smell ya later, retards," Rain said.

Killing them one after the other would be relatively easy, but Rain didn't want to waste time… he will have time to face them later as well, for now, he wanted to learn where all the dungeons where.

As soon as Rain reached the capital, he stopped and used half of his mana to quickly summon a rain all over their territory… he felt like his head was about to explode thanks to that… spreading that much mana so fast was a real nightmare.

Still, Rain managed to pull that off before the Draco soldiers could reach him again… a quick rain took over their territory, and Rain couldn't help but frown. Was that a coincidence? The dungeons formed a circle around their capital…

The Water Mage's path leveled up.

The Water Mage's path leveled up.

The Water Mage's path leveled up.

…

"Maybe they were planning this in our territory as well…" Rain rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "In any case, things aren't the same way in the beast people's territory."

Rain decided to head home while using water to improve his movement since he got a bunch of levels while doing that to find the dungeons and he was about to master that path as well. Stay tuned with empire

Although that slowed him down a bit, Rain was able to keep the Draco soldiers away with some water spears on their faces. That knocked them down completely since their high-speed flight relied on moving in a straight line.

As soon as Rain crossed the border, they stopped chasing him. To think that they would be able to move that fast… that was a problem, they had been improving as well and it meant that they could check their territory the same way as him and without being noticed. He had to do something about that…

The Water Mage's path reached the max level.

Level 100: Aquamancer Supreme - Ascend as the ultimate Aquamancer, mastering the pinnacle of water manipulation. Unleash unparalleled skills as a true Aquamancer master. Decreases the cost of water spells by ten points per level.

Water Master's Path: The Water Master's Path follows a journey of mastery over the mystic powers of water. As a dedicated Water Master, your goal is to harness the flow of water's essence, manipulate its properties, and protect your allies. Cross these waters to become one with water magic, capable of wielding water in all its forms. (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Dexterity + 07 per level.)

Level 1: Aquatic Mastery

Gain a 5% boost to your water-based abilities per level increasing your power and control over them.

"Well, it was about damn time…" Rain thought. "I guess I can finally focus on improving the Berserker's path. I won't have much of a hard time doing this, though."

Thanks to his spell, Rain was able to sense the forces that the enemies had amassed. As the rain cascaded down, it revealed a disconcerting reality - in each of the dungeons situated in that territory, there were ominous signs of monsters… a lot of them.

In each dungeon, he detected the overwhelming presence of ten thousand monsters. This was a surprising number, and it made him worried. It was eerily close to the number of monsters that had been killed when the dungeons originally broke free. The situation was dire, and Rain realized that a grave threat was upon them.

The imminent conflict would be nothing short of a cataclysm, and he would need to prepare accordingly to protect his territory and its people.