Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Although Rain tried to talk with everyone while keeping his face calm, his head was hurting like hell the whole time… and it stayed like that for several hours. That was quite annoying since even recovering all of his mana didn't help.

"This isn't getting easier, so my body isn't adapting to it well…" Rain said and then sighed. "Well, it's time to ignore the headache and focus on what I can do to make things easier for the next mission."

Rain still didn't know what the next mission would be… while they didn't find another relic, their actions made the enemies lose a lot of resources and an important base. The will of that planet did most of the heavy lifting, though.

Name: Rainendall

Level: 782 (58.000/72.200)

Current Path: Space Manipulator (Lv 199 95.550/199.000)

Health: 720.670/720.670

Mana: 7.650.960/7.510.960

Stamina: 621.330/621.330

Strength: 80.436

Dexterity: 70.986

Intelligence: 172.534

Vitality: 71.772

Wisdom: 159.027

Endurance: 51.170

Luck: 62.746

Free Points: 00

Main Skills:

[Dimensional Pocket Lv 44]

[Portal Conjuration Lv 114]

[Spatial Shielding Lv 100]

[Teleportation Lv i4]

[Spatial Manipulation Mastery Lv 74]

Support Skills:

[Frozen Throne Lv 162]

[Magic Sacrifice Lv 161]

[Limit Breaker Lv 254)

[Scholar's Insight Lv 200)

[Sage's Wisdom Lv 40]

"Maybe if I make all the skills of the space manipulator path reach level one thousand, I will have the same influence over time as one of the machine gods," Rain thought. "Should I strive for that?"

That seemed like a good temporary goal, even more so since it would help Rain weaken the headache. Doing that would be easy if the spectral weapons did what they could do, giving him experience as well, but that wasn't the case. They didn't use his kills, they used the mana of the holders, so he wasn't a part of the process.

"You should select a place that has the first dragons the next time," Elizabetha said. "Putting my bloodthirstiness aside. It seems that the machine gods are pretty interested in that kind of creature. Arel didn't try to take over your body, so perhaps the machine gods can only control beings like that."

"... That makes sense," Rain rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Anyway, how dare you make sense as a woman?"

"I will sue you to the moon for sexism," Elisabetha said.

"I will have to talk with Sakaki about that," Rain said while looking in the distance.

Rain observed the camp with a sense of satisfaction. Despite the harsh conditions of the underworld, there were signs of improvement. While the Trent people diligently tended to the work on essential food supplies, other members of the group had taken it upon themselves to introduce some semblance of life and vibrancy to their surroundings.

Small patches of greenery sprouted in corners of the camp, breaking the monotony of the dark and desolate landscape. Carefully nurtured by those with green thumbs, Hardy plants reached for the faint light filtering through the cavernous ceiling above. These humble attempts at gardening brought a touch of color and life to their otherwise bleak environment.

It was a small but significant step towards making their temporary home feel more habitable. Rain couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in the resourcefulness and resilience of his companions. Despite the challenges they faced, they were finding ways to adapt and thrive in their new surroundings.

With that in mind, Rain considered Sealyn and her kid's situation for the thousandth time… it was better than to leave in the prison, it was a bit better than also the situation where she grew up one hundred years ago, but it could be improved.

"I guess five months is too little time to deal with the machine gods…" Rain thought. "Anyway, as long as I don't die instantly and I don't face the machine god that controls the aspect of time, we should be fine."

The machine god that controls the aspect of time will be able to Counter his technique to keep everyone alive, so that was a problem… as long as they cause some damage without losing anyone, they will win… eventually.

In any case, Rain began to produce some spectral weapons for those who could be useful in the next mission. Thanks to that, he had enough time to see that his parameters were starting to get weird… his mana was ten times bigger than his health and his eleven times more than his stamina.

"Maybe I should focus on increasing my health… I don't have that many techniques that consume a shit ton of stamina, but I guess I shouldn't ignore that," Rain thought.

Rain reflected on the idea of going back to basics, understanding the importance of strengthening his core abilities. He reasoned that focusing on paths that provided substantial increases, such as those exceeding one hundred points in parameters, would offer the most efficient route to enhancing his overall strength.

This approach would allow him to build a solid foundation for his powers, ensuring that he could face the challenges ahead with greater resilience and effectiveness.

"What are you talking about? Doesn't the rain technique consume a lot of stamina and mana?" Elisabetha asked. "You should turn that into a skill that can be improved. Since your ego is so big, perhaps creating the rain path is a good idea, too."

"Your poor attempts for humor only make me confirm what I already know…" Rain said.

"I am going to seriously sue you for sexism," Elisabetha said.

Rain already had his path… it was called the diligence path. Still, perhaps Rain should create another with techniques that would improve all of the points that needed improvement.

While working on the spectral weapons, Rain wondered what he could add to that path, but he didn't have many ideas. Lately, he has been focusing too much on magic, so perhaps he should train his body more in order to get inspiration.