Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Rain was perplexed by the unusual reports from his warriors stationed near the location of the sites where the spells were activated.. They described mysterious occurrences: faint tremblings in the ground during the night, strange holes appearing within circles drawn in the earth.

But the most bizarre aspect was the way animals seemed to be inexplicably drawn to these enigmatic openings, as though some unseen force compelled them.

These weird developments only deepened the sense of unease within the group, raising more questions than answers. Rain knew there was something amiss, something he needed to investigate further to unravel this enigmatic puzzle.

"You have got to be kidding me…" Rain thought.

"You loot astonished, but not exactly confused," Roan said after Rain read the last few reports to everyone, the same thing was happening everywhere. "Do you know something?"

"I have some hypothesis, but I need to investigate those places further to be sure," Rain rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "If my guess is right, the whole sacrifice of the monsters had the goal to create trouble in the human territory… Their sacrifice activated some sort of spell that had the goal to change the environment. The fact that this is luring animals to them confirms that."

"... Why would animals be lured by such a grotesque thing?" Terra asked.

"They are being lured by the growing mana in that area, the mana will probably affect them, to the point that they might become monsters as well…" Rain finally said.

"At this point in time, nothing more surprises me… is that the kind of magic that Joanis would use?" Asche asked. "Perhaps not, since its goal is to cause trouble for us and keep us busy, and that is the goal of the enemy this time."

"I want to investigate that unknown region… it sure seems like a fascinating place to learn… despite the weirdness of how the enemies are using the magic that they probably learned there," Liss said.

Rain was fascinated, too, but he had his priorities straight… While he didn't say that to his friends, he imagined that the sacrifice of the monsters gave birth to the environment change that would eventually create dungeons. They didn't know what a monster dungeon actually was, and Rain didn't want to make them think too much about that, either.

"I will go and investigate those places," Rain declared. "In the meantime, you guys need to keep watching things here and respond to them accordingly. We might have to split up for a short while to watch those areas if I don't find a solution to these spells."

Everyone knew how desperate Rain was to keep everyone together, so that decision made them realize once more the gravity of the situation… things were getting a dire turn.

"Dana, Kei, Gila. I need you guys to use that spell at least once per day," Rain said. "I don't think that the enemies will stop with only this much and they will try other means to make monsters enter our country. My best guess is that they will use flying monsters next. Their goal should be activating those spells in highly populated areas since it is where most of the trouble they will cause.

Your rain didn't alert them, but my magic did it, so you guys are the only ones who can do that."

"Leave it to us, big bro," Dana said while saluting. "Or perhaps Commander Rain is a better way to call you."

"It is fine, either way," Rain said. "I am a bit planning to make anyone call me anything. I actually wanted them to do that naturally, that will show when they will reach their highest levels of loyalty."

"Then, we shouldn't use that in front of them, that is a relief," Kei said.

Rain wondered if Kei got her dislike of formality from him… he didn't know if he should be happy or troubled for that. In any case, after spending some time with his wives and kids, Rain departed to the first area where the spell was activated… for some reason, the warriors there were way to tense and they almost attacked Rain when he suddenly arrived.

"You guys need to relax a bit… but I guess I can understand your nervousness," Rain said while frowning.

In the area where the mysterious spell was activated, Rain's keen eyes spotted a gruesome sight. Large ants, about half a meter in length, swarmed over the lifeless remains of the giant white wolves. These ferocious insects exhibited an eerie combination of colors, with shades of red, green, and purple adorning their exoskeletons.

Their formidable fangs and razor-sharp claws busily tore into the wolf carcasses, making it evident that they were scavengers, feeding on the remains of the fallen creatures…

The peculiar appearance and behavior of these ants added to the overall air of unease and strangeness surrounding the situation, intensifying the group's determination to get to the bottom of this unsettling mystery.

"Guard the perimeter, I will check things there," Rain declared and began to move toward the site.

As she approached, Rain used his magic eyes and soon confirmed that the ants had a lot of mana in their bodies… at the same time, he never heard of monsters like them.

Before long, the creatures felt Rain's approach and immediately began to dash at him, but Rain impaled them with earth spikes.

The skill Earth Shaper received 50 experience points.

The skill Earth Shaper received 50 experience points.

The skill Earth Shaper received 50 experience points.

…

"For monsters that essentially were born a few days ago, they aren't half bad…" Rain thought.

When he approached, the smell of the white wolves was kind of hard to endure, so Rain quickly buried them with his magic. Still, more and more of those ants began to leave the underground and come to him.

"This isn't good… if they can move through underground, they can reach cities, towns and villages from there as well…" Rain thought.