Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Over the next few days, a sense of calm settled over their group, allowing Rain to make a full recovery from his injuries. Terra's dedication to his healing continued to amaze him. Even without potions, she somehow managed to sustain her healing abilities, aiding in his swift recuperation.
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Meanwhile, Rain diligently worked on his secret underground passage, ensuring its concealment from prying eyes. He had a pressing desire to locate Julie, the mysterious figure operating within the nearby town.

However, he proceeded with caution, fully aware of the risks associated with prematurely revealing the entrance to Julie. Such a disclosure could jeopardize their mission, potentially leading to her defection to the enemy or subjecting her to torture.

Rain's careful approach aimed to safeguard their mission's integrity and maintain the crucial element of surprise, a decisive advantage for their impending endeavors.

The advanced level of meditation required the user to enter a unique state of consciousness. In this state, they operated in a seemingly automatic manner. Terra's healing process of Rain confirmed this state. While she worked on healing his injuries, her outward demeanor might have suggested a detached approach. However, beneath the surface, Terra was fully attuned to her surroundings.

During this meditative state, she maintained a keen awareness of her environment and knew precisely how to navigate it. Although she directed only a fraction of her focus towards the immediate task of healing Rain's wounds, the majority of her attention was directed towards a more intricate task: harnessing mana from the surrounding environment.

Terra had learned her mastery of this technique to a point where she could efficiently tap into available mana sources in her vicinity. She first learned this ability when the first special soldier exploded. The subsequent release of a significant amount of mana created a concentrated pool of energy in the area.

Terra seized this opportunity to draw upon an abundant supply of mana, which she skillfully incorporated into her healing efforts.

"It is three times more efficient than Meditation, so it is definitely worth the hassle," Terra explained. "Still, people who don't use much magic will have a hard time learning."

"Since they are more used to sitting still than focusing on some kind of mental task… I guess it makes sense," Rain said while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose it is a good way to kill time when one is bored and also needs mana. Well done."

"I was a bit lucky, so I don't deserve all the credit, you also are the one who started the development of the technique," Terra said.

"You are right," Rain nodded. "In that case, well done, me."

"Well, what now?" Branden asked. "We have some leeway when it comes to not fighting… should we just focus on improving our reputation in the Kingdom? I think that we should intervene in the war between the humans and the magic people."

"It will be bad if father and Joanis take over their territory and pick a fight with the dragons…" Esmeralda said while biting her fingernails, imagining dragons flying over the human kingdom. "We can split the work and if we work with Seadir and the seafolk, we will have enough manpower to keep repelling attacks."

"Are you suggesting that I should go and stop your father?" Rain asked. "While I am not afraid of a direct fight, their anti magic bombs are able to seal half of my power… speaking of power, did you guys learn anything about that spear?"

"Yes, the spear was able to work in a place where magic was sealed because it had the blood of someone that could use the technique that you mentioned," Seadir explained. "It was probably the blood of the spearman that you killed, and he was able to store a lot of mana thanks to it and bypass the effects of the red crystals barrier."

Rain wondered if Seadir wouldn't have said that if he hadn't asked… it would have been weird if he just leaned that. Regardless, that kind of thing probably wasn't something that Rain and the others couldn't replicate… it was probably because of some special trait that the spearman had. His blood would only have that kind of effect if that were the case…

If Rain were to do the same… the weapon would be weird since he has many skills at level one hundred, but the way he fights wasn't determined by a single skill alone.

"I don't want to see my father die… and I don't want you to take such risks either since they will be waiting for you," Esmeralda explained. "I think that it would be wiser if we could work with the magic people to gain time. Father night changed his mind if that were to happen."

The king's ambition knew no bounds, driven by his recent military successes and overflowing treasury. While conquering a significant portion of the magic people's territory would have sufficed for many, his insatiable greed urged him to press further, desiring even more power and land.

On the other hand, Rain remained resolute in his decision not to assist the magic people. His history with them was marked by pain and loss, as they had attempted to assassinate his father, forcibly taken his home, and relentlessly pursued him. Although he had previously set aside his pride for the sake of peace during truce negotiations, the current circumstances demanded a different approach.

"I understand your concerns, but the situation requires drastic measures," Roan said while he was swinging down his sword with all his might and sweating a lot while cutting the air. "Anna said that Joanis didn't create his soldiers the conventional way, so his army could be much larger than we imagine… we can't let it grow further."

Since they returned a few days ago, Roan had been training hard, to the point that he would keep going until he could barely raise his arms. It seemed that he was still dead set in making up for the incident by becoming stronger… Besides, he had a point… since that was the case, Rain had to make his move.