Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Rain, having successfully escaped the guards on the walls, slowly approached the small group that was making its way away from the city. The night embraced them, and the soft glow of torchlight illuminated their path. They appeared relaxed, giving Rain the opportunity to move closer without drawing attention.

As Rain observed, he noted that they were not in a hurry and the torches they carried created dancing shadows around them. It made his task easier. Despite their seemingly carefree demeanor, the group had a certain purpose for their journey.

A peculiar detail caught Rain's attention: a monster was pulling a wagon behind them. The creature's eyes glowed faintly, hinting at a degree of sentience. However, what intrigued Rain even more was the fact that everyone in the group was on foot despite the presence of the wagon. It seemed an odd choice, one that triggered Rain's curiosity.

"Suspicion + 1," Rain thought.

"The barkeeper made the outside look pretty dangerous, but the area is free of ill intentions, and those guys weren't heavily armed either," Elisabetha said.

"True… Suspicion + 2," Rain said. "As expected, I watched too much TV to fall for such a cheap act in the city. Maybe they capture newcomers and sacrifice them to Cthulhu or something."

"Why didn't they capture you, then?" Elisabetha asked.

"Who knows?" Rain shrugged.

"Aren't you going to say that it was because of your good looks or something as retarded?" Elisabetha asked.

"There is a time and a place for everything, and now isn't the time," Rain said.

Before long, the torches revealed the shadows of a forest ahead and at the same time, Rain felt something damp in the air and smelly as well. That didn't sit well with him… The terrain was starting to get wet as well, so it would be hard to keep walking without making any sounds.

"Should I use a bit more mana?" Rain wondered.

In the end, Rain created a thin earth platform and began to float behind the group. However, soon, the atmosphere in the forest became more oppressive when he crossed the first few trees… at the same time, the group ahead grabbed their weapons.

"We have been followed."

Rain was absolutely sure that something in the forest felt his presence, and then the behavior of that thing alerted the guards. They began to look around and searched for him, but they had no idea where he was…

"Do they need to look more suspicious to you?" Elisabetha asked. "Do they have to put some bodies on some altars and say Cthulhu fthagn as well?"

"Wow, you know your stuff…" Rain said.

Before long, some of the guys ahead suddenly raised their hands, and they were armed with wands… they were about to cast some spell to find Rain; it was pretty obvious.

"Well, I don't have to kill them now," Rain thought and then used Impulse.

In the next moment, Rain appeared in the middle of their formation and then unleashed small lightning bolts inside his domain. The lightning bolts hit those people and paralyzed them. The mages fell unconscious immediately, but the others resisted and then had to be shocked for a bit longer before they fell unconscious. Steam began to leave their heads, and Rain wondered if he had gone too far.

Regardless, he recovered them with earth and then hardened them until they turned into iron.

For convenience's sake, Rain shocked the monster, pulling the wagon as well. He didn't want to hear any animal groaning and revealing his position. The creature pulling the wagon had a peculiar appearance, resembling a fusion between a boar and a horse. Its sturdy frame and muscular build hinted at the boar influence, with coarse fur covering its body.

However, the elongated snout and a set of powerful legs reflected the equine characteristics. The creature had a wild and untamed look, its eyes showing a mix of intelligence and primal instincts. Despite its strange appearance, it seemed well adapted to the challenging terrain,

"Sorry…" Rain said and then sighed. "I still hate hurting animals, huh? The last time I did that was when I was fighting the human army when they attacked my territory."

"... You should check the wagon," Elisabetha said.

Rain nodded and then blinked several times when he approached… he saw some bodies inside some sacks… and now he could sense a human presence, too. That didn't make any sense. He didn't feel them before, so why now…

"The mages were using some spell to disguise their cargo?" Rain thought. "Why not disguise the entire group?"

When Rain cut off the sacks, he was surprised to see some people of his group. People that he didn't know their names, but it was clear granted their appearance. One of them was a mermaid, and another was a demi-human that had beast people's blood as well. Two others were humans…

"... They came in today, and no one made a commotion, just like me," Rain furrowed his eyebrows and then looked at the unconscious guards. "Well, no point in pondering about this."

Rain didn't hesitate in stabbing the hearts of the guards and then pulling all of their blood and turning them into crimson spheres. Elisabetha was impressed that Rain could turn from a moralistic pussy into a cold blood killer in the span of a few moments…

(You received 2000 experience points!)

(You leveled up!)

,,,

(You can now use the trait Sword Master!)

(Your class is determined by your skills and their levels. Thanks to your current set of skills and their levels, you have become a Fire Swordsman! You will gain 03 points in intelligence, one strength, and one in dexterity when leveling up!)

"You can torture them without holding back," Rain said. "When you are done squeezing all the information they have, force them to give me all of their mana."

"Yes, sir… who is the bloodthirsty guy now?" Elisabetha asked.

"I am, for now…" Rain said. "You can have the title back later."