Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

"... This isn't good… they want to hide him beyond the ocean," Rain thought when his head began to hurt thanks to the exertion. "Searching for him will be much more difficult if I let that happen and I can't afford to keep looking for Branden and the others forever."

(You reached the necessary requirements to unlock a new path.)

Water Mage Path: The Aquamancer's Odyssey is a journey of mastery over the mystic powers of water. As a dedicated Aquamancer, your goal is to harness the flow of water's essence, manipulate its properties, and protect your allies. Traverse these water to become one with aquatic magic, capable of wielding water in all its forms. Intelligence, Wisdom, and Dexterity  + 05 per level.

Level 1: Aquatic Novice Begin your journey as a fledgling Aquamancer. Gain a 5% boost to your water-based abilities.

Level 5: Fluid Manipulation Improve drastically your control over water, allowing you to shape it with precision for both offense and defense. Ten percent extra control per level.

Level 10: Aqua Surge Harness a surge of aquatic energy to empower your water spells, increasing their effectiveness.

Level 15: Deep Waters Forge a deeper connection to water, boosting your maximum mana by twenty points per level.

…

(You reached the necessary requirements to unlock a new path.)

Wind Mage Path: It is a path of mastery over the elemental power of the wind. Wind Mages who follow this path, known as Zephyromancers, become experts in controlling and wielding the forces of the air. They are capable of manipulating wind currents to their advantage, creating powerful storms, and harnessing the tempestuous energy of the skies. Intelligence, Wisdom, and Dexterity  + 05 per level.

Level 1: Breeze Apprentice Embark on your journey as a novice Zephyromancer. Gain a 5% bonus for wind-based abilities.

Amidst the exhaustion, at least Rain felt that his hard work paid off… he never thought that he would be able to unlock two paths at the same time, but it made sense considering what he had just done. It also granted a ton of experience and levels to him. Still, Rain ignored all that and then used Limit Breaker to reach Branden and the others.

Rain raced across the kingdom with astounding velocity, invoking his Limit Breaker to push his abilities beyond their limits. His movements were so rapid that they blurred together, nearly invisible to the naked eye. With each step, the ground trembled beneath him, and he left deep, meteorite-like impressions in his path.

It was as though the earth itself struggled to keep pace with his incredible sprint toward the distant coast, a testament to his unwavering determination to locate Branden.

Before long, Rain ran out of stamina and was forced to stop Limit Breaker, but he kept running and using the little magic that he had recovered to keep moving. At the same time, he decided to use his free points to increase his wisdom and, consequently, mana as well. He never did that before, but he was in a hurry.

Rain appeared at the coast, utterly drained. Steam emanated from his fatigued body, and his skin bore a red hue due to the relentless, nonstop running. Gasping for breath, he felt completely spent. The rising sun on the horizon revealed a ship in the distance.

"I guess I will find where Joanis base is…" Rain thought while smirking.

The only problem was that Rain was finally out of mana potions, and while he was tired, he couldn't wait to rest and let the ship disappear in the distance.

"Let's hope that I won't regret this…" Rain said, and then he jumped into the ocean.

Since Rain didn't have much time to improve the technique to meditate while he was standing, he barely could do that while he was swimming. Still, the ship wasn't moving that fast, so just a few swings of his arms and legs made him get closer to the ship. He used that time to rest a bit and recover his mana.

After a while, Rain changed to the wafer mage's path, and then he had an easier time moving… he barely had to move his body, and he wasn't using that much mana either.

"It would still be helpful if I had unlocked the earth mage path… I suppose it will happen once I reach level fifty in the wind mage's path," Rain thought.

While he was thinking that, Rain realized that there was some massive shadow approaching… he raised his guard for a fight. However, he was surprised to see a giant squid… still, the creature used its arms for swimming and just passed below him…

"... that was weird," Rain thought.

Rain encountered numerous marine creatures during his journey. Enormous whales, scary sharks, and even colossal octopuses crossed his path. While some of these creatures posed a threat to the ship and its crew, none of them paid Rain any attention. He assumed that his possession of the coral spear, a symbol associated with the Sea Emperor, granted him a kind of recognition among these sea monsters.

They seemingly deemed it unwise to engage with someone linked to such powerful authority.

"I guess it is fine, but for how long will I have to keep swimming?" Rain thought.

Joanis' base was likely concealed meticulously, serving as a clandestine location for multiple purposes. It probably functioned as a facility for detaining prisoners and for the training and upbringing of his demi-human children. The Sea Folk Rain liberated were possibly brought to the capital intentionally, allowing the king to witness the extent of Joanis' capabilities firsthand.

Furthermore, their presence in the capital could have been part of a contingency plan in case more anti-magic substance needed to be produced.

Rain was also a bit worried about leaving his family and friends alone for too long, but he had to endure that. Fortunately, the trip only lasted for two days… while moving south almost endlessly, the temperature began to drop, and Rain even saw some vestiges of icebergs around as well.