Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix
Chapter 1269 - 1269: Hidden

While Rain was waiting for the start of the missions, he decided to move to the walls, sit down, and meditate. It has been a while since he did something like that since he had meditation mastery, but that was necessary since he had some issues to solve.

Even though Rain had decreased the levels of all of the sins paths, he still was being affected by them, mainly by anger… he tried to joke around and mess with everyone using Glutonous Aura, but that was only a trick to keep his mind busy and away from wrath.

"While you can control your body, it seems that your mind is another matter," Elisabetha said while seeing what Rain was imagining. "I guess it makes sense that sloth wouldn't be your weakness, considering that you are so hardworking. On the other hand, your numerous worries and problems make your stress build up. Even more so when you don't know how to relax."

Elisabetha's observation struck a chord with Rain, as it resonated with the truth of his mental state. Indeed, Rain hadn't relaxed in quite a while, especially since the birth of Sealyn.

The timeline of constant challenges and battles unfolded relentlessly: two years of conflict with the beast people, followed by fights against the magic people, and ultimately, the intense struggle against the dragons. Each phase brought its own set of trials, leaving Rain with little time to unwind or address the accumulating stress.

The weight of responsibilities, concerns for his companions, and the perpetual need to stay vigilant against powerful adversaries had taken a toll on Rain's mental well-being. The absence of moments for genuine relaxation made the effects of wrath, one of the Seven Deadly Sins Paths, more pronounced.

While Rain had mastery over his physical actions, controlling the mental turbulence proved to be a more difficult task.

"The patience and the temperance Path aren't helping, even though all the other paths are at level one," Rain said. "I guess the only answer is to let my urges control me completely during the fights."

That was going to be complicated since Sealyn was going to work with him, and Rain didn't want to show his daughter bloodshed… since the enemies were slimes, there wouldn't be blood, but their deaths wouldn't be pretty. That was the only way for Rain to get rid of all the frustration inside him in a healthy way.

"Are you ready, Dad?" Sealyn suddenly appeared and then asked. "The others are about to leave to finish things sooner."

"Yeah, no problem," Rain said. "We can leave at any moment. It is actually better if we hurry up."

"What is our battle plan then?" Sealyn asked.

"You will freeze the enemies, and I will smash them," Rain replied. "Don't worry about mana; just use Glutonous Aura once per battle and keep it equipped. When you start to run out of mana, the skill will be at a high level to not have any drawbacks… aside from the hunger. I guess just having a juice of nutrients isn't enough… I will have to come up with a method to make food here with Sakaki.

If we think hard enough, we can probably find a way to sterilize an area and then build food on it."

"What about meat?" Sealyn asked. "I guess not…"

"The Trent guys can produce all sorts of food, but I never thought that it would have any use to unlock their paths," Rain said. "In the first place, it is just too weird to essentially summon food with mana. In their case, it is even weirder."

"Whatever, it is time to go," Sealyn said. "Once we are done with this, we will have defeated six of the enemies. That is two percent of their total. If we keep this pace, it will be fine.'

Explain that Sealyn was a bit weird. She was a lot more talkative and positive than usual. It seemed a bit too soon for her pregnancy to change her like that. Regardless, Rain decided to forget about that; it was better than going on another mission while being gloomy or overly tense.

"Have any of you guys learned the Esper Path yet?" Rain asked.

Everyone shrugged… that was quite something; they learned the recent ones, and they were supposed to be harder… regardless, thanks to that, Rain was the only one who could establish communications among the group.

Creating a relic with the effect of Telekinesis was possible, but that wasn't the best option since its power would be limited. Besides, not having one would make everyone eager to learn it.

"All right, I will try to keep contact with you guys, stay together to avoid problems," Rain said. "It will also help me save time and mana instead of talking with each one of you."

"Be careful out there," Terra said. "Sealyn having to fight is reason enough for all of us to worry."

"That is right, mess up either of you, and you both will receive more than a bit of an earful," Sealyn said. "If either side arrives first, they should go and help the other."

"Roger," Rain said.

After the discussion, the group decided to split up, each heading towards their designated targets. Rain and Sealyn, forming a duo, swiftly dashed in the opposite direction of the others. The acceleration provided by their Impulse ability allowed them to cover the distance in a matter of minutes, bringing them to a dark area filled with ominous trees.

However, the darkness and the trees were no natural occurrence; they were a sinister creation of the doppelganger slimes, setting the stage for a potentially treacherous encounter.

"I can't see or sense them," Sealyn said. "Are they hiding like the death knights you mentioned?"

"It could be," Rain said. "Still, they had the ability to copy the skills that they see in action, so if they survive for long, it is impossible to say what kind of technique they are using."