Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Chapter 473: Three years

The next three years passed in the blink of an eye… life had been pretty slow for Rain, but at least he liked how things were going as of late.

When he opened his eyes that morning, he saw a bit of hair in his field of vision, and after letting a lot of air through his mouth, he finally moved the air and found a pretty sexy nape in front of him.

Rain hugged Terra from behind and then enjoyed the scent of her neck for a while, but soon, he jumped from the bed and then put on his clothes. It seemed that he was a bit late for his morning training since everything was already bright outside.

After he finished putting his clothes on, Rain moved to the other side of the room and found two cradles there. His kids were moving a little, but they were still asleep… around eighteen months ago, they were born. Twins… Terra asked him to name name, and since they were twins, he decided to call them Apollo and Artemis… he wanted to do that, but he changed his mind. There were two grand names.

The naming sense in that world was a bit weird, so Rain had a hard time picking them up. In the end, he chooses Daniel and Ann because it would be nice to call them Danny and Annie… Rain wondered if his testosterone levels were level for him to be thinking about that, but he didn't pay much mind to it.

Regardless, at first, Rain felt a bit bad for the fact that they inherited his red hair and eyes, but Terra seemed fine with it, saying that they would become good-looking thanks to it.

After checking on them, Rain went to his garden to train. He jumped and then spun and landed on his hands, and then he summoned a large boulder to fall on his feet. Just like that, he began his handstands.

"Just you wait, gramps. The next time, I will kick your ass for sure," Rain thought while grinning from ear to ear.

Since things have been peaceful, Rain had been training to defeat the sea emperor one day, even though they didn't have any other reasons to fight. That was a nice goal to have… to defeat the strongest person that he knew.

Unfortunately, Rain didn't get that stronger in the last three years; even though he trained three hours in the morning and in three more in the evening, he only unlocked three new paths… killing was the best way to get stronger in that world, and now his pace was back to normal since the war ended.

The Berserker's Path - embark on a journey through the realm of brutal combat and unbridled fury, where passion and primal instincts are your weapons of choice. As a Berserker, you'll harness raw power and indomitable strength to crush your adversaries. Strength + 20 per level.

Level 1: Fury Strike - Embrace your inner rage, launching into a furious body slam that increases your attack speed and damage for five seconds. Each level increases your damage and attack speed by two percent.

Although Rain didn't unlock many skills on that path yet, he liked that massive boost in strength per level. Thanks to that, he was training so hard his strength with that path equipped... he wanted to make the bonus even more massive. Hopefully, with that, he will be able to punch dragons if he has to without messing with his body again.

The High Healer's Path is a sacred journey of profound compassion and mastery over the art of healing. High Healers are revered for their unwavering dedication to restoring health and well-being to those in need. Intelligence + 10, Wisdom + 10

Level 1: Healing Bonus – You can start by mastering the fundamentals of the healing arts. Gain the ability to mend injuries while using less mana per level. Minus one point of mana is used per level when using healing spells. (Intelligence and Wisdom, + 10 per level.)

Terra also unlocked that path, but the path came at a low level since it didn't have that skill that could restore damaged tissue completely, but it should be the next path… hopefully. In any case, this kind of skill, alongside others, would make Rain a lot harder to crack.

The Ice Mage's Path is a journey into the realm of frost and frigid magic. Ice Mages are known for their mastery over the chilling forces of ice and snow, capable of freezing enemies in their tracks and creating barriers of frozen protection. (Intelligence + 20 per level.)

Level 1: Frostbite - As an Ice Mage, you start by learning to infuse your spells with the chilling power of Frostbite. They will cause damage over time of the same level of skill per second for ten seconds and slow them down.

Those were the only paths that Rain unlocked in the last three years… he finally could understand why dragons and beings that could live for longer periods of time could become so strong… even without wars, their powers kept growing at an insane pace because of their natural ceiling of power that was almost impossible to see.

After he finished his training, Rain cleaned himself, and then he relaxed enough to hear Danny and Annie making a bit of noise… they were twins, and they still were young, so it was natural that they would bicker with each other.

"You promised that you would finish off training earlier…" Terra said and then sighed when Rain arrived. "I have to get going. Breakfast is ready… why do you ask me to cook when you are much better."

"Sorry, force of habit… well, that I can explain, hehehe," Rain said and then laughed. "Hey, don't fight, papa is here. Who wants the airplanes first? Only those who behave will get the airplane first."

"Papa! Food!" Danny said while showing a large smile.

Annie, on the other hand, calmed down as well. Still, she wasn't that enthusiastic about being fed by Rain… usually, it would be the other way around, the girl would like the father more like, but the boy would feel a bit angry and rivalry toward the father, but Rain just wanted both of them to like him equally…

"I am leaving, so behave and don't do anything crazy," Terra said and then kissed the top of Rain's head. "... She is coming tonight, isn't she?"

"You should have gotten used to that already… or maybe if she lived here more often, it would be better for you to get used to her," Rain furrowed his eyebrows.

"I suppose I should relax a bit… since I gave you Danny and Annie already… there is no need to be so competitive," Terra said while furrowing her eyebrows. "Well, I am going."

Terra was returning to work in the orphanage after almost two years… while the war ended three years ago, plenty of kids lost both of their parents. When the father died, sometimes the mother would get sick and die due to overwork, and it was hard to find new homes for older kids.

In the end, they decided to refund the capital… Rain had planned to start a new business, but he ended up only helping Branden and Esmeralda here and there. His movement speed was unrivaled, after all, and his services as a bodyguard were also top-notch.

"What do you want to do today? Papa is free from the enslavement of society for a while," Rain said after they finished breakfast. "Mama will stay out for the rest of the day."

As one would expect, Rain didn't get a clear answer… maybe he was expecting too much from his one-and-a-half-year-old kids. They didn't seem interested in doing anything in particular, so Rain took them to walk around the city.

While carrying his kinds on his shoulders, Rain left the house and then walked around people doing their own thing… nothing had changed that much in the last three years… aside from the outcome of that long war. First of all, Esmeralda became the queen, and Branden began to work under her as some sort of prime minister.

Esmeralda wasn't prepared to rule, even less so in a period like that where they lost twenty thousand soldiers, all of the royal guard was dismissed, and a bunch of noblemen that supported Joanis went missing thanks to Rain.

Despite that, life continued without any issues. People waited until the consequences of the problems would fall on their laps, but that never happened.

The lack of manpower and soldiers was solved mainly by the fact that Rain and his family improved the production and transport of food in the west side of the country, and security wasn't a problem since magic people, sea folk, and the beast people didn't do anything against them… in fact, diplomacy with the sea folk and the magic people were going pretty well since Rain had friends on both sides.

"That being said… the beast king being quiet for this long is quite worrisome," Rain thought. "Maybe I should check things in their country."

Although Rain had decided to take his kids for a walk, he didn't have many acquaintances in the capital ... only Lotto, Branden, and Esmeralda… A blacksmith shop wasn't good for kids, thanks to the smoke, and the other two were busy running the country.

"The reverse side of fame, huh?" Rain thought.

Since the war, a lot of rumors were spreading about Rain, so he didn't make any new friends… he was fine with that since he was busy with work and family. Speaking of family, Asche and Liss began to travel around the country as well while gathering information for Branden and Esmeralda about the prisoners that had been reallocated to work on several parts.

They are also looking for the queen and the prince, but nothing has been learned until now…

Rain thought that those two would be targeting his body as well since he had become shredded out of his mind with all the training, but he didn't become that popular. They had no interest in him… in the end, Rain found the pattern. He had to save girls to make them fall for him afterward. It was the only pattern that Terra and Seara shared.

"I guess we will have to return home soon to home since there is nothing to do in the capital… maybe I should create an amusement park or something for you two at home," Rain said.

Danny and Annie had no idea what Rain was talking about, and it was kind of surprising how well they behaved with him, even though they tended to be a bit too active when Terra was looking after them. Seara also looked after them, but she was having a hard time finding the right distance that she had to keep… even though Terra told her that she could see them as her children as well.

In the end, Rain decided to play during the whole afternoon with his kids, tossing water balls at them and making them splash when they missed. It was an excellent exercise for them since they also liked a bit too much the sweet dishes that Rain makes now and then.

In any case, eventually, Terra returned a bit tired at home and tried to relax for a bit, but the very moment Rain let the kids with her to do his training, they began to bicker again… in the end, Rain was forced to end quickly, because of that and because Seara was late and she was quite in time on her time off…