Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Chapter 16: New Paths

It was already dinner time when Rain realized that something was off. His father was also supposed to be home by now, so he could tell that something had happened… It was only a matter of time until Dana started to cry because she was hungry, and then she would make Rain go deaf.

Just when Rain thought that he should do something about it, the granny Moira showed up, she looked as serious as usual while looking at him, but she showed a large smile when Dana raised her arms toward her.

"Why the difference in treatment?" Rain thought. "I guess I can't fake a kid's cuteness since I am always frowning."

"... Your mother passed out, and she is resting at my house with your father," Moira suddenly said after she picked Dana. "It seems that you will have another sibling next year."

"Again, what kind of pace is this?" Rain thought while furrowing his eyebrows. "I shouldn't be asking this, but how often do they shag?"

That kind of scene was too traumatic for kids. It was the only kind of pg 18 that kids didn't want to imagine; it was when their parents were involved. In any case, those were some good news, and everyone only realized that now since Leiah worked too hard.

"At least Dad isn't going on another trip again… fortunately, I didn't say it out loud," Rain thought.

In any case, Dana was only one year and two months old, so it seemed a bit too soon for another kid to show up. Then again, kids are accidents that are bound to happen…

Moira made their dinner and then stayed with them at night. Roan and Leiah only showed up in the next morning, and they sure looked happy. Those were some good news, but they seemed to forget that they were adding more work to their plate.

"I am helping too, but…" Rain thought. "I guess I will have a bunch of siblings here to compensate for my previous life."

Rain didn't have siblings in his previous life, and that was why all the weight of the family fell on him. The weight of expectations made him forget his dream and follow a more stable path… and things ended like that.

"I guess when you die once, you can't just forget that easily…" Rain thought. "I am trying to think seriously here…"

Rain was having this amazing mental monologue, but Dana stopped him by pulling his cheeks. Leiah was taking a day off, so he had to keep his little sister entertained.

"... Look," Rain said after he looked around and then fired a small bullet of mana toward the exit of the house.

"Again! Again!" Dana said shouted.

"Where can I turn your volume down?" Rain asked. "Holy… your vocal chords are off the charts."

In the end, Rain managed to keep Dana entertained by making her chase the small mana bullet. It couldn't last long, and it only caused any damage as soon as it was created, so it was fine. That also worked as good training for him… but using that dozens of times made him feel dizzy again.

Still, Rain had to get used to it or keep increasing his mana like there was no tomorrow. The first magic that he learned could protect him, and that would help a lot considering how Rain was planning to fight in that world… it has been over one year and a half since the last battle. Still, the human side lost another chunk of their territory… things could happen again. The magic people could even prepare to attack that city.

"This is way too hardcore… wasn't I supposed to fight slimes until I could become overpowered?" Rain thought.

Rain chose the only package left, second life, but not so easy one. Regardless, that was fine. His previous life had been free of worries for quite a while and ended up like that. It was better to have some bumps along the way in order to feel more accomplished when he reached them.

Although Rain thought of that, the next few months passed in the blink of an eye. Thanks to his daily grind, he unlocked two more paths and reached level sixty on the human path.

(Farmer Path - All parameters + 1)

(Unlocked due to the understanding of agriculture and farming techniques. This path focuses on agricultural practices, crop cultivation, and land management.)

Level 1: Green Thumb - Enhances the farmer's natural affinity for plants, improving crop yield by 5% per level.

(Worker Path - All parameters + 1)

(Unlocked due to the expertise in labor and practical work. This path emphasizes skills related to construction, craftsmanship, or specialized trades.)

Level 1: Physical Stamina - Develops physical endurance and stamina, enabling the worker to perform tasks for longer durations without fatigue.

Physical Path

Level 1: Basic Conditioning - Increases maximum stamina by 10 per level.

Level 5: Enhanced Strength - Deals bonus damage with physical attacks, increasing overall damage output by 1% per level.

Level 10: Agile Movement - Increases movement speed by 5% per level and provides a 20% chance to dodge incoming attacks.

Level 15: Endurance Training - Reduces stamina consumption by 1% per level and increases stamina regeneration rate by 1% per level.

Level 20: Martial Arts - Unlocks powerful combo attacks and special moves in hand-to-hand combat, increasing damage dealt by 3% per level.

The physical path also reached level twenty, but no class was unlocked either. It seems that only in the human path could he unlock new paths every ten levels. If he doesn't unlock a new one at level fifty… then it would be costly and time-consuming for someone to unlock advanced paths.