Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

Rain decided to ignore those eyes, and it helped that soon the lessons started. The instructor asked the kids to show their skills a bit and soon she gave Rain some tips. He didn't expect to be treated like the others, but it seemed that they thought that dismissing talent and skill would be foolish.

In any case, the instructor told Rain to experiment with his water magic a bit. Trying to control in different ways instead of just trying to make it float and shoot at something. Thanks to that, he soon got some interesting things. Like controlling the same spell for a while longer...

That wasn't something that Rain knew, so he was surprised when he did that, and it worked pretty soon. He needed ten points of mana to cast a single water ball, but to make it cast and float around him for a minute, he needed two times more. It wasn't half bad. Moreover…

(An Unknown skill leveled up.)

(An unknown path received experience.)

(Until the path is unlocked, you will gain bonus experience in the Human Path of two hundred percent.)

(Human Path received 200 experience points.)

"Since you have good control and their power seems high enough, you should focus on improving the control to be able to use it freely in any kind of situation," The redhead said. "Your focus from now on should be to at least summon ten of those spheres with all elements and then make them spin around you."

The instructor seemed to not mind that Rain wasn't like the other kids and had commoner's blood. Maybe she was like that as well. Regardless, what she said was really the best option for him… once he improves his control, he will be able to do whatever he wants with his magic afterward.

After not so long, Rain was forced to sit down and then meditate while he worked on summoning more water balls. However, soon enough, some more servants showed up, and then they brought potions for the kids. They were all minor ones, but it was enough to make them recover their stamina and mana completely.

"Being part of a family this rich has its perks as well… Still, I will have to repay the favor someday, and it will be better if I don't leave the way in their hands," Rain thought.

Some of the children engaged in lively sparring sessions, their wooden weapons clashing and their movements swift and precise. They practiced various martial arts techniques, learning the art of defense and attack. The sound of footsteps, grunts of exertion, and the occasional cheer echoed throughout the training area.

Nearby, a group of youngsters focused their attention on archery, their small hands carefully nocking arrows and drawing back their bows. With focused eyes and steady breaths, they aimed at targets set at varying distances. Their arrows flew through the air, finding their marks with remarkable accuracy. The repeated twangs of bowstrings provided a rhythmic soundtrack to their practice.

A cluster of children gathered around another magical instructor, their minds open to the mysteries of the arcane. They channeled their inner energies, learning to manipulate and shape the magical forces around them. Sparks danced in their palms, wisps of ethereal energy swirled around them, and bursts of colorful light erupted from their fingertips.

In the end, that weekend had been pretty productive and made Rain realize that he saw some of his cousins at school, but he didn't realize who they were. Regardless, it seemed that aside from school lessons, they also trained in the mansion of their grandparents three hours per day during the school days and during the whole day and part of the night on the weekends.

"They are trying hard to raise those kids to become prominent figures… I guess I can understand why my grandparents are like that," Rain thought. "They basically didn't have a childhood."

Still, that didn't mean that Rain had to forgive how they treated his little sisters as if they were air. Rain felt that a relationship between members of the same family didn't have to be like others where there were always people seeking to gain something from the other…

"I guess going there will be beneficial to me. The school is also helping my growth quite a bit," Rain thought while he was having dinner alongside his family. "However, I don't feel like there is much sense of urgency in my life… I am training to cover my foundations, and that is working well, but I need more than just that. I need at least one weapon for self-defense."

It wasn't a weird time for Rain to come to that realization… he didn't know if the eyes of the kids at him messed with his senses or something, but he felt that there was something off in the air at times in that house.

Rain wondered if he was just overworking himself and the exhaustion was making him feel like that… the house had plenty of guards, and the instructors always acted like usual, so the place wasn't dangerous for them.

"Either way, I need a weapon… something that I can use to defend myself," Rain thought that night while he was walking around the house. "I can use Fireball now, even though it isn't perfect. Wind Blade that cuts through stone and Ice Darts that can pierce even walls. Still, it isn't enough."

Rain needed a simple attack while he developed his abilities further, something that could be improved but also something that could be useful right at the moment. Since all the kids could use fire magic, Rain assumed that most people had countermeasures against it. He recalled that he was using raw mana before, but it was hard to use it that offensively… it would take time before it became a real weapon.

"Considering the fighting style I have in mind, I guess I should focus on earth magic," Rain thought. "Using that as much as possible definitely will make me better with it while using other means as well."