Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

It seemed that they understood Rain's words, but they didn't catch the joke in his tone. Maybe Rain's social skills needs to level up. After crossing his eyes and thinking for a while, Rain confirmed that he could use Limit Breaker and Magic Boost, so the barrier was purely for disguise.

As Rain pondered his next steps in this unknown land, he couldn't help but observe the people around him. What struck him was how different they appeared from what he had expected. While it was clear that each of them had human ancestry, their other half seemed to have a more dominant influence on their physical characteristics.

These individuals bore a striking resemblance to the beast people and sea folk he had encountered, with their human lineage taking a back seat to the stronger traits inherited from their non-human ancestors. It was a clear sign of the power and diversity of their bloodlines.

Before long, Rain felt a certain change in the atmosphere, and soon he saw a large wave approaching from his right side, and then he found some guys surfing on it. They seemed like sea folk, and one of them looked like Seadir quite a bit.

"Who are you? State your business here!"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

That guy was armed with a breastplate and a trident, and he seemed pretty strong. Rain imagined that he was sold sort of guard that protected the coast of that side of the island; the others behind him looked ready to fight as well. Continue reading on empire

"I just came to talk with you guys about some things," Rain replied. "Someone that apparently is a demi-human is causing a lot of problems in the South, and I believe that a human also stole a bit of your knowledge in the last few decades. Are you aware of that?"

"No… we don't have heard of anyone from our territory leaving, we don't have any reason to when the people from outside loath us, and we keep our secrets away from anyone that gets closer to our territory," The guard replied. "As such, we didn't meet any human in the last hundred years."

The fact that the guard explained things so readily surprised Rain quite a bit… it didn't seem like he was lying thanks to it, but Rain knew better than to drop his guard, after all. Once he considered several scenarios, Rain assumed that perhaps in the past, some of the people from that island had left the place… and it was probably someone who had a lot of knowledge.

He couldn't tell why they would leave, though.

"You used the word apparently… why are you here if you aren't certain of your guesses?" The guard asked.

"I am not certain because I am not the one who saw this individual, but the sense of smell of the beast people are reliable, and they aren't the type who would lie," Rain said. "I am sure you can tell that much."

The guard studied Rain, usually, a prideful guy would raise his voice at him and chase him out, but it seemed that the demi-humans were more laid back than Rain had expected… they still looked ready to attack him, though. Since they could tell that he was strong… someone wouldn't cross the area of the sea dragons if they weren't strong.

"Are you the leader around these parts?" Rain asked. "I would like to talk with someone that can hear my side of things and also answer some of my questions. I don't have to get closer to the shore if you want to."

"First… answer me this," The guard said while looking over Rain's shoulders. "Where did you get those items?"

"One was a gift and another was spoils of war, I guess," Rain replied.

The local guard quickly recognized the rarity of Rain's relics. It was evidently clear to him that the spear he wielded was a unique artifact, granted only by the sea emperor himself, a symbol of high honor and distinction. As for the shield, it held such intrinsic value that even the sea dragons regarded it as a treasure of great importance.

Given his lineage and knowledge of the guard, he was keenly aware of the significance and rarity of the items Rain carried with him and what kind of person he was supposed to be.

"... I can take you to the local leader, if you agree to leave the spear and the shield behind," The guard said.

"Sure, why not?" Rain smiled.

The guard couldn't help but feel puzzled by Rain's decision to leave behind such powerful relics. To him, it seemed rather stupid to relinquish such significant sources of strength even for a while, especially in an unfamiliar territory.

However, Rain remained focused in his reasoning. He saw it as the quickest means to ascertain whether the demi-humans were friends or foes. Additionally, he was well aware of the challenges involved in using the shield, making the decision slightly easier for him.

Rain passed the shield and the spear to the guard and then he immediately felt his power increasing… the legends were lying, their power was even more insane than he had expected.

"Do you want these too?" Rain asked while pointing to his guards.

"No… you know that smelling like dragons would make them hate you with all their might?" The guard asked. "What are those on your wrists?"

"Weights," Rain replied. "Do you want them? You will sink."

Since the guard was being kind enough to alert Rain of that, he decided to do the same and it seemed that the guard accepted the challenge. Rain just passed one of them to the guy and he immediately began to sink… before his head could get in the water. He let it go and soon recovered himself. That was funny, but the guards thought that Rain had attacked their leader… fortunately, he stopped them.

He warned the guy, after all. He had that coming for his curisity.