Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix-Chapter 1005: Almost there

Rain couldn't help but find the selection of weapons forged by Maxime and the other survivors a bit weird. The limitation of not being able to transform the dark metal into any desired form meant that the choice of medieval-style weapons was somewhat acceptable, though.

Spears, shields, armor, a javelin, a crossbow—these weapons seemed like relics from a bygone era, and Rain wondered about the reasoning behind such choices.

The inclusion of a javelin, in particular, caught Rain's attention. While it could be a formidable weapon in the right hands, its practicality against the colossal first dragons raised questions. Unless the user possessed superhuman strength to hurl it with enough force to pierce the dragons' defenses, and some means to retrieve it afterward, the javelin seemed like an odd choice.

As Maxime recounted memories of working tirelessly in a dark place on these weapons, Rain mulled over the strategic considerations that might have influenced these selections. It was clear that crafting relics for the battle against the first dragons required a unique set of criteria, and Rain couldn't help but feel that there was more to the story yet to be uncovered.

"... I think… I worked in Japan, I remember seeing a lot of comics somewhere, even when the world was ending," Maxime said.

"You mean manga," Nigel said. "They called it manga, not comics."

"But they are comics, right?" Maxime asked.

"Yes, but…" Nigel furrowed his eyebrows.

"Who cares if Nigel watched hentai or not, give me the precise location of it," Rain said.

"So, you know what hentai is…" Nigel said.

"It might take a while… I don't even remember how I got into Japan in the first place," Maxime said.

"You can start by heading there," Larisa said. "If we arrive there and he hasn't recovered his memories, then we will have to spend more mana on him."

"You could always touch everyone with my relic and take their mana to speed things up," Vanessa said.

"I am not going to treat my allies like batteries," Rain said. "We don't have to look in the world anymore and this is a good starting point."

Rain changed directions again and the group realized that he had heard something from the relics, he seemed a bit more relaxed, after all. So, they didn't question him. Still, Rain felt bothered by the fact that when they wanted to talk, his kids would either choose Seadrei or Asche to talk to… even if it was just small talk to kill time.

"I hate that I am becoming such a bother with these thoughts…" Rain thought and then sighed.

"It is tough to reconcile the need to work on protecting the world and staying close to your kids, huh?" Larisa asked. "They had one hundred years to become completely independent of you, after all."

Larisa's words rang true, and beneath the surface, Rain grappled with a sense of melancholy. His children's independence, the fact that they chose to talk with Seadrei or Asche instead of him, left a clear mark on his emotions. Despite understanding the natural course of their growth and the development of their relationships with other members of the group, Rain couldn't shake off those feelings.

The awareness of this emotional struggle only deepened his introspection. Rain had been remarkably patient and supportive, allowing his children the space to form connections with others and assert their independence. However, the persistent ache in his chest persisted, a reminder of the challenges of parenthood in a world reshaped by magical forces.

Yet, Rain acknowledged that certain aspects couldn't be helped. The bonds between his children and their companions were essential for their well-being and growth. Even as he grappled with these feelings, he knew that his role as a father required patience and understanding, allowing his children to forge their own paths and bonds.

"I guess I need to grow up… they are my kids, but they aren't mine to belong… I just need to be there when they need to," Rain thought. "That is supposed to be what a father is… I guess."

Finding Japan was actually pretty easy… not only it was like a massive Island a bit further away from Asia, but the place still had some signs of fortifications still standing even after all this time. The place was surrounded by massive walls of earth that seemed like hills as well. Maybe that was their way to fight the floods and tsunamis.

Regardless, Rain could see that some parts had been destroyed on those walls and they didn't work perfectly since the interior of the country was pretty much everywhere else, filled with fake mountains created to hide the remains of the past.

"Nothing yet?" Rain asked.

"I am almost there…" Maxime said.

"Does any of you feel nostalgic here?" Rain asked. "Vanessa supposedly became a relic here, right?"

"How I can feel nostalgic regarding things that weren't here before like these piles of junk?" Vanessa asked.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

"... I guess you have a point," Rain said then looked at the others. "Try to increase the range of your Magic Eyes, we are probably in a place with high possibility of having what we are looking for here."

"How can you be sure?" Esmeralda asked.

"One of the relics thinks that they were created here…" Rain said and then wondered why Elisabetha wasn't created there.

In any case, with all that traveling, Rain couldn't break the limit of Magic Boost and Magic Eyes, even though those techniques would benefit him a lot now. He needed the rings back to get enough mana to do so, but he couldn't get greedy like that…

"At least I should have enough magical power and mana to break the max level of the skills without any need for artifacts," Rain thought. "Come to think of it, I also need to break the limits of the skills of the dragon slayer path, but I wonder if it will be so simple without any catalysts…"