Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix-Chapter 1504: You wouldn’t know

The effects of such concentrated light were manifold. At the molecular level, the intense heat caused by focused beams of light could induce rapid thermal expansion, rupturing cell membranes and disrupting delicate biochemical processes. Inorganic materials, too, were vulnerable to the searing heat, with metals melting and glass shattering under the intense glare of concentrated light.

"She has nearly infinite energy to use... and she can attack at light speed as well," Rain thought. The hell is just starting."

Rain didn’t want to use light speed to avoid those attacks; it would consume a lot of mana, and their speed was still much higher thanks to the difference in level, so he realized that he could endure the pain and brace himself.

In the end, Rain decided to trust his instincts and raised his guard... When Arel fired the next light spear at his forehead, Rain somehow reacted in time to block the attack with one of his giant, dark, ice-covered hands. The attack pushed him away for hundreds of meters and also caused some damage to the dark ice... but he got zero damage.

"Heh," Rain smirked.

"That is a very bad habit. I am surprised that you managed to survive this far, annoying your opponents that much during your fights."

"You wouldn’t know," Rain said and then shrugged.

"This is so inefficient that I didn’t want to do this, but you truly deserve it. Perhaps I will use this against your friends, whatever they are, once I am done with you."

"You are welcome to try whatever you are cooking at them," Rain said.

The area began to tremble all of a sudden... and that was quite something since they were in space and Arel’s body shouldn’t be that close... Still, her anger finally responded to one of the questions that Rain had in the back of his mind for a while.

On eight parts of the area and surrounding Rain like they were points of a cube, some weird creatures appeared... they looked like silver statues, but they had arms that were moving around in a creepy way. It felt like they were stuck on some sort of prison trying to free themselves, but that didn’t matter... what did matter was the face that Rain suddenly felt ill.

As Rain’s senses swam in a haze of weakness, a disconcerting realization washed over him. His once steady reserves of mana, health, and stamina were rapidly dwindling, sapped away by an unseen force that seemed to drain the very essence of his being. With a growing sense of alarm, he watched in disbelief as small particles of mana began to leave his body, swirling and dissipating into the void. But the drain didn’t stop there.

Before long, he noticed an unsettling phenomenon, a cascade of green and red particles emanating from his pores, each one a tangible manifestation of his decreasing vitality. With each passing moment, his strength waned further, his life force slipping away like grains of sand through an hourglass.

In the moment of this assault, Rain felt powerless to stop the drain on his energy and vitality. Every fiber of his being screamed in protest as his body weakened, his movements growing sluggish and labored with each passing second.

"Well, I should have known," Rain thought when he tried to teleport and failed.

Rain could no longer use his mana... it was the best option for him to escape that predicament, and Arel knew that. Little by little, his body began to lose its glow, and then he started to look unhealthy... However, all of a sudden, he closed his eyes and stopped struggling. Arel knew that Rain wouldn’t give up so soon, and then she realized that the power of the aspect of void was growing inside him. Before long, the particles of energy slowed down on leaving his body...

Arel tried to increase the power output of her weird statues, but soon she noticed them failing to obey her will... eventually, she heard some cracks, and then her statues began to shatter.

"... You are truly annoying,"

"Well, thank you," Rain said and he made some particles of energy return to his body. "I would feel bothered if my enemies found me pleasant."

"I will grant you the wish to face me with everything at my disposal. You should hurry if you don’t want everything to end."

As Rain sensed Arel’s presence waning in the vicinity, a surge of conflicting emotions washed over him. On the one hand, relief coursed through his body, knowing that her formidable powers were no longer an immediate threat. Yet, on the other hand, a sense of apprehension gnawed at the edges of his senses, reminding him that her sudden departure could be a sign of something even more ominous.

With Arel’s tricks and deceptions seemingly laid to rest, Rain found himself at a crossroads, weighing his options carefully. Rain could opt for a more cautious approach, biding his time and consolidating his tactics until he had a clearer understanding of the situation. While this course of action might yield fewer immediate gains, it carried with it the promise of greater long-term security, allowing Rain to gather his strength and assess his next move with prudence and foresight.

"Well, for now... how about this," Rain thought when he looked at the broken statues that he destroyed earlier, and then he used Data Mining.

Lvl 15: Energy Amplification - Amplifies the potency of energy sources, increasing their output and efficiency for enhanced performance and effectiveness. Increases potency and cost by ten points per level.

Lvl 20: Energy Transference - Transfers energy from one object or entity to another, redistributing energy flows to manipulate motion, temperature, or other properties. Higher levels increase effectiveness by ten percent per level.

Lvl 25: Energy Projection - Projects focused beams or bursts of energy, allowing for ranged attacks or targeted energy discharges with pinpoint accuracy. Increases the efficiency and potency of all skills in this path by ten percent per level