Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

On the day the group began to prepare to head home, a new group of workers and guards arrived to take their place. It seemed that the higher-ups understood that the enemies were truly worried about that fortress, so it was better to keep the progress of the building from falling behind.

"This job was a bit harder than I expected, but I felt like it was worth it," Jori said while he was driving the wagon that the group was using. "It sure is refreshing to deliver such blows on the enemy like this."

"Just a bit?" Reca asked. "I don\'t mind fighting those guys, but I\'d prefer if we weren\'t outnumbered that hard."

"I think we should take at least three days off after this," Liss said. "It is unlikely that we will find jobs like this on a daily basis, but we should try to assimilate what we learned in this mission."

Everyone nodded. It seemed that they were starting to realize their limitations, and they were also looking to the future instead of just the present. Building their reputation was fine, but they also needed to train more. Eventually, another large battle will happen to recover their remaining territories, and they need to be strong enough to survive that.

"I got hit a bunch of times as well, so I guess I am still lacking some training," Rain said. "After that battle, I also realized that I am lacking combat experience when fighting without using my magic. Do you guys want to train together from now on?"

"... I don\'t think that anyone would mind, but it is pretty clear that the difference in strength between us is that great," Asche said after everyone looked at each other. "Wouldn\'t it be better if you trained with some stronger?"

"That usually would be the case, but most of the adults of the organization are busy with their lives, and they have families; their free time is rather limited," Rain replied. "Some of them also would feel bad if they lost against me, even in a sparring session. Jori also isn\'t that bossy, so I am fine working with you guys."

"Oh no, he is bossy Alright," Terra said. "But he behaves better when you are around."

"Hey, I am not bossy just because I am the leader of the group and tell you guys to do some things and sometimes ignore your opinions when you are in your feelings," Jori said.

"That is the exact definition of being bossy," Terra said. "Still, I am more than fine with that. With another Healer, we can try hard during the missions and train harder as well."

Everyone nodded as well… healers weren\'t only good at dealing with wounds. While most of them couldn\'t restore stamina, the fact that warriors could fight harder, knowing that someone nearby could heal them, was a great addition.

"I am fine with it as well, but I still think that we won\'t grow as much if we rely on Rain all the time," Jori said while scratching the back of his head.

"In that case, I will slack off as much as possible," Rain said.

Jori furrowed his eyebrows after hearing that… such a thing was no good either. It was hard to find a good balance in that situation since Rain was a great addition to the team. In any case, the group accepted him joining them. It wasn\'t a temporary addition, so they had to all agree for that to happen.

After returning to the capital and reporting to Branden what happened, the group dispersed. However, Rain still stayed to talk with him for a while longer. While he wasn\'t interested in leading any branch of the organization, he said that he was going to work with them until the rest of their territories were restored. Or until Jori and Reca make the party split… it seemed that they were behaving.

Still, it was only a matter of time before their relationship bore fruit in the shape of a child.

"Forgive me for saying this, but it was about time for you to make your choice," Branden said.

"What do you know that explains what happened?" Rain asked.

"It seems that the magic people are reuniting more and more of their tribes since they know that the tide of the war is in our favor," Branden explained. "While most of them won\'t do anything drastic, the others know that they can take risks, and that is why they are sending large groups of people on those expeditions to damage our lands.

While they are doing that sporadically, it is only a matter of time before they do that in earnest to stop us from attacking their current base that is closest to us."

That was the city where Rain was born… Rain imagined that keeping fighting those groups would be a good idea to decrease the enemy\'s forces, but it looked like it would only bring the big guns to the fight… Rain was fine in testing his strength against them, but that was going to decrease the power of the magic people too much… Once they find that weakness, it is clear that the humans will try to capitalize on that and will try to invade instead of recover… starting another war.

Humans were pretty much the same in all worlds, besides, they would have more than enough reason to continue that long war...