Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

"Are you serious?" Rain thought.

That kind of punch could make a large area tremble… and a single person just blocked that kind of attack without being knocked down… Rain truly wanted to speak with those guys and see what kind of training methods they used. He couldn't recall the last time he felt such admiration to his opponent.

Rain looked to the sides for a moment and saw Jori and Reca fighting their own opponents. They were evenly matched in terms of speed and strength, but the enemy fighters could easily block their weapons with their arms alone. That level of endurance couldn't be obtained with training only… still, that explained why Rain's attack only broke the arms of the enemy.

Without hesitation, Rain charged toward the enemy, and even with his arms semi-healed, the enemy did the same and punched Rain's face. Rain twitched his head to the side and avoided the hit, but his cheek was still cut for some reason… maybe thanks to the wind.

Rain and the enemy locked eyes, their gazes intense and unwavering, as they continued their relentless exchange of blows. Each punch, each strike, was met with a resounding clash of force, creating shockwaves that rippled through the air around them. Their movements were a blur of motion as they weaved a deadly dance of combat, trading blows with incredible precision and speed.

Their fists collided with bone-jarring impact, sending shockwaves down their arms and causing their surroundings to tremble. The sheer force of their strikes generated gusts of wind that swept through the area, sending raindrops scattering in all directions. The ground beneath them quaked as the shockwaves reverberated, and the air crackled with energy.

They blocked and parried with expert skill, their arms and knees intercepting attacks with a sharp crack of impact. Rain's arms burned with each clash, his muscles protesting against the strain of blocking the enemy's relentless assaults. He could feel the bruises forming beneath his skin, the ache of his bones protesting against the pressure.

"If endurance is his strength…" Rain thought and then made an earth spike emerge from the ground and pierce the enemy's right leg.

The enemy grunted in pain and flinched. Rain used that chance to step in and then punch his face with all his might… he felt the skull of the enemy cracking, and that guy fell on the ground with his body listless.

The skill Iron Fists leveled up.

The Fighter's Path obtained 300 experience points.

Rain didn't hold back on the use of mana, but even so, the earth spike didn't pass through the enemy's leg. He imagined that they endured magic endurance training as well… It was the only explanation.

"I tried that as well, but I never got any experience… Am I missing something?" Rain thought.

Rain didn't have time to think since his allies were dying and his friends were struggling. Still, before he could do anything else, one enemy suddenly attacked him with a flying kick. Rain blocked it with both arms, but he was almost knocked down after being pushed backward for ten meters.

As if that wasn't enough, the enemy recovered super fast and began to kick him in quick succession. When Rain tried to knock them down with an earth spike, the enemy just jumped backward… it felt the movements of the earth beneath their feet and reacted in the blink of an eye.

"This one looks like a problem…" Rain thought.

Those who use their fists only are easy to counter. One should just aim at their legs, but those who fight with their legs only have a few openings, even when they attack.

Rain knew quite a bit of taekwondo, at least in theory, and it was enough to make him tell that the current enemy would be hard to deal with. Still, it was that kind of challenge that Rain was looking for.

When the enemy charged at Rain again, he used Impulse and quickly passed by him. The enemy turned around and tried to kick Rain, but he lowered his stance and avoided the hit before he tried to punch the enemy's left side.

Still, the enemy finished the turn faster and then jumped away… unfortunately, for him, Rain calculated with pinpoint precision where he would land, and then Rain used Impulse to get closer while he was finishing the punching motion.

The enemy didn't have time to block the attack and felt his insides getting ripped apart when Rain kicked his stomach. The enemy quickly began to heal himself, but then Rain mimicked him by using Impulse, followed by a flying kick. The enemy raised his arms to block the attack, but those broke, and eventually, even the skull of the enemy broke.

An unknown skill leveled up.

The Fighter's Path received 500 experience points.

"I guess I copied his technique quite well, " Rain thought.

Rain took a deep breath and looked around while seeing the enemies blocking weapons with their forearms without any protection. He could only assume that they were using a skill at the moment of the impact to harden their flesh… the first guy that Rain killed had his arms covered in scars, and the body in front of him had a bunch of them on his legs as well.

Although he knew that it wasn't the time to study the enemy's techniques, Rain couldn't help it and then ended up mesmerized by one of them who was punching a man with an ax without hesitation and extremely fast. Rain could tell that the weapon was suffering damage thanks to fists alone.

"I want to learn that…" Rain thought.

Before he could study the technique further, Rain suddenly saw two enemies running toward him. He stood out since he was unarmed as well, after all. So, it couldn't be helped. Besides, there were no other corpses around since the enemies had enough time to heal themselves.

"I want you guys to teach me something new too," Rain thought.