[★★★★★★ Progenitor of Breathing] — Lesser Realm of Mastery
Techniques based on focused breathing, capable of raising human attributes to absurd levels for short periods of time. As the Progenitor of Breathing, you possess the potential to master all 14 known styles, and perhaps even create your own. The stars indicate the difficulty of mastering each breathing style, ranging from one to five.
★★★★★ Sun Breathing: The original breathing style, considered the most powerful, with 13 known forms. It is the foundation of all others.
★★★★ Moon Breathing: The breathing style with the highest number of forms, totaling 16.
★ Water Breathing: A fundamental breathing style, with 11 known forms.
★★★ Beast Breathing: An aggressive, animalistic combat style with 11 forms.
★ Flame Breathing: One of the most basic styles, with 9 forms.
★★ Thunder Breathing: Known for its lightning-fast attacks, similar to thunder, with 7 forms.
★★ Wind Breathing: A fighting style that imitates the wind, with 9 forms.
★★★★ Sound Breathing: A vibration-based style with 5 forms.
★★ Mist Breathing: A style that imitates mist, with 7 forms.
★★★ Stone Breathing: A style with powerful, steadfast strikes, similar to stone, with 5 forms.
★ Flower Breathing: An elegant and graceful style, with 7 forms.
★★ Love Breathing: A style with fluid and flexible movements, with 6 forms.
★★★ Serpent Breathing: A style with sinuous movements, similar to a serpent, with 5 forms.
★ Insect Breathing: A breathing style with fast, precise attacks inspired by insects, with 4 forms.
After the recent events, when I broke through to Rank E, I felt that I had finally reached the Lesser Realm of Mastery of the Progenitor of Breathing.
Which, by definition, meant that I was now capable of using breathing styles categorized as two-star.
Emphasis on "using".
Mastering them? That was still very far away.
In fact, I couldn't even confidently say that I had fully mastered the one-star breathing styles. Maybe Water… and partially Flame. Mastering so many distinct combat styles was extremely difficult, practically impossible for normal people.
Now I understood just how much sense it made for Demon Slayer hunters to only master a single breathing style. Doing more than that required utterly absurd talent.
But whether I liked it or not, four new styles now lay before me.
And against my own will, I ended up dragging myself to the training field.
★★ Thunder Breathing — Definitely the fastest of them all. Not the most destructive, but I could easily see it as one of the most useful.
★★ Wind Breathing — A brutal style, filled with lacerations. Probably one of the most painful to face.
★★ Mist Breathing — Could I say this would be my main breathing style? I wasn't sure. Despite the resemblance to Tokito, I didn't think we shared the same tastes… still, it was an absurdly interesting style.
★★ Love Breathing — Underestimating it was a grotesque mistake. Many scoffed at it because of the name, but the sheer destructiveness of its attacks was downright terrifying.
The training halls were practically empty.
It was class time for first-years, and in my case, I was officially skipping class to be there.
The empty environment made everything more pleasant. Fastened at my waist was the black katana issued by Lock. I decided not to use Snow Lady while on campus; drawing attention was the last thing I wanted.
I positioned myself roughly twenty meters away from the training dummy.
An absurd distance.
Unreachable for any ordinary swordsman.
That is… until now.
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with air. I bent my body, assuming a posture reminiscent of a torpedo about to be launched. I concentrated all circulation into my legs, feeling the muscles in my calves swell beneath my skin.
Tsssss… tak… tak…
A yellowish vapor escaped between my teeth, crackling in the air with tiny sparks, producing a sound similar to an electric coil. I closed my eyes, focusing completely.
— Thunder Breathing — First Form: Hekireki Issen (Thunder and Flash).
SHWOOSH
An electrical explosion erupted beneath my feet, flooding the hall with a blinding yellow flash. In a fraction of a second, I vanished from where I stood.
Fwoosh
click.
The sound of a clean cut echoed like thunder, followed by the dry click of the blade returning to its sheath.
When I opened my eyes, I was standing behind the training dummy. A single precise slash marked the structure's neck.
"…holy shit."
I had crossed more than twenty meters in the blink of an eye.
Still dazed by the absurd speed, I let myself fall to the ground, leaning on the sheath while holding my head with the other hand. The sensation was strange, almost as if my mind hadn't been able to keep up with my own body.
I imagined just how dangerous that would be if I misjudged my positioning… if I collided with an obstacle… or a wall.
A chill ran down my spine just thinking about it.
Well… if I didn't want that to happen, there was only one solution.
I needed to completely master these techniques. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to stop now.
— One more time.
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Ah… if regret could kill.
I couldn't feel my legs anymore.
I was sprawled face-down on the bed after a downright torturous training session. I had pushed my body so hard, especially with Thunder Breathing, that I could barely get up now. Any attempt to move made my muscles burn as if they were on fire.
At least… I think my accuracy had improved a little. Not that I could say for sure.
As I sank into the soft mattress, groaning in pain, the sharp sound of a notification echoed through the room.
Ding!
I grabbed my phone with difficulty. As soon as the screen lit up, a red alert filled my vision.
"…it finally happened."
[Breaking News]
[Thobias Church, of CB Pharmaceuticals, was assassinated last night in his high-security apartment. Preliminary reports indicate the culprit is a Djinn known as Creeper, Rank 37.]
That was it.
The event that would earn me a hefty sum thanks to my investment.
Not immediately, of course, I thought as I tossed the phone aside and went back to staring at the ceiling.
And I stayed there. Maybe for hours.
The room was far too comfortable to resist. The faint scent of drying green tea leaves near the window, mixed with the dim light of the late afternoon, created a strangely cozy atmosphere.
Until the phone rang.
— Ring! — Ring! — Ring!
I sighed. In truth, I had been expecting this call.
I lazily got up from the bed and answered.
— Hello, who's this?
— You… how?
— Oh. How's it going, Smallsnake? You saw the news?
— Hah… yes. I don't know how you knew about this, but… whatever. You were right. How would you like to proceed?
— Hold until tomorrow and sell early in the morning, once it hits the peak.
— Are you sure? Don't you want to hold a bit longer?
— Nah. Play it safe.
— Alright. I'll handle everything now. I'll call you tomorrow, then. Later.
— Later.
Click.
I tossed the phone onto the bed and put a kettle on the stove. A quick shower, something to eat, and then sleep. Something told me the next day wouldn't be short.
✦☀✦──────────────────────⚔──────────────────────✦☾✦
Morning. Saturday.
— Ring! — Ring! — Ring!
The insistent ringtone yanked me out of sleep.
With a heavy arm, I groped across the bed until I found the small rectangular object. I unlocked the screen and answered.
— …hello? Who is it?
There was a brief pause on the other end.
— It's me. You… just woke up?
— Yeah…
— Ah, sorry about that. But I'm calling to give you some good news. Actually, I recommend you brace yourself.
— Hm? Is it that big?
— Well… I think so. I finished working through the stocks. I've already separated fees, taxes, and everything else. I have your net profit right here.
Smallsnake's voice sounded tense. Like he was about to drop a bomb.
— It seems you've become the newest billionaire in Ashton.
— …excuse me?
— Total profits closed at approximately 1.5 billion U. That's already after my cut.
…
— Wow…
My voice came out sluggish, half-muffled by sleep and completely crushed by the weight of the news. That was far more than I expected.
— That's… the reaction of someone who just earned all that?
— Ah… I'm still really sleepy. It hasn't sunk in yet.
— I see. Well, in any case, our business here is concluded. Thank you for choosing our services.
— No, thank you. I'll save your contact. Maybe we'll work together again in the future.
— Of course, that'd be great! Well, I have to go now. Until next time.
Click.
…
Silence filled the room.
I stayed still for a few minutes, staring at nothing, until reality finally hit me full force.
Fuck… that's way too much money.