The Breathing Technique

Though the future was uncertain, life had to go on. And while this was Hell Mode, he'd gotten off to a decent start. From then on, Borne's desire to grow stronger became even more urgent.

Ever since Borne had learned the Breathing Technique, the knight-captain often saw him practicing in all sorts of poses, like a child who'd just gotten a new toy.

Gradually, Borne managed to work the Breathing Technique into his daily routine. He even practiced it constantly while walking, sitting, or lying down!

Of course, others had done the same throughout the history of the Ioulaum House, but it had never produced any special effects.

Still, the knight-captain didn't think it necessary to interfere. The Breathing Technique was most effective the first time it was practiced, and its effects diminished with each subsequent attempt. After seven or eight times, it was more or less useless. However, it was still quite effective for speeding up the recovery of one's stamina.

Every generation of the Ioulaum House had made the most of the Breathing Technique, including his daughter Cecily, who would do the same two years from now.

After all, children in this world died at an alarmingly high rate. Every child born into a family would be taught the Breathing Technique at around two or three years old.

After that, barring any major accidents, they would hardly ever suffer from minor ailments, colds, or other illnesses.

This was also a secret tradition of the Ioulaum House. Borne only found out about it later, and he was utterly dumbfounded!

"This is way more like black technology than a whole bunch of vaccines. History really does have a way of repeating itself. Even though Toril has spent tens of thousands of years developing into a world of the supernatural, some things are always the same!"

In fact, any family or clan with a long history had one or two ways of protecting its descendants.

The dew of the Elves' Mother Tree, the Tree of Life, could also ensure that their descendants grew up healthy and free from illness after drinking it.

As his memories awakened, Borne gradually began to understand his own condition. His "developmental delay" was probably caused by the world rejecting him after his transmigration. As he became more and more "compatible" with his body, the aftereffects gradually eased. In other words, even if Borne did nothing, his "condition" would slowly "improve" as he grew older.

The souls from the two worlds had fused together, and the adult soul placed an enormous burden on his young body. Borne's mind had developed faster than his body since birth, so most of his nutrients went to his brain. That was why he was so frail.

Of course, there were downsides and upsides. The upside was that his mental strength had increased after his transmigration, and he was more sensitive to the sensations in his body. After practicing the Breathing Technique, he'd faintly sensed something flowing through him.

Qi gong?

Inner energy?

Borne was thrilled, so he went to ask the knight-captain. Of course, he wasn't naive enough to think he was the only one who'd ever experienced this sensation.

"Oh, you've sensed 'qi' already? That was quick!" The knight-captain said, somewhat surprised. "Our little Borne has quite keen mental senses. Count Ioulaum and your grandmother experienced something similar. It seems you have a gift for spellcasting, too."

Viscount Gordon was delighted, because he'd had a similar experience himself. He'd later been found to have a talent for becoming a spellcaster. But the naturally restless viscount couldn't stand the tedious study of magic. Talent was only a "foot in the door"; to go far, one had to endure solitude and devote oneself to research. In the end, he'd had no choice but to give up.

As long as someone had even slightly above-average mental strength, they could usually sense the "qi" flowing through their body. But it only strengthened the body and had no other unusual effects.

Borne's broad perspective and way of thinking as a transmigrator made him suspect that there was more to it, especially since the Ioulaum House's crest was shaped like a crescent moon. He wondered if it had something to do with the Monk tradition.

Borne began to fish for information.

"Monks?"

The knight-captain stroked his chin and thought for a moment. "You mean the temple guardians? The monasteries are all in remote mountains or deep in the woods. To protect themselves from wild beasts, some monks learn advanced techniques. I hear they're quite mysterious. Of course, some people call them Monks."

"That's it?"

Borne asked in surprise. Had the monasteries disappeared, too? Had the Monks fallen into decline?

"Mm. They've disappeared. At least, there are none in our country. I hear the tradition still survives somewhere in the Far East." The knight-captain's expression grew serious. "This touches on matters of faith. We'd best not meddle in the affairs of the temples."

"Okay, I understand."

Borne nodded to show he understood.

He was still puzzled. Monks were one of the basic classes in D&D, yet they'd disappeared here in Nether. Could things get any more ridiculous...?

"Rodney must have mentioned them, right? What a learned scholar, to know even about that. Since he didn't explain it to you, don't go asking around."

With that, he ruffled Borne's hair and went back to check on little Cecily.

"Damn it!

"If I remember correctly, Monks in D&D were based on Eastern culture. They were a little like Elf Druids, but Monks didn't worship gods. Instead, they believed in something like nature, the world, and all living things—or the Eastern concept of the 'Dao.'"

Could the Monk class have been wiped out in the struggle between the gods for their followers?

Borne: ...

Sure enough, in a world dominated by the worship of the gods, the gods were the biggest backers of all. Even Borne's grandfather, Count Ioulaum, a High Arcanist, worshiped Mystra, the Goddess of Magic. Of course, Borne had no idea how devout he was. In any case, that was the image the family presented to the outside world, and practically everyone in the family worshiped her.

In Borne's memories, Monks were a fascinating class. They were the only class with an Eastern background, and their portrayal was a bit like that of martial arts masters!

There were many schools among the Monks, but most didn't worship any gods. Only a few schools worshiped deities, such as Shar, the Goddess of Darkness, or Ilmater, the God of Endurance.

Aside from the first few gods who'd existed since the world's creation and didn't depend on their followers' faith, all the later gods who'd risen during the Crown Wars relied on their followers' faith to survive. The competition for worshipers was fierce. How could a group of people who barely worshiped anyone be allowed to persist?

Borne knew that Monks still existed elsewhere in Toril. And they were a bunch of absolute cheaters!

"It looks like the Monks' disappearance from Nether is definitely hiding some unknown secret, perhaps even one involving the gods. Even the knight-captain, a high-ranking martial professional, doesn't want to talk about it!"

Borne was now almost certain that the Breathing Technique really was part of the Monk tradition, but it was incomplete and lacked some crucial information!

Monks had a deep understanding of the life energy within living beings.

They called it "qi"!

According to the lore, only relentless, brutal training could teach someone to control the power of qi!

"Why does a class with an Eastern background need brutal training to master qi?"

Borne had a theory. "Could it be that I need to use specific movements, too?"

If he had the right movements, perhaps activating his "qi" would be easier. Qi could directly improve all of his body's basic attributes!

But his attributes still weren't high enough to meet the requirements for using qi. He was young and frail, and he'd only been practicing for less than two months. Zhang Wuji had trained from childhood and only left after mastering his inner energy.

"Looks like I need to set a small goal first. I'll build a solid foundation and start by training my inner energy!"

The Breathing Technique didn't limit how often it could be practiced, and it wouldn't cause any deviation or other such problems.

Borne began trying out some of the training moves he'd seen in films and television shows in his previous life.

Tai Chi, Xingyi, Baguazhang, Wing Chun—he tried pairing every movement he could think of with the "Breathing Technique" to see if it had any effect.

The others just smiled at what Borne was doing. He was still young, and he'd only just learned a few martial skills. It was normal for him to try them out in a silly way because they seemed new and fun.

Kids a little older than him often played games of "Hero Versus Dragon," too.

That was when Borne realized that being a child could come in handy. At least, when he did something strange, everyone just thought he was playing around.

Of course, his experiments weren't fruitless. When he tried standing in a horse stance like the monks at the Shaolin Temple, the "qi" in his body became more active as he practiced the Breathing Technique!

Borne wondered if it was because the technique stimulated the body through self-inflicted discomfort.

Since he was figuring it out on his own, he could only keep experimenting patiently.

As time passed, his fifth birthday arrived!

His grandfather, Count Ioulaum, a High Arcanist, was coming to visit his beloved grandson and celebrate his birthday.

When Borne heard the news,

he smiled in a way that looked more like a grimace.

Viscount Gordon assumed Borne was shy and nervous because he'd never met his grandfather before, so he reassured him. "Don't worry. Your grandfather may be rather stubborn and stiff, but he's still quite..."

Viscount Gordon thought for a long moment before finally managing to say, "Well... he loves us very much."

"Heh..."

Borne gave two humorless laughs.

Viscount Gordon looked a little awkward. He told Borne to get ready to meet his grandfather tomorrow and receive his belated "love," then hurried off.

Borne watched Viscount Gordon leave, closed the door, and lay down on his bed alone.

"It looks like my cheap dad's relationship with Count Ioulaum is even worse than I thought—or maybe he's afraid of him!"

Borne didn't know much about adventurers, but he could tell from the knight-captain's physique that he was basically a little superhero!

He could jump seven or eight meters into the air, and the watermelon-sized stones he threw flew like cannonballs. He was practically a different species from an ordinary person!

The higher a life form's rank, the harder it was for them to have children. High-ranking adventurers were already different from normal humans, and even a strike to certain vital spots wouldn't kill them right away!

High-ranking Mages were constantly exposed to magic, which corrupted their bodies and made it very unlikely for them to have children.

But low odds meant a high payoff!

The higher the life form, the more exceptional their descendants were likely to be. Viscount Gordon had a talent for spellcasting.

Borne had never been tested, but he was already certain he did, too.

Viscount Gordon clearly had a talent for spellcasting, yet he hadn't properly studied magic under Count Ioulaum. If he'd had any siblings, the count would have beaten him to death long ago.

It was already clear that his grandfather was an Arcanist from Netheril, and the era was probably still Netheril's early days. The Floating Cities hadn't taken flight yet.

In other words, the development of the arcane arts was still in its infancy, and Arcanists weren't as powerful as they'd become in later times.

He just didn't know what his grandfather mainly studied.

Would he be able to see through the flaw in Borne's soul?

"There's too little useful information. Looks like I'll have to adapt as things come..."