Am I in Danger?

Fran returned to the dormitory. After setting everything down, she immediately picked up the sheet labeled [Swift Wind Breathing Technique], carefully read its contents, then found the skill on her Panel.

[Swift Wind Breathing Technique (Not Initiated) (Proficiency: 0/10): Once learned, you can gain the wind's assistance while moving.]

Fran was delighted, though she had no idea why the thing in her hands was incomplete while the Panel showed no such indication.

But whatever. Since the Panel let her practice it directly, that was all that mattered. She had put up with this frail Physique for far too long.

As a modern person, she truly could not imagine what miraculous effects adjusting the frequency and depth of one's breathing could possibly have.

But practice was the test of truth. She adjusted her breathing according to the method recorded on the sheet.

"Ah-woo... ah-woo..." It had to be said that the breathing method recorded on it was not something an ordinary person could do. What did it mean, exhale all your breath and then force out another breath? Her little face turned red from holding it in.

But it worked. After she barely managed to complete the required breathing pattern, she felt much lighter, and her arms moved faster as well.

"There's no more!" As she adjusted her breathing according to the instructions, she discovered that the text ended right around the seventy-percent mark. At that moment, she felt a breath lodged in her lungs. Trying the earlier steps did nothing.

In the end, she had to forcefully exhale before she could expel it all. The lack of air in her lungs made her gasp violently, and it was only after a minute that things eased somewhat.

"As expected of an incomplete Breathing Technique. Truly worth the price."

Well, it had only cost five silver coins. With such a huge flaw, if someone went wrong while practicing it, they might suffocate to death on the spot.

Fran silently summoned the Panel. A notification had appeared just now, but she had missed it while gasping for breath.

[You attempted the Swift Wind Breathing Technique for the first time and gained some insight. Proficiency +2.]

She calculated the time. One session took roughly half an hour, and she needed another ten minutes to catch her breath. Today, she would first initiate this Breathing Technique and improve her Physique a little.

About three hours later, Fran was drenched in sweat, her skin flushed red. She lay on the floor without wanting to move, but she had finally initiated the Breathing Technique.

[You diligently practiced the Swift Wind Breathing Technique and can now have the wind assist your movements. Proficiency has increased, reaching the Initiated level.]

[Name: Fran

Profession: None

Attributes: Physique 1.0, Spirit 1.4

Skills: Medicine Identification, Medicine Processing (Mastery)

Harmonization Method (Not Initiated)

Swift Wind Breathing Technique (Initiated) (Proficiency: 0/100): You can use the wind to speed up your movements.

Star Gazing Art (Not Initiated)

Trait: Moving with the Wind (Wind clings to your body, making your movements lighter and granting you slight wind elemental affinity.)]

It had to be said, those five silver coins had been incredibly well spent. Not only had she achieved her original goal of improving her Physique, but she had also unlocked a new category: Traits.

She tried to stand up. Without even using the Breathing Technique, she felt as if something were pushing her along, and she rose to her feet with ease.

She figured it was the effect of the Moving with the Wind Trait. If she added the Breathing Technique's boost on top of it, her movements would surely become even faster.

But why did practicing this Breathing Technique give me a Trait? I raised all the medicine-related skills to Mastery, and got nothing.

After thinking it over, she guessed it was because of the grade. Even incomplete, the Breathing Technique was something that could advance her into an official rank. Its level was naturally different from medicine-related skills.

Unfortunately, even after reaching the Initiated level, the Panel had not directly filled her mind with relevant knowledge like Medicine Identification had. She had wanted to see whether the Panel could complete this Breathing Technique for her. Perhaps it could at a higher level.

Speaking of which, she looked at the Harmonization Method on the Panel. Logically, she ought to get up right away and process all fifty portions of materials, then see whether she could grind out a Trait.

But she opened and clenched her palm. She could feel that her body was nearly unable to endure any more. Practicing the Breathing Technique consumed too much stamina. If not for the Moving with the Wind Trait, she would have struggled even to stand.

As she prepared to sleep, she suddenly remembered that she still had a skill called Star Gazing Art.

Perfect. Lying in bed, she opened the window and saw the stars in the night sky. She could see whether she could practice Star Gazing Art while going to sleep.

Fran widened her eyes and stared at the stars outside. She felt nothing at all.

Still, the night sky in another world truly was different. The stars were far too bright, and several large ones were more conspicuous than the waning moon.

Gradually, Fran began to see the pattern. The positions of these stars were not fixed. Several times, she saw a star move to one side before moving back.

Fran had a sudden realization. She remembered several illustrations in Star Signs and the Sea that she had seen that morning. Some of their positions closely resembled the stars' current arrangement.

In her mind, she desperately compared the image with the starry sky before her. After discovering several more differences, her mental power instinctively corrected those positions in her mind.

Fran's eyelids drooped. She was already very sleepy, but her mind remained extremely active. Once she matched every position in her mind with the illustration, an image appeared before her eyes.

It was Fran's back. She was watching from a third-person perspective. Fran stood in a wasteland, gripping a sword. Facing her was someone Fran found very familiar.

It was the Apprentice who had run away when he saw her after she left the hall that morning. Beside him stood a man in a gray robe, holding a bone staff.

"Apprentice, if I were you, I'd put down my resistance... Of course, if you tell me the secret behind your immortality, I can give you a less painful death."

The watching Fran was shocked. Someone wants to harm me. She hurriedly studied the man's appearance, wanting to remember what he looked like.

Meanwhile, the Fran fighting there said one word. "Richter..."

Fran was deeply moved. As expected of me, I just finished him off. That name is probably his. I'll know once I look for him in reality.

Then, upon hearing that name, Richter immediately acted. His staff fired a ghastly pale ray, while his free hand unfurled a scroll. Several skeletons crawled out of the ground, carrying weapons.

Yet the scene that followed left Fran dumbfounded. Wind began to coil around her future self. Fran knew that she was using the Swift Wind Breathing Technique. The Breathing Technique could also strengthen her in battle.

Then Fran moved so quickly that the observing Fran could not react. By the time she saw clearly, Richter had already been killed with a single slash across the throat. The skeletons had been smashed apart, their bones scattered everywhere, while the other Apprentice had been pierced through the body and died on the spot.

Before she could marvel, I'm that strong?

Two notifications appeared.

[You miraculously witnessed a future scene through your blindly improvised Star Gazing Art. Proficiency has increased to the Initiated level.]

[You witnessed a battle using the Swift Wind Breathing Technique and learned how to fight. Proficiency +20.]

It could work like that?