Chapter 26

Breathing Technique (2)

With the help of the Heavenly Demon and SwordMaster, I somehow managed to sense mana.

It worked fairly well when I treated it as simply repeating the phenomenon I had experienced at the beginning.

But the problem came afterward.

Every time the mana completed a full circuit after starting from my lower abdomen, my stomach began to hurt.

It might have been manageable once or twice, but the pain struck every single time the mana completed a circuit, making it impossible to endure.

It was so bad that I wondered whether I needed to build a separate toilet nearby. Going somewhere far away every time was difficult.

‘Why am I sweating so much?’

I did not feel particularly exhausted, yet sweat was pouring from my entire body.

And it was not ordinary sweat.

It was pitch-black.

It looked like the filthy grime-water I had only ever heard people describe.

“Ugh!”

The smell was horrible too.

I nearly threw up.

It was as though every kind of waste imaginable had been mixed together.

“Kyuueeek! Kyuueeeek!”

Wonmo, whose sense of smell was far sharper than mine, was practically having a seizure.

The moment he caught the scent, he moved as far away from me as possible.

Judging by the way he had wedged himself into a corner of the cave and was growling, the smell must have been truly unbearable.

It seemed I would have to wash myself again.

Wonmo might kick me out of the cave otherwise.

The sun had already set, but sleeping like this might make me sick.

‘What in the world is happening?’

I filled the tub with water and lit a fire beneath it.

It would take too long to wait for the water to boil, so I climbed in immediately.

The moment I submerged myself, the refreshing chill unique to stream water spread throughout my body.

After letting out a groan of relief, I decided to ask the Gallery for help.

Title: Is Mana Circulation Normally Like This?
Wild Grylls

I’m circulating mana like you advised, but every time it completes one full circuit, I need to take a dump. Is this normal?

└ Heavenly Demon) This is the first time this lady has heard of someone needing to relieve himself whenever he practices energy circulation and breathing.
└ SwordMaster) Same here. Isn’t there simply something wrong with your intestines?
└ Wild Grylls) I haven’t eaten anything. And it’s not even diarrhea.
　└ Ugh. Disgusting.
└ I’m eating curry, and you’re talking about poop.
└ The truth is, you’re eating poop that tastes like curry. LOL
└ Oh, come on—

It was admittedly a filthy topic, but I was being serious.

Had it been diarrhea, I could have understood it to some extent.

That would have meant I was sick.

But it was not, so I could not help becoming suspicious.

The only thing I had eaten until now was fasting pills.

Still, I explained that the two seemed to have a complementary relationship, so it was probably better to take care of my body.

└ Heavenly Demon) The only explanation that immediately comes to mind is that thy body is expelling accumulated impurities.
　...Is there perhaps something wrong with thy body?

└ Wild Grylls) Well, I’m not a pig, at least.

To be honest, my body was close to being overweight.

I was neither skinny nor noticeably fat.

However, because I had lived almost entirely on instant noodles to save money, I had probably accumulated a fair amount of visceral fat.

└ Heavenly Demon) Aside from that, are there any other symptoms?
└ Wild Grylls) I’m sweating black liquid, and it smells horrible.
└ Heavenly Demon) It truly does seem that impurities are being expelled from thy body.
└ Wild Grylls) Is that a good thing?
└ Heavenly Demon) It goes beyond merely being good. It is abnormal. Normally, one must reach at least the Supreme Realm before such a thing occurs.
└ Wild Grylls) It isn’t bad, right?
　└ Heavenly Demon) It is not bad, but just in case, it would be best for thee to focus only on energy circulation and breathing for the time being.

　└ Heavenly Demon) Considering what happened whenever thou consumed the fasting pills, that is the only explanation this lady can think of at present.
└ SwordMaster) Or it may genuinely be caused by your constitution.
　└ Wild Grylls) Does the same thing happen when fat people learn breathing techniques?
　└ If that were true, I would have learned one ages ago. LOL
└ You can become healthy just by breathing? I’d start immediately. LOL

Apparently, learning a breathing technique did not alter one’s physique.

Changing the body’s shape fell under external cultivation, while breathing techniques belonged to internal cultivation, or something along those lines.

In the end, my training came to a halt at mana circulation.

They said they would teach me the mnemonic verses later.

I had no reason to object, so I accepted it without complaint.

My stomach hurt every time I completed a circuit of mana.

There was nothing I could do about that.

‘It isn’t nutrients being expelled instead of impurities, is it?’

The thought made me anxious enough to want another fasting pill.

However, doing that might make my Johnson explode, so it was probably better to resist.

“Whew.”

Why did nothing ever go according to plan?

Then again, the real problem was being dropped into this damn forest in the first place.

After lamenting my situation for a while, I raised my head and looked at the sky.

The night sky was breathtaking, embroidered with countless stars.

‘...Right. There’s no need to rush.’

The water was gradually warming.

I scrubbed every part of my body thoroughly with soap and finished washing.

I planned to dispose of the water left in the tub the next day.

It was too dark to do so safely now.

After drying myself completely with a towel, I browsed the Gallery while waiting for my hair to dry.

Even late at night, the Gallery remained lively.

Most of it was overflowing with pointless posts.

[Gallery User Is Screwed in Real Time]
[I Really Want to Quit My Job]

[This Counts as a Blue Ocean, Right?]
[The River Water Is Warm These Days]
[Those Damn Elves Planted Trees Again]
[EMERGENCYYYY!]

It was all like this.

I was so accustomed to it that I had even begun to feel fond of it.

After browsing the Gallery for a while, I uploaded a simple post.

As always, it was the post that marked the end of my day.

Countless comments appeared immediately, but I skimmed through them and closed the Gallery.

Perhaps because I had learned a breathing technique today, sleepiness overwhelmed me.

‘Where should I go tomorrow? Repair work? Breathing practice? Exploration?’

Whatever I chose, one thing was certain.

I would suffer.

Before closing my eyes, I checked on Wonmo.

He was lying right beside me, preparing to sleep.

At least having him around made me feel less lonely.

‘I’ll have to gather plenty of wood, even if only for the money.’

I slowly closed my eyes.

As drowsiness washed over me, my thoughts stopped functioning properly.

I had worked hard today, so I should rest comfortably for tomorrow.

‘I’ll be able to get out... right?’

I held on to the hope that was gradually fading away.

***

Sleep was extremely important to every animal.

Humans were no exception.

The desire for sleep far surpassed both hunger and sexual desire.

Failing to sleep properly was enough to ruin the entire following day.

Conversely, a full night of deep sleep meant waking up feeling more refreshed than ever.

Title: Another Strong and Energetic Morning!
Wild Grylls

If anyone asks who I am, I’m Wild Grylls!

└ Heavenly Demon) Thou art awake. Is there anywhere in thy body that feels uncomfortable?
└ Wild Grylls) Not at all. I actually feel much more refreshed than usual.
└ SwordMaster) It’s probably because of the breathing exercise. It should be even more effective if you do it as soon as you wake up.
　└ Heavenly Demon) It is likely due to the breathing exercise. It would be beneficial to practice once before sleeping and once after waking.

└ Heavenly Demon) Thou insolent wretch. This lady was about to say that first.
└ SwordMaster) You were too slow.
└ Heavenly Demon) Faster is not always better. Accuracy is what matters.
　└ SwordMaster) I agree with that part, but speed is more important.
　└ Heavenly Demon) Those who pursue speed are the ones who fall into qi deviation.

└ Starlight Princess) You’re awake. Does anything hurt?
└ Wild Grylls) Not really. You’re truly all right now, aren’t you?
　└ Starlight Princess) Yes. I went outside the estate and ran as soon as I woke up.
└ Wild Grylls) You really have recovered.
└ So Grylls is the only one left now?
　└ What will poor Grylls do all alone? LOL
　└ Will he break the young lady’s record?

└ Starlight Princess) You people are truly awful. I’ll help make sure he does not break that record, so please do not worry too much.

The Heavenly Demon and SwordMaster began bickering first thing in the morning, while the now-healthy Starlight Princess left a comment of her own.

I tried to remember how many recovery-wishing posts I had uploaded for the Starlight Princess.

As far as I could recall, it had been around 110 days.

That was roughly three or four months.

Would I be able to escape by then?

‘At that point, I won’t be adapting anymore. I’ll just be living here.’

I browsed the Gallery for only a little while before checking on Wonmo.

He was still a baby, so even though I had woken up, he remained fast asleep.

Moving around carelessly might wake him, so I checked the auction house first.

‘Let’s see... The things I listed yesterday...’

The items I had put up yesterday were the owlbear’s corpse and some wood.

I had listed both through bidding.

Because of the brutal fees, auctions were structured so that the seller usually ended up losing out.

But fees or not, selling them mattered more to me, so I was simply curious.

[Owlbear Corpse: 200 taels of silver]
[Wood from the Forest of Four Seasons: 10 gold]

“Oh?”

They had fetched surprisingly high prices.

The wood was valuable enough, but the owlbear’s price was especially impressive.

Silver taels were the currency of the Central Plains, and I had heard that one tael of silver was roughly equivalent to ten gold.

That meant the owlbear’s corpse was worth around two thousand gold.

‘Why is it so expensive? Because of the gallbladder?’

An owlbear was still a kind of bear, so its gallbladder was probably valuable.

Even if that was not the reason, I did not care as long as it sold for a high price.

‘The wood is pretty expensive too.’

Ten gold every time I chopped down a tree?

I was confident I could become an environmental criminal.

‘Though I’d probably wreck my body first.’

At the very least, I would need to become strong enough to fell a tree with a single swing of an axe.

Until then, I planned to avoid logging purely for money.

‘I need the wood for the barricade anyway.’

After roughly organizing what I needed to do, I sat down cross-legged.

Following the advice of the Heavenly Demon and SwordMaster, I began breathing.

Once in the morning, once at noon, once in the evening, and once before bed.

Apparently, practicing about four times a day was standard.

There was one exception.

Whenever one consumed an elixir.

Since the elixir’s energy had to be properly gathered and refined, circulation was absolutely necessary.

‘Then do I have to do this every time I eat?’

The fasting pills were said to be equivalent to elixirs, so it was probably mandatory.

I closed my eyes and practiced the breathing technique just as I had learned the day before.

‘Starting from the lower abdomen and making one full circuit through the entire body...’

At first, controlling the mana had been difficult, but after that it became easier.

The problem was that every completed circuit caused my stomach to hurt sharply.

I was worried that the same thing might happen today.

‘Through the heart and head, then back to the lower abdomen.’

The Heavenly Demon had told me that it was dangerous for a beginner to pass energy through the heart and head.

Apparently, those pathways could normally be opened only after one reached a certain level.

Yet mine had opened from the very beginning.

I had suffered a nosebleed because of it, but I had never fallen into any truly dangerous situation.

‘Back to the lower abdomen.’

The mana that had circulated through my entire body returned to my lower abdomen.

Unlike yesterday, my stomach did not hurt at all.

Perhaps everything that needed to be expelled had already left my body.

I completed several more circuits before slowly ending the exercise.

“Whew.”

I exhaled and gradually opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was a pair of bright golden eyes.

As I stared into them, the furry creature tilted its head.

“Kyu?”

It was Wonmo.

He must have watched me the entire time I was breathing.

The fact that he had not disturbed me showed that he was quite perceptive.

I stared at Wonmo for a moment, then chuckled and asked,

“Are you hungry?”

“Kyu!”

“It almost feels like you understand everything I say.”

“Kyu?”

“Maybe not?”

Either way, it did not matter.

I bought a suitable piece of meat from the auction house.

When I gave it to Wonmo, he devoured it with great enthusiasm.

He might be thirsty too, so I decided to give him some water.

Drip, drip, drip—

“Hm?”

But the water was barely flowing.

It was coming out, but the pressure was far too weak.

Something must have happened to the hose overnight, or perhaps there had been some change in the river.

“What a pain.”

I was not going up there immediately.

Water was still coming out, at least.

I gave Wonmo some water and ate a fasting pill for breakfast.

From now on, I would eat one per meal instead of three.

The bitterness was exactly the same even with just one.

One might actually be better.

‘I can test it right away, can’t I?’

The moment I activated the cultivation method, a different reaction occurred.

Something clumped together inside me broke apart and merged with the mana.

That dissolved substance was probably the energy of the fasting pill.

I circulated the mana in that state.

Nothing changed dramatically.

My stomach did not hurt, and I felt completely fine.

‘Maybe my body got used to them because I ate too many before.’

That could be it.

In any case, breakfast was done, so it was time to go repair the hose.

I equipped my sword and shield, then looked at Wonmo.

As though he knew I was leaving, he stared back at me.

“You have to stay here. Got it?”

“Kyu.”

“Oh, and if your stomach hurts, do it outside. Don’t poop inside the cave.”

“Kyu.”

Wonmo answered adorably.

His response sounded almost as if he understood.

Even if he did not, there was no need to rush.

I could potty-train him gradually.

After petting Wonmo several times, I stepped outside the cave.

‘Do the sword and shield feel lighter? Or am I imagining it?’

Perhaps it was because I had slept well, but both weapons felt lighter than before.

Not only that, my entire body felt remarkably good.

The change was so sudden that I could not help thinking of the internal energy cultivation method I had practiced yesterday.

Still, it might only be temporary.

I should not get my hopes up too much.

‘I wish I felt like this every day.’

With that thought, I headed toward the river.

When I arrived at the place where I had set up the hose, what I saw was—

Splash! Splash!

“What is that now?”

A single red fish was completely blocking the waterway.

‘It looks like Magikarp.’

That was more or less what it resembled.