Primordial Awakening: I Breathe Skill Points!-Chapter 42: Integration. (2)

Chapter 42: Integration. (2)
[Cleaving Momentum - Rank D] came next.
This was a proper skill tome, and the integration was instantaneous compared to the technique’s gradual teaching.
[SKILL TOME DETECTED]
[Cleaving Momentum - Rank D]
[INTEGRATE? Y/N]
[YES]
Knowledge flooded his mind in a rush that made him gasp. How to mark targets. How to track consecutive hits. How to feel the damage stacking with each successful strike. How to maintain focus on a single enemy even in chaotic combat.
The skill settled into his consciousness like it had always been there.
[SKILL ACQUIRED]
[Cleaving Momentum - Rank D]
[Effect: Consecutive strikes on same target increase damage by 10% per hit, stacking 5 times (max 50% bonus). Resets on target switch or miss. Automatic tracking via System interface.]
’Five hits to reach maximum damage. With my AGI, that’s three seconds. By the fifth strike, I’m hitting with 150% effectiveness. Combined with proper technique from Iron Woodsman...’
’I just became significantly more dangerous.’
[Predator’s Advance - Rank D] was next.
The integration brought understanding of how to move silently at enhanced speed. How to muffle footsteps through precise weight distribution. How to minimize air displacement. How to become a ghost moving at double velocity.
[SKILL ACQUIRED]
[Predator’s Advance - Rank D]
[Effect: Move at 100% speed while maintaining complete silence. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 45 seconds. Cost: 20 MP]
’Stealth approach. Perfect for ambush. Exactly what I need.’
[Wind Blade - Rank D] came with knowledge of how to compress air through weapon movement, how to release it in a cutting arc, how to aim it precisely despite being invisible.
[SKILL ACQUIRED]
[Wind Blade - Rank D]
[Effect: Swing weapon to release compressed air slash. Range: 20 meters. Damage: 40% weapon damage. Cooldown: 5 seconds. Cost: 15 MP.]
’Ranged option. Not great damage but fills a gap in my capabilities.’
[Iron Skin - Rank D] was pure defensive passive.
[SKILL ACQUIRED]
[Iron Skin - Rank D]
[Effect: Passive - 15% physical damage reduction. Always active.]
’Boring. Essential. No complaints.’
Four skills integrated. One technique mastered to Adept level.
Zeph felt different. More complete. Like he’d been fighting with gaps in his capabilities and hadn’t fully realized it until those gaps were filled.
But there was one more integration remaining.
The most important one.
[Foundation Breath - Basic] sat on his table, unassuming and simple compared to the glowing skill tomes.
Zeph picked it up, and immediately his Primordial Architect interface began reacting.
[BREATHING TECHNIQUE DETECTED]
[ANALYZING...]
[COMPATIBILITY WITH PRIMORDIAL ARCHITECT: HIGH]
[RECOMMENDATION: INTEGRATE IMMEDIATELY]
His heart rate spiked.
’It’s reacting. The Primordial Architect is reacting to a breathing technique. That’s... that’s new. That’s never happened before.’
Which was understandable. He’d never held a breathing technique before either.
He opened the manual, and the integration prompt appeared instantly.
[BREATHING TECHNIQUE MANUAL DETECTED]
[Foundation Breath - Basic Mana Circulation]
[INTEGRATE? Y/N]
[WARNING: Integration will modify breathing patterns - may cause temporary disorientation]
Zeph selected [YES] and braced himself.
The knowledge came in waves.
How to breathe from the diaphragm properly. How to control breath duration. How to synchronize breathing with mana circulation. How to maintain patterns during physical activity. How to optimize oxygen intake while maximizing mana efficiency.
Eight basic patterns. Each one designed for different situations—combat, meditation, recovery, sustained activity.
And underneath it all, the foundation. The core principle that made all advanced breathing techniques possible: conscious control leading to unconscious optimization.
The integration completed, and Zeph felt his breathing naturally settle into the first pattern—the baseline circulation that would become his new default.
In. Hold. Out. Hold. Repeat.
It felt... better. More efficient. Like his lungs were working at capacity instead of just adequate function.
And then his Primordial Architect interface exploded with notifications.
[BREATHING TECHNIQUE INTEGRATED]
[Foundation Breath - Mastery: 15% (NOVICE)]
[PRIMORDIAL ARCHITECT - RESONANCE DETECTED]
[ANALYZING BREATHING TECHNIQUE COMPATIBILITY...]
[ANALYSIS COMPLETE]
[BREATHING TECHNIQUE SYNERGY CONFIRMED]
[OPTIMIZING PP GENERATION...]
[OPTIMIZATION COMPLETE]
[PP GENERATION UPDATED]
[PREVIOUS: 1 PP per breath]
[CURRENT: 1.5 PP per breath]
[INCREASE: +50%]
[NEW DAILY GENERATION RATE (estimated)]
[21,600 breaths/day × 1.5 PP = 32,400 PP/day]
[WEEKLY GENERATION: 226,800 PP]
[MONTHLY GENERATION: 972,000 PP]
Zeph stared at the numbers.
His breath caught—ironically disrupting the breathing pattern he’d just learned—and he had to consciously restart it.
’1.5 PP per breath. That’s... that’s a fifty percent increase. Just from learning basic breathing technique.’
’32,400 PP per day. In one week, I’ll generate what used to take me ten days. In a month, I’ll have nearly a million PP.’
’And this is just the BASIC technique. The Foundation. What happens when I learn intermediate techniques? Advanced? The Heaven’s Rhythm method Marcus mentioned?’
The implications crashed over him like a wave.
’The geniuses from large families with their inherited techniques and bloodline advantages? They’re probably generating what, 50,000 SP per month through meditation and cultivation if they’re talented?’
’I’m going to generate 972,000 PP per month. That’s... that’s not even comparable. That’s not the same sport. That’s not even the same fucking dimension of advantage!’
He felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Not since his previous life, not since waking up in this body, not since surviving for so long in the ruins.
Pride.
Pure, unfiltered, maybe slightly manic pride at having something nobody else could match.
Zeph stood up, barely remembering to duck his head, and looked at himself in the small mirror near his bathroom.
Storm-gray eyes. Silver-streaked black hair. Gaunt face that was slowly filling out with regular meals. The face of a 16-year-old who’d survived impossible things and come out the other side sharp enough to cut.
And now, apparently, the face of someone who’d just broken the leveling system over his knee.
’All I need is money. Money to buy better breathing techniques. Better manuals. Better skills. The PP will handle everything else.’
’Marcus wants to observe my development for three years? Fine. In three years, I’ll be so far beyond what he expects that his research data will be completely worthless.’
’The System wanted me to be an anomaly? I’ll be an anomaly they can’t classify.’
’I’ll be something new.’
He looked at his current balance again.
212,847 PP.
And now generating 32,400 more every single day!
’Time to spend it. Time to see what happens when I stop holding back and actually invest in getting stronger.’
Zeph pulled up his skill list and technique list, his finger hovering over the upgrade options.
Skills to enhance. Techniques to accelerate. An entire character sheet waiting to be optimized with resources that would make professional hunters weep with envy.
’Let’s see what 200,000 PP can buy.’
’Let’s see what I become.’