Breathe Like Me

After finishing his meal at the cafeteria, Ashen finally returned to his room, eager to resume practicing the breathing technique.

Just as he was about to start, a knock on the door interrupted him.

Opening it, he wasn't surprised to find Seraphine standing there, looking worried as she fidgeted at the entrance.

"Sera, what's up?" Ashen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't 'what's up' me! I'm here to check on you, dummy." Without waiting for an invitation, she rolled her eyes and stepped inside.

Ashen shut the door and followed her with a dismissive shrug. "As you can see, I'm peachy. Nothing to worry about, really."

Seraphine flopped onto the couch, crossing one leg over the other. "Yeah, well, you should've seen yourself earlier, squirming on the ground, red-faced. No one would've pegged you as 'alright' after that."

Ashen sighed, raising his hands in surrender. "Not my fault. The technique is just ridiculously hard, you know."

Seraphine shot him a skeptical look. "I already tried the breathing technique and even reached the second level by the end of class. It can't be that bad, right?"

Ashen raised an eyebrow, settling onto the sofa across from her. "Wow. Getting cheeky, are we?"

He unstrapped his bracelet, passing it to her with a faint smile. "Why don't you give it a try, then?"

Seraphine snatched it from his hand, curiosity piqued by his smug expression. "Alright, let's see what's so special about this."

The moment she strapped the bracelet on and hit Start, her breath hitched.

"Urgh…."

Within seconds, she was hyperventilating… her face reddening as her body spasmed, hands flailing wildly as if she were drowning.

Ashen's eyes widened, and he quickly yanked the bracelet off her wrist.

"Hey, hey… breathe… Easy there. It's already off. Calm down."

Seraphine gasped, trying to steady her breath, her face still flushed. "Hah… Hah… What the hell was that…?"

Ashen gave her an awkward look. "Uh… yeah. I didn't mention that my technique was harder. I just didn't know how much harder. My bad."

Seraphine shook her head, still catching her breath. "No, it's okay. I wanted to try it. But that was insane… How do you even practice with that?"

Ashen sighed, leaning back. "You just grit your teeth and go as long as you can. I don't think there's a shortcut."

Seraphine let out a breathy laugh. "Be honest… did you offend our demonic instructor? Because this feels more like some torture technique instead."

Ashen shot her a side-eye. "Hey! It's got a proper name… MistForge Breath. Don't go giving it weird nicknames."

She smirked. "What now? Why are you acting like it's your long-lost child?"

"Haah, whatever." He exhaled, then added, "And no, I don't have any beef with the coach. It's just… I have barely any mana."

Seraphine's teasing expression faded slightly as Ashen continued, his voice laced with resignation.

"There's something wrong with how I've been gathering mana, though it doesn't seem to be the case anymore… the damage has been done anyhow, and now I'm stuck with barely 10% of what I'm supposed to initially have…"

"The coach designed this technique to compensate for that shortcoming."

Seraphine fell silent for a moment, processing his words.

Then, she sighed. "...Yeah, okay. That does explain the technique's hellish difficulty."

She didn't pry further.

And for that, Ashen was oddly grateful.

Sensing the atmosphere turning a bit gloomy, Seraphine brightened up and tossed her bracelet toward Ashen.

"Well, since I tried yours, why don't you try mine? Don't worry, it's not as hard as yours." She stuck her tongue out playfully.

Ashen caught it effortlessly, giving her a flat look. "Phrasing."

"Hehe…"

Curious about the difference between their techniques, he strapped on the bracelet and pressed the Start button, ignoring Seraphine's antics.

[Starting with the first breathing pattern.]

Whiff.

[Starting with the second breathing pattern.]

Whiff. Whiff.

[Third breathing pattern…]

Ashen stopped there, removed the bracelet, and handed it back.

Seraphine's face cycled through astonishment, bewilderment, and finally settled into a blank stare… all within seconds.

Scratching the back of his head, Ashen spoke carefully, as if afraid she might break. "Uhh… well, it's definitely easier. Thanks for letting me try."

Seraphine blinked before finally snapping out of it. "You're really something else, Ashen…"

He waved off the compliment. "No need to exaggerate. It's probably just because MistForge is so difficult that this one felt much easier in comparison."

Ashen nodded at his own words like they were the most reasonable thing in the world.

Seraphine, meanwhile, was speechless… unable to tell if he was humble-bragging or if he genuinely believed his own nonsense.

"...At least that explains how you can handle your breathing technique. But why'd you stop at the third level? You looked like you could breeze through all five."

Ashen tapped his own bracelet. "Didn't you read the instructions? It says prolonged use of multiple techniques at the same time is harmful."

Seraphine tapped her temple. "Ah! Right. Now that you mention it, I do remember something like that."

Ashen shook his head and switched topics. "I'm curious… what's your technique's main trait? Mine focuses on control and efficiency."

Seraphine leaned back into the couch, hands sprawled over the armrests, one foot dangling lazily over the other.

"Hm… mine's geared toward flexibility and keeping a calm head."

Ashen's eyes gleamed mischievously. "Damn. I was kinda hoping you had a heavy trait. A bulky Seraphine would be an interesting sight."

She scoffed, crossing her arms. "Hmph. Too bad for you, mister. Most women have traits focused on flexibility and agility. Our muscles are just naturally more compatible with them for maximum efficiency."

Ashen stroked his chin in mock thoughtfulness. "...Yeah, that actually makes sense."

"So, do you want me to grab you a drink or something?"

Ashen asked as he got up and headed to the kitchen counter.

"No!" Seraphine huffed, crossing her arms. "You just broke through more levels in seconds than I did in two hours! And I was in the top ten of our class, feeling all proud and accomplished. Now I just want to get back to practicing."

Ashen shrugged. "Well, as long as you're motivated…"

After a refreshing cup of coffee, he settled back into his spot and restarted his bracelet.

Silence filled the apartment, broken only by Seraphine's steady breaths and Ashen's occasional grunts.

Eventually, the sun dipped below the horizon, and the clock made it clear… it was well past time to wrap things up.

They ended their breathing exercises and went their separate ways, each preparing for yet another grueling day in the tutorial city.