Chapter 109: Hurry Up, I'm in a Rush!
"So... the remaining four styles. You've completed the training for all of
them?"
Kazami stared at Natsuya, his voice slow and deliberate.
Natsuya's eyes lit up. Talking about his character sheet was the one thing that
could actually keep him from spacing out.
With a hint of a flex, he said, "I've mastered the Big Five. Wind, Water, Stone,
and Flame are all at Level 3 now."
"As for Thunder Breathing? That's hit Level 5."
Kazami: "?" Level 3? Level 5? What is this brat talking about?
Natsuya quickly corrected himself for the NPC: "I mean, I can use Total
Concentration proficiently with four of them. For Thunder, I've mastered
Constant."
The old man blinked, treating the word "Level" as some trendy foreign slang the
youth were using these days.
"You child... your talent truly exceeds anything this old man has seen in all
his years," Kazami sighed, his hand pausing as he held his teacup.
Even with his decades of experience, he had never heard of a single person
pushing five different styles to the level of Total Concentration
simultaneously. Usually, mastering one was a lifetime achievement. Dual-speccing
was a rarity that often led to stagnant progress because the user's focus was
split.
To be honest, when he had swallowed his pride to write those recommendation
letters, Kazami hadn't actually expected Natsuya to succeed. He'd privately
thought, 'This kid will face a wall out there, get humbled, and then come back
to specialize in Wind Breathing.'
Only after Natsuya mastered Water and Stone in record time did he realize the
boy possessed a level of genius that defied common logic.
And now, all four were proficient... and his "Main Spec" was Thunder... and he'd
hit Constant—
Wait.
Thunder Breathing?
The old man's face stiffened. He asked, sounding very unsure, "You... you meant
to say Wind Breathing hit Constant, right?"
Natsuya: "Well, how do I put this? The quest line got a bit curvy, but long
story short: I'm a Thunder-main now."
"YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT!"
Kazami's eyebrows shot up, and he raised his hand to smack the boy's head.
My Wind Breathing lineage finally produces a once-in-a-century prodigy, and he
defects to that damn Thunder school?!
Natsuya ducked left and right, defending himself: "Kazami-sensei! Didn't you say
everyone's constitution is different? There are no 'superior' styles, only what
fits the user! I'm just following the meta! I'm not betraying the dojo!"
The old man grew even angrier, his执念 (obsession) to hit Natsuya's forehead
deepening.
"Following the 'meta'?! You neglected your home curriculum and now you're
talking back?!"
"What does Thunder have that my Wind doesn't?!"
Natsuya: "No, no, Wind is great. It's just... Nikaido-sama's Thunder
Breathing... well, it has a very 'unique flavor.' It's addictive!"
What is this kid yapping about?! Wait... Nikaido?
Thinking of that mixed-blood swordswoman—her exotic looks and her wild,
uninhibited personality—the old man, who was about to trigger his own Breathing
Style to catch Natsuya, suddenly slowed down.
This kid... does he have 'that' kind of preference?
"You brat... you've really grown some thick wings..."
Kazami took a deep breath, choosing to selectively delete Natsuya's last comment
from his memory. "I don't understand the 'tastes' of you young people. Just...
carry yourself with some dignity."
Natsuya: "?" Wait, why did the Old Man's eyes just get so weirdly judgmental?
"Regardless," Kazami said, "you'll eventually develop your own custom style
anyway. I'll let the Thunder Breathing matter slide for now."
"Has this journey given you a lead on your own path? Did your Senior Brother
Uzen's logic help you?"
Natsuya turned serious and nodded. "Yeah. It was a struggle at first. Creating a
version that is perfectly compatible with my body without losing raw power is
harder than I calculated."
"But after mastering the Big Five and hitting Constant, the direction is finally
clearing up."
"And—" Natsuya paused. "I've already run some preliminary tests on a few human
subjects. I think I'm ready."
Tests on human subjects? The old man's expression wavered. I hope he didn't
permanently 'grief' those other kids... please tell me he didn't break them.
Kazami thought for a moment. "And when do you plan to begin developing this new
style?"
"In the next day or two."
"Good. Have your own plan," the old man nodded. "I don't understand the
mechanics of 'Modding' a style, so I won't give you bad advice."
"I will write to the Master today and explain the situation. I'll request that
you be exempted from demon-hunting missions for the duration. Use this time to
focus entirely on your meditation."
Seeing the old man acting so considerate and protective, Natsuya felt a rare
spark of warmth.
Master Kazami is actually a pretty top-tier NPC, he thought. I'll stop calling
him 'Old Fossil' for at least twenty-four hours.
The next day, a Kasugai Crow returned with a handwritten letter from Ubuyashiki
Kagaya.
- ["—I am well aware of Kokonoe Natsuya's resolve. His request for seclusion
is granted."]
- ["—I look forward to the day the new sprout breaks through the soil. That is
when the Hidden Leaf shall truly flourish."]
Reading the letter, the old man felt a twinge of confusion. Even though the
Master was a benevolent man, he seemed to be paying an unusual amount of
attention to Natsuya.
Meanwhile, Natsuya had already locked himself in the dojo to begin finding his
[Path].
The doors were closed. The room was silent. Creating a Breathing Style wasn't
just about imagination. It was an iterative process of adjusting the lungs in
real-time while under a heavy physical load. Fundamentally, it was an
"Efficiency Gacha"—running thousands of simulations and hoping for a God-Roll.
He abandoned his previous "Crude Fusion" ideas. He wasn't just going to staple
two styles together anymore.
The new strategy: [Tuning].
He used his LV.5 Thunder Breathing as the "Engine Block" and the base rhythmic
template. Using it as the core foundation, he began to micro-adjust the
frequency and pressure of his breath, attempting to drift toward the properties
of the other four styles.
To strengthen the lungs? He pulled the rhythm toward the Wind sector. To harden
the muscles? He harmonized it with the Stone sector.
It was like holding five different jars of primary colors and trying to paint a
masterpiece. He was carefully layering the vibrations of each style onto his own
canvas.
Day 1: Total Failure. His "hand" slipped. The five colors merged into a muddy,
dull gray. While it didn't strain his body, the stat-boosting effects were
practically zero.
The System gave him an evaluation lower than [Degraded]: [FAIL].
Day 2: Iteration. Natsuya was more cautious. He spent hours in silent
meditation, simulating the kinetic flow in his mind. Then he would stand up,
throw a punch, or perform a sword swing, trying to see how the different rhythms
interacted with the movement.
- The AOE and flow of Wind.
- The heat and burst of Flame.
- The endurance and fluidity of Water.
- The density and stability of Stone.
This time, he managed to fuse a small percentage. As he maintained the prototype
"Breath," an invisible progress bar began to crawl across his HUD. Once the
rhythm stabilized, the System threw out its Potential Assessment.
[Prototype A: High Explosive. High Strain. Low Consistency.] [Potential: HIGH
QUALITY (SR)] [Compatibility: 89% (Can be improved)]
[Prototype B: Severe Internal Desync. High Friction. Stat-Buff Negative.]
[Potential: DEGRADED] [Compatibility: 82%]
There were also "Balanced" versions that were just too average—jack of all
trades, masters of none.
A week passed. Natsuya had "cooked" seven or eight different prototypes. Most
hovered between [Degraded] and [Common]. Only one reached the [High Quality]
tier.
Natsuya stared at the results, his brow furrowed.
It's like taking a Ferrari engine and trying to fit it with truck tires and a
van transmission. It runs, sure, but it's either going to blow the cylinders or
be completely uninspiring.
The [High Quality] prototype was roughly equal to a standard Breathing Style,
but Natsuya didn't come this far just to be "Standard."
In a Gacha game, if you pull a dozen 'N' and 'R' ranks followed by one 'SR,' you
don't stop. You keep rolling until you hit the 'UR' (Ultra Rare).
Time to change the logic, Natsuya decided.
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you