"Where is this?"
Ryan slowly opened his eyes, somewhat bewildered as he surveyed his surroundings.
His gaze was met with wallpaper in the style of medieval Europe, stained-glass windows, and a large bed...
Everything around him felt both familiar and foreign.
"Hiss... It hurts…"
Suddenly, Ryan felt a splitting headache as a vast amount of unfamiliar memories flooded into his mind. His eyelids grew heavy as he struggled to stay conscious.
Amidst his confusion, he heard shouting:
"Baron Ein, the young master is awake!"
"The young master is awake!"
Ryan's thoughts grew hazy as he muttered inwardly:
'What's with this Baron stuff...?'
And then, he fainted.
… … … … … …
A few days later.
Lake Valley, located on the border of the Alama Kingdom.
In the early morning, the mist hung like a gauzy veil, softly cloaking the landscape.
A young man stood at a vantage point, gazing into the distance. He had light golden eyes, a slightly pale face, and a thin, frail body that clearly lacked exercise.
Below him, the branches and leaves on the plains were tinged with yellow, and smoke curled lazily from a few scattered wooden houses.
The baronial castle where Ryan now lived was perched atop a hill, offering a panoramic view of the surrounding lands.
The look in his eyes was complicated as he murmured to himself:
"A blessing in disguise, transmigrating into the body of a baron's son."
"But it's not much better."
Yes, he was originally an ordinary young man from Blue Star. One night, while pulling an all-nighter playing The Witcher World, he died suddenly. By a strange twist of fate, he was reborn into this new world.
Coincidentally, this world turned out to be the Witcher World game he had played in his past life.
The game had a medieval setting, filled with knights and wizards. While it had been fun to play, actually transmigrating into it was a different matter altogether.
For the weak who lived in this world, life was akin to hell.
There was no peace here—only constant threats from evil spirits, wars, and power struggles that could take lives at a moment's notice.
Even though he was born into nobility in this life, danger still surrounded him.
His predecessor had died due to an "evil spirit," which gave Ryan the opportunity to take over his body.
Thinking of this, Ryan willed his mind, and a translucent panel only he could see appeared before his eyes:
[Name: Gray Albert
Age: 16 years old
Physique: 0.5
Spirit: 1.5
State: Haunted by evil spirits]
[Note: The average adult male has a value of 1]
The values looked unremarkable. His physique was notably poor, though his spirit value stood out as unusually high.
Seeing this, Ryan—no, now Gray—had a theory:
"Could it be that having lived two lives caused my spiritual strength to stack, making it higher?"
But he couldn't figure it out completely. What bothered him more was how weak his body was.
Physique didn't just mean raw strength—it also encompassed agility, thought processing, and even one's ability to control spiritual power!
And in this dangerous world, weakness was the original sin.
His predecessor's tragic death was proof enough of that.
He shook off his thoughts and turned his attention to the last line: Haunted by evil spirits.
This worried him the most, as it posed a serious threat to his life.
According to the memories of the body's former owner, evil spirits rarely attacked noble males.
For ordinary people, however, an encounter with an evil spirit meant certain death.
Gray speculated:
"Probably because nobles train in knight breathing techniques… their physical fitness is much higher than ordinary folk, so evil spirits tend to avoid the trouble."
He took a deep breath and pulled a small booklet from his coat—Mountain Breathing Technique.
This knight breathing technique had been passed down through generations of the Albert family and was the foundation of their noble status.
It was one of the few advantages of being born into a noble household.
Ordinary families could never access such techniques.
Breathing techniques were the only way to step onto the path of knighthood.
It was Gray's lifeline in this new world.
Evil spirits weren't invincible.
Thanks to his strong mental power—stronger than many evil spirits—he had a real chance at survival.
If his physical body could just support him, even if he couldn't kill an evil spirit outright, at least he could protect himself.
He had received the breathing technique from his father, Baron Ein, just the day before, and the process had gone surprisingly smoothly.
Gray even felt that the Baron was rather satisfied with his recent behavior.
Clapping his hands, he looked at the paper on which the breathing technique was printed, letting sunlight pour over the text.
After a while, he finished reading through the content and annotations.
He shook his head slightly and couldn't help but comment:
"No wonder it was so easy to get it…"
"So the breathing technique is passed down not just because it's precious, but also because only those with the Albert bloodline can cultivate it!"
He also made a rough judgment about the technique.
"Very ordinary, maybe even poor."
Its quality was likely superficial at best.
In this world, breathing techniques were divided into three tiers: superficial, excellent, and perfect, based on their subtlety and potential.
About 95% of techniques were of the superficial kind.
Most people who practiced them would remain apprentice knights forever, unable to form the "seed of life" required to ascend to true knighthood.
The Mountain Breathing Technique, according to its notes, showed quick progress in the early stages but plateaued later—an obvious sign of a superficial-level technique.
If it were offered to other nobles, they might hesitate to take it, knowing full well that mastering such a technique was often a waste of time.
But Gray was satisfied.
He didn't plan on becoming a full knight in the future, so he didn't care about the technique's potential. All he needed was short-term effectiveness.
After all, in front of a formal wizard, even a great knight—the pinnacle of knighthood—was nothing more than a puppet.
Gray sat down cross-legged, sensing the pulse of the earth.
His posture shifted constantly, guided by the booklet.
The Mountain Breathing Technique contained seventeen movements, each paired with a unique breathing set. Each set had six breathing changes.
Though it didn't involve intense motion, he was soon soaked in sweat, and his stamina dropped rapidly.
His blood felt like it was boiling, and his breathing grew heavy and ragged.
Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground, panting hard. Yet, he could faintly feel a surge of energy moving through his body.
The energy that had long been stored inside him seemed to ignite, leaving him overwhelmed with hunger.
His pale face now looked flushed. He hadn't even completed a full round, but he was already exhausted.
Despite this, Gray was elated. Enduring the hunger and fatigue, he called up his panel again:
[Name: Gray Albert
Age: 16 years old
Physique: 0.5 → 0.51
Spirit: 1.5
State: Haunted by evil spirits
Mountain Breathing Technique: First Order (1/1000)]
Mountain Breathing Technique Proficiency +1
His physique had risen slightly from 0.5 to 0.51—not much, but still noticeable thanks to the panel.
This was something others in this world could never experience.
What excited him more was the appearance of Mountain Breathing Technique on the panel!
The in-game panel had never shown proficiency like this before...
But he couldn't figure out its true significance yet.
Gurgle...
Gray's stomach let out an audible growl, breaking his train of thought.
"Looks like I need to solve the food problem first."
… … … … … …