Chapter 77: Heightened Perception

Once his shopping spree was over, Michael returned home.

Several boxes filled with study materials were already waiting for him at the doorstep, in addition to a well-clothed gentleman, who asked for his Lord ID and signature.

Michael noticed ripples of energy around the well-clothed gentleman, and it didn't take long before he realized that he was one of the Zenovia family's butlers.

'Even their butlers are Awakened? That is...not really unexpected...' Michael concluded after a second or two.

Once the formalities had been completed, the butler disappeared after a short bow. Michael wanted to say something to the butler but he had already disappeared. It was as if he had never been in front of his apartment.

"Weird..."

He opened his messenger and informed Alice that he had received the study materials and thanked her once again before he stored everything inside his War Rune.

Afterward, he entered the apartment and manifested the Runic Gate in the living room.

A few minutes later, he had changed his clothes once again and returned to the Origin Expanse.

'I have 20 days left in the Origin Expanse. That should be enough to advance to the 1st Tier, and expand my territory. I should be ready for the aptitude assessment by then!'

Michael emerged in his room inside the wooden manor a second later. He wanted to use the opportunity to bring Tiara her new Artifacts and store away the new goods he had purchased.

However, upon looking outside, he noticed that it was well past midnight.

"I am way too excited to go sleep now...Should I try the Berserker Physique body refinement technique?" He asked himself before he retrieved the technique naturally.

Michael channeled some energy into the Gloa crystal that had been put on the nightstand next to his bed, and a dim light illuminated the room.

It was bright enough to read, which was more than enough for now.

He opened the first page of the body refinement technique and started reading.

For the next few hours, Michael did nothing but read and comprehend. Every last trace of exhaustion was wiped off his body as he grew engrossed in reading. But he did not allow himself to be overly excited. Instead of blindly refining his body and making countless mistakes, it was necessary to understand the technique's special perks. He didn't want to cripple his body accidentally by rushing into anything. However, that was only obvious.

Michael gained a general understanding of the Berserker Physique. The first level was not that difficult, and it was nearly impossible to make a mistake. Thus, Michael started his first workout since he entered the Origin Expanse.

The energy and nutrition inside his body were quickly burned to nourish his muscles as he began the workout.

Less than half an hour later, Michael's energy was drained, and he was lying on the ground, panting like a dog. His clothes were drenched in sweat, and it felt like every muscle in his body had been subjected to extreme wear and tear and trained to the point of unbearable soreness.

However, Michael was quite satisfied. The body refinement technique was much better than he would have expected. It may use a tremendous amount of energy and nutrition to be utilized efficiently, but he could tell that practicing the Berserker Physique technique repetitively would strengthen his entire body.

He was unsure how much his physique would improve after completing the first level, but it was something to look forward to.

Despite being exhausted after burning the midnight oil in reading, Michael forced himself to adjust his position. He sat on the ground cross-legged and started practicing the Sun Soldier Breathing technique.

Michael hadn't received the chance to test the special perk of the Sun Soldier's Breathing technique before, but now that he was dead-tired and drained of energy, Michael felt that it was about time.

The special perk of the Sun Soldier's Breathing technique stated that one had a high chance to enter a state of increased sense of perception immediately after a tiring workout. The harsher the practitioner's condition, the higher the chances of epiphany, a sudden moment of realization where one would feel as if all of his senses received a huge influx of energy!

But what did that even mean? Michael was not sure about that at first. Practicing the Sun Soldier's Breathing technique shouldn't require something like an epiphany to be practiced. It was a breathing technique that required lots of practice to be perfected, or so he thought.

Only when he started to practice the Sun Soldier's Breathing technique after he was too exhausted to breathe properly did he realize how wrong he had been?

Following the steps of the Sun Soldier's Breathing technique, his energy replenished rapidly. It felt like the energy around him was flooding his body. His pores slowly opened, allowing the energy to stream inside him in tidal waves.

Time seemed to slow down as the energy invaded his body. It replenished the energy Michael had used up to practice the Berserker Physique within minutes before nourishing his exhausted muscles. The soreness all over his body was washed away and his muscles were nourished.

This stunned Michael. Was that the epiphany mentioned?

'That shouldn't be it. The breathing technique stimulated the absorption rate of the Origin Expanse's energy just now...but what about the utility of my stamina? The Sun Soldier's Breathing technique should improve the utility of stamina and absorption rate of energy...'

But what if he could use the stimulation to increase his proficiency of the Sun Soldier's Breathing technique?

So far, he had only practiced the first version of the Sun Soldier's Breathing technique. However, there was a second version that changed the practitioner's breathing fundamentally. To achieve a fundamental change in his breathing, Michael required a deep understanding of his body and the technique's first version.

The body and mind will have to learn to breathe in a specific way, which will then lead to a decrease in the consumption of Stamina and the natural absorption of the Origin Expanse's energy.

Making use of the exhausted energy channel and soreness of my body after practicing the Berserker Physique will be quite beneficial. And adding the increased sense of perception from practicing the Sun Soldier's Breathing technique right after the workout to deepen the understanding of my body and the breathing technique should be able to progress faster...Is that the epiphany they mentioned?'

Michael was not so sure about that anymore.

He was also unsure how much time passed before he stopped practicing the Sun Soldier's Breathing technique, or when he fell asleep on the ground.

However, what he knew was that the sun had risen above the horizon when he woke up again.

The sounds of his subjects getting ready for the day's work reached his ears and he got up from the ground. Michael rubbed the back of his head in confusion, but he regained his composure not long after.

He stretched his body a bit to test whether his physique had improved or not, but there was no noteworthy change.

"It has only been a single day. It's not like my physique will improve drastically right away. Training requires time, even with a body refinement technique!" Michael told himself before he left his room.

He felt a little bit more energetic than before and it felt like the air around him was fresher than usual, but Michael didn't pay much attention to this.

He thought that his emotions influenced the way he sensed his surroundings. And he was excited and happy because he had finally gotten revenge against the people who had harassed him in the past. They paid their price - quite literally - and Michael didn't have to see them again.

How could he not be happy and excited?!