– MeditationKing) Meditation fixes it all. Want me to teach you?

*

Perfect timing from MeditationKing, as if he’d been lurking.

He was the first to come to mind when I thought about mana recovery.

I quickly replied.

*

– Kim Muggle) For real? Teach me, and I’ll do my best.

– Newbie got baited again lol.

– Gonna pass out from meditating.

– MeditationKing) Check my “Basics of Meditation” post in the gallery, part 1.

– Recycling old posts ‘cause he’s too lazy to write lol.

– And it’s not even a proper guide.

*

I followed MeditationKing’s advice and searched for “Basics of Meditation.”

A ton of posts came up, from part 1 to part 11, all by MeditationKing.

I opened part 1.

*

[Title: Basics of Meditation, Part 1]

Author: MeditationKing

Meditation is…

.

.

.

.

.

*

“F*ck, this is too long.”

*

I hit back after the first line.

The flowery, overwritten prose was already a slog.

And for a “basics” guide, it was ridiculously long. I’d need to stay up all night to read it.

My head was pounding, and I could barely stand—no way I could handle this.

I went back to the original post and commented.

*

– Kim Muggle) F*ck, give me a three-line summary.

– Lol, knew it.

– EcoActivist) Lol, who reads that? Even elves don’t meditate.

– Lololol.

– MeditationKing) Tch! Can’t even read that much? Forget meditation!

– Kim Muggle) F*ck, so you’re telling me to die?

*

I looked away from the gallery.

The headache was getting worse. The ceiling spun as I lay there.

I wondered if I’d die like this after coming so far.

Not an exaggeration—the longer the mana exhaustion lasted, the worse the pain got, exponentially.

Just as I thought I was done for, someone dropped a useful comment.

*

– CantEvenDoThis) Ugh, idiots. I step away, and you’re telling a dying kid to breathe? For a muggle, you should’ve taught the most basic breathing method.

*

It was CantEvenDoThis, back after a bit.

On the verge of death, I typed whatever came to mind.

*

– Kim Muggle) Save me plz.

– This guy’s really about to die.

– Forgot the basic breathing method; it’s been too long.

– EcoActivist) Wanted to help, but I can’t remember.

– ExtremeEfficiencyFreak) Too inefficient, haven’t used it in ages.

– Who even uses basic breathing lol?

– CantEvenDoThis) Ugh.

*

Guess great wizards forgot muggle-level breathing methods.

Just tell me something, anything, quick.

*

– CantEvenDoThis) It’s tough, but stand up straight. No slouching, align your whole body. If possible, do it somewhere with flowing air, like outside.

*

I staggered up, opened the dorm window, and stood in the middle of the room.

I wanted to collapse and lie down.

But with my last bit of willpower, I read CantEvenDoThis’s comment.

*

– CantEvenDoThis) Sorry, but from here, it’s on you. You should feel the mana in the air. Absorb it into your mana. Slowly, grab one piece of ambient mana and pull it into your body. Imagine it flowing from your nose to your throat, through your body, arms, and legs. Cycle it through your core circuit, and it should integrate as your mana. But honestly…

*

I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore.

Just keeping my vision steady made my head hurt worse.

I knew the method, so I decided to try.

I straightened my body, closed my eyes, and felt the mana.

*

‘Grab one piece of ambient mana and absorb it. Nose to throat, chest, arms, stomach, legs…’

*

I slowly cycled the mana as CantEvenDoThis described.

In my extreme exhaustion, my senses felt sharper.

Like oiling a machine, the natural mana smoothly filled my circuits.

My parched core circuit, which had felt like a dry throat, gradually became moist with mana.

*

“Huff… huff…”

*

After a few cycles, I recovered from mana exhaustion.

The dizziness faded, and my mind cleared.

My status window showed my mana fully restored.

*

“Huh, wait?”

*

I looked again—it wasn’t just 100.

*

[Status Window]

Mana Capacity: 110/110

*

For some reason, my mana capacity was now 110.

Does mana breathing increase capacity?

It’s a tiny gain for great wizards, but it felt good.

*

The gallery was still open.

CantEvenDoThis’s mana breathing comment was on screen, with a ton of replies below.

I was a bit shocked reading them.

First, the rest of CantEvenDoThis’s explanation I hadn’t finished.

*

– CantEvenDoThis) …But honestly, it could be dangerous. It’s the most basic breathing method, but muggles usually struggle even with this. Handling mana requires intense training. Maybe you could’ve recovered right after exhaustion, but in a near-death state, it’s risky… Anyway, try it.

*

Was this hard? It did take focus, sure.

But I didn’t get stuck or anything.

At some point, I was in a trance, cycling mana through my circuits.

*

“What? An hour passed?”

*

The clock showed time had flown by.

I must’ve been completely absorbed in breathing.

People always said I had good focus, but maybe it was the exhaustion.

Was that why it’s dangerous? Time passing too fast?

I read the replies below.

*

– Can he even do it in that state? I vaguely remember, but basic breathing took me a week to learn.

– That’s us. Less talented folks take a month. It’s not called the foundation of magic for nothing.

– EcoActivist) Would’ve been faster in nature…

– If he’s been exhausted since the exam, he’s probably at his limit. If he doesn’t recover, he’s dead.

– No potions or anything?

– F*ck, a muggle used a 5th-tier spell and now might die from exhaustion. Idiots, teach properly instead of giving impossible spells and saying “easy, right?” lol.

– MagicIsntHard) I forgot about mana recovery—it’s too basic :(

*

Posts had piled up while I was breathing.

I opened a recent one.

*

[Title: Kim Muggle’s Probably Dead]

Author: ㅇㅇ

This guy’s gotta be dead. It’s been almost an hour. Honestly, we should call it.

*

– An hour’s too long; no way he’s alive…

– MagicIsntHard) sob sob…

– Still, it was legendary. If someone hadn’t thoughtlessly taught a 100-mana spell, this wouldn’t have happened. But yeah, a muggle operating that spell was epic.

– Makes it sadder. Such a talented guy, lost like this.

– MagicIsntHard) Breathing’s not hard… I’ll teach it easier if he comes back sob.

– MagicGirlLulu) Hwaa… Muggle’s dead?

– CantEvenDoThis) Sigh. Almost an hour. It was fun while it lasted. Why’s a muggle’s death hitting so hard?

– This guy who always trash-talks was the first to dig up basic breathing…

– CantEvenDoThis) F*ck, you should at least remember this much, idiots.

– WanderingBattleMage) Damn… such a talented guy. That roll, f*ck.

– StabbyIfPissed) (*sword-swinging emoticon*)

– RiceEater) Was writing a paper, just got here. Kim Muggle’s really dead? Missed the legendary bait.

*

.

.

.

Why do they all assume I’m dead?

The gallery’s already held my funeral and three years of mourning.

It’s awkward to pop back in now.

Isn’t breathing for an hour normal?

Did great wizards not expect it to take this long?

I feel embarrassed for causing unexpected worry.

It’s like the dead guy reviving at his own funeral—awkward for everyone.

*

“But this is legendary bait.”

*

To the gallers, I’m prime content.

Announcing I’m alive would pull Jesus-level aggro.

I giggled as I wrote a new post.

*

[Title: Worship Me]

Author: Kim Muggle

Thus spake Kim Muggle: Having attained enlightenment, I have risen. Great wizards, bow to your Muggle Lord.

(Random shiny bald guy meme)

Just kidding. Breathing took an hour. Isn’t that normal? Guess a muggle like me takes longer to recover than great wizards ;(

After an hour of intense focus, I feel super refreshed, and my skin’s glowing?

Oh, and my mana capacity went up by 10 after breathing. Tiny, but still.

*

I toned down the grand aggro.

They helped me, and they’re all great wizards.

If a muggle gets too cocky, they might stop commenting.

*

“What? No comments?”

*

Did they forget me already?

No replies for a whole minute after posting.

I’ve had posts ignored before, but they were just talking about me, so I expected quick replies.

*

“Oh, there’s one.”

*

It didn’t get completely ignored.

After about two minutes, a notification pinged, and comments started rolling in.

They exploded in no time.

*

– ?

– EcoActivist) He’s alive?

– ??

– How’s this guy alive?

– MagicGirlLulu) Hawawa, Muggle’s alive!

– How’d you survive?

– WanderingBattleMage) What? Undead?

– Orgasm) Did he really go?

– Only explanation is he died and came back.

– MagicIsntHard) Oh, ohh, OHH?

*

.

.

.

.

.

But the reactions were way different than I expected.

Is me being alive that shocking?

*

– CantEvenDoThis) You actually did the breathing and survived?

– Kim Muggle) Yup, breathed for an hour. Time flew ‘cause I was focused ;(

– Whoa?

– ?

– MeditationKing) You’ve got talent. Be my disciple.

– Holy f*ck lol?

– This is actually legendary.

*

Why are they freaking out?