Orion stared at his ceiling. The glow-in-the-dark stars from when he was twelve were still up there, faintly visible in the dark.
His phone said 3:47 AM.
He should be tired but he wasn't.
It was the effect of breathing technique.
Each breath followed the pattern. In through the nose. His lungs pulled in oxygen—normal oxygen, the same stuff everyone breathed. But the breathing technique did something different with it.
All matter had energy. Everything in the universe, from stars to dirt to the air itself, contained tiny amounts of exotic energy. Most people just breathed normally and let it pass right through them.
The breathing technique extracted it.
Orion could feel it happening. Each inhale brought oxygen into his lungs. The technique separated out the microscopic exotic energy particles mixed in with the oxygen molecules. Drew them into his bloodstream. Circulated them through his body. Used them to strengthen his cells bit by bit.
It was like panning for gold. Air was the river. The technique was the pan. And the exotic energy was gold dust mixed in the water—barely there, but real.
Each breath cycle made him fractionally stronger.
His heart rate had dropped to maybe forty beats per minute. His body was running more efficiently. Using less energy to do more.
He felt amazing.
But also restless.
Three years. That's what the system gave him. Three years to build a working fusion reactor or lose everything.
The deadline didn't scare him. The reward did.
Type II tech tree unlocked. Technologies that could reshape civilization. Faster-than-light travel. Artificial gravity. Planetary engineering. Things he'd only read about in science fiction.
He'd always been obsessed with advanced technology. Spent his childhood reading about theoretical breakthroughs. Dreamed about inventions that didn't exist yet. The system library had all of it. Technologies decades or centuries ahead of current science.
And he wanted it all.
But more than that—more than even the revolutionary tech—was the other reward.
Unknown gas synthesis. Qi. Mana. Primordial energy. Whatever you wanted to call it.
If the breathing technique worked this well extracting tiny amounts from normal air, what would happen when he could synthesize it directly? Concentrate it? Cultivate it properly like in those web novels?
Immortality. Superhuman abilities. Breaking physics.
Three years stood between him and that knowledge.
He wasn't going to waste a single day.
The library space pulled at his mind. Like a door waiting to be opened.
Orion closed his eyes.
The shelves appeared around him. Infinite. Glowing.
"Alright," he said. "Let's do this properly."
His voice echoed weird in the empty space.
He walked forward. The shelves stayed the same distance away. Right. Space didn't work normal here.
"Software," Orion said. "I want everything."
The books flew toward him like birds.
He grabbed the first one. Advanced Algorithm Design. The moment his fingers touched it, the book dissolved into light and poured into his head.
But it wasn't instant understanding. The information dumped into his memory like files copying to a hard drive. He could feel it all there, stored perfectly. But he still had to actually read it. Comprehend it. Understand what it meant.
It was like downloading a textbook without actually studying the textbook.
He grabbed another. Neural Network Architecture Theory. More light. More raw information flooding his brain.
Brain-Computer Interface Engineering dissolved in his hands.
Mathematical Foundations of Computation.
Three-Dimensional Programming Paradigms.
Direct Transistor-Level Programming Logic.
Each book was pure data dumped into perfect memory. He'd have to study them later. Actually understand them. The system gave him perfect recall, not instant genius.
Still faster than normal learning though. Way faster.
Cybersecurity and Penetration Theory.
Advanced Cryptographic Systems.
Quantum-Resistant Encryption.
His brain catalogued everything. Organized it into mental folders. Cross-referenced related topics.
Data Compression - Theoretical Limits.
Oh, that one was interesting. Shannon's theorem said there was a hard limit on how much you could compress data without losing information. Like a law of physics for information.
This book showed ways around it. Quantum probability matrices combined with fractal pattern recognition. Math that didn't exist yet in the real world.
Orion kept grabbing books. His enhanced memory absorbed them all.
He had no idea how long he spent in the library.
Someone knocked on his door.
Orion opened his eyes. Morning light through the window.
"Orion? You awake?"
"Yeah, Mom. I'm up."
"Breakfast in ten minutes."
"Got it."
He sat up. Checked his phone. 8:23 AM.
Had he been in the library space all night? His body felt fine though. Better than fine.
He went through the breathing technique. Inhale. His lungs pulled in oxygen. The technique separated out the exotic energy mixed in with it. Tiny particles of something most people couldn't even detect. Hold. The exotic energy circulated through his blood, strengthening his cells. Exhale.
Something dark came out with his breath. Like smoke but not smoke. His body expelling waste.
"That's new."
He went to the bathroom.
The toilet session was deeply unpleasant. His body was dumping years of accumulated cellular garbage all at once. Dark, foul-smelling stuff that should not have been physically possible.
"Cultivation is gross," he told the mirror.
He took a shower immediately.
He looked different though. Skin clearer. Eyes brighter. Better posture.
After a shower, he went downstairs.
Cassia was making eggs at the stove. Real eggs, not the printed protein most people ate.
"Morning," Orion said.
"Morning. You look better."
"Feel better."
She slid a plate in front of him. Scrambled eggs, toast, plant based bacon that was trying very hard to be real bacon.
Orion ate. His enhanced senses picked up every flavor. The eggs were slightly overcooked. The fake bacon had too much salt. The toast was perfect.
"Where's Nyla?" he asked.
"She left yesterday night, group project. She texted this morning—they're stuck in the bioengineering lab until Next week Friday."
Good. That gave him time to work. If she was around things would become awkward.
He finished breakfast, helped clean up, went back to his room.
Time to actually study all that downloaded knowledge.
FIVE DAYS LATER
Orion closed his eyes and let the final pieces of software knowledge settle into place.
Five days and five nights of constant study. He'd taken breaks—eating, cultivation, bathroom, occasionally talking to Cassia so she wouldn't worry. But most of his time had been spent either in the library space downloading more books or in his room studying the information.
He'd mastered it all. Every piece of software knowledge below Type II civilization level sat organized in his enhanced memory, ready to use.
The breathing technique had worked wonders too.
He felt it in his body. Five days of constant practice, extracting exotic energy from every breath. His muscles were denser now. His reflexes sharper. He could probably lift twice what he used to.
Maybe 20% stronger overall. His body just worked better. More efficient. More capable.
His brain had improved even more. Maybe 30% enhancement across the board. Faster processing. Deeper comprehension. Better pattern recognition. Like his thoughts had been running through molasses before and someone had cleared it away.
He felt younger too. Like his body was shedding years of damage. His skin looked healthier. His eyes clearer. Even his hair seemed shinier.
And every time he used the bathroom, his body secreted more dark impurities. Cellular waste being expelled as the exotic energy refined his system.
You dont want to know how it was expelled.
Orion wanted desperately to share this with Cassia and Nyla.
Watching his mom come home tired from work every day hurt. She was only forty-three but looked older. Stress wearing her down. The breathing technique could reverse that. Make her younger, healthier.
And Nyla—she was brilliant and energetic now, but everyone aged eventually. The technique could preserve that. Keep her sharp and strong for decades.
But when he reviewed the requirements, his hope died.
The breathing technique demanded precise internal body control. You had to sense and direct blood flow. Regulate individual muscle groups. Control neural firing patterns. Feel the exotic energy separating from oxygen at a cellular level.
It also required high comprehension ability. The technique was complex. You had to understand the interactions, adjust in real-time, maintain perfect focus.
Neither Cassia nor Nyla had those capabilities. They were smart, but this required a level of body awareness and mental processing that normal humans simply didn't possess.
It was only because the system had enhanced his body and brain 200% and 100% that he could use it at all. The beginner's reward pack had been necessary, not just generous.
Orion pulled up the library in his mind. Searched for alternatives.
Found a section on gene lock cultivation exercises. Those were simpler, required less control. But they still needed a baseline enhancement to work.
Gene enhancement medicine. That could boost someone enough to learn basic cultivation.
He read through the information. The medicine required genetic engineering knowledge, specialized equipment, rare materials. Things he didn't have access to yet.
"Later," he muttered. "Once I have money and resources."
For now, only he could practice cultivation.