Rise Of The Villain : In a World Ruled By Anomalies-Chapter 60 : Value of every grain

Arthur continued his breathing rhythm, sweat dripping down his face, his body trembling from exhaustion.

Then suddenly—

A thought flashed through his mind.

’...Wow.’

A faint grin appeared on his face.

’In this cursed day... I finally heard some good news.’

And in that exact moment—

His rhythm broke.

THUD.

Yuna’s fist slammed straight into his gut.

"—GHH!"

Arthur’s body folded instantly, but before he could collapse, he forced himself upright. His breathing snapped back into place almost immediately as he inhaled—

Held—

TSH.

Released.

Yuna watched closely.

Then she nodded slightly and said, "Good... from now on, this is how you breathe. Make it a habit in your everyday life."

Arthur kept breathing, his chest steady now.

Yuna continued, "When you walk... when you eat... when you sleep... even when you’re doing nothing... this rhythm should never break."

Arthur nodded silently.

Too tired to speak.

But he understood.

Then—

He continued.

Another hour passed.

Arthur kept repeating the cycle—

Inhale.

Hold.

Release.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Slowly—

His body began to adapt.

The awkwardness faded.

The instability reduced.

The breathing started to feel... natural.

Not forced.

Not artificial.

But something his body was beginning to accept.

Finally—

Yuna raised her hand slightly and said, "Alright... that’s enough. Good. This is it for today’s training."

Arthur froze for a second.

Then—

"Finally..." he muttered weakly.

His legs gave out and he collapsed onto the ground.

THUD.

He lay there, completely exhausted.

But even then—

His breathing didn’t break.

Inhale—

Hold—

TSH.

Release.

His body had already started memorizing it.

Yuna stood there, watching him silently.

Her sharp gaze followed the rhythm of his breathing.

Steady.

Consistent.

No panic.

No collapse.

Then—

Very faintly—

She smiled.

Arthur caught it instantly.

"...You just smiled," he said, still lying on the ground.

"I did," Yuna replied calmly. "Because you’re learning. But don’t get the wrong idea... that wasn’t the hard part."

Arthur frowned slightly. "...There’s more?"

Yuna nodded and said, "The real difficulty begins when you start switching between breathing styles."

Arthur blinked. "...Switching?"

"Yes," Yuna replied. "For stamina, for speed, for strength, even for recovery. Each breathing pattern changes how your body functions."

Arthur tilted his head slightly and said, "...So I just learn them one by one?"

Yuna shook her head and replied flatly, "Learning them is easy. Switching between them without breaking your structure... that’s where most people fail."

She stepped closer and tapped his chest.

"The moment your pressure drops—even slightly—you go back to being hollow." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Arthur’s expression tightened.

Yuna continued, "Even experienced fighters struggle with this. They can use each breathing style individually... but the moment they try to transition, their body loosens and their structure breaks."

She paused briefly.

"And in a real fight... that moment is enough to get them killed."

Silence filled the air.

Then—

Yuna’s gaze sharpened.

"But if you learn them all... and master switching between them without losing pressure..." she said quietly, "you will become almost invisible in battle."

Arthur’s eyes lit up slightly as he said, "...That sounds pretty cool."

Yuna ignored his tone and continued, "In battle, your opponent reads you. Your breathing, your rhythm, your posture... they predict your next move based on what you are in that moment."

Arthur listened carefully.

"So when you suddenly change that internal state..." she continued, slowly circling him, "their prediction fails."

Arthur nodded slightly.

"They see weakness," Yuna said. "They move in to finish you."

She stopped right in front of him.

"And in that exact moment—"

A brief pause.

"—you switch."

Arthur’s focus sharpened.

"Your breathing tightens. Your core locks. Your speed spikes instantly," Yuna said. "You go from collapsing... to fully reinforced in a single breath."

Arthur’s eyes widened slightly.

"They attack expecting one version of you... and meet something completely different."

Arthur nodded slowly and said, "...So it throws them off."

"It destroys their timing," Yuna corrected.

She raised her hand slightly and continued, "Now imagine the opposite... you’re exhausted, your muscles are failing, your breathing is unstable."

Arthur’s jaw tightened.

"One more exchange... and you lose."

Silence.

"Instead of forcing strength... you switch to a recovery breathing style," Yuna said calmly.

Arthur didn’t interrupt.

"Your body stabilizes, your oxygen flow improves, your structure holds—just enough," she continued. "Not to win immediately..."

A brief pause.

"...but to survive."

Arthur exhaled slowly.

"In a life-and-death battle," Yuna said quietly, "you don’t always win by being stronger. Sometimes... you survive by lasting one breath longer than your opponent expects."

Arthur looked down at his hands.

Then inhaled—

Slow.

Controlled.

"...So if I master all of them... and switch freely..." he said.

"You control your body in the middle of chaos," Yuna replied. "And if you control that... you control the fight."

Arthur let out a small breath, a faint grin forming on his face as he said, "...Yeah... that’s definitely cool."

Yuna’s smile widened slightly as she said, "It definitely is."

Arthur turned his head toward her and said, "Now that training is over... can we please get something to eat... please?"

Yuna’s expression instantly sharpened.

She looked down at him and said coldly—

"Did you already forget about your punishment?"

Yuna looked at Arthur for a moment, then casually pointed toward the forest behind the mansion and said, "Go. Hunt your own food."

Arthur froze.

His expression slowly fell.

For a moment, he looked like his soul had just left his body.

’...This is it. This is how I die.’

His lips trembled slightly, and he looked at her with the most pitiful expression imaginable.

Yuna stared at him.

Then sighed.

"Fine... fine," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "I’ll give you something to eat."

Arthur’s entire expression flipped instantly.

"Really?" he said, his eyes lighting up like a child who had just been promised candy.

Yuna clapped her hands once.

Immediately—

A maid appeared beside her, holding a tray covered with a lid.

Arthur didn’t even wait.

He rushed forward, grabbed the tray from her hands, and quickly lifted the cover.

Then—

His body froze.

A jolt ran through him.

Inside the tray—

Was a small bowl of plain rice.

And four boiled eggs placed neatly on top.

Silence.

Arthur stared at it.

’...This... this is it?’

For someone like Arthur—

Who had always loved food, even back on Earth—

This felt like a personal attack.

It was like giving an elephant a single banana and saying, ’Survive on this.’

Yuna’s voice came from the side.

"Aren’t I such a generous master?" she said calmly. "Giving you food even while you’re under punishment."

Arthur’s eyes watered slightly.

But he forced a smile.

"Of course you are, Master," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "I will never forget this generosity."

Yuna nodded in satisfaction and said, "Good. Enjoy."

Then she added sharply, "And remember—if you use any healing item... your punishment will increase."

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked back toward the mansion.

The maid followed her.

But as she passed Arthur—

She glanced at him.

Her eyes filled with pity.

Yuna suddenly glanced back sharply.

The maid immediately straightened her posture and walked faster.

Arthur stood there for a moment.

Holding the tray.

Alone.

Then slowly—

He walked toward the tent.

Inside, he sat down and began eating.

Every bite felt like both relief and suffering.

Tears formed in his eyes as he muttered, "Damn it... if I knew something like this would happen... I would’ve packed tons of food in my inventory."

The system’s voice echoed inside his mind.

[No use crying now, Host. Just endure it. She must be doing all of this for a reason.]

Arthur scoffed internally.

’Forget reason. That woman is a demon.’

He swallowed another bite.

’I’ll definitely get back at her one day... just wait.’