Night settled quietly over Northbrook's outer sect.
Cael worked alone in the library, the lamps turned low, the shelves breathing their familiar dusty warmth. His muscles ached—not painfully, but insistently—from another day of practice that had yielded nothing visible.
He sat cross-legged behind a stack of manuals, palms resting on his knees.
The system shimmered.
Inventory UpdateItem Available: Technique Insight Fragment (Minor)Source: Embarrassment RewardCompatibility: Star-Tilted Breathing (Incomplete)
Action Available:– Open Fragment
Cael didn't hesitate.
He activated it.
The fragment dissolved into light and sank into his chest.
Suddenly, everything clicked.
The pauses he'd never understood.The uneven rhythm that didn't match orthodox manuals.The strange emphasis on exhale before intention.
His breathing shifted on its own.
Slow.Deep.Not circulating qi—but inviting it.
The system responded instantly.
Technique UpdateStar-Tilted BreathingStatus: CompleteQuality: Advanced
Minor Level: 3 / 10Realm: Initiate
Effects:– Improved breath control– Increased stamina recovery– Enhanced compatibility with movement techniques
Note: Advancement skipped due to fragment resonance
Cael's eyes flew open.
Straight from first… to third?
His lungs burned—not painfully, but sharply, as if they'd been unused tools finally put to work. Sweat rolled down his back. His heartbeat steadied faster than it should have.
He laughed quietly.
"So this is what it was missing."
Later, he practiced his movement method between shelves, stepping carefully, adjusting his weight the way the manual described. Each shift felt smoother now, as though his body understood what his mind had been failing to command.
Still crude.
But possible.
His gaze drifted toward a bookmarked passage in one of the Bookkeeper's recommendations.
Body Refinement Methods.
The system pulsed faintly, unreadable.
"I'll need points," Cael murmured.
As if summoned by thought, a sound echoed from the inner archive.
A gasp.
Followed by frantic rustling.
Cael turned the corner—
—and froze.
The Bookkeeper stood there.
Pants unmistakably around his ankles.
A book clutched in one hand.
Not a technique manual.
Not a cultivation scripture.
Something… illustrated.
There was a full second of eye contact.
Then chaos.
"OUT."
The elder shoved Cael bodily back through the doorway with one hand, the other yanking his robes up in a panicked tangle.
The door slammed.
A beat passed.
Then the system chimed.
Embarrassment Event DetectedTrigger Type: Personal Witnessed MishapTarget Count: 1Awareness: Direct Observation
No action selection required.
Rewards Granted:– Embarrassment Value +10
Cael stared at the door.
"…I didn't choose anything."
The system responded.
New Rule Unlocked
Embarrassment Value may be gained by:– Triggered system actions– Directly witnessing genuine embarrassment
Note: Proximity and plausibility affect yield
Cael slowly sat down.
"Elder… reads strange books," he muttered.
From the other side of the door came a muffled voice, furious and flustered.
"If you speak of this, I will train you until your ancestors feel sore."
Cael smiled faintly.
His breathing settled—deep, steady, star-aligned.
The system pulsed quietly.
And for the first time, Cael realized something unsettling.
He didn't just cause embarrassment.
He could harvest it.
And the stars, it seemed, were perfectly fine with that.