Next morning, Vayu stepped inside the office quickly making his way towards the backyard and scanned the backyard for Manhul. He found him sitting quietly under the tree, eating his meal as usual. Without hesitation, Vayu approached him and asked "Manhul, can we spar?"
Manhul looked up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and smirked "Sure Let's begin" he said after finished his remaining food in one big bite. They stood in the center of the back yard, eyes locked "Shall we begin?" Manhul asked and Vayu nodded. Manhul lunged forward with surprising speed, but this time Vayu quickly side steeped, staying at a calculated distance. As soon as Manhul passed by him, Vayu sprang behind him instantly, closing the gap before Manhul could roll. Without hesitation, he dropped low sliding on the ground and slammed his leg into the back of Manhul's knee with full force. Manhul's leg folded unnaturally beneath him, his body twisting as his one leg could not support his body weight, his own weight destroyed his balance and he fell with a heavy thud on the ground. A small cloud of dirt rose as he crashed onto the ground. Vayu didn't waste a moment. He closed in the distance, ready to press his knife against his throat and force him to surrender. But Manhul was quick, with surprising speed he rolled sideways, narrowly avoiding Vayu's dagger before he could place it on his throat and scrambled to his feet in one fluid motion, his fat jiggling as he got up. This time, Manhul charged again thinking it was a fluke. But Vayu had practiced his techniques with Manhul in is mind, he was prepared for this , he maintained a careful distance. As Manhul closed in Vayu rushed in too, Manhul swung his dagger trying to slash Vayu, but Vayu ducked low to avoid the dagger, as Manhul's dagger sliced past him, Vayu hit his shin against Manhul's weakened leg. Although Vayu was the one to attack, his leg felt like it had been broken from the impact swelling instantly as he cried in pain. Manhul's body buckled violently under the blow. His knees gave way and he toppled forward, landing face-first on the dirt with another thud. The air was thick with dust as he coughed and struggled to rise. Vayu stepped back, breathing heavily he didn't rushed in this time instead watched him carefully. Manhul pushed himself up slowly, ignoring the pain. He met Vayu's gaze and for the first time he seemed angry. Instead of charging head on he closed the distance slowly step by step. Although now Manhul was fighting Vayu head on, he still had advantage in this battle. His body was massive but still he moved frighteningly fast. His reach easily outmatched Vayu's, and in his hands were two broad wooden daggers, each nearly the size of short swords, giving him more reach. Their wide arcs cut through the air with a whoosh, each swing backed by sheer mass and power. Vayu kept dodging, parrying where he could, his arms trembling each time their weapons met. The shock of impact ran up his forearms like jolts of lightning. Manhul's attacks weren't elegant, he just swung his heavy daggers with sheer force behind them. There was no rhythm in his attacks, except brute force. His swings were wide, creating a window of opportunity for Vayu to attack. Although it was the fatal flaw for someone confident in their strength, but this was only a sparring match and the wooden daggers bore no harm to Manhul. So even when Vayu's counterstrikes landed, he barely reacted. Manhul striked again, as Vayu parried his attack but Manhul swept his daggers away, sending them flying aside and before Vayu could react, Manhul jumped forward, colliding with Vayu. Vayu cried out of panic and the ground shook as Manhul crashed into him. Vayu's back was slammed into the dirt and the air driven out from his lungs. The world spun and all he could see was Manhul's fatty body over him and his heavy laughter rumbling above "Got you again" Manhul chuckled. Pinned beneath him once again, Vayu grit his teeth, his arms struggling to push his weight off. It was like trying to lift a boulder.
Vayu boiled with frustration as he reached back home. He reread all the books, trying to find a solution and after searching for it whole night he found a clue, in Lunar Fang the strike gains its deadliness not from brute force but from a single, sudden burst of power focused at the exact moment, and that was not all, from Phantom Edge he learned exercises to sharpen his muscles control to improve his balance as well as his agility but while using these two techniques at ones his stamina would burn at a faster rate, still he wanted to give it a try. He changed his training routine his First priority was his legs, so he started training his calves and thighs, the foundation of every turn, every stop, every explosive step all of it came from legs. Instead of running he started jumping like a frog making his legs work to the extreme, the first ten days were hell. He had to crawl back to his home each day, even standing straight felt painful. But slowly the work paid off. His steps grew lighter and stronger, when he ran he felt like he was flying above the ground. His knees and calves moved with a new terrifying power, he could twist, stop and spring again from angles he hadn't imagined. Next he started with his upper body and within next twenty days although not much changes appeared on his body but he was getting stronger, it was a intense training, he distributed his training in three parts, 2 hours in morning, 2 hours in afternoon and 2 hours in night before dinner, his muscles felt like they had been hammered, but with this brutal training his muscle density increased by two folds.
Although Vayu had mastered both techniques, Phantom Edge and Lunar Fang — he still couldn't merge them. Phantom Edge enhanced his body movement, making his body light and swift, while Lunar Fang relied on a weapon as its medium. At last he came up with a idea of using his own body as a weapon?. That way he could enhance and energize his body at same time. He begun experimenting on himself as he started channeling bursts of energy directly through his body, attempting to recreate the cutting precision of Lunar Fang with his bare hands. The first time he tried it, a sharp jolt ran through his arm — and pain followed instantly. His veins bulged red and swollen, alarmed, he rushed towards the infirmary.
The doctor examined his arm, astonished. "I've never seen an injury like this".
"I was just practicing and suddenly I felt pain in my hand" Vayu told the doctor.
" Although nothing has been damaged but you should be more carefull" he muttered, applying a cooling paste to ease the pain. "You'll have to rely on your own recovery. The blood flow in your arm surged too fast for your body to handle — that's why the vein swollen"
Vayu listened carefully and asked, "Then… how do I stop this from happening again?"
"If your heart beats faster then usual" the doctor replied "then slowly your body will be able to bear that pressure. But it's impossible and very dangerous"
That night, Vayu began channeling energy toward his heart. The moment he did, a wave of agony crashed through his body. His vision blurred and before long, he collapsed — unconscious. When he woke up he was still on his bed, but he didn't give up.
Each day, he practiced only channeling small amount of energy for a shorter period of time, learning to endure the pain and steady his breathing. Slowly, the unbearable became tolerable. Eventually, he could direct his energy freely to his heart and from there he started channeling it to his arms and legs. But the backlash was brutal, the more areas he infused with energy, the faster his stamina drained and when his heart rate slowed after each session, his muscles felt like they had been hit by hammer. He named the technique "OVER DRIVE"
He wanted to test his body, the limits he could reach now but not directly on Manhul. Instead he went to the First Elder's office.
"Elder" he said as she looked up "You've been working hard Good" she said.
"When will the Hunter Squad return? I want to help with the transfer of goods" he said
Her eyes opened wide as she watched him with a curious face the memory of his last solo run for the supplies surfacing in her mind, she let out a small laugh. "You're not trying to mess things up again, are you?".
"I know, I only want to help" he said.
"Well then you are in luck boy, they are coming back today, You can go and help them"
"Can I do it alone?"
"just don't damage anything, or you'll be punished"
she sighed and said "Okay" and he bolted out of the door, before she could change her decision. As he left, she quietly called one of her attendants over asking him to watch over Vayu and if he does anything suspicious report to her immediately. The man bowed and slipped away to follow Vayu at a discreet distance.
At Asurageha the Hunter Squad was already unloading the goods, the air thick with the smell of fresh meat. Crates and covered boxes were stacked on the ground. No helpers had shown up as he had requested. After the hunter squad left, he started transferring the boxes, they felt lighter compared to the last time he had transferred them and soon only a handful of boxes remained, when he counted them it was nine. That's when he decided to truly test himself. He channeled his energy towards his heart, he felt slight pain but it was bearable THUMP! THUMP! THUMPTHUMPTHUMTHUMTHU his heart started beating faster, He tightened his grip around the boxes lifting one box in each hand, the muscles in his arms flexing under the weight. Then he started running. The first round was effortless, each stride smooth, his breath steady. By the second round, his breathing became uneven and when he completed the third round his breathing felt heavier, his lungs felt of fire, his muscles trembled with strain but still, he didn't stop. He pushed forwards, teeth clenched, vision blurring with sweat. Finally, as the last box thudded into place, his body gave in, he collapsed gasping for air, his arms and legs seizing with cramps. Every muscle felt like they are getting stabbed with small pins. Ten minutes later, he managed to sit up, drenched in sweat, grinning faintly.
The result was beyond what he'd imagined. When using Overdrive, he could channel his full power for almost ten whole minutes. During that time, he felt thrice as strong and his movements felt sharper, even after carrying weight in both his hands he had maintained his balance, like he was walking normally.
But the aftermath was brutal. The energy drain left him shaking, his body nearly paralyzed by fatigue. Overdrive was a double-edged sword it was a gamble so Vayu decided to use it only when truly necessary.