The last month had been rough on Vayu. From the very beginning, he had given his best and had already managed to defeat five of the First Elder's attendants, with every new opponent the battles grew tougher and brutal.
The first attendant he fought had been of average height and average build. On the first day, their fight ended in a draw as both collapsed at almost the same time. But on the second day, Vayu had won the match. After that, the defeated attendant led him to his next opponent, and just like that, one led to another until he had defeated five of them. The last match he had won took him nine whole days, before he could finally win.
Each of the attendants specialized in something different spear, daggers, grappling or some unusual footwork. They were all experts in their own way. Vayu had already reached a fair level in both attack and defense, but his techniques were too plain, similar and very predictable. Fighting different opponents was sharpening not just his combat skills but also his knowledge. He was forced to adapt, to observe their attacking patterns letting him to add a few new tricks of his own in his battle style. Slowly, his arsenal grew, one or two new moves at a time and he was very happy with the progress he was making.
That next morning, when he came to the First Elder's office as usual, the door was already open. She was at her desk, with a quill in her hand, she was scribbling something non-stop.
"Morning, First Elder" he greeted her politely. Though he was often angry at her, for making him do her chores every day, he never complained, not even once . She lifted her head for a brief second, glanced at him and without answering went back to her work.
Seeing her so focused, Vayu decided not to waste his chance to take revenge on her, the memories of his first day still fresh in his mind, so he started disturbing her "What happened, First Elder? Are you busy? Can I help you somehow?" His voice carried a hint of concern, but a grin appeared on his face.
The Elder did not reply. Her quill moved steadily across the parchment.
So Vayu walked closer, tapped her shoulder, and whispered, "First Elder, can I help?"
She continued doing her work without looking at him. so he grabbed her shoulder and gave it a small shake. "First Elder, I want to help".
"Thank you, boy, I appricia—" she was about to thank him, but when she saw him grinning her facial expression twisted showing her anger and she froze mid-sentence.
The boy was taunting her on purpose. Her lips pressed into a thin line, anger flickering on her eyes, but she took a deep breath and forced her anger down. Her face returned to its usual calm, her voice steady as she said, "I don't need anything right now. You complete your work and then start practicing. When I have something for you, I will call you" she said with a smile plastered on her face.
Vayu nearly burst out laughing but had managed to hold it in. He felt satisfied with his performance that he had gotten his revenge at last and not wanting to overdo it, he quickly moved on to do his work.
Soon, he began cleaning the office with a wet cloth, dusted the windows, washed some dirty clothes and utensils, and finally made his way towards the backyard.
There, he spotted his new opponent — the one he had met yesterday. He was unlike the other opponents he had meet till now, he was the tallest of them all, and also incredibly fat. Yesterday, Vayu had seen him only eating. When he met him the first time he was eating so Vayu didn't asked him to spar , but when he searched for him later, that man was still eating.
Today, however, he was sitting lazily under a tree, his round belly rising and falling with every breath.
Vayu slowly approached him "Should we spar?" he asked firmly.
"Yeah, sure, why not" the man replied. His voice was oddly soft and almost girlish for someone his size. His name, too, was strange, Manhul.
Manhul got up slowly, stretching his arms with a yawn. This will be an easy fight, Vayu was confident in himself. I'll just tire him out and make him surrender.
"Ready?" Manhul asked and Vayu nodded. The instant he nodded Manhul moved, and he was fast, at least faster then Vayu. Vayu froze for a split second, panic flashing through his eyes. A man that big shouldn't have been able to move like that. His instincts kicked in and he leapt aside at the last moment. The memory of the beast, he once faced head on and what had happened after that surged into his mind, he knew he could not handle someone with this much weight head on.
Manhul missed and crashed onto the ground, his bulk rolling like a boulder. But to Vayu's shock, he bounced back up the very next second, as if the fall was intentional.
Vayu's eyes widened, What kind of fighter is that?
The fat man turned toward him, smiling.
Vayu clenched his fists, no longer underestimating his opponent. But he still didn't had any way to fight with him so, whenever Manhul charged at him, Vayu did the only thing he could, he jumped and kept on dodging, leaping out of his way, escaping every time. His mind raced to find a solution.
Vayu's mind quickly ran through many possibilities in his head. If I sidestep and try to attack his back, but there was risk of losing balance and Manhul was not a mindless beast, he can just swing sideways and if I face him head-on, I'll be turned into paste.
The only hope was to use Manhul's own momentum against him. But how? No clear idea came to his mind.
Before he could think of anything else, Manhul charged at him again.
This time, Vayu braced himself and met him head-on. The collision was brutal. Manhul's massive body slammed into him, throwing him to the ground hard enough to rattle his bones. But that wasn't the worst of it. The worst part was when Manhul toppled forward and landed directly on top of him.
The air was crushed out of Vayu's lungs in an instant, pain exploding across his chest as if his ribcage would snap ANY MOMENT.
"Ugh—! Get off— I— can't—breathe—" he gasped, his arms flailing uselessly, this was the first time the thought of really dying crossed his mind.
Manhul tilted his head curiously as if he didn't understood what was Vayu saying.
"I surrender! I surrender! Please—get up!" Vayu wheezed, slapping the ground frantically. "I said I surrender!". Manhul got up slowly, taking his sweet time then, with a casual shrug, he rolled off Vayu's body.
Vayu lay on the ground coughing, clutching his chest, sucking air with long breaths. This was the first time since entering the Elder's backyard that he had been forced to surrender outright. But Vayu didn't feel crushed by his loss. Instead of sulking, his mind spun with possibilities. How do I deal with someone like Manhul? Speed won't work. Strength won't work. If I can't outmatch him, then maybe… I'll have to outthink him.
Slowly, he pushed himself up from the ground, brushing the dirt from his clothes. His chest still ached. Without wasting more time, he left the backyard and stepped into the First Elder's office, ready to go back home. He was just about to leave through the gate when first elders voice stopped him.
"Vayu."
He turned "Yes, you called first Elder?"
"You said you wanted to help, right? Then I have an important task for you"
Vayu straightened himself "Please, tell me"
"The Hunter Squad has returned from their hunt. I need someone to watch over the men who will be transferring the supplies, If you can monitor and help them move the meat into storage, it would be very helpful."
"Yes, I'll go right away" Vayu said firmly.
Not long after, he found himself standing in front of the fourth and tallest mountain of the village — Asurageha. The Hunter Squad members were gathered there, tired from their long hunt, waiting for the helpers to arrive so they can go back and have some rest.
As soon as Vayu appeared, a familiar face stepped out from the squad.
"Vayu? What are you doing here?" his father asked.
"The First Elder put me in charge of the helpers for transferring the meat" Vayu replied without hesitation.
His father simply nodded and said "I see" He turned back toward the Hunter Squad leader and explained the situation to him. Soon the squad leader dispersed everyone and they started heading towards their home's to rest.
Vayu waited sometime for the helpers to arrive, even after waiting for a long time no one came.
Impatient, he decided not to waste time. Box after box, he carried them himself, from afternoon till night, Vayu transferred the heavy loads alone. His arms felt heavy, his back screamed from all the load he carried, sweat drenched his clothes, but he refused to stop until the last box was stored.
Finally, with his legs trembling, he dragged himself back to the First Elder's office.
"Elder" he said, barely hiding his frustration, "none of the helpers showed up to transfer the meat, I did it all alone you should punish th..."
The First Elder paused, lifted her face, and… laughed.
Her laughter rang through the room, mocking him. Vayu froze, his anger boiling as realization struck him.
This was her plan all along.
He clenched his fists, teeth grinding, but said nothing more. Turning on his heel, he stormed out of her office, unwilling to hear another word from her.
First elder laugh still echoing behind him.