Chapter 41: It's not that deep
"Hiiiiiiii....." *inhale*
"Haaaaaa....." *exhale*
I was in the city park which was around 45 minutes jog from my house. The sky was as dark as the night even though it was early in the morning.
The air was cold, a huge contrast to the hot day awaiting. As the sun was still late to rise, most of the people too was yet to rise.
So there was silence. Complete silence which was rather odd in a city. It felt I was in another dimension.
I was currently sitting on the grass with my back leaning on a tree. I was practicing my breathing technique again. Determined to achieve what I wanted to achieve.
My chest would swell up to a disproportionate degree as I took in the polluted air of the city, which was a lot better than it would be in the morning.
When we breathe, the oxygen we intake allows our cells to break down nutrients and create ATP, which they then use to power bodily functions like muscle contractions.
Meanwhile, exhaling carbon dioxide keeps our blood free of cellular waste. For this reason, it's virtually never a good idea to hold your breath during exercise. Doing so can starve cells and cause a dangerous rise in blood pressure.
That being said, there is the Valsalva maneuver, a technique where weightlifters hold their breath very briefly during a single extremely heavy rep. More specifically, weightlifters take as deep a breath as they can, and try to exhale against a shut nose and mouth. This maneuver improves core strength and protects the spine, but it must be kept brief to minimize the rise in blood pressure.
And I was doing just that. The Valsalva maneuver is not only used by weightlifters but other athletes like runner, swimmers, gymnastics etc. utilised this type of breathing too. Infact, it was recommended to do this type of breathing for 3 seconds at the beginning of their performance everytime.
Then comes rhythmic breathing. This type of breathing could be a great way to conserve energy and also to maintain a sense of flow whenever one is doing any physically challenging atctivties.
Like the swimmers,tl they inhale deeply, hold it, exhale and then inhale again. Inhale deeply, hold it, exhale and then inhale again and so on.
Then there are the type of breathing that runners use. Runners breathe through their mouths rapidly and into the abdomen. These breaths are not deep but in a short sprint they would work better.
Even then rhythm is important. Inhale during three steps, exhale for two steps and so on. Breathing should always be controlled for maximum physical output.
Obviously I could go on and on about how different breathing works and how they help different activities with different techniques. I was a grandmaster in breathing technique so it was to be expected.
Even before, I was always interested in breathing techniques.
Anyways, what I have realized now was that my knowledge was actually hindering me instead of helping me in my pursuit of developing a breathing style like demon slayers.
I had realized it when I gained my first supernatural skill due to the Top G skill.
All those times I was trying to understand Komi, I was picturing myself reading the room, like Tadano did in the original.
But that was the wrong way of doing it. I didn't need to imitate what I saw in animes and other things. What I needed was take inspiration from them and develop a more suitable skill for me.
And also, as I have read in the notification, determination was just as important as the amount of work I put in.
It was at the time of desperation that I understood Komi and gained the skill 'Komi-san's language.'
So I sat there in the park, too early in the morning that it was still night.
My mind swirling on how much I needed to develop some kind of special skill for me to be able to compete in this world.
Proficiency in martial arts such as Karate, Muay Thai, Taekwondo etc will not be enough. There will always be people who are better than me no matter the advantage I had with my system.
People who were born to do a specific type of Martial arts and had dedicated their life to it. People who could just copy every single technique with just a glance. Like the sharingan.
People who were born such prodigies that they were literally born with the perfect techniques engraved in their body since birth.
Such were the people I would have to face.
'So I needed this.'
I breathe in and out, in an uncontrolled manner.
'Not just this but many other things as well.'
My breaths were not controlled anymore. I put out all my previous knowledge on breathing techniques and let my body breath in the way it felt was the most comfortable and efficient.
'I won't be one amongst the many. I want to be that only one.'
My chaotic breathing somehow began to gain some sort of pattern. In the cold air, I inhaled through my nose and exhale through my mouth. I was keeping my trachea from getting cold.
'I don't want to be weak. I want strength to save myself.'
My lungs began warming up until it becomes searing, like I was breathing hot air inside a burning house.
In that cold morning I began sweating. I couldn't sit still anymore and got up from my seat and began running.
'The strongest.'
I was only thinking about how I wanted to be the strongest and how dangerous this world is. Keeping myself in a certain trance and forcing myself into believing I was in a desperate situation.
I was closing my eyes and I did not know where I was going. The only thing I knew was that I was going uphill.
I ran fast, almost sprinting yet I was not breathing through my mouth only, as a sprinter would do nor did I breath rapidly as I knew I should.
I forgot all the breathing techniques at the moment.
I was breathing in from my nose and it almost felt like my lungs had no limit as I was continuously inhaling.
It was almost as if, I was inhaling through my nose while exhaling through my mouth.
Which was biologically impossible. I know.
But that was exactly what it felt like.
My body began heating up yet it does not overheat and stayed in a specific temperature. Slowly but surely I was getting out of my trance, the adrenaline in my veins dwindled.
The intoxicating feeling stopped as I opened my eyes. I had to squint as the sun was rising in the horizon.
I was standing at some sort of a hill inside the park. I watched as the sun slowly rises up and penetrate the blanket of darkness which once covered the world.
As I was watching this, I heard a sound. A system prompt.
*ting!!*
[Due to the special skill 'Top G' an impossible skill has been gained after you have done the necessary work and have the necessary desire.]
[Skill gained ;-
Sun breathing : Novice.
Explanation : The lowest level of sun breathing style. No forms or style is developed and is still in the most basic state. This gives you a boost to every stats when it is used but most importantly, it will give the user superhuman endurance as long as the user used this skill.
Skill works better when it is used under the sun.]
I paused and looked at the notification begore the widest smile spread across my face.
{Would you look at that, the sun of a gun really pulled it off.}
"WHOOOOOO!!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and my voce echoed through the park but I didn't care.
I just gained the fucking sun breathing. Sure I may need master it completely and maybe develop forms if I wanted it to be like in the anime.
But still this was a crazy progress.
I jumped around in excitement and I felt child-like accomplishment for a while before I was finally able to calm down.
"Satus!!" I called out.
[Status :-
Name : Yuito Fujita
HP : 100
Race : Human, Incubus
Title : [The Prodigy] [The Gentleman] [Martial Artist] [Samurai] [Man of steel] [The degenerate] [The strong willed] [Gym rat] [The lone wolf] [The man of the house] [Investor] [The polite pervert] [Virgin] [Reader] [A handsome man] [The nice guy] [Breathing Master.].....
------------------------
Stats :-
Charm : 24
Vitality : 18 --->25
Endurance : 27--->35
Strength : 23---> 25
Agility : 28--->30
Intelligence : 17 ---> 18
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Skills :-
[Boxing : Master]
[Karate : Master]
[Wrestling : Master]
[Muay Thai : Advanced]
[Kenjutsu : Master]
[Shooting (Gun) : Intermediate]
[Football : Novice]
[Guitar : Advanced]
[Powerlifting : Intermediate]
[Breathing technique : Grandmaster.]
[Komi-san's language : Novice]
[Sun breathing ; Novice]
[Top G : Special Skill]
....
....
....
.
Close]
I smiled widely when I saw my improvements which could be called monstrous.
{I guess you are the type who grow massively in training unlike shounen characters who are forced to grow in battles most of the times.}
"I know." I said.
{Though I wonder why you are so determined and have such strong desires to be the strongest in the world.}
I paused when he said that and I thought about that as well.
I knew exactly why I am like this.
{Is it really a just because this is your second chance and you wanted to make the most of it? Or wait...}
..
..
{Hey, Yuito. I never really thought about it too deeply but, what was your past life like?}
..
..
..
"Pfft come on. I lived a normal weeb life. I was basically a hermit who only go out to hit the gym." I said and began running home using my new gained skill.
{Really?}
"What? why do I need a great reason or incident to become the strongest anyway? I just want to okay." I said.
I noticed the effect of my increased stats. Sprinting felt like walking.
"It's not that deep." I said and ran.
All the way home.
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Author : Extra chapter after 500 stones.
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