"Extreme burst: first stage"
"First move."
"Second move"
"Third move"
"Fourth move"
"Fifth move"
In a simulation chamber, the vigorous voice of a little boy was heard as he delivered ferocious attacks to a training dummy. Each punch, each kick, was executed with explosiveness deserving of the name of the technique. Even more impressive was the dummy. The dummy looked very ordinary, the only special trait it had was its color. It was entirely black, with no other color displayed alongside it. It remained steady, regardless of the ferocity of the attacks thrown at it. The stronger attacks caused it to sway from side to side, but that was it. There were no dents on it, not even a scratch.
The figure that was attacking the training dummy showed no surprise at its durability. He had lost count of how many times he had attacked the dummy, his aching limbs bearing witness to that. He continued with his barrage, his blonde hair fluttered as he struck the dummy again, this time opting for an uppercut executed flawlessly with his elbow.
*BOOM*
The seemingly indestructible dummy swayed once again, evidence of the power behind the strike. The little boy's blue eyes sparkled with determination as though finally seeing an opportunity. Still maintaining his stance- which remained unbroken after the previous attack, as though bearing no rebound effects- he whipped his left leg towards the dummy, leaving his right leg with the task of maintaining his balance.
"Star flicker Extreme burst combo"
Mane mumbled quietly under his breath as his leg finally connected with the dummy's exposed chin. In that brief moment of contact, the appearance of the leg grew blurry, leaving only a deafening sound as the evidence of its contact with the dummy.
*BOOOOOOM*
The sound of their contact was three times louder than any before it, deafening to the ears. Mane flipped back expertly after executing the attack, retreating from the range of the dummy.
"Very impressive", 6th commented, clearly impressed with the result of the little boy's kick. The black dummy was still the same as it was- well, almost the same. Its formerly forward facing head had turned a full ninety degrees to the right, Mane's greatest achievement yet.
"I can't believe the breakthrough caused such a vast increase in my strength."
Mane seemed very surprised by this feat. Before his recent breakthrough, he had never been able to cause the dummy to even sway. However, now he could actually cause it to turn its head. Granted, he had to use a move he had just developed but he was certain that he was not this powerful before. Obviously because, even without his apex technique, he could still cause the dummy to sway.
"You truly are a genius. You were able to merge two high rank skill books. I think you should give it a name."
Mane nodded lightly at 6th's words. He had reached the peak of the first stage of the Extreme Burst technique about two years ago. The second stage required too much energy to execute and hence was unavailable to him. As someone who was always seeking to constantly improve himself, he decided to attempt a modification on the technique. He decided to merge the first stage of the Star Flicker technique with the first stage of the Extreme Burst technique.
This was anything but simple since the focus of the merge was not on the whole body, but a part of it. For instance, in that last attack, he had used both techniques on just his leg. What made it even more difficult was the fact that the Star Flicker technique could only be used for movement in a straight path.
It wouldn't work with anything but that. That meant an enormous amount of concentration and impeccable timing.
The success rate wasn't perfect either. Mane spent about a year developing this technique, and another raising its success rate from 3% to 75%. This technique wasn't without its flaws either. The most devastating of them being a severe backlash if the move wasn't well executed: losing more than half of one's energy reserves. There may also be a chance of a fracture if the body wasn't able to handle the burden of the additional speed.
Luckily for Mane he had the perfect sparring partner- the black dummy. The dummy appeared after he completed the highest level of difficulty for the Celestial section in the simulation chamber under 10 seconds. According to the illusion of Uncle Jake that appeared, it was a gift for when he achieved such a feat. Mane felt that Uncle Jake had too much confidence in him. The very fact that he said 'when' showed just that. According to his uncle's projection, the black dummy was an actual lifeform.
However this 'lifeform' was currently inaccessible to him. It needed a large amount of energy to wake up. Mane at his current level wasn't able to provide that energy. From Uncle Jake's projection, when he had the ability to cause the dummy to move back at least seven feet, that would signify that he was finally ready. Oh and the dummy actually had a name.
"Cornelius. A fascinating name for a dummy I must admit. Now that I know the limit of my abilities, it's time to learn how to regulate it. As for the name of this new technique, I already thought of one: Flickering Burst."
"Good name." The 6th said, with the other masters murmuring in approval.
Now that Mane had given his technique a name, he moved on to the next order of business. Mane had developed a habit over the years. Whenever he achieved a breakthrough, the first thing he did was to determine the limits of his strength. Next on the list was control. Control was essential for every wielder. Control determined how much power was behind each attack. Control determined the amount of energy that each attack possessed. Without control a wielder may very well deplete all of his/her energy in a battle and find him/herself in big trouble.
Control also helped to limit injuries in harmless sparring sessions. A perfect example of that would be the unfortunate event that occurred during the week. If Mane had a correct grasp of his strength, he would not have caused such grave injuries to Aegeus. The flick he delivered was expected to throw him back a few feet and disorient the older boy. He didn't even draw on his energy reserves to do that.
Mane wondered what Aegeus's brother would do after seeing his brother's state. After the 'unfortunate event', Mane left to go home since it was a Saturday. He had no idea that a duel notice had been sent to him. If he did, he would have been filled with ecstasy. Of course he was going to reject the duel. But he would finally be able to meet Frederick even if he did so.
Mane pushed Frederick to the back of his mind. He smiled, an extremely large grin that caused the entities trapped in the mountains to shudder.
"Let's forget about that for now. It's time for a hunt…an extreme hunt"