The next day, Ayaan and Anshuman woke up early as usual.
After getting ready, they headed toward Class 1-D.
The classroom was already filled with students.
The two sat in their seats and waited.
A few minutes later, the teacher entered.
The classroom immediately became silent.
The teacher placed a file on her desk and looked at the students.
"Your first special test is approaching."
Everyone immediately paid attention.
The teacher continued.
"This exam will determine class rankings."
The entire class became serious.
"If you want to move to a higher-ranked class, you'll need to outperform the students from the other classes."
The students started looking at each other.
The teacher then wrote on the board.
Special Examination
Physical Tests
Educational Tests
"This examination will evaluate both academic ability and physical ability."
At that moment, the strongest boy in the class stood up.
His name was Sudo.
"I'll be the best in the physical section."
Then he scratched his head.
"But academics are a problem."
Several students laughed.
Ayaan glanced toward Anshuman.
Anshuman understood immediately.
"We'll talk about this later."
The teacher then revealed the rewards.
The classroom became silent again.
Rankings & Rewards
1st Place
Promotion to Class 1-C or Class 1-B
1,000,000 Points for each student
2nd Place
Promotion to Class 1-C
750,000 Points for each student
3rd Place
No guaranteed promotion
350,000 Points for each student
4th Place
One student will be expelled
The entire classroom froze.
Then chaos erupted.
"Expelled?!"
"Seriously?!"
"One of us could get kicked out?!"
The teacher remained calm.
"That's correct."
The room instantly became tense.
Nobody wanted to finish in last place.
Ayaan sat quietly.
Anshuman leaned back in his chair with a smile.
But unlike the others, neither of them seemed surprised.
They simply listened.
The teacher looked around the room.
"You have one week to prepare."
"Use your time wisely."
The moment she finished speaking, everyone understood one thing.
This would be the first real battle between the classes.
After the classes got over, Ayaan and Anshuman packed their things and left the classroom.
The campus was busy as students headed toward their dormitories.
The two were walking back to their room when they noticed someone approaching them.
It was Kira.
She waved as she walked over.
"Where are you two going?"
"Our room." Anshuman replied.
Kira smiled.
"Should I come too?"
Ayaan looked at her.
"For what?"
Kira crossed her arms.
"I'm your friend now."
"A friend can visit another friend's room anytime."
Ayaan and Anshuman looked at each other.
Kira pointed at them.
"Don't overthink it."
Before either of them could answer, she suddenly handed her bag to Ayaan.
Ayaan caught it without saying a word.
Then Kira jumped onto Anshuman's back.
"Carry me to your room!"
Anshuman nearly lost his balance.
Then he started laughing.
"What are you doing?"
"Saving energy."
"You're perfectly capable of walking."
"And you're perfectly capable of carrying me."
Anshuman laughed again.
"That's not how that works."
Meanwhile, Ayaan stood beside them holding Kira's bag.
He looked at the two for a moment.
Then he simply started walking.
Kira pointed at him.
"See? Even Ayaan agrees."
"He didn't say anything."
"Exactly."
"That doesn't prove your point."
Kira ignored him.
"Forward, my loyal transport vehicle!"
Anshuman laughed so hard he almost dropped her.
The three continued walking through the campus.
Students stared as they passed.
A quiet boy carrying a girl's bag.
A laughing boy carrying the girl herself.
And the girl acting as if everything was completely normal.
Eventually, they reached the dormitory building and headed toward Ayaan and Anshuman's room.
When they reached the room, Anshuman opened the door.
The three entered.
Kira immediately looked around.
The room was spotless.
The beds were perfectly arranged.
The desks were organized.
The closet was neat.
Not a single thing seemed out of place.
Kira blinked.
"It's normal for two people..."
She looked around again.
"...but why is everything so perfect here?"
"There's literally no mess."
Anshuman laughed.
"Ayaan likes it that way."
Kira slowly turned toward Ayaan.
Ayaan was already placing her bag near a chair.
"Of course he does."
She sat on the couch.
Then she looked at Anshuman.
"Does he love anything?"
Anshuman nearly laughed.
"That's a difficult question."
Kira leaned forward.
"Come on."
"Tell me everything about him."
Ayaan glanced at them.
"Don't."
Kira pointed at him.
"See? That makes me even more curious."
Anshuman sat down.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything."
"That's a lot."
"Start somewhere."
Anshuman pretended to think.
"Well..."
"He wakes up early."
"He trains every day."
"He keeps everything organized."
"He doesn't talk much."
"And he stares at people so much that it's actually scary."
Kira laughed.
"I've noticed that one."
Ayaan sat in a chair and calmly opened a book.
As if the conversation had nothing to do with him.
Kira pointed at him again.
"See? He's doing it right now."
"He's pretending not to listen."
Anshuman nodded.
"He's definitely listening."
"I am." Ayaan replied without looking up.
Kira grinned.
"Caught."
For the first time, a faint expression of annoyance appeared on Ayaan's face.
Anshuman immediately started laughing.
"That's rare."
"Very rare."
Kira smiled proudly.
"So I can affect him."
"Don't get ahead of yourself." Ayaan replied.
Kira leaned back on the couch.
"Nope. I'm counting that as a victory."
Anshuman laughed again while Ayaan silently returned to reading his book, already regretting letting Kira into the room.
Kira suddenly stood up from the couch.
"Today, I'll cook dinner for us."
Anshuman looked surprised.
"Really?"
Kira proudly nodded.
"Of course."
Then she looked toward Ayaan.
"I'm not like Ayaan, who can't do anything."
Anshuman immediately started laughing.
"Do you really think he can't do anything?"
Kira crossed her arms.
"Yep."
She pointed at Ayaan.
"Ayaan, I'm giving you a cooking challenge."
Ayaan didn't even look up from his book.
"Don't act like a kid."
"See? He's scared."
"I'm not."
Anshuman grinned.
"Just do what she says, bro."
Ayaan sighed and finally closed his book.
"Fine."
Kira's eyes lit up.
"Good."
She walked into the kitchen area.
"Whoever makes the best fried rice wins."
Anshuman immediately raised his hand.
"I'll be the judge."
"Accepted." Kira said.
Ayaan simply stood up and walked toward the kitchen.
The competition began.
Kira confidently started preparing ingredients.
Meanwhile, Ayaan calmly opened the refrigerator and took out what he needed.
For the next twenty minutes, the room was filled with the sounds of cooking.
Kira occasionally looked toward Ayaan.
"Don't copy me."
"I'm not."
"You definitely are."
"I'm definitely not."
Anshuman sat on the couch watching the entire thing like it was a championship match.
"This is more entertaining than class."
Eventually, both plates of fried rice were finished.
They were placed on the table.
Kira looked confident.
Ayaan looked completely uninterested.
Anshuman sat down in front of the two plates.
"The fate of this room shall now be decided."
Kira laughed.
Ayaan stared at him.
"Stop being dramatic."
Anshuman ignored him and took a bite of Kira's fried rice.
He nodded.
"Pretty good."
Kira smiled proudly.
Then he took a bite of Ayaan's.
The moment he did, he stopped moving.
Kira blinked.
"What's wrong?"
Anshuman slowly put down the spoon.
He looked at Ayaan.
Then at Kira.
Then back at Ayaan.
"This isn't fair."
"What?" Kira asked.
"Why does his taste like something from a restaurant?"
Kira immediately grabbed a spoon and tasted it herself.
A few seconds later, she froze.
Then she slowly looked at Ayaan.
"You said nothing about being able to cook."
"You never asked."
Anshuman burst out laughing.
Kira pointed at him.
"You tricked me!"
"No."
"You absolutely did."
For the first time that evening, even Ayaan looked slightly amused while Kira complained about being defeated in her own challenge.
Time passed quickly.
The three talked, laughed, and cleaned up after dinner.
Eventually, Ayaan looked at the clock.
10:00 PM.
He stood up.
"It's our sleep time."
Kira immediately shook her head.
"Not while I'm here."
She sat back down on the couch.
"Let's play something."
Ayaan looked completely exhausted.
"Please let me sleep."
Anshuman laughed.
"Yeah, Kira. Let him sleep."
Kira looked at the two.
Then she sighed dramatically.
"Fine."
She stood up and picked up her bag.
"Bye, then."
As she headed toward the door, Anshuman stood up too.
"I'll drop you off at your room."
Kira smiled.
"Okay, thanks."
The two left the room together.
The moment the door closed, Ayaan walked straight to his bed.
Within minutes, he was asleep.
Meanwhile, Anshuman and Kira walked through the quiet campus.
Most students had already returned to their dorms.
The night was calm.
After walking for a while, Kira suddenly asked,
"Does Ayaan love anyone?"
Anshuman looked at her.
Then he laughed.
"Not really."
Kira listened quietly.
"He's just a simple guy."
"He doesn't really have any special interests like that."
Anshuman smiled.
"To me, he's just my lovely bro."
Kira laughed.
"You really care about him, don't you?"
"Of course."
Anshuman replied immediately.
"We've been together for a long time."
Soon they reached the girls' dormitory building.
Kira stopped at the entrance.
"Thanks for walking me here."
"No problem."
Kira waved.
"Good night."
"Good night."
Anshuman waved back.
Then he turned around and headed toward his own dormitory.
A few minutes later, he quietly entered the room.
Ayaan was already asleep.
Anshuman smiled, turned off the lights, and went to bed as another day at the academy came to an end.
The next day was Sunday.
As usual, Ayaan and Anshuman woke up early and finished their morning routine.
Afterward, they headed to a café.
The two ordered coffee and sat near a window.
While drinking, Ayaan suddenly said,
"I want to buy a laptop for our future planning."
Anshuman nodded.
"That's actually a good idea."
Just then, they saw Kira entering the café.
She noticed them and immediately walked over.
Without asking, she sat beside them.
"Good morning."
"Morning." Anshuman replied.
Kira looked unusually serious.
"I'm bad at studies."
"And I'm bad physically too."
Anshuman raised an eyebrow.
"How can we help you?"
Kira smiled.
"You help me with physical training."
"And studies too."
Anshuman looked at Ayaan.
Then he asked,
"What do you think?"
Ayaan took a sip of coffee.
"Okay."
Kira smiled.
Then Ayaan added,
"But we're not very good at studies either."
Anshuman immediately looked at Ayaan.
Then he started laughing.
Kira looked between the two.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Nothing."
Kira ignored him.
"Let's meet in the library at 6 PM."
"Okay." Anshuman replied.
Ayaan nodded.
Then he said,
"You also have to wake up at 5 AM."
"For training."
Kira almost dropped her coffee.
"Five in the morning?"
"I can't wake up that early."
Ayaan simply stared at her.
A few seconds passed.
Kira sighed.
"Fine."
"I'll do it."
After talking for a while longer, they finished their drinks.
Kira waved goodbye and headed off.
The two remained seated for a few moments.
Then Ayaan stood up.
"Let's go to the electronics shop."
"Okay." Anshuman replied.
The two walked toward the shopping district and entered the electronics store.
Rows of expensive devices filled the shelves.
Ayaan approached an employee.
"Show me all the laptops and their prices."
The employee nodded and showed them the available models.
Laptop Selection
Basic Student Laptop
150,000 Points
Good for notes and assignments
Advanced Student Laptop
250,000 Points
Faster performance and larger storage
Premium Laptop
450,000 Points
High-end processor, premium display
Professional Workstation
700,000 Points
Designed for advanced projects and multitasking
Elite Academy Special Edition Laptop
1,000,000 Points
Highest performance available in the academy
Anshuman stared at the last price.
"One million points for a laptop?"
The employee smiled.
"It's our best model."
Anshuman shook his head.
"At that price, it should do my exams for me."
The employee awkwardly laughed.
Meanwhile, Ayaan calmly looked at every specification and every price while deciding which laptop would be most useful for their future plans.
After looking through the laptops, Ayaan turned toward the employee.
"We'll come back tomorrow."
The employee nodded.
The two left the electronics store and began walking through the campus.
After a few moments, Anshuman asked,
"What are you going to do now?"
Ayaan looked at him.
"We need points for the laptop."
"How?"
Ayaan simply stared at him.
A few seconds passed.
Then Anshuman laughed.
"Oh."
"Okay."
The two continued walking.
At exactly 6:00 PM, they arrived at the library.
The library was quiet.
Rows of bookshelves stretched across the room.
Kira was already waiting for them.
She waved when she saw them.
The three sat around a study table.
Kira immediately asked,
"Now what should we do?"
Ayaan looked at her.
"Study."
Kira frowned.
"I also know that."
Anshuman burst out laughing.
Kira rolled her eyes.
Then Ayaan asked,
"How many points do you have?"
Kira's expression changed.
"Not many."
"Ryan took most of them from me."
Ayaan nodded.
"Oh. Okay."
Anshuman then asked,
"What subject are you best at?"
"SST."
"History, Geography, Civics... those are easy for me."
Anshuman nodded.
"I'm best at Science."
Kira then looked at Ayaan.
"And you?"
Before Ayaan could answer, Anshuman spoke.
"He's good at everything."
Ayaan glanced at him.
Anshuman grinned.
"But he's especially good at Maths."
Kira immediately looked horrified.
"Maths is my worst subject."
She grabbed her chair and moved next to Ayaan.
Then she opened her notebook.
"Help me."
Ayaan looked at the page.
It was filled with mathematics problems.
Kira pointed at the first question.
"How do I solve this?"
Ayaan explained it.
A few minutes later—
"What about this one?"
Ayaan explained again.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Meanwhile, Anshuman sat across from them reading through SST chapters.
Every now and then he looked up.
Kira was writing notes as fast as possible.
Ayaan was calmly explaining formulas and methods.
After watching for a while, Anshuman smiled.
"It's funny."
Kira looked up.
"What?"
"The person who hates talking is teaching someone for almost an hour."
Kira laughed.
Ayaan ignored both of them and continued explaining the next question while the three spent the evening preparing for the upcoming examination.