The alarm clock read 5:00 AM.
Rudra didn't need it anymore. His body had adjusted to the rhythm—wake, run, stretch, practice. The forty-four-year-old inside him had spent decades building habits. The twelve-year-old body was finally catching up.
He swung his legs out of bed. The floor was cold. The room was dark. Somewhere in the kitchen, his mother was already stirring.
She wakes up earlier than me, he realized. Every day. For years. For me.
He dressed in silence—navy shorts, oversized t-shirt, the same shoes with the hole near the toe. The safety pin held.
The hallway mirror waited.
Shadow practice had evolved.
What started as five hundred forward defenses had grown into a circuit: fifty forward defenses, ten squats, fifty drives, ten lunges, fifty cuts, ten rapid hand movements against the wall. Eight hundred cricket shots. Eighty conditioning reps. All in the narrow hallway, with the cracked mirror reflecting a boy who moved like a man.
Repetition fifty. Squats. Low. Hold.
Repetition one hundred. Lunges. Deep. Steady.
Repetition two hundred. Hand speed. Fast. Fingers brushing the wall.
By the time he finished, sweat dripped from his forehead. His legs trembled. But the System logged progress.
[Batting Timing Lv 02 → 172/200]
[Strength Lv 01 → 7/100]
[Flexibility Lv 01 → 13/100]
[Reflexes Lv 01 → 15/100]
Almost there, Rudra thought. Batting Timing to Lv 03 today. Then the real work begins.
Breakfast was pongal with extra ghee. His mother placed the plate in front of him and sat down with her own.
"You're going to the nets today?" Janavi asked.
"After school. Then the video game café."
"Again?"
"Reflex training."
She shook her head. "When I was your age, we played outside. Ran in the fields. Climbed trees."
"When you were my age, there were fields to run in."
Janavi laughed. "Fair point."
His father walked in, already dressed for court. "Rudra. Prem Nath's office. Sunday at 10 AM. Don't be late."
"I won't be late."
"And wear something decent. Not those shorts with the safety pin."
Rudra looked down at his shorts. The safety pin was visible. "I don't have anything else."
Krishnamurthy was silent for a moment. Then he reached into his wallet and pulled out a five-hundred-rupee note.
"Buy something. Shirt. Pants. Shoes." He placed the note on the table. "Consider it an advance on your snack business profits."
Rudra stared at the note. Five hundred rupees. More than he had seen in weeks.
"Appa—"
"Don't thank me. Just don't embarrass me in front of Prem Nath."
[Financial Management Lv 01 → 65/100]
[System Note: Father's investment in presentation. Recognize as both trust and expectation.]
Rudra folded the note carefully and put it in his pocket.
School was a blur of equations and whispers.
The "7th Grade Genius" label had stuck. Boys from other classes stopped him in the hallway. Teachers called on him first. Even the principal had mentioned him in the morning assembly.
Rudra Sharma, for his outstanding performance in mathematics...
He stood at the front of the assembly, receiving a certificate, while three hundred students watched. Some clapped. Some stared. Some whispered.
This is the price of being different, he thought. Attention. Expectation. Pressure.
[Emotional Control Lv 01 → 16/100]
[Social Intelligence Lv 01 → 17/100]
After assembly, Akash caught up with him.
"You're famous now," Akash said.
"I'm not famous. I solved some equations."
"Equations make you famous in 7th grade." Akash walked beside him. "My father asked about you. He said, 'That Sharma boy, he's going places.'"
"What did you say?"
"I said, 'He's also weird.'"
Rudra smiled. "That's fair."
The school team practice that afternoon was brutal.
Coach Ramesh had them running sprints—twenty meters, fifty meters, hundred meters. Then agility drills—ladders, cones, quick feet. Then batting practice against the fast bowlers.
Rudra was paired with a boy named Karthik, a spinner from IX A.
"Left-arm orthodox," Karthik said. "I bowl straight. No variations. Just try to hit me."
Rudra took his stance.
First ball. Flighted outside off. He watched the trajectory, waited, drove through the line. The ball went to the boundary.
Second ball. Fuller. He stepped forward and defended.
Third ball. Shorter. He rocked back and cut.
Fourth ball. Tossed up. He didn't see any spin—the ball came straight. He drove again.
Fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth. Six more deliveries. Rudra scored off seven of them.
[Batting Timing Lv 02 → 176/200]
Karthik shook his head. "You're too good. I can't get you out."
"You will. You just need more variations."
"I don't know how to bowl variations."
"Then learn." Rudra stepped out of the crease. "A spinner who only bowls straight is a medium pacer who's easier to hit."
Karthik stared at him. "You're weird."
"I know."
After practice, Rudra stayed for fielding drills with Coach Ramesh.
"Catching first," Ramesh said. "Twenty balls. Move to where the ball is going. Don't wait for it to come to you."
Ball one. High. Rudra ran back, tracked it, caught it.
Ball two. Low, to his left. He dived—something he had never done before—and caught it.
Ball three. To his right. He moved, stretched, caught it.
Ball four, five, six. Three more catches. All clean.
[Fielding Lv 01 → 35/100]
"Better," Ramesh said. "Now throwing. Thirty meters. Hit the stumps."
Rudra picked up the ball. His shoulder ached from yesterday, but he ignored it.
Throw one. Miss.
Throw two. Miss.
Throw three. Hit.
Throw four, five, six, seven, eight. Miss, hit, miss, miss, hit.
Throw nine, ten. Miss, hit.
[Fielding Lv 01 → 38/100]
"Your shoulder is dropping again," Ramesh said. "Keep it level. Follow through."
"I'll work on it."
"You'll work on it at home. With a wall. Throw against a wall, catch the rebound. Two hundred throws a day."
Rudra nodded. "Two hundred."
"That's what I said."
He left the school ground at 6 PM, tired but satisfied.
The video game café was next.
The bus to Koramangala was crowded. Rudra stood near the door, holding the overhead rail, replaying the practice in his head.
Karthik needs variations. I could teach him. But that's time I don't have.
Ramesh wants two hundred throws a day. That's an hour. Where do I find an hour?
The snack business hasn't started. I need to talk to Guru about setting up a table.
The Prem Nath meeting is Sunday. I need clothes.
He pulled out his notebook—the yellow legal pad—and wrote:
TO-DO LIST (JUNE 2001)
Buy clothes for Prem Nath meeting (shirt, pants, shoes)
Talk to Guru about snack business
Throw 200 balls against a wall daily
Video game café: 1 hour daily (Reflexes)
Batting: push to Lv 03 by end of week
Fielding: push to Lv 02 by end of month
Six things, he thought. Manageable.
The café was busier than yesterday. Every console was occupied. The air smelled of sweat and fried snacks.
Rudra waited at the counter.
"Back again?" the owner said.
"Same as yesterday. One hour."
The owner pointed to a console in the corner. "That one's free. But only for an hour. Someone's booked it at 8."
Rudra slid ten rupees across the counter and sat down.
Tekken again. Same character. Harder difficulty.
He inserted the disc and began.
The first match was against the computer on hard mode.
The AI was faster, more aggressive. Rudra's thumbs moved instinctively—block, punch, kick, combo. His eyes tracked the opponent's movements.
Win.
Second match. Another win. His reactions were sharper than yesterday.
Third match. He lost. The computer pulled off a combo he hadn't seen before.
Fourth match. He adapted. Blocked the combo, countered, won.
[Reflexes Lv 01 → 18/100]
[Decision Speed Lv 01 → 7/100]
He played for an hour. Twenty-three matches. Eighteen wins, five losses. By the end, his thumbs were raw, his eyes were tired, and his mind was buzzing.
[Gaming Session Complete]
[EXP Gained: Reflexes +5, Decision Speed +2]
[Reflexes Lv 01 → 18/100]
[Decision Speed Lv 01 → 7/100]
Better. But still not enough.
He stood up, stretched, and walked to the counter.
"Same time tomorrow?" the owner asked.
"Same time tomorrow."
Before he left, Rudra turned back. "What's your name?"
The owner blinked. "Ramesh. But everyone calls me Ram."
"Ram, do you ever run tournaments?"
"Tournaments?"
"Fighting games. Tekken, Street Fighter. Charge an entry fee. Winner takes half. You take half. It brings in customers."
Ram stared at him. "How old are you?"
"Thirteen."
"You think like a businessman."
"I think like someone who wants to play for free."
Ram laughed. "I'll think about it. Come back next week."
[Social Intelligence Lv 01 → 19/100]
[Financial Management Lv 01 → 67/100]
[System Note: Business negotiation initiated. Follow up next week.]
The bus ride home was dark. Streetlights flickered past the window. Rudra's stomach growled—he hadn't eaten since lunch.
Dinner will be waiting. Amma always keeps food.
He thought about his mother. About the tiffin service idea. About the snack business.
She deserves more than this. More than a cramped kitchen and a worn saree and counting rupees at the end of every month.
[Emotional Control Lv 01 → 17/100]
[Quest: Mother's Dream — Progress: 5%]
I'll start the snack business this week. Then the tiffin service next month. Then—
The bus stopped. He got off and walked home.
Dinner was chapati and dal. His mother had kept the food warm.
"You're late," Janavi said.
"Café. Then bus."
"Eat. You're too thin."
Rudra sat down. His father was at the table, reviewing documents.
"The contract," Krishnamurthy said. "I visited Prem Nath. He initialed the change. No interest for six months."
"Good."
"He also asked about you. Wants to know what you're reading."
"What I'm reading?"
"Books. Newspapers. Anything. He said, 'A boy who thinks like a man must read like a man.'"
Rudra thought about his reading list. In his previous life, he had read business books, biographies, economic analyses. But that knowledge was still in his head.
"Tell him I'm reading the Economic Times. And the autobiography of Rahul Dravid."
Krishnamurthy nodded. "I'll tell him."
[Social Intelligence Lv 01 → 20/100]
[System Note: Prem Nath's interest is an opportunity. Prepare thoroughly.]
After dinner, Rudra sat on his bed, the System panel open.
He reviewed his progress since the trials.
Physical:
Stamina: Lv 02 (88/200) — Slow but steady
Reflexes: Lv 01 (18/100) — Accelerating via gaming
Strength: Lv 01 (7/100) — Needs dedicated work
Skill:
Batting Timing: Lv 02 (176/200) — One good session to Lv 03
Fielding: Lv 01 (38/100) — Improving
Decision Speed: Lv 01 (7/100) — Improving
Financial Management: Lv 01 (67/100) — Strong
Hidden:
Static Vision: 558/10,000 — Too slow. Need more balls.
Tomorrow, Rudra decided, I push Batting Timing to Lv 03. Then I start bowling practice.
He closed the panel and lay back.
The ceiling fan wobbled above him.
End of Chapter 16