Arc 3: The University Rise
August 22, 2001. The Morning of Transformation.
The sun rose over Bannerghatta, revealing a miracle that defied the laws of civil engineering.
Last night, the Gurudeva PU College was a single-story brick structure with a temporary roof. Today, it was a G+2 edifice.
The red bricks had been plastered and painted a stately ivory white. Arched windows with teak frames glinted in the morning light. A terracotta tiled roof crowned the structure, giving it the look of a heritage university rather than a new college.
At the center of the campus, the ancient Veeragallu (Hero Stone) stood on a raised stone dais, surrounded by fresh marigolds. It pulsed with a faint, invisible rhythm—the Institutional Aura.
Surya stood at the gate, watching the reaction of his staff.
Dr. Rao dropped his cigarette. "I... I went home at 8 PM. It was one floor. How?"
"Modular construction," Surya said, repeating his favorite lie. "And a very motivated night shift."
Moorthy walked around the new pillars, tapping them with a wrench. "This concrete is cured. It takes 28 days to cure concrete. This... this defies physics."
"We teach physics, Moorthy. We don't obey it," Surya winked.
But there was no time to marvel. The crowd was already here.
The line of parents and students stretched for half a kilometer. The news of the "Heritage Site" and the "Rank 2 Result" had turned the college into a magnet.
"We need a system," Shakuntala Devi barked, taking charge. "Rao, you handle Science admissions in Hall 1. Moorthy, handle the technical interviews. I will handle the money in the office."
She looked at Surya. "And you, Principal? You have a guest."
Surya frowned. "A guest?"
Shakuntala pointed to a sleek, silver Lexus parked near the Banyan tree—a car that was incredibly rare in 2001 India. A chauffeur in a white uniform stood by the door, holding a black envelope.
Surya walked over.
"Mr. Surya Gowda?" the chauffeur asked.
"Yes."
"Madam requests your presence for brunch. Bangalore Golf Club. High Grounds."
He handed over the envelope. It was heavy, made of textured paper, sealed with red wax. Inside was a single card.
To the Architect of Miracles,
We need to talk about the future. And the dangers of flying too close to the sun.
— Lakshmi.
Surya looked at the car. He looked at his busy college.
"I have admissions to run," Surya said.
"Madam said you would say that," the chauffeur smiled politely. "She also said that if you don't come, the 'Order' will visit you tonight. And they don't serve brunch."
Surya felt a chill. The Order.
"Fine," Surya said. "Let's go."
The Bangalore Golf Club. 11:00 AM.
The Bangalore Golf Club was an island of colonial silence in the middle of the bustling city. It was where the Old Money of Bangalore whispered deals that shaped the state.
Surya walked onto the terrace overlooking the 18th hole. He felt out of place in his simple shirt and trousers, surrounded by men in polo shirts and expensive sunglasses.
At a corner table, under a white umbrella, sat a woman.
She was stunning. Not in a Bollywood way, but in a way that commanded the air around her. She appeared to be in her late twenties, wearing a chiffon saree the color of dried blood, paired with a sleeveless blouse. She wore oversized sunglasses, and her dark hair fell in waves over her shoulders.
[Eye of Vidya Active]
[Target: Lakshmi (Surname Redacted)]
[Age: 28]
[Status: High-Level System User.]
[System Type: The Weaver of Fate (Political/Social Influence).]
[Aura Level: Platinum.]
Surya swallowed. Another User. And she's strong.
"Principal Surya," Lakshmi said, removing her sunglasses to reveal eyes that were a piercing amber. "Please, sit. The idlis here are quite good."
Surya sat down. "You helped me with the license. And the insurance. Why?"
"Because I like chaotic variables," Lakshmi smiled, sipping her tea. "Vikram Seth is boring. He plays by the rules of the hierarchy. You... you break them. Finding a Hero Stone to stop a highway? That was poetic."
"Who are you?" Surya asked bluntly.
"I am a frantic investor in potential," she evaded. "But we are not here to talk about me. We are here to talk about the target on your back."
She placed a photograph on the table. It was a grainy image of a black lotus flower, stamped on a wall.
"Do you know what this is?"
"A flower?"
"It is the sigil of the Order of the Black Lotus," Lakshmi said, her voice dropping. "Surya, do you think you and Vikram are the only ones with... gifts?"
Surya stayed silent.
"There are twelve Great Families in India," Lakshmi explained. "Each has a System User at its core. They control sectors—Steel, Media, Pharma, Education. They maintain the 'Balance'. The rich stay rich, the poor stay necessary, and the nation grows at a controlled pace."
She leaned in.
"You are disrupting the Balance. You are taking auto-drivers' sons and turning them into rank holders. You are making the poor powerful too fast. The Order considers this... instability."
"Instability?" Surya laughed dryly. "I call it progress."
"They call it a virus," Lakshmi said coldly. "Vikram Seth has petitioned the Order. He claims you are a 'Wild User'—a rogue element without lineage. He has asked for permission to initiate a System Duel."
"Let him duel me," Surya said. "I beat him in exams. I beat his thugs."
"This isn't an exam, Surya. A System Duel is a spiritual war. If he wins, he doesn't just beat you. He absorbs your System. He takes your Karma. You die, or you become a vegetable."
Surya's hand tightened on the tablecloth. "Absorb my System?"
"Yes. It's how the Seth family became powerful. They are cannibals."
Lakshmi reached out and touched his hand. Her skin was cool, but her touch sent a jolt of electricity through him.
"I can protect you," she whispered. "Join my faction. Become a vassal of the Weaver. I will shield you from the Order. But you must stop expanding. Keep your college small. Keep your head down."
Surya looked at her. She was offering safety. She was offering survival.
All he had to do was stop growing. Stop dreaming of a university. Be a small, happy principal under her thumb.
Surya pulled his hand away gently.
"You have beautiful eyes, Lakshmi," Surya said. "But you are blind."
She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"You think I'm building a college," Surya stood up. "I'm not. I'm building a temple. And in my temple, we don't bow to 'Orders'. We bow to knowledge."
He leaned down, his face inches from hers.
"Tell the Black Lotus to come. Tell Vikram to come. I need the XP."
Lakshmi stared at him. Then, a slow, genuine smile spread across her face. It wasn't the smile of a manipulator; it was the smile of a woman who had finally found something interesting.
"You are arrogant," she said. "I like it. But arrogance bleeds, Surya."
"Then I'll bleed," Surya turned to leave. "Thanks for the idli."
As he walked away, Lakshmi picked up her phone.
"He refused the leash," she said to someone on the other end. "Let the games begin."
The College. 2:00 PM.
Surya returned to the campus. The admissions were winding down. They had filled the PU seats (120 students). But there was a crowd of older students—18 and 19-year-olds—waiting.
"Sir!" Shakuntala ran up to him. "We have a problem. These students... they want Degree courses. B.Sc, B.Com, BBM. But we don't have affiliation with Bangalore University yet."
Surya looked at the students. They were the ones who couldn't get into the big colleges because of low marks or lack of donations.
"If we don't start Degree classes,"
Shakuntala warned, "we lose the revenue to build the labs."
Surya looked at the System Shop.
[Mission: The University Charter]
* Objective: Establish a Degree College.
* Requirement: Affiliation with a recognized University.
* Obstacle: The Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University is a puppet of the Black Lotus.
"We can't get affiliation the normal way," Surya realized. "They will block my file forever."
He looked at the Hero Stone in the center of the campus.
"System," Surya asked. "What is the [The Spirit Teacher] feature?"
[Feature: Spirit Teacher]
* Usage: Once a month.
* Effect: Summons the echo of Guru Someshwara.
* Special Ability: Can grant 'Divine Accreditation'. (Historically recognized by the Crown, supersedes modern bureaucracy in specific contexts of 'Traditional Knowledge').
An idea formed. A loophole so ancient that modern laws forgot to close it.
"Shakuntala," Surya smiled. "We aren't going to be a college under Bangalore University."
"Then what?"
"We are going to be a Gurukula," Surya announced. "Under the Ancient Vedic Universities Act. It allows us to grant our own degrees in 'Applied Sciences' as long as we prove we are teaching 'Ancient Wisdom'."
"Ancient Wisdom?" Shakuntala looked at the computer lab. "We teach Java and C++."
"Java is just a language," Surya shrugged. "Logic is eternal. Moorthy! Get the application forms. We are launching the Gurudeva Institute of Integrated Sciences."
That Night. The First Summoning.
At midnight, when the students had left and the campus was silent, Surya stood alone before the Hero Stone.
"System, activate Spirit Teacher."
[Cost: 500 KP]
[Summoning Guru Someshwara...]
The air grew cold. The smell of sandalwood filled the courtyard.
From the stone, a figure emerged. It wasn't a ghost in a sheet. It was a man made of blue light, wearing a dhoti, holding a staff. He looked exactly like the carving, but his eyes held the weight of centuries.
Guru Someshwara looked at the new building. He looked at the computers visible through the window. Finally, he looked at Surya.
"You have built a large hut," the Guru's voice echoed in Surya's mind. "But the roof leaks."
"It's a work in progress, Guru-ji," Surya bowed.
"Why have you summoned me?"
"I have enemies," Surya said. "Powerful ones. They use spiritual energy to crush the minds of my students. I need to know how to defend them."
The Guru nodded. "The Asuras (Demons) change their faces, but their hunger remains the same. You seek to build a Mental Fortress."
"To defend the mind," the Guru floated towards the center of the courtyard, "one must first empty it."
[Skill Granted: The Domain of Silence.]
* Effect: A passive barrier that prevents external psychic scrying or attacks within the campus walls.
* Cost to Maintain: 10 KP per day.
"But defense is not enough," the Guru said sternly. "You must attack their ignorance. You must teach your students not just to solve problems, but to question the reality of the problem."
The Guru pointed to the empty third floor (the roof).
"Build a tower there. A tower of observation. When the stars align, I will teach you the Mathematics of the Heavens."
The figure faded back into the stone.
Surya stood alone. He felt lighter. The oppressive feeling of being watched—which he had felt since the meeting with Lakshmi—was gone. The barrier was up.
[System Notification]
[Defense Upgraded: Psychic Shield Active.]
[The 'Black Lotus' can no longer spy on your campus.]
Surya grinned. He was blind to them, and now, they were blind to him.
"Now," Surya cracked his knuckles. "Let's start the Degree College."
Scene: The Shadows.
In a dark room lit only by a single oil lamp, a man in a black robe sat before a bowl of water. He was trying to scry the Gurudeva Campus.
Usually, he would see the students, hear their conversations.
Today, the water was black. Opaque.
"He has blocked the Sight," the man whispered.
Vikram Seth, standing behind him, clenched his fist. "How? He is a novice!"
"He has a Patron," the robed man said. "An ancient one. This is no longer a skirmish, Vikram. This is a Crusade."
Vikram turned to the door.
"Then we stop playing games. Initiate Operation: Trojan Horse. We send a student inside. A sleeper agent."
"Who?"
"Someone who looks innocent," Vikram smiled. "Someone who needs a scholarship. Send Rohan."