The countdown began the morning after the notice.
Not with urgency.
With acceptance.
Two weeks wasn't time to become exceptional.
It was time to become reliable under scrutiny.
Morning Adjustments
Rudra started waking ten minutes earlier.
Not to run faster—but to warm up longer.
His joints mattered now. His breathing rhythm mattered. The way his body responded after fatigue mattered more than how it started.
The run stayed controlled.
When his calves tightened, he slowed.
When his breathing steadied, he continued.
No ego.
School Days
Classes passed quietly.
Some classmates talked about trials endlessly—what if they failed, what if they succeeded, what if selectors noticed them.
Rudra didn't join those conversations.
He revised during lunch.
Not intensely.
Consistently.
District trials would take hours.
A wandering mind would waste them.
Practice Without Spotlight
Evening sessions changed tone.
Less banter.
More silence.
Parbas ji extended drills without explanation.
Throwing after sprints.
Catching with tired legs.
Blocking deliveries without counterattack.
Rudra welcomed it.
This was the cricket that didn't look good—but lasted.
System Record (Minimal Display)
One night, while stretching his hamstrings, awareness aligned.
Running: 92 / 100 EXP
Stamina: gradual increase
Flexibility: threshold nearing
No level-ups.
Just warning-free progression.
He exhaled slowly.
Good.
Watching Others
Not everyone adjusted well.
A few boys trained harder—but skipped recovery.
Others rested too much, afraid of injury.
One pulled a muscle.
Another caught a cold.
Rudra said nothing.
The trials hadn't even started—and they were already deciding outcomes.
At Home
His father began checking the time in the mornings.
Not to rush him.
To see if he was awake.
Sometimes they exchanged a nod. Nothing more.
His mother packed bananas and soaked almonds without being asked.
Routine was becoming support.
Understanding the Word "Ordinary"
On the final night before the last week, Rudra sat on the balcony, stretching his wrists under the dim light.
Ordinary swings.
Ordinary throws.
Ordinary runs.
But done every day.
Without panic.
Without shortcuts.
That was what selectors noticed—not brilliance, but absence of weakness.
He lay down, set his alarm, and closed his eyes.
Two weeks.
He wasn't trying to stand out.
He was making sure nothing in him failed when watched.
And sometimes, that was enough to open a gate.
The system did not care what Rudra was doing.
Only how deliberately he did it.
That truth became clear during the second week of preparation.
Studying With Intent
Rudra stopped studying the way children usually did—rushing chapters, underlining randomly, cramming before tests.
Instead, he slowed down.
One topic.
One problem type.
One clear outcome.
Mathematics in the evening.
English comprehension before sleep.
Not because exams were near—but because focus applied anywhere sharpened focus everywhere.
One night, while solving a long division problem without distraction, the familiar alignment surfaced.
Not intrusive.
Not demanding.
Just precise.
SYSTEM RECORD (PASSIVE — MINIMAL VIEW)
[ MENTAL STATUS ] Focus +6 EXP Memory +9 EXP Decision Speed +5 EXP
No sound.
No glow.
Rudra didn't smile—but he understood.
Cricket wasn't the only place where effort hardened into skill.
Observation as Training
He began watching more.
How teachers explained concepts.
How classmates panicked when questioned.
How some boys lost attention the moment a subject bored them.
During practice, he watched bowlers' grips even when he wasn't batting.
In the field, he studied angles—where throws slowed, where they stayed flat.
Observation itself became deliberate.
That night, stretching his ankles slowly, awareness returned.
SYSTEM UPDATE
[ SKILLS ] Field Awareness Lv 01 → +12 EXP Balance Lv 01 → +9 EXP
Rudra paused.
Balance.
Not physical alone.
Small, Unnoticed Skills
Other things changed quietly.
Packing his bag the same way every time
Arriving five minutes early, never rushing
Drinking water before thirst
Stopping practice before exhaustion turned sloppy
None of these were heroic.
All of them were repeatable.
The system recorded them without comment.
A Subtle Shift in the Body
By the end of the week, Rudra noticed it himself.
He didn't feel stronger.
He felt more stable.
His feet adjusted faster.
His breathing recovered quicker.
His thoughts didn't scatter under noise.
One more alignment.
SYSTEM RECORD
[ BODY STATUS ] Stamina +8 EXP Flexibility +4 EXP
Still no level-ups.
Still no praise.
Just accumulation.
Understanding the System Fully
That night, lying in bed, Rudra finally understood the system's true nature.
It wasn't a cricket system.
It wasn't even a talent system.
It was a truth system.
Whatever he treated seriously—
Whatever he repeated with care—
Whatever he improved without cutting corners—
It stayed.
Cricket.
Study.
Movement.
Discipline.
All counted.
Outside, the city slept.
Inside, Rudra adjusted his alarm for the next morning.
District trials were close now.
And for the first time, he felt something deeper than readiness.
He felt complete—not as a player, not as a child—
But as someone whose effort, in any direction, would never be wasted.