The notice was pinned to the bulletin board outside the principal's office.
"Malleshwaram High School Cricket Team Trials — Saturday, June 9, 8:00 AM — School Ground — Open to students of Standards VII to IX — Selection Committee: Mr. K. S. Ramesh (Head Coach), Mr. Prakash Rao (Physical Education), Mr. S. Venkataraman (Sports Secretary)."
Rudra read the notice three times. June 9. That was four days away.
Four days to prepare. Four days to prove that the last week of obsessive training hadn't been wasted.
[System Note: School Selection Trials detected. This is your first competitive evaluation. Performance here will determine access to KSCA Under-14 Zonal Trials.]
No pressure, Rudra thought dryly.
The morning run had become a ritual.
Rudra stood at the lamppost at 5:17 AM, stretching his legs. His pacing strategy from yesterday's reflection had been simple: start slow, stay slow, survive.
Today, I finish.
He began jogging—not sprinting, not even running at his previous pace. A slow, deliberate jog that felt almost embarrassing. His legs moved easily. His breathing remained steady.
This is how I should have started from Day One.
At 300 meters, he felt the burn—but it was distant, manageable. He kept the same pace.
At 500 meters, his lungs were working harder, but his legs still felt fresh.
At 700 meters—past his previous collapse point—he was still moving.
Keep going.
800 meters. His vision was clear. His heart was pounding, but not out of control.
900 meters. The lamppost at the finish line was visible in the distance. A small crowd of early-morning walkers had gathered near the park, watching the strange boy who ran every day and collapsed every day.
Not today.
At 980 meters, his legs started to tremble.
Don't stop. Don't stop.
990 meters. 995. 998.
He crossed the lamppost.
[Main Quest Complete: Establish Baseline Fitness]
[Objective: Run 1km without stopping]
[Distance completed: 1.01 km]
[Reward: Stamina Lv 01 → Lv 02 + 50 bonus EXP]
[Stamina Lv 01 → Lv 02 (22/200 EXP)]
[Main Quest Reward Summary]
[EXP Gained: 50 (bonus) + 100 (level up) = 150 total]
[Stamina now Lv 02 — Average child level]
Rudra bent over, hands on his knees, breathing in great gasps. Sweat dripped from his forehead onto the pavement. His legs felt like rubber.
But he was standing. He hadn't collapsed.
Lv 02, he thought. One level down. Nine to go.
[System Note: First physical level up achieved. Durability and Reflexes remain at Lv 01. Recommend balanced training moving forward.]
Balanced, Rudra repeated. That means strength work. And flexibility. And reflexes.
The path was clear. The work was just beginning.
He walked home slowly, cooling down, stretching his calves against a wall.
The hallway mirror waited. Eight hundred shadow practice shots—forward defenses, drives, cuts. His shoulder protested, but the protest was familiar now. Almost comfortable.
[Shadow Practice Complete]
[Repetitions: 800/800]
[EXP Gained: Batting Timing +8]
[Batting Timing Lv 02 → 93.5/200 EXP]
Four days to trials, Rudra calculated. Four net sessions. Four shadow practices. Four morning runs.
If I push hard, I can reach Lv 03 in Batting Timing before Saturday. Maybe.
Breakfast was pongal—the rice and lentil dish his mother made on special mornings. Rudra ate quickly, his mind already on the nets.
"You're going to the club again today?" Janavi asked.
"Yes, Amma. Trials are on Saturday."
"Trials?" Krishnamurthy looked up from his newspaper. "What trials?"
"The school cricket team. Selection is on Saturday."
His father set down the paper. "You've been training for a week. You think that's enough?"
"It's a start."
Krishnamurthy studied his son—the bandaged shin, the dark circles under his eyes, the way he held himself like a man twice his age.
"Don't embarrass yourself," his father said finally. "If you're not ready, wait until next year."
Rudra met his father's gaze. "I'm ready."
The word hung in the air—heavy, confident, maybe arrogant.
Krishnamurthy nodded slowly. "Then prove it."
School that day felt different. The notice about the trials had spread through the student body like wildfire. Boys in Standards VII, VIII, and IX were talking about nothing else.
"Did you hear? Rohan from IX A is trying out. He scored fifty in the inter-house match."
"My cousin says the coach only picks boys from the cricket academy."
"I'm not trying out. The seniors will just humiliate us."
Rudra listened to the chatter without participating. He remembered these conversations from his previous life—the anxiety, the posturing, the quiet fear of failure.
I was scared too, he remembered. I almost didn't try out. I thought I wasn't good enough.
In his previous life, he had barely made the team—the last pick, the twelfth man, the boy who sat on the bench and watched others play.
Not this time.
At lunch, Akash sat down next to him.
"You're trying out for the team?" Akash asked.
"Yes."
"I heard the coach is tough. He made a kid cry last year."
"I don't cry easily."
Akash looked at him—really looked at him—and something shifted in his expression. "You've changed, Rudra. You used to be... normal. Now you're like a different person."
You have no idea how different, Rudra thought.
"I'm still me," he said. "Just more focused."
Akash shrugged. "Good luck, I guess. You'll need it."
The nets that afternoon were crowded.
Guru Rao had opened the club to all comers—schoolboys preparing for their trials, club regulars practicing for the weekend matches, a few college students who used the facility for fitness training.
Rudra waited his turn, sweeping the pavilion floor while he watched.
The talent was uneven. Some boys had clean techniques—straight bats, still heads, proper footwork. Others swung wildly, their bodies contorted, their shots more hope than skill.
The selectors won't be fooled by flash, Rudra thought. They're looking for fundamentals. Balance. Head position. The ability to survive.
"Net 2 is free," Guru called out. "Sharma, you're up."
Rudra grabbed the Kashmir willow and walked to the batting crease.
"Speed?" Guru asked from the machine controls.
"80 km/h."
The coach's eyebrow rose. "You sure?"
"I need to prepare for the trials. The senior bowlers will be faster than 70."
Guru studied him for a moment. Then he nodded and adjusted the dial.
The first ball at 80 km/h was a blur.
Rudra's eyes tracked it—barely. His feet moved—late. The bat swung—too slow.
Whiff.
The ball thudded into the padding behind him.
[Daily Net Session — 1/100 balls faced]
[Batting Timing Lv 02 — No change]
[System Note: Reflexes insufficient for current ball speed. Recommend alternative training or reduced pace.]
No, Rudra thought. I need to adapt.
"Again," he called out.
Second ball.
He focused on the machine's wheels, on the split second between release and trajectory. His body was slower than his mind—the eternal problem of a forty-four-year-old soul in a twelve-year-old frame.
He swung.
Thunk.
Contact. An inside edge that dribbled toward square leg.
[Batting Timing Lv 02 → 93.6/200 EXP]
0.1 EXP, Rudra noted. At this rate, 1,064 more contacts to reach Lv 03.
Third ball.
Another miss.
Fourth ball.
Contact. A defensive shot, bat straight, head still.
Ball after ball, the machine fed him a steady diet of 80 km/h deliveries. His eyes adjusted slowly. His feet moved—still late, but less late.
At fifty balls, something clicked.
The ball seemed... slower. Not physically slower—his reflexes were still inadequate—but his anticipation had improved. He could see the trajectory earlier, predict the line and length from the machine's release.
[System Note: Visual anticipation improved by 8%. Reflexes remain at Lv 01. Recommend reflex-specific training: reaction ball, light drills, or faster bowling gradually.]
Seventy balls.
Eighty.
Ninety.
One hundred.
He played the last ball defensively, watching it all the way onto the bat. The contact was clean—the sweet spot singing.
[Daily Net Session Complete]
[Balls faced: 100/100]
[EXP Gained: Batting Timing +10 (contacts) + 10 (completion bonus) = 20 total]
[Batting Timing Lv 02 → 103.5/200 EXP]
[Hidden Quest Progress: Static Vision — 250/10,000 balls faced]
Rudra lowered the bat and let out a breath. His shoulder was screaming. His eyes were tired.
But he had faced 100 balls at 80 km/h. A week ago, that would have been impossible.
Progress, he thought. Slow. Painful. But real.
Guru Rao walked over, his expression unreadable.
"You're not ready for 80," the coach said. "Your footwork is late. Your head is falling over. You're playing with your hands, not your feet."
"I know."
"Then why push so hard?"
Rudra looked at the coach—the man who had never made it past state level, who now spent his days watching children play cricket in a dusty net facility.
"Because the trials are in four days. The bowlers there won't be 80 km/h. They'll be 90. 95. And I need to survive."
Guru was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded slowly.
"Tomorrow, we work on footwork. No machine. Just you, a cone, and my voice. You'll hate every minute of it."
"I don't hate any minute of cricket."
"Then you're not paying attention," Guru said. "Tomorrow. 6 AM. Don't be late."
Rudra cleaned the nets until 6 PM, his shoulder aching with every sweep of the broom.
[System Note: Manual labor completed. Recovery efficiency increased by 3%.]
He walked home as the sun set, the Kashmir willow swinging from his hand.
Dinner was quiet. His mother had made chapati and dal—a simple meal, but filling. His father was reviewing a case file, his spectacles perched on his nose.
"The trials," Krishnamurthy said without looking up. "Saturday. What time?"
"8 AM."
"I'll come. If I don't have a court matter."
Rudra looked at his father—the tired eyes, the receding hairline, the shoulders hunched over legal documents. In his previous life, Krishnamurthy had never watched him play. There was always a case, always a client, always something more important.
This time, maybe things will be different.
"I'd like that, Appa."
His father nodded, still not looking up. But Rudra saw the corner of his mouth twitch—almost a smile.
He lay on his bed, the System panel open.
[Day 6 Complete]
[EXP Earned Today: Stamina +150 (level up + bonus), Batting Timing +28, Flexibility +1]
[Stamina Lv 02 → 22/200]
[Batting Timing Lv 02 → 103.5/200]
[Main Quest: Run 1km without stopping — COMPLETE]
[New Main Quest Available: Develop Balanced Fitness — Achieve Lv 02 in Strength, Reflexes, and Flexibility]
[Reward: Overall Level 02 + 100 bonus EXP]
Strength, Rudra thought. Reflexes. Flexibility.
He had been neglecting them. Stamina was Lv 02 now, but Strength was still Lv 01 (1/100). Reflexes was Lv 01 (0/100). Flexibility was Lv 01 (8/100).
I need to diversify. Push-ups. Squats. Reaction drills. Yoga.
But I also need to prepare for the trials.
Four days. Four chances to prove himself.
He closed the panel and closed his eyes.
Tomorrow: footwork drills. And push-ups. Lots of push-ups.
End of Chapter 7