It didn't matter if it was dancing, swimming, boxing, or any other physical discipline. As long as it involved muscle memory, Jay had an uncanny ability to grasp the techniques within a single day.
But that gift wasn't as simple as instantly learning by observation alone. He couldn't just watch someone perform a skill and replicate it flawlessly—he needed to be taught in person.
The crucial part of the process involved the person teaching him sharing not just the movements, but their own experiences, insights, and expertise. If the teacher didn't know the technique well themselves, Jay couldn't learn it either.
His learning ability was completely dependent on the skill level of the person instructing him. The more advanced the teacher, the more sophisticated the technique Jay could grasp. However, while he could learn the form and technique with astonishing speed, it didn't mean he could skip the work required to improve.
His body still needed to be trained like anyone else's. Without physical conditioning, someone with equal skill but superior strength or stamina could easily defeat him.
From childhood, Jay turned that gift into a hobby. He would ask his parents to find state-level or even national-level athletes in various sports to teach him for a week at a time. Each experience sharpened his techniques, whether it was a combat sport, a dance form, or something as complex as gymnastics.
But even with his quick mastery of technique, he knew that if he faced those professionals in actual competition, he would still lose. Each sport demanded a specific kind of physical conditioning, whether it was strength, stamina, or flexibility. The professionals had spent years honing their bodies for their particular disciplines, whereas Jay, despite his talent, lacked that specialized training.
Jay knew that if he ever wanted to be truly competitive, he could train his body to meet the specific physical demands of any given sport. Given his talent for rapid learning, he believed that if he dedicated himself fully, he could even reach an Olympic level. But that was never his goal. He wasn't driven by competition or the desire to prove himself against others.
His ambition was something else entirely. For Jay, the real joy came from the learning process itself. His dream wasn't to excel in just one sport or activity but to immerse himself in as many as possible. He wanted to learn every sport, every martial art, and even master various musical instruments and other specialized activities that piqued his curiosity.
It was never about proving his skills to others or winning medals. For him, the excitement came from the act of learning, from mastering something new and broadening his skillset in as many areas as he could. It was the thrill of discovery, the challenge of mastering something new, that fueled his passion.
As Jay continued to immerse himself in learning various physical activities, a subtle transformation occurred within him. Without realizing it, his capacity for rational thinking and staying calm in stressful situations increased.
The constant discipline and focus required to master so many techniques had, over time, fortified his mind. But even this newfound calmness paled in comparison to the absolute emotional detachment he experienced in the state of Harmony.
As memories flashed in his mind, a series of devastating events unfolded—events that had forever changed his family's life. The conspiracy against their enterprise that began in 2015 surfaced vividly, bringing with it the weight of tragedy.
Jay could still recall the details with painful clarity. His grandfather had been moments away from stepping into his car when Uncle Aadrik, the family's long-serving Chief of Security, noticed something unusual.
A simple reflection in a puddle of water on the ground revealed a bomb placed beneath the car. Without hesitation, Uncle Aadrik acted, pushing Jay's grandfather out of the way and shielding him from the blast.
However, Uncle Aadrik wasn't as fortunate. He shielded Jay's grandfather with his own body, and when the car exploded, shrapnel from the blast tore into him. Though Jay's grandfather survived, he was left in a coma due to the brain trauma inflicted by the impact.
The loss of Uncle Aadrik was devastating. Jay had known him for as long as he could remember, and over the years, the bond between their families had deepened. Uncle Aadrik wasn't just a protector—he was part of the family.
His son, Rownak, and daughter, Riya, had grown up alongside Jay and his siblings. The children were inseparable, having shared countless memories together from the time they were toddlers. The grief over Uncle Aadrik's death was crushing, particularly for Rownak, Riya, and their mother.
But the tragedy didn't stop there. In the weeks following the explosion, it became clear that the attack on Jay's family was part of a larger conspiracy. Shortly after the blast, minor shareholders in the family's enterprise, Nav-Yuga, began selling off their shares one by one.
With each sale, they withdrew their investments from the company, weakening its financial foundation. What had seemed like an isolated attack was quickly escalating into a coordinated effort to destabilize the business that Jay's grandfather had worked so hard to build.
Then came the next blow—a devastating cyber attack. Hackers breached the company's servers, wiping out years of data in an instant. Every record of the donations the enterprise had made, every transaction that reflected Nav-Yuga's charitable efforts, was erased.
The meticulous transparency that had earned the company its trusted reputation was obliterated overnight. Along with the donation records, bank transaction details were also altered, leaving no trace of the enterprise's financial history related to their charitable work.
The same day as the hacker attack, things took a darker turn. Fake reports and fabricated evidence began flooding social media, accusing Nav-Yuga of falsifying donations and pretending to help the poor.
The accusations caused a massive uproar, fueling public outrage. Soon, many of the company's once-loyal customers banded together to file a class-action lawsuit against Nav-Yuga, claiming fraud. What started as a few disgruntled voices quickly snowballed into tens of thousands of people joining the legal action.
As the lawsuit unfolded, Jay's family hoped that those who had benefited from their donations would step forward to defend them. But, to their shock, none of the charities or individuals they had helped testified in court.
Worse still, some even claimed they had never received any donations from Nav-Yuga and went so far as to accuse the company of threatening them to stay quiet. With such damning false testimony against them, Nav-Yuga lost the case.
The court's ruling was crushing. They ordered the company to pay a staggering 1.65 trillion rupees (22.4 billion dollars). It was a sum that would cripple the enterprise.
After everything Jay's grandfather had done—years of hard work, integrity, and dedication to helping the needy—all his efforts were reduced to nothing by gross injustice.
The weight of the ruling was not just financial but deeply personal. Nav-Yuga, once a beacon of hope for many, had now been painted as a fraudulent enterprise.
The court ruling marked the beginning of Nav-Yuga's downfall. The company's stocks plummeted overnight, spiraling down an unforgiving slope. To meet the court's demands, the family had no choice but to liquidate most of their assets and properties.
By the time they scraped together enough to pay the court-ordered 1.65 trillion rupees, all that remained was their family home and the main headquarters of Nav-Yuga. The damage, however, was far from over.
Public opinion had turned against them, and in the eyes of many, Nav-Yuga had become synonymous with fraud. The company's sales dropped to rock bottom, and the enterprise bled losses at a rate that would likely lead to bankruptcy within a year. With their reputation tarnished beyond repair, it felt as though everything the family had built was crumbling around them.
To make matters worse, none of their extended family or so-called family friends came to their aid during their dark time. Those who had once shared in the enterprise's success suddenly cut ties, unwilling to associate with a sinking ship.
It was a harsh lesson for Jay—one that opened his eyes to the cruelty of the world. In that period, his ability to trust others was shattered, leaving him wary and skeptical of anyone outside his immediate family.
Determined to uncover the truth, his brother Kay began investigating the string of events that had led to their family's downfall. After weeks of digging and tracing back the connections, they uncovered the orchestrator behind the conspiracy: Quadnite Inc., the 4th largest conglomerate in the world.
Quadnite had tried multiple times in the past to buy out Nav-Yuga, only to be rejected by Jay's grandfather. In retaliation, they had taken their revenge, pulling the strings that led to the collapse of the enterprise.
But even with that knowledge, Jay and Kay faced a grim reality. They had no legal proof of Quadnite's involvement. The conspiracy was hidden beneath layers of deception, and without concrete evidence, there was no way to reopen the case.
With their company in free fall, they shifted their focus. They set aside their desire for justice and worked tirelessly to stabilize the business, hoping to salvage what little remained of Nav-Yuga.
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Author Note:
I'm thrilled to share that I'm taking a big leap forward! Alongside Earth's Alpha Prime, I've launched the first sub-book for EAP.
ALTER REALITY: Online (Full-Dive VR LITRPG)
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