Rishi was sound asleep when he felt water on his face. He jerked awake and rubbed his face.
Lalit burst out laughing as soon as he saw Rishi.
"What are you doing, Lalit?" Rishi asked in a high tone.
"Waking you up," Lalit said emphatically.
"Is that how you wake people up?" Rishi asked as he looked at Lalit in anger.
"Well, this is how my brother woke me up," Lalit replied, smiling innocently.
Rishi looked at him, unsure what to say.
He got ready quickly so he wouldn't miss his class.
Today's schedule was similar to yesterday's in terms of the first classes.
He quickly arrived at his sword class and began practicing with his partner, Nina. They both practiced diligently and quickly improved with professor Brian's guidance.
They practiced in the class till the bell rang.
Rishi decided to introduce Nina to his roommates after class.
When Lalit and Manu saw Rishi approaching them with a girl, they exchanged glances.
"It appears that we underestimated Risab," Lalit said.
"On the second day, Bro found a girlfriend."
"Perhaps they're just really close classmates," Manu responded.
"You are correct; that means I still have a chance."
"I'd have to thank Risab later for bringing such a hot girl," he said, drowsy with the thought of having such a beautiful girlfriend.
Rishi soon arrived and introduced Nina to them: "She is Nina, my sword class partner."
"Hello, I'm Lalit Risab's best friend; ask me if you need to know anything about Mazar City," Lalit said.
Rishi gave him a look. Best friends, they weren't even close friends at this time;
'how shameless could you be?' he thought.
"My name is Manu. I am his roommate," Manu explained in a low tone.
He was a shy young man with little experience interacting with people of the opposite gender. So he was a little uncomfortable while communicating with Nina.
They had finished their lunch and were on their way out. When Rishi and his friend saw a small crowd gathered at the entrance, they decided to leave the mess.
Rishi and his friends ignored the crowd and decided to leave immediately. Lalit wished to observe Kajal and her friends.
He always liked to admire beauties as he always liked stalking hot girls to appreciate the craftsmanship of God and experience joy in life.
"We don't have all day," Rishi said, shaking him to wake him out of his fantasy world.
Lalit shook his head, convincing himself that the beauties were not going anywhere and that he could admire them later. He gave them one last unwanted look before following Rishi's lead.
Kajal and her friends arrived at the scene just as Rishi decided to leave. She was perplexed when she noticed some students leaving as she was about to enter. Until now, every student has given her a way out.
Rishi walked away without even looking at her. Nina and Manu gave Kajal and her friends a quick glance before following Rishi.
Lalit was the only one who made the most of this opportunity by scanning all the girls from top to bottom before leaving.
Kajal was unconcerned about their behavior, but the girls beside her took it as an insult. They intended to teach them a lesson, but Kajal stopped them and said she was hungry and couldn't wait any longer.
They were vengeful, but when they heard Kajal, they decided to forget about it for now and resolved to teach them a lesson whenever they crossed paths with them.
Kajal took her plate, selected her food, and began eating.
She was also thinking about where she'd seen that boy; after a while, she realized it was the same guy who had stared at her that day.
'Who is he?' her curiosity was picked, but soon she decided to forget about it and focus on the delicious food in front of her.
.
.
Rishi and his friends quickly arrived at an empty training room.
"Why have we come here into this empty training room?" Lalit inquired.
"To train," Rishi replied.
"But why do we need to train Extra?" Lalit asked.
"Because we want good grades and a better class at the end of this semester," Rishi replied.
"But don't we all belong in the same class?" Lalit inquired, looking around at his confused friends.
"Manu, explain to him," Rishi said.
"The academy's academic year is divided into two semesters. At the end of this semester, we will have an exam that will divide us into different sections from A to F," Manu explained.
"Oh my god! It means we'd be separated, but we could meet after class, so what's the big deal?" he asked Manu, who frowned.
'How can someone of the same species as mine have such a difference in intelligence?' he wondered.
He thanked God for not endowing him with the same intelligence as his friend.
"Everything is a problem; you will receive fewer resources and opportunities from the Academy," Rishi explained.
"You will also be unable to learn from the best teachers." said Manu.
"Oh, that sounds bad," Lalit said.
"Only bad, I think it's awful. Dividing students based on an exam, where has equality gone?" Nina remarked.
"I know it's unethical, Nina, but we can't change the system."
"Academy also has limited resources, so they use this method to use them wisely and invest more in students with high potential," Rishi responded.
"I also asked the teacher a similar question; do you guys know how he responded?" Manu said.
"He said that no matter how much water you give a pea plant, it will never grow into a mango tree," he continued, laughing sarcastically.
"But don't worry, guys, I'll prove them all wrong. I'll show them that with hard work and a clear goal, even a pea plant has the potential to grow into a Mango tree in this era," he said with a determined expression on his face.
"Yah! We'd open our own academy later where everyone would get equal opportunities," Rishi said, trying to boost his friends' morale.
"For the time being, let's concentrate on getting stronger."
Rishi and his pals began their training. They separated into two groups, A and B.
Manu and Nina were in group A, while Rishi and Lalit were in group B.
They began fighting, and Manu and Nina assaulted Rishi.
Manu attacked Rishi with his spear and used its range; Nina attacked Rishi with her sword without giving him a chance to dodge.
Lalit jumped in front of Rishi to shield him from his shield while using the sword in his other hand to force Nina to back down.
Rishi retaliated against Manu's attack by deflecting his spear and counterattacking him.
They all exchanged moves for a while before stopping to discuss their mistakes and get each other's opinions.
They practiced for a while longer before Rishi decided to leave for his archery class.