The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the schoolyard as the final bell of the day rang out. Ravana leaned over his victim, his voice dripping with menace. "You should have thought about the consequences when you complained to the teacher about me. If I see you doing that again, you'll be as good as dead," he whispered, his eyes gleaming with a sinister light.
In the next classroom over, Kabir, the leader of Class A, had just gotten wind of Ravana's antics. "Ah, man, Ravana is back with this damn bullshit. Why the hell is he bullying kids again?" he muttered, frustration etched on his face.
At that moment, Vijay entered the room, his posture confident despite the tension in the air. He knew he could take on Ravana alone, but he might sustain heavy damage in the process. He needed to build up his muscles and stamina. He turned to Kabir, his eyes determined. "Let's do something about this."
Together, Kabir and Vijay made their way to Class B, where they heard the painful cries of Ravi. "Oi, Ravana, stop this bullshit!" Kabir shouted, his voice echoing through the hallway. "Why are you bullying this poor fella who can't even defend himself? Does that make you feel good or something?"
Ravana sneered, his expression one of disdain. "Do I really need a reason to bully? It's fun for me, so I do it. It's as simple as that."
Tension hung in the air, the classroom falling silent as students watched the unfolding drama. Ravana let out a sigh, then launched a punch towards Kabir. Kabir ducked, creating some distance before launching a half-kick. Ravana countered with a swift kick of his own. Their powerful kicks clashed, causing a wooden table beneath them to crack and splinter.
"You've gotten quite strong, Kabir, since our last battle three months ago," Ravana remarked, his tone almost admiring.
"You've improved as well, Ravana," Kabir replied. "But I still don't get why you enjoy bullying. With your natural talent for fighting, you should probably enroll in some sport like boxing or wrestling."
Ravana scoffed, his lip curling in disdain. "Those sports are boring. Teaching these nitwits some lessons relieves stress. You should try it sometime."
The bell rang, signaling the start of class. They headed to their separate classrooms, their confrontation unresolved.
"Phew! Today was so tiresome, man. I'm glad it ended," Vijay sighed in relief as he walked home with Kabir.
"Yeah, school was tough. But why did you ask for my help with Ravana today? You've always been so..." Kabir trailed off, curious.
"Cut me some slack, man. People change over time, and so did I," Vijay interrupted.
As soon as Vijay got home, he sat on his bed, pondering the day's events. He thought about his childhood friend Kabir and the fighting prodigy Ravana. Before Raaghav came to their school, Ravana was the strongest, followed by Kabir. Ravana had died in his 20s after a tough fight with Raaghav, while Kabir became the Legend of Indian Wrestling through sheer hard work.
"If I don't build my stamina and body to match my techniques and speed, I'll be left far behind," Vijay mused. Suddenly, a video game-like status window appeared in front of him.
"For a moment, I thought I was hallucinating due to stress piled up from the Void incident," he thought. But the system window popped up again.
"Host detected. System download 100% completed," the window read.
"What the heck is this? Am I some sort of game character or something? It's like those Korean manhwas," Vijay wondered.
"Void incident analysis completed; stats are now being displayed," the system continued. "Strength [10000], Speed [10000], Endurance [20000]. Current fighting styles: primal instinct, boxing, and 20 other minor martial arts detected. All stats are currently locked and can be unlocked after training."
"Are these my stats from when I was in the limitless void? How can I unlock them?" Vijay asked.
"Stats can be unlocked after completing daily tasks. Today's tasks: Run 10 miles, Squats 200, Punching 400."
"Do I have to do these now? Well, I can give it a shot. It's not like I have school today or anything," Vijay decided.
He completed the tasks by evening, feeling the strain on his body. "Man, this body is too weak for running right now. I barely completed it by evening," he huffed.
"Task completion detected. Rewards assigned: +10 to all stats," the system announced.
"I kinda feel more powerful now. Can I check my current stats?" Vijay asked.
"Host's stats displayed: Strength 30, Speed 40, Endurance 40. All fatigue from completing the tasks is healed," the system replied.
"Wow, I don't feel tired anymore. Did I just get 30% stronger in one day? Maybe saving Gujarat and catching Raaghav might be possible now," Vijay thought.
The next day, Vijay went to school. Near the gate, he heard an ominous voice behind him. He turned to see Ravana with a smirk.
"Hey there, Vijay. I heard you were the one who told Kabir I was causing trouble. Aren't you quite brave?" Ravana taunted.
Ravana walked towards Vijay, lightly tapped his forehead, and said, "You better watch yourself, or you might get hurt." With a smirk, Ravana launched a punch at Vijay, who countered by deflecting it with his palms.
"Wow, you can fight too? I didn't know that. This might be a little more fun," Ravana said.
"Is it fun to fight, or is it something else? What's your reason for fighting?" Vijay asked.
"Real men talk with their fists," Ravana replied.
"I know talking with fight-hungry maniacs won't work. At least I tried—" Before Vijay could finish, Ravana threw a series of punches. Vijay dodged almost effortlessly, predicting Ravana's moves.
"I'm getting tired of dodging. I'm almost at my limit. This body doesn't have enough stamina or strength yet, so I have to end this with one attack," Vijay thought.
He knew a simple attack wouldn't work, so he aimed for Ravana's vital organs. Placing his hands on Ravana's upper chest, Vijay performed a zero-inch punch.
"What did yo—" Ravana fainted mid-sentence, and Vijay collapsed as well.
Five minutes later, Kabir rushed to the school gates, seeing Vijay and Ravana lying there. "Um, are you guys playing 'alshi alshi' (lazy lazy)?" he asked.
Kabir sprayed water from his bottle over both of them, waking them up.
"Argh, what the hell did you throw at me? Why is it so hot?" Ravana groaned.
"Argh, what is that?" Vijay echoed.
"Boys, it's just some water that got heated in the sun," Kabir explained.
The three of them looked at each other awkwardly and went to their respective classes.
"So what exactly happened there? Did that maniac attack you or something?" Kabir asked in class.
"Forget it, man. It's not important right now," Vijay replied.
"Hey Vijay, did you hear that flying rumor?" Kabir asked.
"Huh, what rumor?" Vijay responded.
"I heard that West High is expanding its influence over the whole city," Kabir said.
Vijay, lost in thought about the past, remembered Kai the Beast, head of West High. In his previous life, Kai had conquered all of Surat. After fighting Raaghav for four hours without a clear victor, Kai joined Raaghav's Black Serpent Gang, and together they conquered Gujarat.
"How many fighters does West High have?" Vijay asked.
"I'm not sure, but it might be around 250," Kabir replied.