All the students entered the playground for their next class. As they arrived, chatting lazily, they were met with a stern new face—a new instructor standing tall with arms crossed. The moment he noticed their sluggishness, his voice boomed across the field.
"Silence!"
The students froze mid-step, eyes widening. The instructor's glare swept over them. "You're five minutes late. Today, I'll let it slide with a small punishment since it's your first day. But listen well—if this happens again, even if a single one of you is late, I'll make sure you all go through hell!"
A stunned silence fell over the group. No one dared to breathe too loudly.
The instructor continued, his tone unwavering. "Now, as you know, we're working on your stamina and constitution. I don't care if you're strong or weak. I only care about one thing: I give you a task, and you complete it. Is that clear?"
A few students hesitantly muttered a stiff 'yes.'
The instructor's eyes narrowed. "IS THAT CLEAR?"
"YES, SIR!" The students shouted in unison.
Satisfied, the instructor nodded. "Good. First, we'll start with a short yoga session—Surya Namaskar. It will help with muscle toning, spine and joint health, balance, coordination, circulation, lung capacity, and stress reduction. Ideally, you should be doing this every morning on an empty stomach. So here's your first task—from now until the day you die, practice this every morning, even if you become the strongest in the world."
Some students gulped, while others exchanged uncertain glances.
"Now, I'll demonstrate the forms, and you will follow. Listen carefully. Understood?"
Everyone nodded quickly.
The instructor led them through six full rounds of Surya Namaskar, each student mimicking his movements. It took them twelve minutes to complete the sequence, and by the end, many were already sweating.
"Alright, now your real task begins. Run to the top of that hill and back within thirty minutes." He pointed to a nearby hill with a gradual but steady 25-degree slope, the total distance being around five kilometers.
[As all students were Awakeners, their physical endurance had increased, making running easier compared to the old world.]
"Thirty minutes is your limit. If you want to finish faster or take your time, it's up to you. This is not a competition—but you may compete with yourself if you wish!"
At this, Vikram's eyes gleamed with excitement. His chance to prove himself had arrived.
"Everyone, line up. On three. One… Two… THREE!"
The students bolted forward. Vikram took the lead, covering the first 400 meters in just forty seconds. The student with an agility skill kept up with him, while the rest struggled to maintain their pace. At the very back, Rudra was lagging behind alongside Anika.
"You don't have to stay back for me. Run at your own pace," Rudra said between breaths.
Anika smirked, her eyes glinting with mischief. "And miss out on watching you struggle? No chance. Now, stop whining and keep moving!"
Rudra sighed, feeling a strange warmth from her words but refocused on the run.
Meanwhile, Vikram reached the top first, with Rohan, the agility-skilled student, about 500 meters behind. Rudra and Anika, however, had only reached the halfway point, with ten minutes already gone. Realizing he would drag Anika down if he didn't push harder, Rudra gritted his teeth and increased his pace.
Strategically, Rudra had been pacing himself based on a normal running standard—10 km in 30 minutes meant he should cover 1 km in 3 minutes. By that logic, at this time, he should have at least covered 3.3 km, but he was falling behind by nearly a kilometer. 'This happens when your agility and strength are low,' he thought, frustrated.
As he pushed forward, he noticed Vikram descending—but something was off. Vikram's breathing was rugged, his face red. He had clearly reached his limit. Rudra instinctively noted this, surprised by his own keen observation, but he ignored it and picked up speed.
By the time Rudra reached the top, twenty minutes had passed. Knowing he had to make up for lost time, he decided to use gravity and momentum to descend faster, letting his body lean into the slope while maintaining control. If I push too hard now, I'll burn out, but if I let gravity assist, I can conserve energy while making up time, he calculated.
Unbeknownst to him, the instructor was watching through drones, analysing their tactics. He noted that while Vikram had brute-forced his way up, he was now struggling with fatigue on the descent. In contrast, Rudra, despite his slow start, had adapted to the situation with an efficient strategy. Rohan finished at the 23-minute mark, followed closely by Vikram. Though frustrated at placing second, Vikram masked his irritation.
With three minutes remaining, Anika finished her run, thanks to Rudra's insistence that she pace herself properly.
Rudra himself barely crossed the finish line five seconds before time was up, gasping for air.
The instructor gave no praise—neither for the first finishers nor for Rudra's strategic effort. Instead, he simply announced a five-minute break.
"Next, everyone will perform twenty deadlifts of 50 kg. That's your final task for today."
There were ten sets of weights, so the students split into four groups:
Vikram and Ranjeet were in same group. Varsha and Anika in the second group of ten. Rohan, Jasleen grouped with a few others. Rudra found himself teamed with his usual bunch.
Vikram and Ranjeet finished nearly at the same time. Though Ranjeet didn't seem to care, Vikram was visibly annoyed at having someone so close to his performance.
Ranjeet approached Rudra. "Man, I thought you wouldn't make it. Running down 5 km in ten minutes with your stats should've been impossible."
Rudra ignored the comment and instead asked, "I know why you finished the run and deadlifts so fast."
Ranjeet grinned. "Brother, you gotta admire beauties whenever you get the chance. That's how life should be! Hahaha!"
As the next group took their turns, Anika flexed her muscles at Rudra before stepping onto the platform. "Be careful," he muttered.
She smirked. "Don't underestimate me."
She completed her lifts with ease. Soon, it was Rudra's turn.
As he stepped forward, Anika tossed him her lifting straps. "Don't drop it on your legs," she warned playfully.
Ranjeet whistled. "Look at this lovely couple."
Anika kicked him hard but blushed slightly.
Rudra, unaware of their exchange, struggled with his first attempt. By the 13th rep, the others had already finished, his body screaming in protest. His face was red, sweat dripping from his chin. Anika and Ranjeet cheered him on, while Vikram merely scoffed.
At the 18th rep, he couldn't lift anymore. The instructor finally stepped in. "Enough. The last two reps will be added to tomorrow's session."
Finally, the instructor announced their punishment. "For being late today, you'll all wear weighted bracelets—5kg on each arm and 5 kg on each leg—for an entire week. Even at home."
The students groaned.
"Now, go to the sports room and collect your weights. You have five minutes before the special class begins!"
As the students filed into the sports room, they were greeted by the cool, metallic coolness of the iron bracelets the instructor handed out. The seniors, hanging around like seasoned veterans, chuckled to themselves—clearly, they knew exactly what was coming. It wasn't the first time they'd seen fresh faces struggle.
When the students slipped the heavy bracelets on, a collective groan echoed through the room. The iron felt like it weighed a ton, and suddenly, it was as if their arms were attached to lead weights. They glanced at each other, trying to act cool, but the truth was, lifting a finger now felt like trying to raise a mountain.
Some students tried to move, but it was like they were walking through thick mud. The bracelets pulled at their wrists, mocking them with every attempt at a simple stretch or swing. A few awkwardly shook their arms, trying to get used to the weight, but the effort was as futile as trying to shake off a wet towel.
"Not exactly a feather, huh?" one of the seniors teased, watching their struggle with a grin.
After a few minutes of adjusting (or at least pretending to), the students reluctantly shuffled to their instructors.
Rudra, already feeling like his arms might fall off, approached Instructor Surya. The man stood with the kind of calm that suggested he'd seen it all before. His eyes studied Rudra for a moment, and for some reason, Rudra felt like Surya had already guessed how many times he'd tripped over his own feet in the last five minutes.