The moment the Nalanda Mathematics Challenge (NMC) results were published, the entrenched powers reacted with the savagery of cornered beasts. This was no longer a disagreement over financial predictions or government funding; this was an existential threat to the Coaching Mafia and the status quo of elite university admissions. The LIFP (Local Institute of Finance and Politics), now covertly backed by powerful, nervous figures within major metropolitan coaching centers, launched their calculated campaign of Academic Sabotage.
The attack was multipronged and insidious, targeting the most vulnerable link: the parents and local communities of the 100 selected candidates.
The Whispering Campaign: Automated phone calls and carefully crafted anonymous letters flooded the homes of the recruits, particularly in smaller towns and villages. The messages were simple: Nalanda is a ruin. It is bankrupt. The NHIAR status is temporary political window dressing. Your child's future will be destroyed by choosing a ghost university over the established safety of IIT or Delhi University.
Local Media Smear: Regional news outlets, often influenced by political figures allied with the LIFP, began running stories questioning the legitimacy of the NMC. They claimed the test was "rigged to favor unconventional thinkers" and that the "LID Index" was a fluke, engineered by the Central Government to settle old scores.
Direct Pressure: The most brutal tactic involved rival universities sending actual recruiters to the homes of the top-ranking students. These recruiters, carrying folders stamped with the logos of highly respected, ancient institutions, offered full scholarships, guaranteed housing, and even cash stipends—all conditional on the student rejecting Nalanda's invitation immediately. Their goal was to poach the crucial A-Rank talent and render Arjun's quest void.
Arjun, watching the real-time reports of dissuasion attempts gathered by the System's intelligence network, felt a surge of cold anger. He had anticipated this, but seeing the organized attempt to prey on the hopes and fears of working-class families was sickening.
[System Notification]: "Active Threat: Academic Sabotage Intensity: High. 45% of contacted students have shown signs of wavering due to parental pressure. Failure to secure the FIVE A-Rank+ candidates will result in the [Selective Brilliance] Quest Failure and a 15% penalty to [Aura of Credibility]."
"They are using fear, Shraddha," Arjun stated, leaning over the strategic map of India dotted with the locations of his 100 targets. "They are selling a familiar safety, while we are selling an unknown revolution. We need to fight their safety with absolute, verifiable truth."
Shraddha, her S-Rank Administration fully engaged, was already counter-deploying. "We are using the NHIAR status as a counter-shield. Every candidate has already received a detailed package. But they need more than facts; they need emotional anchor points."
(Paragraph 2: The Pressure on Priya Sharma - 1300 words)
The most crucial battle was taking place in Chennai, at the small, crowded home of Priya Sharma, the A-Rank genius in Applied Logic. Priya's father, a dedicated but traditional railway accountant, was besieged.
He held two letters. One, from a prestigious Chennai engineering college, offered instant, debt-free admission. The other, from Nalanda, was a simple invitation to join the National Heritage Institution for Applied Research, offering a full scholarship and a challenging future.
The pressure mounted when the chief academic officer from the local coaching giant—a man whose face was plastered on billboards across the city—showed up personally.
"Mr. Sharma, your daughter is a genius. A prodigy," the officer declared, dripping with false concern. "But Nalanda? It is a ruin in Bihar! It is a place of old history, not future history. They are offering her a promise based on one lucky prediction. We offer her a sure path: a degree from a recognized institution, a job at a global IT firm. Don't let politics and sentiment destroy her career."
Priya, silent and observing, felt the stifling weight of her family's expectations. She had found the NMC intellectually exhilarating—the only exam she had ever taken that truly felt like a game—but her loyalty to her family's comfort was immense.
The final hammer blow came from her father, who, deeply worried about his pension and stability, addressed her with a trembling voice. "Priya, we worked so hard to give you this safety. This Nalanda… it is a gamble. We cannot afford gambles. We must take the secure road."
Just as her father was about to dial the Chennai college to accept their offer, the doorbell rang.
It wasn't a sleek recruiter. It was an extremely polite, immaculately dressed courier from a global logistics firm, hand-delivering a heavy, custom-designed package bearing the official seal of the NHIAR.
Inside the package, Shraddha's administrative genius shone:
A Certified Guarantee: A formal document co-signed by the Central MHRD liaison, guaranteeing that the scholarship funds were directly deposited from the Central Government's corpus, rendering them unassailable by local politics.
The Evidence: A detailed, printed copy of Professor Jha's LID Index paper, alongside a collage of global headlines proving the crash. The truth was laid out in undeniable, printed format.
The Promise (Arjun's Intervention): A simple, personalized letter from Arjun addressed only to Priya. It contained no financial promises, only a single, revolutionary sentence: "Priya, the world's most complex problems are waiting for the logical architecture of an A-Rank mind. Don't settle for solving old puzzles. Come to Nalanda, and we will teach you how to design the next puzzle."
(Paragraph 3: Shraddha's Digital Counterattack and Nihal's Symbol - 950 words)
Shraddha's counterattack was swift and decentralized, matching the System's precision. She used her administrative aptitude to execute what Arjun called the "Shield of Unassailable Facts."
First, she leaked a sanitized, but clearly damning, summary of the LIFP's old financial mismanagement to a neutral national financial newspaper. The article subtly reminded readers of the LIFP's own shaky past, undermining their claims against Nalanda.
Second, for every wavering candidate, Shraddha dispatched a personalized data packet containing the following:
A side-by-side comparison of the projected infrastructural spend of Nalanda (with Nihal's ₹50 Lakh construction funds and new ₹20 Lakh fund detailed) versus the paltry maintenance budgets of the established universities, proving that Nalanda was not a 'ruin,' but an accelerating construction site.
The Aptitude Report: A carefully worded, partially masked version of the student's own Aptitude Scan from the NMC. For Priya, it simply stated: "Your Aptitude for Applied Logic is in the top 0.01% of all test takers. Choosing a curriculum based on rote-learning will result in a 70% decrease in intellectual fulfillment within two years."
This was the masterstroke. The students, who already felt stifled by the rote system, were now presented with objective, quantified proof of their own, previously invisible genius. They finally had the scientific language to explain their dissatisfaction to their parents.
Simultaneously, Nihal Verma, in a genius move of practical PR, utilized his S-Rank Engineering to send a powerful physical message. He used the newly acquired System Funds to erect two massive, temporary construction markers at the main gate of Nalanda. These were not simple signposts; they were sleek, metallic obelisks bearing the NHIAR logo and flanked by state-of-the-art construction diagrams for the National Applied Research Centre. They literally transformed the "ruin" into an active, high-tech building site overnight. The local media, forced to report on the visual change, began shifting the narrative from 'ghost university' to 'reborn national institution.'
(Paragraph 4: The A-Rank Vow - 800 words)
The package worked its magic in Chennai. Priya, seeing the objective proof of her own potential laid out in the Aptitude Report, understood Arjun's letter. She didn't want to solve old problems; she wanted to define new ones.
She walked up to her father, who was still anxiously debating the rival offer, and placed the letter and the Aptitude Report in his hands.
"Father, look at this. They are not offering me a job; they are offering me a destiny," Priya said, her voice steady. "The man who wrote this letter sees something in me that no coaching center ever could. He sees my Aptitude. If he has the power to see this, he has the power to accelerate it."
Arjun, conducting a personalized video call to a small group of the wavering top candidates, used the combined strength of the [Aura of Credibility] and the [Aura of Focus] to deliver the final blow.
"Look around you," Arjun challenged the nervous faces on the screen. "The people pressuring you—do they understand your frustration with memorization? Do they understand your urge to create knowledge, not just consume it? Nalanda is not a university you attend; it is a problem you are invited to solve. If you choose safety, you choose mediocrity. If you choose Nalanda, you choose your own S-Rank destiny."
His simple, yet potent message, amplified by the System's power, bypassed the parents' fear and spoke directly to the students' latent ambition.
Priya Sharma was the first to speak. Her voice, clear and firm, settled the debate for the rest of the group. "Principal Singh, I accept. I will come to Nalanda. I want to design the next puzzle."
(Paragraph 5: The Final Tally and the Grand Opening - 400 words)
The final wave of acceptance letters poured in. The combined efforts of the NHIAR shield, Shraddha's administrative precision, Nihal's physical demonstration of progress, and Arjun's potent, targeted recruitment managed to secure the loyalty of the vast majority of the candidates.
The System tallied the final results.
[System Notification]: "[The Fifth Step: Selective Brilliance] Quest Success!"
[Final Tally]: 73 New Students Recruited. Total Student Body: 110 Students.
[A-Rank+ Recruits Secured]: SIX A-Rank+ Students (One in Applied Logic, one in Theoretical Physics, two in Advanced Chemistry, one in Behavioral Economics, and one in Computer Graphics/Architecture).
[Reward Granted]: "System Funds: ₹3,00,000 has been released."
[Reward Granted]: "System Infrastructure Upgrade: The [Aura of Focus] is now upgraded to [Aura of Accelerated Insight]. Effect: The aptitude growth rate of all students and faculty within the campus is permanently increased by an additional 15%."
Arjun leaned back, a genuine sense of relief washing over him. The university was structurally sound, politically safe, financially stable, and, most importantly, intellectually stocked. The Core Pillars were in place: Jha for knowledge, Shraddha for management, Nihal for infrastructure, and the Six A-Ranks for the next generation of genius.
"The first cohort of 110 students is secured," Arjun announced to Shraddha. "The crisis is over. Now, we begin the real work."
He looked at the date on the calendar. Tomorrow was November 1st, 2000.
"Shraddha, prepare the entire campus. Tomorrow, Nalanda University officially reopens its gates to the world. We are no longer a dream; we are a functional, world-class institution."
The first phase of the Strongest Principal System was complete. The next phase—the phase of growth, expansion, and national dominance—was about to begin.