## **Chapter 7: Destroying the Machine with One Punch**
*(From the novel "I Became the Gamer Who Controls Reality")*
---
"**Tanish...**" Rohit Nanda was about to say something when Tanish Verma waved his hand to stop him.
It was obvious that having someone with **Strength 10** on their team would be a huge advantage. Rohit believed that Vivaan Sharma had already proven his worth — there was no point in dragging things out. Making it ugly would only hurt the team.
If Tanish decided to use **Lightning Fist** to defeat Vivaan and make him back off, it would only end up hurting their chances.
As Tanish walked toward the strength-measuring machine, Rohit opened his mouth again — but **Riya Malhotra** placed a hand on his arm and shook her head.
"Is this really fine?" Rohit whispered.
"It's fine," Riya replied softly. "That guy has already accepted Vivaan. He just doesn't want to *lose*."
Rohit blinked in surprise before letting out a small laugh. "Heh. Typical Tanish — can't stand being second."
Tanish stood before the machine, his expression heavy. Slowly, he raised his fist — the veins on his arm bulging as faint arcs of lightning danced around it, crackling softly. His entire arm looked charged, fierce, and dangerous.
**Bang!**
His fist slammed into the pressure board with a sharp crack. The metal alloy plate shuddered violently as the digital screen flickered —
**8... 9... 10... 11.**
The final number stopped at **11**.
"How's that?" Tanish said, trying to sound casual, though sweat rolled down his temple. He discreetly wiped it away with the back of his hand.
His base Strength was 7. With his Rank 1 Lightning Fist, he could boost it by nearly half. The results weren't always stable — sometimes it hit 10, sometimes 11. Still, today was a good day. He'd managed to outperform Vivaan.
"That's impressive," Vivaan said sincerely.
He truly admired skill — but being lost in his own thoughts, he failed to notice the subtle relief and pride on Tanish's face.
To Vivaan, there was still one thought echoing in his mind:
*I can't join the team unless I defeat him.*
So, without hesitation, Vivaan walked back to the machine.
He didn't punch right away, though. Instead, he leaned closer, examining the device carefully.
"What are you looking at?" Tanish said impatiently. "If you can't do it, just say so. Losing to me isn't shameful."
Vivaan ignored him for a moment, still observing the frame and joints of the pressure board. Then he asked quietly,
"The school won't make me pay for this if it breaks, right?"
For a moment, silence — and then Tanish burst out laughing.
"Ha! Nice one, bro. This thing's built *for* strength testing. Sure, it's just the basic model for high schoolers, but it's got a limit of **20**. Hardly anyone ever hits that, let alone breaks it. Tell you what — if you really destroy it, I'll pay."
"Makes sense," Vivaan said calmly, nodding. The machine did look sturdy.
Then he stepped forward, raised his right fist — and the skin began to glow red, a faint metallic shimmer spreading over it. It looked as if his hand had been coated in molten iron.
"**Primordial Energy Skill...**" Tanish murmured, his smirk fading slightly.
"So, he's learned one already..."
He couldn't help feeling a pang of disappointment. With Vivaan's raw Strength alone, even a weak Primordial Energy Skill would multiply his power tremendously. Tanish already knew — he was going to lose this round.
Riya and Rohit, too, exchanged surprised looks. They hadn't expected Vivaan to have already mastered a Primordial Energy Skill. That meant higher marks for their team during the combat trials — a definite win.
**Bang!**
The sound this time was deeper — heavier — like a hammer slamming into stone.
The metal plate recoiled violently, and the digital numbers started flashing so fast they blurred —
**8... 9... 10... 11... 12... 13... 14... 15...**
Riya's eyes widened.
*How far is it going to go?* she thought, her heart pounding.
In seconds, every number was glowing — until—
**BOOM!**
A strange *crack* echoed from inside the machine. Then, a burst of yellow hydraulic fluid sprayed out the back like a fountain.
Tanish, Riya, and Rohit froze — their mouths hanging open.
The entire room went silent.
Vivaan slowly lowered his fist, blinking at the mess.
Across the room, **Arvind Rao's** eyes widened in disbelief. The seasoned instructor rushed forward, inspecting the machine with shaking hands.
It wasn't about money. He didn't care about repairs.
He simply *couldn't believe* a high schooler's punch could do that.
Even using a Primordial Energy Skill, the hydraulic mechanism inside the tester was designed to withstand far more than Strength 20. Bursting it outright meant Vivaan's punch had far exceeded that threshold.
*At least Strength 30... maybe more,* Arvind thought, stunned.
*With his background, how is that even possible? Unless... he truly mastered that skill himself...*
He remembered the words of the former principal —
> "There are two kinds of geniuses in the world.
> One is Vivaan Sharma.
> The other kind is... everyone else."
Meanwhile, Tanish was trembling — a mix of awe and dread on his face.
He couldn't even imagine taking a punch like that.
"The machine's upper limit is 20," he muttered. "To break it... you'd need at least Rank 8 or 9 Skill-level power."
Vivaan looked down at his fist, a bit dazed. "So, I actually broke it..." he said under his breath. "Guess my **Vigor Divine Fist** worked too well."
Then he turned to Tanish and added awkwardly,
"You said you'd pay if it broke... right?"
For a second, Tanish just stared — and then burst out laughing again.
"Yes, yes! I said it, didn't I? Don't worry about it, bro. Money can fix anything. We're teammates now — leave this to me."
Tanish was from a wealthy family; paying for a busted school machine was nothing to him.
But finding someone like Vivaan — someone this powerful — was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
He wasn't about to let pride get in the way.
Riya and Rohit couldn't help smiling. Having Vivaan on their side suddenly made the upcoming combat trials look *much* more promising.
*This guy... is more interesting than I thought,* Riya mused, her eyes narrowing with a spark of curiosity.
With Vivaan officially joining their team, the four soon submitted their registration form for the upcoming combat test.
When the teachers saw Vivaan Sharma's name on the list, several raised eyebrows.
The teachers of Riya, Rohit, and Tanish even tried to persuade them privately —
asking them to choose a "more reliable" teammate.
But the trio refused. They were firm in their choice.
Only **Arvind Rao** sat calmly, sipping his tea with a faint smile.
He knew better than anyone else who the real powerhouse in that team was.
*Just wait,* he thought. *After the combat test, they'll all see who's the real burden — and who's the one carrying them.*
---