The morning after the quarterfinal felt heavier than the match itself.
Rudra woke before sunrise, legs stiff, lower back tight, calves humming with a dull ache that hadn't been there yesterday. Not injury. Not damage.
Accumulation.
He didn't rush to stand.
He lay still for a full minute, breathing evenly, letting the body speak before the mind interrupted.
Body Status Check
Fatigue: Moderate
Risk: Manageable
Recommendation: Active recovery
No orders. Just numbers and probabilities.
Rudra nodded to himself.
"Then we recover," he said quietly.
Active Recovery
Instead of running, he walked.
Slow laps around the school ground. Barely faster than a stroll. Arms loose. Shoulders relaxed.
After ten minutes, he stopped near the boundary rope and began stretching—long holds, controlled breathing.
Hamstrings first.
Then calves.
Then hips.
Every stretch held just before discomfort became strain.
Flexibility
Lv 01 (74 / 100 EXP) → (81 / 100 EXP)
Sweat came—not heavy, but honest.
Arjun jogged past him, already running laps.
"Skipping today?" Arjun teased.
"Postponing," Rudra replied. "Not avoiding."
Kapil, walking with a towel around his neck, overheard.
"That's… surprisingly mature."
Rudra smiled faintly.
Sleep and Food
Back home, breakfast mattered more than distance run.
His mother noticed immediately.
"You're eating slower," she said, placing another spoon of vegetable upma on his plate.
"Chewing better," Rudra corrected.
She smiled, pleased without knowing why.
That afternoon, he slept.
Not collapsed—planned.
One full cycle. Ninety minutes.
Stamina
Lv 03 (91 / 100 EXP) → (97 / 100 EXP)
No jump yet.
But close.
That evening, he skipped nets entirely.
Instead, he shadow-swung in front of the mirror—twenty controlled motions. No ball. No power. Just alignment.
Effort without impact.
Batting Timing
Lv 01 (46 / 100 EXP) → (49 / 100 EXP)
Recovery didn't feel heroic.
But when he lay down that night, the ache had softened.
And that, he knew, was progress that wouldn't show on scoreboards.
Fielding Drills Don't Applaud
Fielding practice began without ceremony.
No crowd.
No scoreboard.
No bats.
Just cones, old tennis balls, and a whistle in Coach Prakash's mouth.
"Slip cordon first," the coach said. "No talking."
Rudra took second slip.
Close enough to feel fear if he let it.
Slip Catching
The first few balls came fast.
One bounced awkwardly. Another dipped late.
Rudra missed the first chance—fingers brushed leather, nothing more.
No reaction from the system.
No EXP.
He adjusted his stance. Lowered his center of gravity.
The next ball flew.
Hands moved before thought.
Clean catch.
Fielding
Lv 01 (27 / 100 EXP) → (33 / 100 EXP)
No applause.
Just the next ball.
Another catch.
Then another.
One stung badly, forcing air from his lungs—but he held it.
Fielding
Lv 01 (33 / 100 EXP) → (41 / 100 EXP)
Boundary Work
Next came boundary drills.
Sprint ten meters.
Slide.
Get up.
Throw flat.
Again.
And again.
Raju groaned after the third repetition.
Kapil slowed after the fifth.
Rudra focused on efficiency—angle first, speed second.
One ball was struck wide.
He reached it early, slowed just enough, slid cleanly, and returned the ball on one bounce to the wicketkeeper.
Coach Prakash nodded once.
That was all.
Running
Lv 01 (22 / 100 EXP) → (28 / 100 EXP)
Fielding
Lv 01 (41 / 100 EXP) → (52 / 100 EXP)
Relay Throws
Three-man relays to finish.
Rudra positioned himself as the middle link.
Catch.
Turn.
Throw.
No pause.
The throw felt right—straight, fast, controlled.
Decision Speed
Lv 04 (48 / 100 EXP) → (52 / 100 EXP)
Fielding Awareness
Lv 01 (27 / 100 EXP) → (39 / 100 EXP)
Practice ended quietly.
No claps.
No cheers.
As they walked off, Arjun wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Batting days are better," he muttered.
Rudra looked back at the empty field.
"No," he said softly. "These days stay longer."
That night, when he reviewed the panel, there was no new title.
No unlock.
Just a steady climb in numbers that didn't care whether anyone noticed.
And Rudra understood something important:
Batting wins matches.
Bowling controls them.
But fielding?
Fielding decides who bleeds under pressure—and who doesn't.