Chapter 3: The Echo of the First Mantra
The air shrieked. The poisonous needles, forged from the traveler's Paap, hung suspended in the air like frozen droplets of ink. Kala-Nemi's face was no longer human; his jaw had elongated, and his eyes burned with a sickly, phosphoric green light.
"Die, brat!" the Asura hissed.
Vikram stood his ground. His Reaction (L4) made the world crawl. He could see the needles vibrating, each one inscribed with a tiny, jagged Sanskrit syllable: 'Hreem'. It was a vibration of extraction—a spell designed to pull the life-force right out of a victim's pores.
[ SYSTEM ALERT ]
Incoming Damage: Fatal.
Mantra-Flow Detected: Marana-Jala (Death Web).
Counter-Logic found in Akashic Database...
Vikram didn't have a weapon, but he had the Eye of Truth (L2) and the Mantra-Hacker (L1). He saw the "Nodes" of the spell—three glowing red points in the air where the energy gathered.
"Father, the iron!" Vikram roared.
Kashyap, reeling from the blast of Black Tejas, grabbed a white-hot rod of iron from the forge with his bare hands, his Strength (L6) and Endurance (L5) allowing him to ignore the searing heat.
"Vikram, duck!" Kashyap swung the molten rod, but he was swinging at a shadow.
"No, Father! Aim for the air!" Vikram commanded. His Charm (L10-MAX) forced his father's mind to obey without question.
The First Counter-Hack
Vikram took a deep breath, vibrating his Manipura Chakra. He didn't know the full mantra for fire, but he knew the Inverse Syllable thanks to his cheat.
"VAM!" Vikram shouted.
It was a syllable of Water and Cleansing. As the sound left his lips, it collided with the first node of the Asura's spell. The black needles at the center turned into harmless mist.
[ SYSTEM MESSAGE ]
Skill Activated: Mantra-Hacking (Success).
Punya Earned: +100 (Combat Merit).
Paap of Enemy Exposed: 12,000 ➔ 15,000 (Spilling blood in a sacred forge).
"Impossible!" Kala-Nemi gasped. "A child with no Prana... hacking a Rathi-tier spell?"
The Akasha Shop: Mid-Battle Emergency
While the Asura was stunned, Vikram's mind raced back into the Shop. He had 105 Punya left.
[ SHOP ALERT: FLASH SALE ]
Item: Surya-Astra Fragment (Single Use).
Cost: 100 Punya.
Description: A spark of pure Solar Tejas. Effective against Asura-type shadows.
Buy it! Vikram commanded.
A searing heat manifested in his palm. It wasn't a sword; it was a tiny, pulsing sphere of indigo-gold light.
"Father! Strike the sphere!"
Vikram tossed the Surya-Astra Fragment into the air. Kashyap, seeing the divine radiance, realized his son was channeling something beyond mortal understanding. He brought his molten iron rod down with the force of a falling mountain, striking the fragment mid-air.
The Purging of the Shadow
BOOM.
The collision didn't create an explosion of fire, but a wave of Purity. A shockwave of golden Sanskrit characters—Om, Namah, Shivaya—rippled outward. The black needles disintegrated. The Asura's horse, actually a low-level demon, vanished into a pile of ash.
Kala-Nemi screamed as the golden light touched his skin. His Paap (15,000) acted like fuel for the Solar fire. In the Treta Yuga, the more sin you carried, the more the Light hurt.
"My ring! My connection to the Master!" Kala-Nemi's ring shattered, the black gem exploding.
The spy was thrown back against the village gate, his grey skin smoking. He was defeated, but not dead. He looked at Vikram with a mix of terror and obsession.
"The Master was right..." he wheezed. "The Silver Age is ending. A child with the Veda-Drishti has appeared. You are the one the Prophecy warned us about!"
With a desperate burst of dark energy, the spy turned into a cloud of soot and vanished into the forest, heading toward the Patala Gate.
[ KARMIC EVENT CONCLUDED ]
Objective: Protect the Forge (Success).
Major Reward: +5,000 Punya.
Title Gained: [The Seer of Vajra-Grama].
Attribute Level Up: Eye of Truth (L2 ➔ L3).
The Aftermath
The village was silent. The river Kalindi continued its Vedic hum, but the peace was broken. The villagers began to gather, looking at Vikram—their "useless" boy—who was now glowing with a faint, residual Tejas.
Kashyap walked over, his hands still smoking from the heat. He looked at his son, seeing him for the first time not as a child, but as a Sadhaka.
"Vikram," his father whispered. "Where did you learn the Cleansing Syllable? And that light... that was not from any forge I know."
Vikram looked at his hands. He could see his Punya (5,005). He was rich. He could buy attributes, skills, or even a weapon now. But he also saw the "Quest" updated in his vision.
[ MAIN QUEST UPDATED ]
Title: The Path of the Iron Sage.
Task: Follow the Shadow-Asura to the Patala Gate.
Danger Level: Atirathi-tier (Level 60+).
Time Limit: 7 Days (Before the Blood Moon).
"Father," Vikram said, his Charm (L10-MAX) making his voice resonate in the hearts of everyone present. "The shadows are no longer in the stories. They are at our gates. I have to go to the forest."
Vikram is now ready for his first major 'Build.' How should he spend his 5,000 Punya?
The Tank Build: Max out Endurance and Strength to L10 to become a physical juggernaut.The Mage Build: Upgrade Dhi (Intellect) to L10 and buy the [Rig Veda Starter Pack] for elemental spells.The Scout Build: Upgrade Speed and Eye of Truth to find the Asura's secret base without being caught.
What will Vikram's Path be?