That night—

Sahil couldn’t sleep properly.

Kabir Ahuja’s batting replayed repeatedly inside his head.

Compact.

Balanced.

Efficient.

Everything Sahil still wasn’t.

For the first time since getting Cricket Ascend—

he truly understood the gap between gully dominance and real cricket.

And somehow—

the system responded to that realization.

At exactly 12:03 a.m., the blue screen appeared suddenly above his bed.

Different this time.

Larger.

Brighter.

MAJOR PROGRESSION MISSIONS UNLOCKED

Due to host entering organized cricket pathway, long-term development tasks activated.

Then three golden mission tabs appeared one after another.

MISSION 1 — SCHOOL TEAM SELECTION

Objective: Successfully qualify for Government Senior Secondary School cricket team.

Reward: +20 Timing

Difficulty: High

Failure Penalty: None

Sahil sat upright instantly.

Twenty timing points?

That was massive.

Absolutely massive.

Especially now when normal training barely gave +1.

The second mission appeared immediately afterward.

MISSION 2 — ENDURANCE FOUNDATION

Objective: Run 10 km daily for 7 consecutive days.

Current Progress: 0/7 Days

Reward: +15 Endurance

Conditions: ✔ Minimum distance must complete within same day ✔ Missing one day resets progress entirely

Difficulty: Very High

Sahil’s eyes widened slightly.

Ten kilometers daily?

For seven straight days?

That sounded insane.

Then came the third mission.

And honestly—

it looked even worse.

MISSION 3 — SWING FOUNDATION TRAINING

Objective: Complete 20,000 shadow bat swings.

Current Progress: 0/20,000

Reward: +10 Control

Conditions: ✔ Proper swing form mandatory ✔ Incorrect repetitions will not count

Difficulty: Extreme Repetition-Type Mission

Sahil stared blankly at the screen.

Twenty thousand?

Was the system insane?

SYSTEM NOTICE

Host entering advanced development stage.

Future progression rewards will require significantly higher effort.

Raw talent no longer sufficient for rapid growth.

The message felt brutally honest.

Earlier beginner rewards came easily.

Now?

The system expected obsession.

The next morning—

Sahil started Mission 2 immediately.

And by the fourth kilometer—

he regretted everything.

His lungs burned.

Legs tightened badly.

Sweat soaked completely through his shirt.

And the worst part?

Nobody else was forcing him to do this.

Only himself.

When he finally completed the full 10 km—

he nearly collapsed near the park railing.

The system appeared calmly.

MISSION 2 PROGRESS

Day 1/7 Complete

Physical Condition: Poor

Observation: Host endurance currently below competitive cricket requirement.

"No need to insult me also," Sahil muttered breathlessly.

Mission 3 felt even more brutal.

Shadow swings sounded easy at first.

Then reality arrived.

500 swings.

Wrists hurting.

1000 swings.

Shoulders burning.

2000 swings.

Hands numb.

And the counter barely moved compared to 20,000.

Worse—

the system rejected bad repetitions.

FORM ERROR DETECTED

Swing not counted.

Reason: ✘ Balance collapse during downswing ✘ Excessive shoulder force

Sahil almost threw the bat in frustration.

Even practice wasn’t letting him cheat anymore.

Still—

something inside him had changed after meeting Kabir.

Before, Sahil wanted to become the best in Riverside Gully.

Now?

That goal felt too small.

He wanted school selection.

Then district cricket.

Then bigger grounds.

Better bowlers.

Real cricket.

And deep down—

for the first time—

Sahil genuinely believed he might actually reach there someday.

The hardest part about improving—

wasn’t learning new things.

It was removing old habits.

And Sahil’s old habits were everywhere.

Big swings after dot balls.

Falling toward leg side.

Trying sixes too early.

Overusing bottom hand.

Everything that worked in Riverside Gully before—

became weaknesses against leather-ball cricket.

And now the system punished those weaknesses constantly.

Still—

Sahil kept grinding.

Every day.

School.

Practice.

Running.

Shadow swings.

Repeat.

By Day 3 of the endurance mission—

his body already felt terrible.

His calves burned during class.

Wrists hurt while writing.

Even climbing stairs became annoying.

Meanwhile the shadow swing mission felt endless.

MISSION 3 PROGRESS

Shadow Swings: 6,842 / 20,000

Valid Repetitions: 5,991

Rejected Swings: 851

Primary Error: Loss of balance after imaginary contact.

The rejected count irritated Sahil more than the mission itself.

Because it proved something annoying:

His technique still broke apart under power instinct.

That evening, Riverside Gully hosted another major match.

But this time—

Sahil approached batting differently.

Less emotion.

More structure.

Match Summary

Riverside Challengers vs Patel Colony Kings

Target: 149

Earlier Sahil would’ve attacked immediately.

Now he spent the first ten balls settling properly.

Singles.

Twos.

One straight boundary.

No wild slogging.

The crowd actually became impatient.

"Maar na!"

"Why playing like school cricket?"

"Six chahiye!"

Old Sahil might’ve listened.

Current Sahil ignored them.

Because now he understood innings pacing.

Then after settling—

he exploded naturally.

Two clean sixes.

One pull shot.

One straight lofted drive.

And suddenly the crowd became loud again.

But this time—

his batting looked calmer. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Cleaner.

More controlled.

Even Sameer noticed while fielding.

"You’re not panicking after dots anymore."

Sahil smirked slightly.

"That obvious?"

"Very."

The system agreed afterward.

MATCH REVIEW

Positive Growth: ✔ Better innings pacing ✔ Improved emotional control ✔ Reduced unnecessary aggression

Remaining Issues: ✘ Front-foot commitment still inconsistent ✘ Host struggles against slower bounce variation

Even criticism sounded better now.

Because at least the weaknesses were becoming smaller.

Three days later—

school trials finally arrived.

And honestly?

Sahil felt nervous the moment he entered the ground.

Not Riverside nervous.

Different nervous.

White uniforms everywhere.

Multiple nets.

Teachers observing.

Actual leather balls flying around.

Even the atmosphere felt more professional.

Kabir Ahuja stood near the main net already.

Relaxed.

Confident.

Like he belonged there.

Meanwhile Sahil adjusted borrowed pads awkwardly.

Trying not to look lost.

The system appeared quietly.

SPECIAL EVENT ACTIVE

School Team Trials

Major Mission: Selection Opportunity

Reward: +20 Timing

Evaluation Factors: ✔ Technique ✔ Shot selection ✔ Match temperament ✔ Fitness ✔ Adaptability

Twenty timing points.

The reward felt massive enough to make Sahil’s heartbeat faster.

Because timing was becoming the most important part of his game now.

Not power.

Timing.

Then one of the school coaches shouted:

"Next batter — Sahil Choudhary!"

And suddenly—

everything became silent inside his head.