The sharp sound of plastic balls smashing against concrete echoed across the empty evening ground.

Again.

And again.

And again. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

THACK!

"Late!"

EDGE!

"Too hard!"

WHOOSH!

"Leave that!"

For the past seven days, those sounds had become part of Sahil’s daily life.

Morning runs.

District training.

Fitness drills.

Net sessions.

Then evenings here—

on this broken concrete pitch beneath dim yellow lights, endlessly grinding against outswing bowling.

At first, Sahil thought the weakness would disappear after a few sessions.

He was wrong.

Swing bowling wasn’t something solved through talent alone.

It demanded repetition.

Adaptation.

Patience.

And district cricket gave no shortcuts.

The local ground had almost become their personal training arena now.

Nearby children gathered every evening to watch.

Some copied Sahil’s batting stance.

Others tried imitating Ravi’s exaggerated swing action with plastic balls.

At first they laughed every time Sahil edged behind.

Now...

they watched seriously.

Because the improvement was becoming obvious.

Another outswinger curved away sharply.

WHOOSH!

Sahil instinctively reached too far.

EDGE!

The plastic ball smashed directly into side netting.

Ravi immediately laughed.

"There’s the old version again."

Sahil removed one glove irritably.

Even after days of training, one perfect outswinger still troubled him badly.

That annoyed him more than anything.

Ravi walked forward while spinning the plastic ball between his fingers.

"You know what your problem was before district trials?"

Sahil drank water tiredly.

"What?"

"You treated every ball like a boundary opportunity."

Sahil stayed silent.

Because Ravi was right.

At school level, aggressive batting solved almost everything.

Weak bowling.

Loose lines.

Poor field placements.

But district cricket punished reckless batting immediately.

Especially against swing.

Ravi tossed the plastic ball lightly.

"Real batters know which ball to attack."

"And which ball to respect."

That sentence quietly settled inside Sahil’s mind.

The next session began immediately.

WHOOSH!

Outswing.

This time Sahil stayed balanced longer.

Leave.

Cleaner judgement.

Another delivery.

Fuller line.

THACK!

Compact defense.

Then another.

Wide outswinger tempting him outside off stump.

Earlier Sahil would have attacked automatically.

Now—

Leave again.

Ravi nodded immediately.

"That’s better."

The blue system screen flickered briefly.

---

Skill Progress Increased

OUTSWING MASTERY

EXP +4

Current EXP: 36 / 100

---

The EXP gains had slowed noticeably now.

Early improvement came quickly.

Now progress demanded consistency.

Cleaner execution.

Better judgement.

Real adaptation.

Which also meant—

the system no longer rewarded random repetition.

Only genuine improvement counted.

That pushed Sahil even harder.

The next few days became brutal.

Every evening followed the same cycle.

Plastic-ball swing.

Edges.

Corrections.

Adjustment.

Improvement.

Again and again.

Some sessions went terribly.

Especially after exhausting district conditioning drills.

On those days:

His reactions slowed

His footwork froze

His balance collapsed

Edges returned repeatedly.

Ravi never went easy on him either.

Around the wicket.

Over the wicket.

Wide release points.

Late outswing.

Faster deliveries.

Slower teasing balls.

Every variation exposed different weaknesses.

And every weakness forced Sahil to adapt again.

The grinding slowly changed him.

At the beginning of the week:

He chased outswing instinctively

Panicked against movement

Lunged outside off stump

Attacked too early

Now?

His movements looked calmer.

More controlled.

His head stayed steadier.

His bat face remained straighter.

Most importantly—

the panic was disappearing.

One evening, heavy clouds covered the sky while cold wind swept across the ground.

Ravi smirked while rubbing one side of the plastic ball aggressively against his shirt.

"Ready?"

Sahil adjusted his gloves quietly.

"Bowl."

WHOOSH!

The ball curved away viciously after pitching.

One week ago, Sahil would have edged immediately.

This time—

Leave.

Perfect judgement.

Ravi’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Second delivery.

Fuller outswinger.

THACK!

Compact defense.

Middle of the bat.

Third ball.

Wider line.

Tempting drive.

Sahil ignored it completely.

Ravi laughed softly.

"District patience unlocked."

Sahil smirked faintly.

The next ball came quickly.

Slightly shorter.

Outswing again.

This time Sahil reacted instinctively.

THACK!

A beautiful late square drive pierced perfectly between backward point and cover.

Clean timing.

Perfect balance.

The sound echoed sharply across the ground.

The nearby children exploded immediately.

"SHOT!"

"WHAT A DRIVE!"

Even Ravi blinked in surprise.

"That..."

He stared at Sahil briefly.

"...was district-level batting."

Sahil himself looked slightly stunned.

That shot had felt effortless.

Not forced.

Not rushed.

Just pure timing and control.

The blue system screen instantly appeared.

---

Skill Progress Increased

OUTSWING MASTERY

EXP +18

Current EXP: 82 / 100

---

Bonus Evaluation

✔ First Advanced Late Contact Registered

✔ Improved outside-off judgement

✔ Stable balance against swing

---

Sahil slowly exhaled.

Eighty-two already.

The progress finally felt real now.

Not just mentally.

Physically too.

His body reacted earlier.

His eyes tracked movement better.

Even his confidence against swing bowling increased dramatically.

The nearby kids immediately surrounded the practice area excitedly.

"Again bhaiya!"

"That shot was crazy!"

"Ravi bhai got cooked!"

Ravi clicked his tongue dramatically.

"Ungrateful audience."

Everyone laughed loudly.

For the first time in days, the exhausting atmosphere lightened slightly.

But the grinding continued.

Day after day.

Even when tired.

Even when frustrated.

Even when his palms burned from constant batting.

Sahil kept practicing.

Because deep inside...

he understood something important now.

District cricket wasn’t testing talent alone.

It was testing discipline.

And discipline meant showing up repeatedly until weakness became strength.

Finally—

the seventh evening arrived.

The sky had already darkened while cold wind swept across the empty local ground.

The nearby kids watched quietly from behind the nets.

Even Ravi looked more serious than usual.

"You know," Ravi said while holding the plastic ball, "your first day here was terrible."

Sahil laughed softly.

"I know."

"You looked scared of outswing."

That statement honestly surprised Sahil slightly.

Scared?

Maybe he actually was.

Not of the ball itself.

But of being exposed.

In between the week 7th day of 15 Km daily running task got completed.

System rewards: +5 endurance

Of realizing school cricket had hidden too many flaws.

Ravi walked back toward his mark.

"One final over."

Sahil adjusted his stance calmly.

"Come."

The first delivery came quickly.

WHOOSH!

Late outswing.

Leave.

Perfect.

Second ball.

Fuller line.

THACK!

Compact defense.

Third ball.

Wide teasing outswinger.

Leave again.

No movement.

No panic.

Ravi narrowed his eyes slightly now.

Fourth ball.

Shorter length.

Sahil waited late.

THACK!

Controlled square cut.

Clean timing.

The nearby children shouted immediately.

"SHOT!"

Ravi smiled faintly.

Fifth delivery.

Inswing variation.

Sahil defended calmly.

Then came the final ball.

Ravi sprinted in harder this time.

The plastic ball curved away sharply after pitching.

Beautiful outswing.

The exact type that destroyed Sahil one week ago.

But now—

his body stayed balanced naturally.

Eyes steady.

Bat straight.

THACK!

The late cover drive exploded across the concrete surface beautifully.

Silence spread briefly.

Even Ravi stopped moving.

The shot looked smooth.

Controlled.

Professional.

The blue system screen burst open instantly.

---

Skill Mastery Upgraded

OUTSWING MASTERY

Beginner Mastery Complete

Current EXP:

1 / 500

---

Passive Effects Unlocked

✔ Improved outswing judgement

✔ Reduced outside-edge probability

✔ Better off-side balance

✔ Improved patience outside off stump

✔ Slightly increased late-shot control

✔ +5 Temporary Control on lifted shots against outswing

✔ +5 Temporary Timing on lifted shots against outswing

---

For several seconds, Sahil quietly stared at the glowing screen.

Completed.

One full week of nonstop grinding...

finally paid off.

Ravi slowly walked forward while shaking his head.

"You improve ridiculously fast."

Sahil smiled faintly.

"Still not enough."

Because honestly...

he knew this was only the beginning.

District bowlers were still far better than plastic-ball practice.

But now?

At least he finally had a foundation.

The fear against outswing had disappeared.

And confidence had replaced it.

As darkness fully covered the local ground, Sahil packed his kit bag quietly.

His hands hurt badly.

His shoulders felt sore.

His legs still ached from district endurance training.

But mentally...

he felt stronger than before.

Not because he became perfect.

But because he had conquered one weakness through pure grinding.

The system screen slowly appeared beside him one final time.

---

STATUS WINDOW

Name:

Sahil Choudhary

Role:

Aggressive Middle-Order Batsman

---

BATTING STATS

Power: 76

Timing: 60

Control: 42

Defense: 20

Mental Toughness: 31

---

PHYSICAL STATS

Endurance: 33

Agility: 15

Recovery: 11

---

PULL SHOT

Current Mastery:

BEGINNER MASTERY COMPLETE

Current EXP:

131 / 500

---

OUTSWING MASTERY

Current Rank:

BEGINNER MASTERY COMPLETE

Current EXP:

1 / 500

---

PERFECT TIMING PATHWAY

Objective:

1000 Perfect Connections

Progress:

368 / 1000

Completion:

36.8%

Reward:

+20 Timing

---

MAIN QUEST

"REAL CRICKET BEGINS"

Objective:

Earn selection into District Under-19 Squad

---

Sahil quietly stared at the glowing blue screen beneath the dark night sky.

Then he slowly picked up his bat once more.

District cricket had exposed his weakness brutally.

Now...

he had finally started turning those weaknesses into weapons.