The challenge didn't come on the field.
It came near the water cooler.
Rudra was stretching his calves after a light jog—nothing more than circulation work—when a shadow paused beside him.
"Good quarterfinal."
The voice was calm. Measured.
Rudra looked up.
Varun Khanna.
FTS Sports School.
Middle-order batter. Occasional off-spinner.
Not their loudest. Not their flashiest.
But dangerous.
"I watched you," Varun continued, unscrewing his bottle. "You don't waste movements."
Rudra nodded once.
"Neither do you."
Varun smiled. Not pleased. Interested.
The Unspoken Comparison
They stood side by side, both stretching now.
No coaches nearby.
No teammates close enough to interrupt.
"I thought you were just another anchor," Varun said. "But anchors usually hide in the middle."
Rudra didn't reply.
He didn't need to.
Silence forced Varun to continue.
"You field like someone who hates giving runs," Varun added. "That's rare at this level."
Emotional Control
Lv 05 (79 / 100 EXP) → (82 / 100 EXP)
The system recorded restraint.
The Challenge
Varun tightened the cap on his bottle.
"Semifinal," he said. "If we meet."
Rudra finally spoke.
"If?"
Varun's eyes sharpened.
"When," he corrected.
"I want to see if your numbers still hold when the ball stops listening."
There was no taunt.
No raised voice.
Just expectation.
Rudra stood, wiping his hands on his shorts.
"They always do," he said. "The body doesn't. That's the real test."
Varun studied him for a second longer.
Then he laughed softly.
"Good," he said. "I don't like easy benchmarks."
Aftermath
As Varun walked away, Rudra felt it—not excitement, not fear.
Alignment.
This wasn't rivalry born from ego.
It was measurement.
Competitive Awareness
Lv 01 (0 / 100 EXP) → (9 / 100 EXP)
A new category appeared quietly in the panel.
Not a skill yet.
Just… awareness.
Evening Reflection
Back at the hostel, Arjun burst into the room.
"Oi, Rudra! FTS guy talking to you? What was that about?"
"Nothing," Rudra said, lacing his shoes for a walk.
"Just calibration."
Kapil frowned.
"That sounds dangerous."
Rudra smiled faintly.
"It's useful."
He stepped outside into the cooling Bangalore evening.
Some challenges came with shouting.
Others came with clarity.
This one promised pressure.
And pressure, he knew, was where numbers stopped lying.