That night was the most disgusting bath of my life. I still can’t forget that harrowing ten minutes.

  After a skin-peeling scrub and an hour of looking like a red tomato, I subconsciously gnced at the tablet, letting an unknowing reluctance sweep through my body. It was as though I did not want to be near it.

  Why won’t I? I had spent the previous week doing nothing but following the workout routine.

  But still, I made up my mind to just check the tablet. To see what new things are avaible. But one promise—

  ‘I won’t do anything for the next two days. These two days are my holiday.’

  They were probably the st bit of actual holiday I had.

  Being mentally prepared for what was to come, I touched the tablet. A shiver went up my body. It was as though I could feel energy leaving my body. The next moment, it vibrated. A congratutory sound followed.

  The screen lit up. The word ‘Congratutions’ was written in the middle of a white background. Spraying of glitter can be seen in the background. I became excited thinking about what new functions or techniques had been unlocked. Hurriedly, I taped the screen. It opened another window. That said,

  “

  Congratutions

  You have successfully passed the Peak Body stage.

  New function unlocked:

  Assistant AI: [A conversational partner who will assist you.]

  ”

  I was extremely excited. I had finally gotten something that could answer the growing number of questions in my heart. But a promise was still a promise. I did not look any further and went to sleep. I was resolute.

  I woke up the next morning refreshed. For the first time in these 8 days, I was sleeping without the effect of any pills. I found something interesting that day. Sleeping without any external influence is much more rexing of just that pill had the side effect of leaving me fatigued.

  Then, I made breakfast and went to school. It was the first time I had come to school in days. Not physically, but mentally.

  I went to my cssroom and saw my friends chatting among themselves. I sneaked to one of them and BAM. A direct hit. At a force that will make them feel the burn without doing any actual harm. But to my surprise, the force turned out to be a bit more than I expected. That friend’s face became pale from the pain, and without saying another thing, he hit me in the stomach.

  “Bastard, who hits someone this hard?”

  I was mentally preparing to say, ‘Sorry, I couldn’t control my strength.’ But before I could say another thing —

  “Yo, Jack, you can’t even take a hit without being a bitch about it?”

  He was Robin. Another friend of mine.

  “Oh, please, Robin, mind your own business! I was simply warning him not to ambush me out of the blue.”

  Everybody ughed at this whole exchange. On the side, I thanked God for not opening my mouth. Like, who was going to believe that a teenager was not able to control his strength?

  Then the homeroom teacher came, so we all had to sit down. I came in te that day, so I was not able to sit with my friends. I sat in the back, patiently waiting for the tiffin break.

  The teacher was taking attendance. When my name came up, he asked me if I was dealing with any issues tely. I had been very self-centered for the st week.

  I stood there sweating profusely. What I was supposed to day, that I got a magical SD card and had been busy tinkering with it? I nervously said,

  “S-Sir, I-I have been having frequent stomachaches tely.”

  The mest excuse one can give. But miraculously, that seemed to have worked. Rather than poking holes in my logic, he asked if I had consulted any doctor.

  “No, sir. But it seemed to have gotten better.”

  I know, that was an even more unrealistic scenario. But to my defense, I was extremely nervous back then. But the teacher gently told me to consult a doctor and went on with the attendance.

  The first css started. History, the most boring css in history. I was compining in my mind, ‘Who thought it would be a good idea to make such a boring css the first css of the day? I’m sure the board is full of zy people.’

  The teacher came and, with his usual lifeless tone, started the css. It was so boring that I saw many students go to sleep. Without any care for such things, the teacher continued his lecture. He was talking about an ancient battle that happened about 200 years ago. But that day, he shared something interesting. I don’t remember the whole thing, but the st part,

  “At a certain point in the battle, the commander had issued a retreat. But if they fell back, some vilges would be destroyed.

  At that time, one soldier took a horse and went to the battlefield. He alone held back the enemy for an entire day.

  It was recorded that he used to talk about seeing a pale blue light and a man talking to him and giving him weird exercises to do. He even wanted to create a faction of his own under that man’s instruction.” Sorry, I just remember the key details.