With a newly found determination burning within him, Vishwa eagerly took part in every physical activity and weapon training session offered at the Gurukul. His enthusiasm and commitment left Guru Gopal astonished, as he had never seen such a transformation in a student before. Within just a week, Guru Gopal began to shift his focus solely onto Vishwa, occasionally providing him with personal training sessions aimed at developing his muscles.

Every day, Vishwa pushed himself harder, trying to keep up with the rigorous demands of the training. However, after a month of dedicated effort, Guru Gopal reluctantly came to a realisation: despite the intense training and a diet filled with nutrients, Vishwa was struggling to build the muscle mass he desired. This left the experienced Guru scratching his head for solutions, yet nothing he attempted seemed to make a significant difference.

“Vishwa, I don’t think you can get any more muscular than this,” Guru Gopal finally admitted, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Vishwa, ever the optimist, flashed a smile and replied, “At least I am not that frail kid who I used to be before training, right?” His spirit remained unbroken, even in the face of this setback.

Guru Gopal nodded, acknowledging Vishwa’s progress. “Correct. From this month onward, you will shift your focus to weapon training. We’ll work on improving your mobility and getting you more familiar with the different weapons.”

“Yes sir,” came Vishwa's prompt response. “Sir, you know, I think you are the best teacher in this Gurukul—You don't judge others by how they look and you point out mistakes directly instead of sugar-coating them. For me, you are my favourite Guru.”

Guru Gopal raised an eyebrow, curious. “Are you trying to get out of the rest of the training for the day?”

Vishwa stammered, “No… no sir. I was genuinely speaking.”

“Okay,” Guru Gopal replied, a hint of amusement playing on his lips as he glanced at the heavy sack filled with sand lying nearby. “For your reward, drag that around the ground five times.”

Vishwa’s eyes widened in surprise. “Isn’t that two times for everyone?”

Guru Gopal chuckled, “From today, you’ve become one of my favourite students, so deal with it.”

As Vishwa set off on his task, he managed to complete four rounds when suddenly, a sharp pain began to throb in his right side of the chest. Panic began to set in, as he realised, “Oh no. I haven’t taken my medicine yet.” In a hurry, he untied the ropes from the sack and dashed off, calling back over his shoulder, “Sir, tomorrow I will definitely do six rounds. I have something urgent to take care of!”

Grabbing his chest as he ran, Vishwa bolted up the stairs toward his room. Upon entering, he found Gagan waiting for him. “Finally he is here!” Gagan exclaimed.

Vishwa brushed past him, rummaging through his wardrobe until he found the bottle of capsules. Without bothering to grab a glass of water, he swallowed it down.

“Brother, are you alright? Why are you shaking so violently?” Gagan asked, concerned, while placing a steadying hand on Vishwa's back.

Stumbling slightly as he regained some stability, Vishwa gasped, “Wa-water.”

“Okay,” Gagan replied, quickly reacting as Neel tossed a water bottle towards Vishwa.

After gulping down the water, Vishwa took a moment to breathe, finally calming down after about five minutes. “Sorry you guys had to see this side of me,” he apologised with embarrassment.

Neel took the bottle back and shot Vishwa a teasing look. “You are a walking problem.”

Gagan, still worried, asked, “What happened?”

Vishwa shrugged, responding, “It’s a birth issue. I get these chest pains every month. But don’t worry, I have the medications to handle it.”

“Can you move or will you rest for the day?” Gagan questioned, as Neel abruptly decided to leave, grumbling, “Don’t bother, I’m going alone.”

“Come on, Neel! Can’t you see how he’s doing?” Gagan retorted, clearly annoyed.

“What's going on?” Vishwa asked, his expression a mix of confusion and concern. “I’m good now.”

Gagan explained, “Basically, he’s heading to the market. I thought, why not all three of us go together? He’s always by himself at the Gurukul, so I’m trying to make him socialise with others—starting with us.”

“Okay, we can go together,” Vishwa said as he pushed himself to stand up. “Let me change my clothes first.”

“Yeah! Please do and get that sweaty smell out,” Gagan jokingly noted.

“Buy some new clothes! How long are you going to wear those two sets of clothes?” Neel chimed in, shaking his head in disbelief.

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They all headed to the market near Pandu Lake, where they purchased the items they needed before continuing their usual daily activities. Vishwa dove back into his training, while Gagan frequently made trips to the market to catch glimpses of the girls. Neel remained somewhat of a mystery, preferring to stick to the shadows, only appearing in the dorm room or during training sessions. As another month elapsed, life at the Gurukul continued with its rhythm, each day weaving new experiences and challenges into their journey.

One day, after completing his rigorous weapons training, Vishwa decided to swing by the Task Counter, curious about the tasks that were currently available and eager to meet the Task Manager. As he approached the counter, he was taken aback to see Neel there, engrossed in filling out a registration form.

“What are you doing, Neel?” Vishwa inquired, genuinely curious about his friend's activities.

Without even glancing up from his task, Neel responded rather brusquely, “Can't you see?”

Vishwa couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“Oh! You again! The first Victim of this session,” The Task Manager said with a smirk, clearly recognising Vishwa. “What was your name again? I seem to have forgotten.”

“Vishwa, sir,” came the prompt reply.

“Right, You look fit nowadays; practising hard, huh?”

Vishwa scratched his head sheepishly and replied, “Yeah! It's all thanks to Guru Gopal.”

“Hmm, so he’s turned his focus on you, that sneaky bastard,” the Task Manager commented, chuckling at his own remark.

Rather than engage with the Task Manager's banter, Vishwa turned his attention to Neel, who was busy scribbling on his form. “Do you want me to come with you?” he asked, feeling a bit hopeful.

“No need,” Neel shot back, his tone leaving no room for discussion.

The Task Manager interjected, “You can’t join him even if you wanted to; he always does solo tasks.”

“Always!” Vishwa echoed, somewhat in disbelief. Then he turned back to the Task Manager and asked, “Sir Task Manager, can I also apply for the same task as him?”

“Of course you can,” the Task Manager replied, handing a registration form to Vishwa with a nod.

Neel, visibly irritated, spoke up, “Didn't I say I don’t need company?”

Vishwa waved his form in the air and replied, “I'm going alone.”

With that, both of them filled out their forms and made their way out of the campus. As they walked, halfway through their journey, Neel couldn’t hold back any longer and asked, “Why are you following me?”

“Do you like picking mushrooms?” Vishwa countered, throwing an unexpected question back at him.

When Neel remained silent, Vishwa continued, “How do you differentiate between safe and poisonous ones?”

Neel scoffed, “You don’t even know that and you took the task? Great. Do you want to kill the students here?”

Vishwa shook his head, “Well, no. I just wanted to spend some time with you. You seem like a good guy; why do you isolate yourself from others?”

Neel let out a short laugh, laced with bitterness. “You wouldn’t understand. Who lived his life like a sheltered Prince in the King's Castle? If you were born in slums, you wouldn’t ask that.”

Vishwa shrugged, “Everyone has their own destiny. If you don’t tell me, how will I understand?” He then spotted a fruit tree nearby and gestured toward it. “Ah! Have you ever eaten that fruit? It's very sweet.”

As Vishwa began to scale the tree, a note of caution crept into Neel’s voice. “Do not eat that,” he warned, glancing uneasily at the fruits. “Who knows if it’s poisonous or not?” His concern was genuine; there were enough tales of people falling ill from consuming wild fruits mistakenly thought to be safe.

“Don’t worry about it,” Vishwa replied confidently as he made his way up the tree. “I know it’s not poisonous. I ate this fruit every day when I was on the Royal Mountain.” With that, he reached out and gathered a handful of fruits.

He jumped down and handed a few fruits to Neel, who scrutinised their unusual geometric shapes with a mix of curiosity and hesitation. Vishwa took a big bite of one, and watching him, Neel’s curiosity got the better of him. Warily, he took a piece and bit into it, his eyes widening in surprise. “It’s so sweet!”

“Yeah! You see, I wasn’t wrong,” Vishwa said with a grin, clearly pleased to have shared something enjoyable.

After they both savoured the fruit, Neel broke the silence that followed, his tone contemplative. “You know, at the end of the day, you’re still a commoner, just like the rest of us, and perhaps a bit oblivious to the world around you.”

Vishwa looked at Neel, scratching his head in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

Neel’s gaze drifted towards the vast sky, clouds lazily drifting by. “Look around you. Everyone you see is solely focused on their own interests, it's human nature. Maybe there are a few good people but the fact doesn't change that no-one really care about the real problems lurking in the slums. From the outside, this Kingdom might look spectacular, but I’ve heard from a traveler that it used to be a paradise for commoners. Back in the days of the previous King, at least nobody went to bed hungry.”

He paused, allowing his memories to surface, before continuing. “But now, commoners are dying from starvation. My mother...." He looked down as a drop of his tear fell on the ground. He cleared his eyes. "I lived in Manbar Town and my mother was one of victims of starvation.” Pain flashed across Neel’s face as tears began to mist his dark, expressive eyes. “To feed me and my sister, she hadn’t eaten for days. Eventually, she succumbed. It’s a reality that I can’t escape.”

Vishwa, feeling the weight of Neel's words, offered a quiet apology. “I’m really sorry for bringing up such painful memories, Neel.”

Neel quickly wiped away his tears, a hint of a smile returning to his face. “But somehow, you are an exception,” he said playfully. “You get scammed from all sides, yet you still find a way to be happy.”

Vishwa shot a playful glare at Neel. “Why are you picking on me all of a sudden?”

“Don’t give me that innocent look! Didn’t people take money from you in the last two months under the guise of needing help?” Neel remarked, a teasing tone in his voice.

“They genuinely needed it,” Vishwa attempted to defend his actions.

“You trust way too easily,” Neel pointed out. “What do you really gain from all this?”

“Honestly, I just enjoy helping people,” Vishwa replied with sincerity.

“Let me just say this as a friend—be wary of Gagan. I have a feeling he’s not as he seems,” Neel suggested, concern creeping into his voice.

“What do you mean? He helped me get my money back,” Vishwa countered, puzzled.

“Sure, he did, but only because he wanted to. It’s about him, not you. If it had been someone else, he would have stuck his nose in their business too,” Neel explained.

As their conversation continued, they turned their attention to picking mushrooms for their task. Vishwa listened intently and learnt as Neel explained about mushroom along the way, and together they made the most of their day, laughter occasionally breaking through the serious undertones of their discussion.