Chapter 17: Silent Night, Rising Strength
Everyone quietly walked through the castle corridors, exhausted but alive. Their footsteps echoed against the stone walls until, one by one, they disappeared into their rooms.
Hemant unlocked his door, stepped inside, and fell onto his bed without even changing his clothes. His body trembled slightly—not from pain, but from the weight of his thoughts.
Hemant's thoughts:
(Well… we got saved this time. That was a nightmare. Those rabbit creatures were horrible. But… there is one thing I didn't understand…)
His eyes slowly closed.
---
Scene shifts to Janit
He leaned back in his chair, staring at his sword by candlelight.
Janit's thoughts:
(Well, that was something else. I don't want to face that again.)
He took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and lay down on his bed.
---Scene shifts to Harsh
He stood near his table, fists clenched with determination.
Harsh's thoughts:
(The King… the Commander is worried about us. We should train harder now.)
He nodded to himself and went to sleep.
---
Scene shifts to Aditya
He stood near the window, moonlight touching his face. He wasn't sleeping. He wasn't tired. He was simply thinking.
---Scene shifts to Damini room
Her body was tense. She closed the door of her room and turned toward her bed.
Suddenly—
Her heart spiked.
Her eyes widened.
In front of her—
The rabbit creature's glowing red eyes.
--- Scene returns to Hemant
He opened his eyes again, staring at the ceiling.
Hemant's thoughts:
(The thing I don't understand is how Nikhil killed that first rabbit creature… That scene was terrifying… We didn't see anything but heard a boom sound… The headless rabbit creature was horrifying.)
His heart raced as the memory returned.
--- Flashback
Thick, dark smoke filled the air.
Nikhil lay on the ground, barely breathing.
The rabbit creature opened its massive mouth wide—teeth shining, saliva dripping—ready to devour him whole.
At the last moment—
Nikhil shoved ten booms into its open jaws.
BOOMMMM!!!!
The explosion shook the ground.
Smoke swallowed everything.
And when it cleared—
The rabbit creature's head was gone.
Blood poured out like a river.
Before the body could fall, Nikhil rushed forward, reached inside its chest, and pulled out the dark green heart.
The heart instantly transformed into a pill.
---Present
Nikhil sat alone in his room.
Seven Rabbits creature heart pills glowed softly on the table.
His face was calm. Unreadable.
He opened his system.
Nikhil: "What is this? And does it have any abilities?"
System:(It's called the Rabbit Heart Pill. Its ability is: it boosts speed by 10 points.)
Nikhil stared at the pills in silence.
Nikhil's thoughts:
(Well, I already have abilities… but not my friends. Should I give it to them?)
Nikhil:"Can I give this ability to my friends?"
System:(Yes, you can.)
Nikhil smirked slightly.
Nikhil: "Fine. Then transfer these pills to my friends."
The system glowed—and all seven pills vanished.
They appeared in the systems of Janvi, Aditya, Damini, Pallavi, Harsh, Hemant, and Janit.
Everyone was asleep—
Except Aditya.
A soft glow appeared in front of him.
Aditya: "Hmm? A pill?"
He opened his system.
Aditya's thoughts:
(Seems like I received something… but it didn't come from my system. That means Nikhil transferred it? Let's see what it is.)
The description appeared:
Rabbit Heart Pill
Speed Boost: +10 points .
Aditya's thoughts:
(It looks interesting. I exhausted now .let's see this in morning. )
He finally lay down and closed his eyes.
---Scene shifts back to Damini
Her fingers turned cold.
Her veins felt frozen from within as she stared at the rabbit creature's eyes in her room.
She was about to scream—
Suddenly, her door opened.
Janvi and Pallavi rushed inside.
Damini looked at them—
Then looked back toward where the rabbit creature had stood.
There was nothing.
Only empty darkness.
Pallavi (fearful, hesitant):"Umm… what happened… Damini?"
Janvi didn't speak. She just stared at Damni's face.
Damini calmed herself, steadying her voice.
Damini:"Nothing… by the way, why did you both come here?"
Pallavi spoke in a hesitant, fearful tone.
Pallavi: "Ca-can we stay tonight in your room?"
Damini nodded.
Janvi and Pallavi said in relief tone "Thank you" at the same time.
---Scene shifts to Nikhil
He lay on his bed.
Suddenly, his expression changed—frustration.
He sat up sharply. His jaw tightened.
Nikhil's thoughts (frustrated):
(Why am I even resting…? After I put everyone at death's gate… It was my fault that I got comfortable in that situation. When everyone relaxed, I should have stayed alert. If I had checked the killing points at that time… I could have saved everyone… Damn it!!!)
He got off his bed. His expression turned serious and firm.
He opened his system and checked his stats.
---
Speed:F
Attack Power: E+++
Endurance:F
Intelligence:A+++
Potential: X
Weapon:Mystery – F
---
His eyes widened in shock.
(What?! How… how did my stats not improve? I trained so much in those days… even Janit's stats slightly improved… How does this system even work?)
Nikhil:"How does this system work?"
System (emotionless):
This system works based on Unit Points (U Points).
From F Rank, 100 U Points are required to reach E Rank.
Each rank requires 100 additional U Points from the previous rank.
To gain U Points, the user must work on aspects until failure.
Do you want me to show your U Points for each stat?
Nikhil:"Yes."
---
The system displayed:
Speed: F – 30 U Points
Attack Power: E – 100 U Points
Endurance:F – 77 U Points
Intelligence: A+++ – 499 U Points
Potential: X
Weapon:Mystery – F – 50 U Points
---
Nikhil's expression became calm. He understood now.
Nikhil: "What about the rank system for creatures?"
System:
Zombies, Zombie Bosses, and Skeletons are F Rank.
E Rank: Rabbits, Rats, Cats, small birds, small snakes, squirrels, pigs, chickens.
D Rank: Hyenas, large boars, giant mutant dogs, foxes, jackals, monitor lizards, eagles, hawks.
C Rank: Bears, apes, crocodiles, wolves, hyenas, chimpanzees, orangutans, kangaroos.
B Rank: Lions, tigers, leopards, gorillas, grizzly bears, anacondas.
A Rank: African elephants, hippopotamuses, saltwater crocodiles, rhinoceroses.
There are more ranks, but they cannot currently be shown to Candidates.
⚠️ Note: Creatures are more dangerous than their rank suggests. Even an E Rank creature can wipe out an Candidates group.
---
Nikhil's face showed mixed emotions—fear, shock, realization.
They had just faced the second-lowest rank creature and nearly died.
He couldn't imagine how terrifying higher ranks would be.
---Morning
Everyone checked their systems and discovered the pill.
Curiosity, excitement, and renewed energy filled them.
A few hours later, they gathered in the castle's meeting room.
King Krishnadevaraya stood before them, serious and powerful.
King Krishn Dev Rai:
"So now you all must train harder… so that last time's situation never happens again. This training will be harsher than before. Prepare yourselves."
No one argued.
Everyone nodded.
--Training Begins
They ran laps until their lungs burned.
Then they practiced ancient training forms:
Dand-Baithak, Malla Khamb, Varma Vyayam, Gada Abhyas, Talwar swing drills—repeated continuously for four hours.
After that came weapon training—
Sword.
Spear.
Bow.
Shield.
All under the blazing sun.
-- Lunch
Pure vegetarian protein-rich foods:
Moong dal, rajma, chickpeas, soy nuggets, paneer, groundnuts, milk, sprouts.
---Afternoon
War strategy study:
Battle formations.
Enemy analysis.
Terrain advantage.
Team movement coordination.
Short rest.
Then more weapon training under torchlight.
---Dinner
Paneer curry, dal makhani, soya chap, sprout salad, milk, chia seeds.
--- Night Study
War strategy.
Survival planning.
Attack patterns.
Team coordination.
Then sleep.
---
This routine continued—
Harder every day—
For twenty days.
Sweat.
Pain.
Exhaustion.
Growth.
They were no longer the same.
---
Chapter End.