Cricket Ascend System

By Sunday evening, Riverside Gully already had a new story.

Not about Sameer Malik.

Not about Azad Nagar Tigers.

Not even about the impossible chase itself.

Only one thing mattered now.

Sahil Choudhary scored 110 not out.

And by Monday morning—

the entire neighborhood knew.

"Arre woh Sharma Market wali gali ka ladka?"

"37 pe 7 tha match!"

"He hit eleven sixes!"

"Against Sameer’s team!"

Every tea stall discussion somehow reached the same topic.

Even people who hadn’t watched the match started exaggerating it.

"Ball road ke bahar gaya tha."

"He hit three sixes in one over."

"Sameer got scared of him."

The story kept growing.

That’s how gully cricket worked.

But for Sahil—

Monday didn’t feel glorious.

It felt strange.

Because for the first time in years—

people were looking at him differently.

At school, boys who normally ignored him suddenly started talking.

"Bro heard you smashed Tigers yesterday."

"110 seriously?"

"You’re lying."

"No chance."

Even seniors from other sections asked about the innings.

Earlier, Sahil’s name only came up when someone joked about dropped catches.

Now?

People wanted details.

But the weirdest part came after school.

When he returned to Riverside Gully.

The moment he entered—

everyone stopped playing for a second.

Then Bunty shouted loudly:

"Hero aa gaya!"

The lane burst into laughter and cheers instantly.

Sahil awkwardly scratched his head.

He still wasn’t used to this.

Near Sharma Electronics, Ravi sat on a parked scooter spinning a ball in his hand.

"You became famous overnight."

Sahil laughed nervously.

"Relax. It was one innings."

Ravi stared directly at him.

"No."

"That wasn’t normal."

The smile slowly faded from Sahil’s face.

Because deep down—

he knew Ravi was right.

That innings felt unreal even to him.

The sixes.

The timing improvements.

The adaptation.

The system.

Especially the system.

That night, Sahil locked his room quietly.

Then finally—

he called it again.

"System?"

Immediately the blue screen appeared.

CRICKET ASCEND SYSTEM

Host: Sahil Choudhary

CURRENT STATS

Batting:

Control: 11

Timing: 10

Power: 70

Bowling:

Accuracy: 4

Variation: 3

Speed: 5

Fielding:

Catching: 6

Throwing: 6

Agility: 7

Mental Toughness: 15

Match Awareness: 8

Stamina: 12

Sahil stared quietly.

The numbers had changed.

Not dramatically.

But noticeably.

Especially timing and control.

Earlier both felt terrible.

Now?

Not good.

But improving.

"Show rewards."

The screen shifted instantly.

FREE STAT POINTS AVAILABLE

Unassigned Points: 10

Sahil sat silently thinking.

Yesterday proved one thing clearly—

power alone wasn’t enough.

Too many shots were edges.

Mistimes.

Luck.

Against stronger players—

that would fail.

Eventually.

After several seconds, he made his decision.

STAT ALLOCATION COMPLETE

+4 Timing

+3 Control

+2 Match Awareness

+1 Stamina

Instantly—

a strange sensation spread through his body again.

Tiny changes.

Subtle changes.

His eyes felt sharper.

His hands lighter.

Even his breathing steadier somehow.

Then another screen appeared.

HOST DEVELOPMENT WARNING

As host level increases:

Growth becomes slower

Rewards reduce gradually

Skill improvement difficulty increases

Current Growth Phase: Beginner Boost Active

Estimated Duration: Limited

Sahil frowned.

"So eventually improving becomes harder..."

RESPONSE

Correct.

Current beginner rewards are temporary.

Future growth requires:

Better opponents

Higher pressure matches

Advanced training

Skill mastery

Raw repetition alone will become inefficient.

That sentence hit Sahil deeply.

Because honestly?

The system sounded realistic.

Too realistic.

Real cricket wasn’t easy.

Nobody became great overnight.

Another screen appeared.

NEW TRAINING TASKS GENERATED

Daily Tasks:

1500 Shadow Swings

Reward: +1 Control

500 Front Foot Movements

Reward: +1 Timing

Watch 1 Professional Innings Carefully

Reward: +1 Match Awareness

Hit 20 Straight Drives Cleanly

Reward: Minor Timing Growth

Compared to earlier rewards—

the gains were already smaller.

Yesterday he earned huge bonuses.

Now?

+1.

Tiny improvements.

Sahil slowly smiled.

Oddly enough—

that motivated him more.

Because it felt real.

Every improvement mattered now.

Suddenly—

another notification appeared.

SPECIAL OBSERVATION

Host possesses extremely rare natural bat speed.

Potential ceiling significantly above local competition level.

Recommended Priority: Refine technique before advancing competition tiers.

Competition tiers.

The words stayed inside Sahil’s head long after the screen disappeared.

Riverside Gully.

School cricket.

District.

State.

Professional.

International?

His heartbeat quickened slightly.

Too far.

Way too far.

And yet...

for the first time in his life—

that dream no longer felt impossible.