The students frowned before the same girl as before raised her hand once again. “I-it is because [Shishya] regresses.”

.

.

.

At the moment that the chatter became noisy, the air turned heavy as it dropped and the light took a distinct yellow shade. It became difficult to breathe and the very ground seemed to rise up to swallow the students whole.

And then it was gone.

“Good.” The man’s sharp voice cut through the silence left in the wake of the sudden horror that scared the children nearly to their early deaths. “Don’t make me repeat that. It’s not worth the effort to waste it on all of you.”

The students stared at the gaunt man clad in saffron robes and all of them gulped in unison as none spoke.

“In this place, we value knowledge above everything else. So even if you hear something outlandish like what she had said, you must not discard it so. For it may turn out to be true.” The man’s furrowed brows and narrowed eyes dared the students to challenge his words. “And yes, this Class regresses.”

“[Shishya] is not just a Class where you swing a sword to gain Levels. It is not a Class where you shoot arrows aimlessly to get Levels. It is not a Class where merely killing senselessly would earn you Levels. It is like none of those other Classes that you have heard about before.”

“No, this Class is the horse on which you will tread your path. And what a finicky horse it is. If it senses any disingenuity and insincerity, it will throw its rider off without even a second thought.”

He stared down at the students standing before him and observed the state that his earlier display had left them in. They were nervous and scared. Some of them were even trembling in fear.

But the man felt no regret for his action. The pressure was meant to gain their attention so that they would steadfastly focus on his warning. After all, he had lost count of the number of children that had taken the warning lightly and wandered off their path, never to Level again.

“This Class is like a venomous animal. It should never be spooked, lest you wished to be bitten.”

“Many before you have fallen and so will many that come after you. Even you yourselves might fall off if you wander off from your path. And once you wander off and fall, you would not find this Class again.”

“Remember my warning for the rest of your lives. Etch them into hearts and carve them into your minds. Do whatever you must to remember this warning.” The saffron-clad man’s voice seemed to echo as he spoke. “But never ever forget them.”

He smiled then and clapped his hands. As a result of those simple actions, the seriousness of the moment broke. The brightness of his face relaxed the children and the very air seemed brighter as a result.

“Now, there are two things that you need to do to earn this Class. The first one is to study diligently.” The man nodded genially. “While the second, and the more important of the two, is that you have to lose all the hair on your head.”

The students stopped chattering for a moment before the noise erupted like ants from an anthill ready to battle. Such was the absurdity of the statement that most wanted to dismiss it the moment they heard it.

But they had just received a lesson in dismissing thing that they knew nothing about and none of them wanted a repeat of the previous situation. Thus, some students frowned while some gossiped in confusion at the declaration.

The man, however, chuckled as he saw the children at least willing to take it into consideration and talk about it. He gave them a few moments to discuss it amongst themselves before he addressed them again. “When I say that you have to lose your hair, I am not talking about shaving your head, of course. What I mean is, through your [Will] and your [Reflection] you have to force your hair to fall off, naturally.”

The girl raised her hand again and at the man’s assent, she asked, “Does it mean something, guruji?”

“Very good.” The man smiled. “Making your hair fall off is not an easy thing to achieve. More often than not, your hair forms a large part of your image in your minds. To dissociate yourself from that image, to leave behind the vanity and to end the attachment from your flesh, is the goal of this exercise.”

Another student, with her face scrunched in confusion, raised her hand and asked, “But...umm guruji, you have hair!”

The man laughed at that. “Yes. I do.” His eyes twinkled in amusement and the girl reddened.

“You will be able to grow your hair back once you have advanced to the next Tier. But why will you be able to do so? This I can’t tell you yet. Knowing that now will only harm your progress.” He turned to look at the other children and asked, “Anything else?”

He waited for a moment and when silence reigned, he continued, “Now, you have a time limit of course. Those whose Dharma is to walk down this path, they will be able to achieve this within a year but those of you, who do not possess enough [Surplus] to walk down this path, you must not give up so easily.”

“Hard work and [Reflection] are more than enough to change one’s [Dharma]. This we realise and appreciate. Hence, those who could not achieve this within a year, you will be given another year to try again.”

“However, if even after another year you are unable to earn this Class, then your Dharma would be truly something else. And you’d have to leave.”

“Though, your time in the Ashram would not have been a waste, even if you’d have to leave. You’d leave this place with riches that even the Kings and the nobles desire most. You’d leave with Rare Attributes.”

“You do not have access to your Status yet, so you can’t actually see it but when you do gain your Status, you will have access to [Reflection] and [Will]. Two of the Rare Attributes.”

“For now, this is all.” The man said as he finished his speech. “I wish all of you my very best on your journey ahead.”

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

-X-