Here is the seventh chapter of The Gurudeva of Silicon City.
The sun had set, and the crickets of Bannerghatta were singing their nightly chorus.
Karthik had gone home, clutching his chemistry notes like a holy scripture.
Surya stood alone in the center of the courtyard (thotti).
The house was silent, save for the hum of the twelve computers in the corner. He looked at the peeling lime plaster, the cracked red oxide floor, and the roof tiles that let in slivers of moonlight.
"System," Surya whispered. "Open Construction Mode."
A holographic grid superimposed itself over his vision, turning the rustic house into a wireframe blueprint.
[Construction Mode Active]
[Available KP: 500]
[Available Cash: ₹25,000]
[Renovation Options:]
* Structural Reinforcement (Roof & Pillars): 200 KP.
* Sanctum of Learning (Flooring & Lighting): 150 KP.
* Library of Focus (Unlock Room): 100 KP.
* Basic Dormitory: 300 KP.
Surya did the math. He needed the place to look respectable immediately. If students were coming tomorrow, they couldn't sit on a cracked floor.
"Execute Option 1 and Option 2," Surya commanded. "Structural Reinforcement and Sanctum of Learning. Total 350 KP."
[Confirm? Warning: Construction will be accelerated by 'Divine Architects'. Duration: 6 Hours. Visual/Auditory masking active (Neighbors will perceive it as a quiet night).]
"Confirm."
Surya watched in awe as the air shimmered. Golden motes of light, like fireflies, drifted out of the woodwork.
They swarmed the cracked pillars. He could hear a faint sound, like thousands of tiny hammers and trowels working in unison, but it was melodic, not noisy.
The cracks in the teak wood sealed themselves. The dull red floor seemed to melt and reform, turning into a polished, mirror-like crimson surface. The roof tiles shuffled and locked tight, blocking out the moonlight gaps.
Surya retreated to his bedroom, exhausted but exhilarated. "Let the ghosts work," he muttered, falling asleep instantly.
The Next Morning.
At 7:45 AM, the sound of multiple engines broke the morning calm.
Surya stepped out, coffee in hand. He paused in the courtyard.
The house was... breathable. It wasn't modern—it still looked like a 1940s traditional home—but it was pristine. The wood shone with oil. The walls were a creamy, flawless white. The air inside felt cooler, charged with a subtle energy.
[Passive Effect Active: Sanctum of Clarity]
Effect: Mental Fatigue reduced by 20% for all occupants.
The gate creaked open.
Karthik walked in, looking around with wide eyes. "Sir? Did you... did you paint the whole house last night?"
"I have efficient contractors," Surya said with a mysterious smile. "Who did you bring?"
Behind Karthik, three teenagers walked in hesitantly. They looked less like students and more like the cast of a tragic play.
First was a tall, lanky boy with messy hair and a shirt that was untucked on one side. He was chewing gum aggressively. [Target: Imran].
Second was a girl with heavy bags under her eyes, clutching a pillow-sized bag. [Target: Meera].
Third was a boy who looked terrified, constantly checking his watch. [Target: Sumanth].
"These are the guys," Karthik said sheepishly. "Imran, Meera, Sumanth. We... uh... we are the 'Backbenchers Alliance'."
Imran popped a bubble. "Karthik said you're a magician. I don't see any rabbits."
Surya put down his coffee cup. He stepped off the verandah, his presence shifting from casual to commanding. He activated the Eye of Vidya.
The data flooded his mind.
[Target: Imran Pasha]
* Rank: Academic Failure.
* Hidden Talent: Kinetic Strategy (Rank A).
* Analysis: Exceptional hand-eye coordination and real-time tactical processing. Obsessed with video games (Counter-Strike/Age of Empires). Fails exams because he treats questions as boring lore, not puzzles.
[Target: Meera N.]
* Rank: Chronic Sleeper.
* Hidden Talent: Linguistic Memory (Rank A+).
* Analysis: Can memorize entire books if read aloud, but suffers from severe visual strain (needs glasses/eye correction).
Currently labeled 'lazy' by teachers.
[Target: Sumanth Rao]
* Rank: Nervous Wreck.
* Hidden Talent: Algorithmic Logic (Rank B+).
* Analysis: Son of a strict banker. Paralyzed by fear of failure. Knows the answers but blacks out during tests.
Surya smiled. They were perfect.
"Welcome to Gurudeva Academy," Surya said. "Please, sit."
"We don't have money for fees," Imran said bluntly, crossing his arms. "Karthik said the first week is free. Is that true?"
"It is," Surya nodded. "But I don't accept everyone. I only accept those who are angry."
Meera blinked, waking up a bit. "Angry?"
"Angry that the world calls you stupid,"
Surya said, walking towards them. "Angry that you have to memorize definitions that make no sense. Angry that you are judged by a three-hour exam."
He pointed at Imran. "Imran. You play video games, don't you? Probably at the arcade in Jayanagar?"
Imran stiffened. "How do you know?"
"You have the eyes of a sniper," Surya lied—it was the System. "Tell me, in a strategy game, if you have limited resources and a strong enemy, what do you do?"
"I bait them," Imran said instinctively. "Create a diversion, flank them, and hit the supply line."
"Physics is the same," Surya said. "The question is the enemy. The variables are your resources. You don't attack the question head-on; you flank it. You find the weak point—the constant variable."
He turned to Meera. "And you. You aren't lazy. Your eyes hurt when you read, don't they?"
Meera touched her face, surprised. "I... yes. I get headaches."
"You need glasses, Meera. And until then, stop reading. Listen." Surya tapped his own temple. "I will read the Physics laws to you. Your ears are your weapon, not your eyes."
He finally looked at Sumanth, who was trembling.
"And Sumanth," Surya's voice softened.
"There is no tiger in this room. No father with a belt. No teacher with a red pen. Here, it is just us. If you get an answer wrong here, we don't punish. We debug."
Sumanth let out a shaky breath.
"I have 25 days," Surya addressed the group. "The CET exam is on May 8th and 9th. I will not teach you to be engineers. I will teach you to hack the exam. I will teach you to beat the system that hates you."
He walked to the blackboard and picked up a piece of chalk.
"Imran, sit at the computer. I've installed a physics simulation. Play with it. Crash the car. Tell me why it crashed."
"Meera, close your eyes. I'm going to tell you a story about a man named Newton and an apple. Just visualize it."
"Sumanth, come here. We are going to solve a math problem together, but you are only allowed to write with your left hand. It distracts the panic center of the brain."
Karthik grinned at his friends. "I told you. He's different."
Imran looked at the computer, then at Surya. He sat down.
Meera closed her eyes, looking relieved.
Sumanth picked up the pen with his left hand, looking confused but willing.
[System Notification]
[Enrollment Successful: 3 New Students.]
[Quest Updated: The Underdog Squad]
* Goal: Ensure all 4 students clear the CET Cutoff (Rank < 2000).
* Reward: 'Principal's Authority' (Skill) + 1000 KP.
* Failure Penalty: Loss of Teaching Aura.
Surya wrote a single word on the board.
MOMENTUM.
"Class is in session," Surya announced. "Today, we learn how to become unstoppable."
Two Weeks Later.
The transformation of the Gurudeva Academy was the talk of the neighborhood—mostly because it was so quiet. There was no shouting, no rote recitation of tables.
Inside, it was a war room.
Surya had burned through his remaining cash on food and electricity. He was running on fumes and caffeine. But the results were showing.
Imran was no longer failing mechanics; he was treating projectile motion like an aim-bot calculation. "Elevation 45 degrees for max range, wind drag negligible," he would mutter, solving problems in seconds.
Meera, wearing a pair of glasses Surya had forced her parents to buy, was devouring organic chemistry. Her memory was eidetic. She could recite the periodic table backwards.
Sumanth was the hardest case. He knew the math, but he froze under pressure.
"Time for the final test," Surya decided on the 24th day.
He placed four sheets of paper on the table. It was a mock CET paper, tougher than the real thing.
"You have one hour," Surya said. "If you fail this, you go home."
The atmosphere tensed. Sumanth's hand started shaking.
Surya activated his ace in the hole.
[System Skill: Institutional Aura (Overdrive)]
* Cost: 50 KP per hour.
* Effect: 'Zone of Absolute Focus'. Fear is suppressed. Logic is amplified.
A hum, inaudible to the ears but felt in the bones, filled the room.
Sumanth stopped shaking. He took a deep breath. The numbers on the page stopped looking like monsters and started looking like friends.
They wrote. The sound of pens scratching on paper was the only noise.
One hour later.
Surya collected the papers. He graded them right there, using the red pen.
Karthik: 55/60.
Imran: 48/60.
Meera: 50/60.
Sumanth...
Surya looked at Sumanth's paper. The boy had attempted every question.
Score: 58/60.
Surya looked up. Sumanth was staring at him, terrified.
"Sumanth," Surya said sternly. "You made a mistake on Question 42."
Sumanth flinched. "I... I'm sorry."
"You forgot to convert minutes to seconds," Surya smiled. "But you got the rest perfect. You topped the class."
Sumanth's jaw dropped. Meera screamed and hugged him. Imran punched his shoulder.
Surya watched them celebrate. They were ready.
"Tomorrow is the real battle," Surya said, looking at the setting sun. "Get some sleep. We ride at dawn."
But as the students left, laughing and confident, Surya felt a sudden chill.
The System interface flickered red.
[Warning: Anomaly Detected.]
[External Aura Clash.]
[A rival 'System User' has entered the Bangalore Region.]
Surya froze. A rival?
He hadn't considered that in this parallel world, he might not be the only one with a cheat code.