"Your Majesty, can you tell us what happened after the Maurya Empire perished?" Aryaveer asked as he cupped his hands respectfully.
Arjun Verma nodded as he said, "After the Maurya Empire declined, many kingdoms rose and fought for supremacy. Following this, the land was divided into multiple powerful states and empires. In later periods, internal conflicts weakened the land, and foreign powers began to pose a serious threat."
"Why? How could our glorious land be bullied by outsiders?" Aryaveer couldn't help but speak when he heard what Arjun Verma had said. After realizing that he had spoken out of turn, he quickly apologized.
Arjun Verma lightly shook his head, signaling that it was fine. He explained that after the fall of a strong unified empire, internal divisions weakened the land. During powerful eras, there were many schools of thought—strategists, philosophers, administrators, and military thinkers—creating an age of talent and innovation.
However, as time passed, balance was lost. Focus shifted more toward administration and culture, while military strength was gradually neglected. This imbalance made it easier for external forces to exploit weaknesses.
"Your Majesty! I believe that we must stay away from large-scale wars if we are to win, especially conflicts with other Indian factions," Aryaveer said seriously. Even though he had been quite emotional initially, he had quickly calmed down.
Chanakya nodded. "Your Majesty, this land is currently the largest battle region. If we are drawn into large conflicts too early, our consumption of resources will be too great. The best course for us is to remain independent and neutral for now."
Arjun Verma carefully considered their advice and nodded before continuing to outline historical patterns and strategies. Soon, the three of them formed a rough roadmap for the Maurya Empire's future.
Even though their plans extended far ahead, this would be their direction moving forward. Right now, the most important task was to properly develop Maurya Village.
Without realizing it, Arjun Verma had spent around 10 hours in the Heaven Awaken World, and it was almost dawn in the real world. Since he had matters to attend to, he instructed Aryaveer and Chanakya to arrange night patrols to ensure safety. After that, he exited the Heaven Awaken World.
When his consciousness returned to his body, Arjun Verma slowly opened his eyes and saw that it was already daytime.
He picked up his phone and checked the time—it was 8 AM.
After getting up from the ground, he washed his face and rinsed his mouth before heading out to buy breakfast.
After that, Arjun Verma made a decision.
He planned to withdraw from college.
During the Legacy Trial, he had received a warning—the real world would eventually be consumed by the Heaven Awaken World. Continuing his studies no longer had meaning.
He had to change his way of life.
The college he attended was well-known, and getting admitted into such an institution was considered a major achievement.
"Are you sure you want to withdraw?"
The teacher in charge of his class, Mr. Rajesh Sharma, looked at him with concern and tried to persuade him otherwise.
Arjun Verma was quiet in class, but his academic performance was always strong. If he graduated, he would have had a bright future.
Yet now, he was choosing to leave.
Arjun Verma nodded firmly, showing that he had made up his mind.
In the end, Mr. Sharma could only agree reluctantly.
After completing the withdrawal process, Arjun Verma received ₹400,000 from the institution.
During his college years, Arjun Verma had rarely relaxed.
Whenever he had free time, he worked.
He had managed 3 different part-time jobs, and although it had been difficult, he had saved a decent amount of money.
If he lived carefully, it would last him a few years.
He bought several boxes of instant noodles and returned home.
Turning on his old second-hand laptop, he began searching for information about the Heaven Awaken World.
Right now, it dominated the news.
Almost everyone was talking about it.
As he browsed online, countless pieces of information appeared.
He soon discovered that someone had already created a Heaven Awaken World forum.
It already had over 100 million users, and the number was still increasing rapidly.
"Who managed to create something like this so quickly?" he wondered as he created an account and entered.
Inside, apart from discussions, there were also trading sections.
People were buying and selling items from the Heaven Awaken World.
1 copper coin was already worth ₹600 in the real world.
Powerful families had already realized what was coming.
They began pouring massive resources into the Heaven Awaken World.
Some people had even offered hundreds of millions to purchase a Legacy Stone.
Ordinary people could only feel envy.
If they had such an item, the wealth they could gain would last multiple lifetimes.
However, those who possessed Legacy Stones knew better.
Obtaining one required surviving difficult trials.
Selling it for money would mean throwing away their future.
Seeing this, Arjun Verma felt pressure.
But there was also good news.
Each system main city was controlled independently by its own Lord.
This meant regions were not interconnected.
The world was divided into countless separate regions.
Traveling between regions depended entirely on individual capability.
And with distances spanning tens of thousands of kilometers, crossing regions would be extremely dangerous.
When players entered the Heaven Awaken World, they were randomly placed.
Even though powerful families had invested heavily, they were scattered across different regions.
Otherwise, Arjun Verma would have been at a severe disadvantage from the very beginning.
On the forum, he found information about his current region.
It was called the Forest of Dread.
There were 3 main cities:
East: Divine Light City
South: Warwood City
West: Demon Grove City
Each main city was enormous, capable of holding over 1,000,000 people.
Entry required 2 copper coins.
Fighting was generally prohibited, but there were designated Arenas where combat was allowed.
City guards typically had cultivation above Stage 1.
The cities offered many items, including Silver grade weapons.
Equipment was categorized as:
Normal (White)
Superior (Blue)
Rare (Silver)
Perfect (Gold)
Legendary (Violet)
Epic (Orange)
Each tier granted increasing stat bonuses.
Additionally, main cities used Merit Points.
Completing quests earned Merit Points, which could be exchanged for rewards or even official positions.
After reading everything, Arjun Verma let out a slow breath.
He prepared to enter the Heaven Awaken World once again.
The real world still appeared calm.
But in truth—
It was only the calm before the storm