Cricket Ascend System

Chapter 69: Exhaustion

The district trial camp had completely destroyed Sahil’s old understanding of cricket training.

At school level, practice usually meant:

Batting for an hour

Casual fitness drills

Some fielding work

Then going home

District cricket felt nothing like that.

Here...

training felt like survival.

Every day began before sunrise.

Fitness drills.

Sprint work.

Strength conditioning.

Reaction exercises.

Fielding circuits.

Then batting practice afterward.

And once official sessions ended—

Sahil still trained separately during evenings.

Outswing practice with Ravi.

Shadow batting at home.

Recovery stretching.

By the start of the second week...

his body had already reached its limit.

But the camp intensity kept increasing anyway.

The district coaches showed absolutely no mercy.

"Faster!"

"Move your feet!"

"Again!"

"Don’t stop running!"

The voices echoed constantly across the stadium from morning till evening.

Even academy players looked exhausted now.

And that alone showed how brutal the training actually was.

Sahil wiped sweat from his forehead while standing near the sprint line.

His breathing already felt heavy.

And the real session hadn’t even started yet.

The conditioning coach blew the whistle sharply.

"Ten stadium laps!"

Several players groaned quietly.

Kabir rolled his shoulders casually beside him.

"You look dead already."

Sahil exhaled heavily.

"I might actually die today."

Kabir laughed.

"Good."

Then he started jogging forward immediately.

The entire group followed.

At first, the pace felt manageable.

But by the fourth lap—

Sahil’s legs already started burning badly.

By the sixth—

his breathing became uneven.

And by the eighth—

every step felt heavier than the last.

Meanwhile academy players somehow continued running steadily.

That frustrated him badly.

Especially Aryan.

The academy batsman jogged smoothly ahead without looking exhausted at all.

Even during conditioning...

he looked composed.

That irritated Sahil more than it should have.

Because every time Aryan looked comfortable—

it reminded Sahil how far behind he still remained physically.

"Move!"

The conditioning coach shouted again.

"Your body slows down before your mind does!"

Sahil gritted his teeth and forced himself forward.

His chest burned painfully now.

Sweat soaked his entire shirt.

Still...

he refused to stop.

Because nobody else stopped either.

Especially not the academy players.

The running session finally ended nearly forty minutes later.

Several players collapsed onto the grass immediately.

Sahil bent forward heavily while struggling to breathe properly.

His legs felt numb.

His calves screamed in pain.

And somehow—

the batting session still remained.

That part honestly felt insane.

The players barely got fifteen minutes of recovery before entering practice nets again.

The district coaches clearly believed fatigue training mattered.

And now Sahil understood why.

Batting while exhausted felt completely different.

Reaction speed slowed.

Footwork became lazy.

Balance collapsed.

Even concentration weakened.

The first few overs went terribly for him.

WHOOSH!

Late outswing.

EDGE.

Straight toward slips.

The bowling coach frowned immediately.

"Again."

Another delivery.

Short ball.

Mistimed pull shot.

The ball barely reached midwicket.

"Balance too slow," the coach said sharply.

Sahil clicked his tongue irritably.

Fatigue was affecting everything now.

His movements felt heavy.

Even lifting the bat repeatedly exhausted his shoulders.

The practice session continued brutally.

Fast bowlers rotated constantly.

Swing.

Short balls.

Full lengths.

Pressure never stopped.

At one point Sahil completely missed a straight delivery while attempting an aggressive drive.

The stump behind him exploded backward.

Several academy players looked over instantly.

The coach shook his head.

"You’re trying to attack with tired legs."

Then his voice became colder.

"That won’t work at higher levels."

Those words stayed inside Sahil’s mind the entire session.

Because deep down...

he knew the coach was right.

Real matches lasted long.

Real tournaments caused fatigue.

If his body collapsed after practice alone—

how would he survive district cricket?

The fielding drills afterward became even worse.

Reaction catches.

Sliding stops.

Boundary sprints.

Everything demanded movement.

And Sahil’s legs now felt like concrete.

Still...

he forced himself through every drill.

Because quitting in front of academy players felt unacceptable.

Especially in front of Aryan.

The final drill involved repeated sprint-and-dive exercises.

Players had to sprint twenty meters, dive for the ball, stand up quickly, then sprint back.

Again.

And again.

And again.

By the seventh repetition—

Sahil’s vision blurred slightly.

By the ninth—

his breathing became dangerously uneven.

Then finally—

during another sprint—

his legs nearly gave out completely.

THUD.

Sahil dropped onto one knee near the boundary rope while breathing heavily.

For a few seconds, the stadium noise felt distant.

His chest burned painfully.

Sweat dripped onto the grass below him.

Several nearby players looked over immediately.

Kabir walked closer first.

"You alright?"

Sahil automatically nodded.

But honestly...

he wasn’t.

His entire body felt destroyed.

The district-level training intensity was far beyond school cricket.

Even the academy players looked exhausted now.

One conditioning coach slowly walked toward him while folding his arms.

"Tired?"

Sahil remained silent briefly before answering honestly.

"...yes."

The coach nodded calmly.

"Good."

That answer confused him instantly.

The coach looked toward the practice ground.

"District cricket is supposed to exhaust you."

Then his eyes sharpened slightly.

"Because matches become harder when your body gets tired."

"Real players maintain performance anyway."

Those words quietly settled inside Sahil’s mind.

Performance under fatigue.

That was another gap between school and district cricket.

The coach pointed toward Aryan practicing shadow footwork nearby.

"You know why academy players survive longer?"

Sahil stayed silent.

"Conditioning."

Then the coach looked directly at him.

"Talent wins moments."

"Fitness wins tournaments."

After saying that, he walked away.

Meanwhile Sahil remained seated near the boundary rope while trying to recover properly.

Then—

the familiar blue system screen suddenly appeared before him.

---

SPECIAL PHYSICAL MISSION UNLOCKED

"IRON MAN MISSION"

---

Objective:

Run 20 KM daily for 7 consecutive days

---

Conditions

✔ No skipped days

✔ Full distance mandatory

✔ Maintain minimum running pace

✔ Failure resets progress completely

---

Reward

+15 Endurance

---

For several seconds, Sahil simply stared at the screen.

Ten kilometers.

Every day.

For seven straight days.

Honestly...

it sounded insane.

His current training already felt unbearable.

And now the system wanted additional endurance grinding?

But then his eyes slowly shifted toward the academy players still training nearby.

Even after exhausting sessions...

they continued practicing seriously.

No complaints.

No hesitation.

That alone gave him the answer.

If district cricket demanded stronger endurance...

then he would build it.

No matter how painful it became.

That same evening—

the mission started.

---

DAY 1

The road outside Sahil’s town looked nearly empty in the early morning darkness.

Cold air hit his face while he slowly started jogging forward.

At first, the pace felt manageable.

But after five

10th kilometers—

his legs already felt heavy from yesterday’s district training.

By 15th—

his breathing became rough.

By 19th —

every step hurt badly.

Still...

he completed the full 20KM somehow. freёwebnoѵel.com

Then immediately attended district practice afterward.

The result?

Terrible exhaustion.

His batting session became horrible that day.

Edges.

Slow footwork.

Mistimed pull shots.

Even Ravi looked shocked during evening practice.

"You look finished."

Sahil honestly felt the same.

But he still ran again the next morning.

---

DAY 2

Pain.

That was the only thing Sahil truly remembered.

His calves burned constantly now.

Even walking downstairs felt difficult.

Still...

he completed another 20KM run before camp.

The conditioning coach actually noticed his slower movement during drills.

"Tired?"

Sahil simply nodded.

The coach surprisingly smirked faintly.

"Good."

---

DAY 3

Rain started falling midway through the run.

Cold wind hit his face while water soaked his shirt completely.

At eight kilometers, Sahil genuinely considered stopping.

His body already felt overloaded.

But then one thought entered his mind.

Academy players wouldn’t quit here.

So he kept running.

---

DAY 4

Something slowly started changing.

The runs still hurt.

But his breathing recovered slightly faster afterward.

Even during batting practice, his footwork looked more stable despite fatigue.

The conditioning coach noticed immediately.

"Better."

Just one word.

But it motivated Sahil heavily.

---

DAY 5

The exhaustion returned brutally.

District coaches increased sprint drills that morning.

By evening, Sahil’s legs felt completely dead.

During the night run, every kilometer became painful.

At one point, he stopped beside the roadside breathing heavily while staring toward the empty dark highway.

His body screamed at him to quit.

Then suddenly—

Aryan’s calm expression during conditioning drills appeared inside his mind again.

That irritation alone pushed Sahil forward.

He finished all 20KM.

Barely.

---

DAY 6

The local kids actually started recognizing him during runs now.

"District bhaiya!"

"Still running?"

Sahil could barely answer anymore.

But surprisingly...

his running pace improved slightly.

His body finally started adapting.

And mentally—

something changed too.

The suffering no longer shocked him.

He simply accepted it.

---

DAY 7

The final run began before sunrise.

Cold wind swept across the empty road while Sahil jogged steadily forward.

His body still hurt.

His legs still felt heavy.

But now...

the exhaustion no longer controlled him completely.

At 10th kilometers— steady breathing.

At 15th — stable pace.

At 17th — still moving.

Then finally—

20 kilometers completed.

Sahil stopped near the roadside while breathing heavily beneath the rising morning sunlight.

For several seconds...

he simply stood there silently.

Then the blue system screen burst open before him.

---

IRON MAN MISSION COMPLETE

---

Reward Granted

+15 Endurance

---

Physical Improvements Detected

✔ Improved stamina recovery

✔ Reduced fatigue buildup

✔ Better long-session stability

✔ Improved lower-body endurance

---

Sahil slowly stared at the glowing screen.

Then—

another smaller notification appeared.

---

ENDURANCE STAT UPDATED

33 → 48

---

For the first time in days...

a genuine smile appeared on his face.

Seven straight days of suffering.

Seven days of pain.

Seven days of nonstop grinding.

Finally paid off.

Later that same day during district practice—

something immediately felt different.

He still became tired.

But not destroyed.

His footwork stayed stable longer.

His concentration lasted deeper into sessions.

Even during repeated fielding drills—

his legs no longer collapsed completely.

Kabir noticed first.

"You look less dead today."

Sahil smirked faintly.

"Improved conditioning."

Kabir raised an eyebrow.

"Finally becoming a real cricketer?"

Sahil laughed softly.

Maybe.

As evening sunlight slowly covered the district stadium, Sahil quietly looked across the practice ground once more.

Academy players still trained seriously.

Coaches still shouted constantly.

Pressure still existed everywhere.

But now...

his body finally felt capable of surviving it.