Chương 150

The living room was loud and crowded. Aunts and uncles chatted over the noise of the TV. Meera walked around handing out hot cups of chai. Rudra sat on a small stool near the kitchen island. Since Auntie Kavita had officially kicked him off the stove, he was stuck peeling a massive pile of potatoes. He didn't mind. It kept him out of the main crowd. The TV was tuned to the global esports network. The anchors were hyping up the first Satisfy National Competition.

"Only the top seventeen countries made the cut this year," the main anchor announced.

"Unfortunately, India fell just short of the active player threshold. They won't be participating in the tournament." A few younger cousins groaned in disappointment. Rudra just shrugged. He was way too busy managing a territory in the game to care about a tournament anyway. The broadcast shifted to player gossip.

"Did you see the world message recently?" the co-anchor asked.

"A Pagma's Successor was born. Someone out there can actually create legendary items now."

"The auction houses are going to go crazy," the main anchor agreed.

"But speaking of legends, we need to talk about The Zenith." A graphic popped up on the screen. It showed the Unified Rankings.

"Rudra vanished from the leaderboards entirely when he hit Level 300. Now he's back, but he's hovering around Level 240." A guest analyst leaned into his microphone.

"He clearly took a massive penalty for that Staff Saint class. Based on his current rank, I'd guess a 100 to 150 level decrease. Though, some crazy people on the forums are actually joking that his level got reset all the way back to 1." The lead anchors burst out laughing.

"That's mathematically impossible," the main anchor scoffed, waving a hand.

"If he reset to Level 1, he'd have to grind to 240 in barely three months. No human being could do that. The Level 1 rumor is just a joke." Shiva laughed loudly from the sofa. He took a sip of his tea and looked over at the kitchen.

"Can you imagine?" Shiva joked.

"If you actually lost all your levels and went back to 1, you'd probably cry for a week straight." Rudra just rolled his eyes and went back to peeling his potato. If they only knew he had actually reset all the way back to Level 1. He didn't feel like explaining the insane, sleep-depriving grind he went through to reach Level 240 again. It was too much effort. He just kept his mouth shut and peeled. Later that evening, it was time to get dressed for the wedding reception.

Rudra went to his closet and pulled out his favorite outfit. It was an all-black shirt and pants. He thought it looked great. It was clean, simple, and matched his usual style. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. He walked into the hallway. Meera caught him instantly.

"What are you wearing?" she snapped, grabbing his arm.

"My clothes?" Rudra said, looking down.

"They're clean."

"You look like you are going to a funeral! You cannot wear all-black to a wedding event. It is highly inauspicious!"

"But my fashion sense is good!" Rudra complained.

"Black goes with everything! It's practical!"

"You have a terrible taste in fashion," Meera sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Come here." She dragged him back to his room. She dug through his closet and forced him to put on a bright, traditional silk kurta. Rudra grumbled the entire time. He missed his black trench coat. He felt like a walking highlighter. The next two days were a complete blur of noise and color. The evening reception was loud and packed with guests. The music thumped against the walls. The actual wedding ceremony early the next morning went smoothly.

There were traditional prayers, a sacred fire, and endless family photos. Rudra didn't pay much attention to the ritual details. He mostly just focused on when the catering would open. At the grand banquet, Rudra found a seat at one of the long rows of tables near the back of the hall. Caterers walked down the aisles, serving a massive variety of non-veg and vegan dishes directly to everyone's plates. Rudra didn't bother with a spoon or fork. He ate purely with his hands.

His plate was a literal mountain of mutton biryani, chicken curry, and dal. He cleared plate after plate. He easily ate three times as much as anyone else in the room. Shiva walked past the table, greeting some distant relatives. He laughed when he saw Rudra's plate. He reached over to sneak a piece of mutton off the edge. Smack. Rudra instantly swatted his brother's hand away with his free hand.

"Get your own," Rudra warned. He pulled the plate closer to his chest. Sibling love was great, but food was sacred. Shiva rubbed his hand, laughing as he walked away. After the ceremonies finally wrapped up, the family gathered in a quieter room for the exchange of gifts. Rudra hung back for a minute. Since he had already bought Meera a top-tier luxury SUV a few weeks ago, she never had to take a cramped cab to her restaurants again. Now, it was his brother's turn. Rudra walked up to Shiva and Priya.

He pulled something from his pocket and tossed it through the air. Shiva caught it. He looked down at his hand. It was a small set of car keys with a very expensive logo on the keychain.

"What's this?" Shiva asked, totally confused.

"A new car," Rudra smiled.

"Happy wedding." Shiva stared at the keys. His mouth opened, but no words came out. Priya gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Shiva stepped forward and pulled Rudra into a massive, emotional hug. He clapped his little brother hard on the back. The family was overwhelmed with happiness and joy. As the celebrations wound down and the older relatives started heading home, Rudra quietly slipped away from the crowd. He found an empty corner in the banquet hall.

He had a fresh, overloaded plate of leftover catering. He sat alone, happily eating with his hands in total peace. No noise, no drama, just good food. Late that night, Rudra returned to his quiet bedroom. The house was finally asleep. He took off his bright silk kurta and changed into some comfortable clothes. He felt completely fulfilled. His family was happy, and his real-world life was totally sorted out. He climbed into his VR capsule. The soft gel cushions wrapped around his back.

The glass lid slid shut with a soft hiss. He closed his eyes. He was ready to log back in and hunt down the rest of the Asterion Temples.