CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 40: THE UNEXPECTED INVITATION

He checked the email again.The email didn’t look fancy.No gold trim.No animated banner.Just a clean white background, black text, and a small logo in the bottom-right corner.

Ghostline Talent Dev.

We shape what shapes players.

Raj stared at it for a few seconds before opening it.

Raj,

You’ve been selected as one of three youth innovators invited to present your gear at the Ghostline Creator Roundtable next month in Hyderabad.

This is not a product showcase.It’s a creator’s table.We are looking for minds, not just merchandise and business.

You will be expected to:

•Bring your design philosophy

•Present your system of creation

•Respond to live gear critiques from elite analysts and development coaches

Optional: You may bring one assistant or support member.

You have 48 hours to accept.

– Kiran M., Director

Ghostline Technical Gear Division

Raj re-read the message three times.Then just sat there.The room was still. Only the hum of the old fan moved the silence.This wasn’t a local camp.This wasn’t a gear order.This wasn’t even a sales opportunity.

This was an invitation to stand as a creator.

Not a kid with a glove.But someone whose work spoke louder than he ever could.

A system notification popped up.

[System Trigger: Major Brand Flag – Creator’s Path Opened]

New Title Path Unlocked: Visionary Tier (Early Phase)

You are now being seen as a founder, not a follower.

Brand Points +60

Visibility Scope: Region → Expanding to National

By the time Raj blinked out of the system interface, his hands were slightly trembling.

He stood up, walked outside the workshop, and leaned against the wall to breathe.

His phone buzzed again.A message again.

This time, it was a message from Priya:

"Check your email yet?"

Raj typed back:"Yeah. I think I forgot how to breathe."

Ten minutes later, they met under the neem tree near the stitching compound.Raj explained everything.Priya listened, arms folded, her expression calm.When he finished, she said nothing for a full ten seconds.

Then finally, with a small smirk:"Took them long enough."

Raj raised an eyebrow. "You expected this?"

"I hoped for it. But I also knew if someone saw you work for even five minutes, they’d get it."

He sighed. "It’s not a regular pitch. It’s a full room. With scrutiny. Coaches. Analysts. People who don’t care how hard I stitched—only how deep I think."

"Good," Priya said. "That’s your strength."

Raj looked at her, confused.She pointed at his chest."You build from here. Not here." She tapped his head. "That’s what they’re going to feel. Not see."

[System Passive Boost: Emotional Anchor – Active]

– Internal stability increased

– Performance anxiety reduced

– Bonus retention of personal purpose in high-pressure environments

That night, Raj didn’t sleep early.He stared at his sketchbook.Flipped back through every page.

SR1.., SR2.., SR2-L.., RC-X.., and now RC-V1.

Each one wasn’t just a glove.Each one was a memory stitched back into shape.He took a pen and wrote on a blank page:

"I don’t just build what players wear.

I build what they feel before they swing."

– RajCraft Philosophy, Draft 1

The next evening, Raj sat outside the stitching hall, watching the campus settle into its usual rhythm of late-night walks, glowing dorm windows, and the distant echo of cricket chatter.

His mind was too loud to sit still, but too full to stitch.So he just sat until someone approached quietly from the path behind the bushes.

It’s Spandana.

She wore a light grey hoodie, dance shoes slung over one shoulder.She didn’t say hello.She just sat beside him on the stone slab, close enough to be noticed, far enough to be respectful.

Raj finally broke the silence and said:"They invited me to present in Hyderabad."

"I know."

"You knew?"

"I heard."

He looked at her, amused. "How does everyone hear things before I tell them?"

She smiled faintly. "Because you’re loud even when you’re silent."

Raj chuckled under his breath. "That’s poetic."

"It’s true."

They sat in quiet again.Then she added, "So are you going?"

He paused. "Yeah. I think I have to."

"Not because they asked," she said. "But because you built something worth showing."

Raj looked at her again, really looked.And this time, he didn’t see the girl from before as the elegant dancer with quiet eyes.He saw someone who knew him, even in the places he still feared to admit.

"I’m scared," he said honestly.

"Of failing?",she asked.

"No. Of forgetting why I started."

Spandana reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out a folded note.

Same shape. Same fold. Same feeling.

She placed it in his palm without looking.Then stood.

"I think this will remind you."And she walked off.

Raj opened it under the lamplight.A single sketch.It was his RC-V1 glove.But instead of fire,she had drawn two hands.Holding the glove together.

[System Bond Update – "Thread of Parallel Support"]

You’ve entered a mutual creative bond.

Emotional focus and growth are now mirrored.

When one of you believes stronger, the other creates deeper.

Passive Buff: Collaboration Spirit (+3% productivity when emotionally aligned)

The next morning, Raj was called to the main office building , not by Coach Arvind, but by an unfamiliar name.

Mr. Pranay, Guest Supervisor – Technical Evaluation

When Raj entered the room, a man in his mid-40s sat behind a desk. Salt-and-pepper hair, clean glasses, and a notebook with no logos on it.

He looked up and gestured Raj to sit."I’ve been asked to conduct a personality filter," he said.

Raj frowned. "A what?"

"It’s a method used at Ghostline to test if the innovator is also stable enough to handle exposure. We don’t want talent that breaks when it’s seen."

Raj said nothing.

Pranay smiled."Relax. It’s simple."

He pulled out a square glove,almost identical to RC-V1.But something about it felt off.

Then he asked Raj:"You walk into the roundtable. They call this glove decent, not special.They say it feels like a copy of something older.What do you say?"

Raj blinked.It wasn’t a normal question.

It was a bait.He took a deep breath.Then answered:"I’d ask them to wear it again.

Not to impress them.Just to remind them:

That this glove wasn’t made to stand out in their eyes.It was made to make the player feel like they can rise."

Shankar stared at him.Then nodded once.

"Good answer."

Raj tilted his head. "Was that the test?"

"No," Pranay said, standing. "That was the warm-up."

[System Quest: "Eyes That Judge, Hands That Build" – Passed]

Confidence Layer: Fortified

Mental Disruption Resistance: +15%

Founder Aura Trait Unlocked: Knows Why He Began

Raj zipped up his travelling bag one last time and lift it over his shoulder.

Inside were five things:

•One sketchbook

•One stitched prototype band

•A pair of unused gloves

•A handwritten note from Priya

•And Spandana’s folded sketch of two hands holding the glove

He didn’t need clothes to feel prepared.Just the weight of those reminders.

At the station, the platform buzzed with energy ,a mix of tired students, noisy vendors, and announcements echoing overhead.

Raj stood near the bench, one hand gripping the strap across his chest, eyes scanning the train that had just arrived.He didn’t know why his heart was beating fast.

It wasn’t nervousness,it was awareness.

This isn’t just a trip. This is the next gate.

"Here."

He turned to see Priya holding out a packet of lemon mints and a folded towel.

"Your hands sweat when you overthink," she said.

Raj laughed. "You noticed that?"

"I notice everything," she replied. "Especially when you try to hide it."

He took the mints, pocketed the towel.Then met her eyes."You’ve been here since my first glove."

"You’ll still feel me in the next one," she said softly. "Now go — you’ve got a fire to carry."

They didn’t hug.They just nodded.Because real respect doesn’t need noise.

Just before Raj turned to board, someone else walked up.

It’s Spandana.

Hair loose. Plain kurta. Eyes steady.She didn’t say anything.Just extended her hand.

Raj took it gently.Her grip tightened once and then released.In her other hand, she passed him a sealed envelope.He looked at it.Then her.

"No words?"

"I already gave them," she said.Then turned and walked away.

He boarded the train, sat near the window, and didn’t open the envelope yet.

Instead, he looked outside , watching two girls who had seen him before the world did.

[System Sync – Chapter Arc Complete]

Emotional Threads: Stable

New Location: Hyderabad (Tier 2 Gear Zone)

Passive Status Boost: "Built With Belief"

– +8% Brand Impression Bonus during introductions

Not all who build are seen. But all who believe are remembered.

The train started moving and with it, Raj’s story turned another page.

As the fields blurred into evening light, he finally opened the envelope.

Inside:

A printed card with a single sentence, typed in grey ink.

"Don’t build just to be remembered — build so they remember themselves through you."

He folded it again and smiled.

In a conference room 800 km away, the final list of Ghostline Roundtable invitees was being updated.A name was added last minute,not as a competitor.Not as a scout,but as a guest observer.

One Raj never expected to see again.

Aditya S.

To be continued...