A shadow of sorrow fell over Surya as he watched his father, Rajesh, shuffle out of their shack, his shoulders slumped under the weight of a disgraced life. The sight pierced Surya's heart like a shard of glass. He yearned for the day he could lift the burdens from his father's back, erase the shame branded on his forehead, and restore the honor stolen from the Anivron family.
Leaning against the rough wall of their home, Surya's gaze drifted downward in thought. As his eyes wandered, they caught on something—a small, crumpled parchment peeking out from beneath the rickety dining table. Curious, he bent down, crawling under to retrieve it. Unfolding it revealed a crude map, marked with jagged lines and a bold "X" near what seemed to be the east wall of Aryavarta's outer city.
[_Ding_ New Mission Available: Find the Thieves' Hideout
Mission Description: During the scuffle with the intruders last night, a piece of parchment slipped from the first thief's tunic as he fell unconscious. The host has discovered this map. Following it may lead to the thieves' secret stash, rumored to hold the spoils of a high-profile robbery.
Mission Reward: 20 Exp Points. 5% Level Progression.
Host is advised to proceed with caution. Mission parameters will be updated upon gaining further information about the hideout.]
Surya's pulse quickened. A treasure map! Uncle Benny had mentioned those thieves were behind a daring heist—could this be their loot? The promise of wealth and power glimmered in his mind. He resolved to track down the hideout soon, but first, he needed to arm himself with knowledge about this world. The town library beckoned.
Moments later, Rajesh returned, a small sack jingling in his hands. "Beta, Uncle Benny came through," he said, his voice tinged with rare hope. "The reward for those thieves—2 gold Rupiyas." He counted out 10 silver Rupiyas—each coin the same size, differing only in its shimmering hue—and handed them to Surya in a worn cloth pouch. With a gentle pat on the head and a weary smile, Rajesh left again to tend to chores.
Surya clutched the pouch, determined to make the most of this chance. He swapped his tattered rags for his "best" clothes—a faded kurta and dhoti with the fewest tears—and set off for the library. He'd noticed the well-dressed folk entering its grand doors; he couldn't afford to look like a beggar among them.
At the entrance, a dour clerk sat behind a wooden desk, eyeing Surya skeptically as he handed over the 10 silver Rupiyas. The coins clinked into a box, and Surya felt a pang of loss—his father's trust weighed heavily on him. "Touch the token," the clerk droned, passing him a flat, unmarked silver coin. "Keep it with you. It'll vibrate when the library closes—time to leave."
As Surya's fingers brushed the token, it pulsed with a faint glow. A magical trinket! His heart raced with excitement. Tales of levitating objects and summoning storms had fueled his childhood dreams—could such wonders be real here? He pocketed the token and stepped inside.
The library's vast hall unfolded before him, a sea of tables and chairs where over 500 people sat in reverent silence. Surya had expected shelves groaning with books, but instead, podiums dotted the space like temple altars. He watched, wide-eyed, as patrons approached them, gripped the sides, and returned with tomes in hand. After observing a dozen such exchanges, he mimicked them, grasping a podium's edges.
"Welcome to the town library. Please select the topic of the book you wish to read," a voice intoned, not in his mind like the system's, but as if whispered in his ear. A glowing list materialized before him, hovering like a mirage. Startled, Surya jerked back, and the vision vanished as his hands left the podium. Nearby patrons chuckled softly before returning to their tasks—apparently, this was a common blunder for newcomers. Cheeks burning, he touched the podium again.
[_Ding_ Data interface found.
System function: Data Interface Module unlocked.
10 Exp Points awarded.
Would you like to use the system to communicate with the interface?]
Free Exp Points just for touching it? Surya grinned inwardly. "Yes," he thought. "Select the best book about power levels in the kingdom."
[Affirmative. Sorting through booklist. 2,343 options found. Filtering by readership: 432 books remain. Filtering by author's renown: 178 books. Filtering for relevance to host: 67 books. List compiled. First book selected.]
A hefty green tome materialized atop the podium, its cover emblazoned with "What is Shakti? by Siddha Human Scholar Valix Mantess." At least a thousand pages thick, it nearly toppled Surya as he lifted it. Struggling to a nearby table, he groaned inwardly—67 books like this? He'd never finish before the library closed, not in a hundred visits!
Undeterred, he cracked open the tome, eager for its secrets.
[_Ding_ Mission in progress. System congratulates host on advancing the mission "Provide information regarding the world." Hidden parameters met: Function "Information Scanning" unlocked. Please complete the mission to claim Exp Points.]
[_Ding_ Book scanned. Relevant information extracted. Proceed to the next book. Mission Progress: 1.49%]
Surya blinked. He hadn't read a single word, yet the system had devoured the book's essence in an instant! For once, he silently thanked its shadowy creator. Without this, he'd have spent months scraping coins to return here. Energized, he hauled book after book to the table, his arms aching under their weight.
By the twentieth tome, the system chimed:
[Host is advised to conserve energy. Carrying books to the table is unnecessary—touching them at the podium suffices.]
Surya's jaw tightened, indignation flaring. Bone-weary from lugging those monstrous volumes, and *now* it tells him? "Why didn't you say so earlier?!" he raged silently, cursing his own oversight. The scan had taken mere seconds—why hadn't he realized?
[Default suggestion level is 3/5, designed to foster host independence. After 20 books, the suggestion threshold was met. This setting cannot be altered at your current level.]
Grumbling, Surya adjusted his approach, vowing to outsmart the system's stinginess next time. He zipped through the remaining books, touching each at the podium until all 67 were scanned. Exhausted but triumphant, he sank into a chair. "Tell me the power levels in this kingdom," he commanded, breath held in anticipation.
[_Ding_ Data analyzed.
Power Levels for Body Refiners/Fighters:
- Human Level 1 to 9
- Warrior Level 1 to 9
- Rumored Champion Level
- Rumored Hero Level
Power Levels for Mages:
- Human Mage Level 1 to 9
- Warrior Mage Level 1 to 9
- 6 Mage Specializations identified.]
A path unfurled before him like the sacred thread of a Brahmin's initiation. Starting at Human Level 1, he'd climb to 9, then ascend to Warrior, and beyond—perhaps even to the fabled Champion and Hero tiers. The map to the thieves' hideout burned in his pocket, but this knowledge was the true treasure today. With newfound purpose, Surya rose and strode out of the library, the weight of his father's drooping figure and the promise of justice fueling his steps homeward.