Abhay rubbed his eyes in disbelief as he stared at the glowing screen hovering mid-air in front of him. The bright letters blinked slowly:
[SYSTEM WINDOW]
Level – 1: Useless Man
Achievement – You're Still Alive
Skill – Let Me Think... I Don't Think You Have Any
Abhay blinked again, convinced he must still be dreaming. He muttered under his breath, "Is this from a game or some anime?" The text, however, remained unchanged.
With a frown of annoyance, he grabbed the screen—if it could even be grabbed—and to his surprise, it responded like a physical object. Without hesitation, he hurled it out the window.
Feeling a little unsettled, he decided to take a bath to clear his head. As the warm water ran over him, he kept thinking about the screen. Was that really a system? Could I summon it again? He stepped out, drying himself off, and decided to give it a try.
"System," he said aloud.
To his surprise, the strange screen materialized again, hovering in front of him just as it had earlier.
"System, disappear," he said.
Nothing.
"System, go."
Still nothing.
"System off… deactivate… exit… close…" he tried a few more variations, growing increasingly frustrated. The screen remained stubbornly in place, blinking at him with its passive-aggressive insults.
In a final act of irritation, Abhay grabbed it again and threw it out of the window.
Next Day – School, Yoga Room
The yoga room was a mess of quiet chaos. A few juniors were genuinely practicing their poses, others were frantically finishing up overdue homework on their mats, and in the far corner, the seniors—including Abhay—were locked in their usual gunfight on their phones. The sound of rapid taps, occasional curses, and muffled laughter filled the room.
After a hard-fought match, Abhay emerged victorious as always. The seniors groaned in defeat while he stood up, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulders.
"I'll catch you guys later," he said, slipping his phone into his pocket. "Got something important to check out."
He exited the room just as someone else walked in—the Head Boy, Shivam Sharma.
Shivam took one look around the chaotic yoga room and snapped, "So this is your yoga practice? Do any of you even know the 'Y' of Yoga?"
The seniors looked up, clearly unimpressed. Four of them got to their feet and slowly circled around him, striking exaggerated advanced yoga poses as they did. The intimidation wasn't subtle.
Meanwhile, three other seniors who weren't officially part of the yoga club quickly covered their faces and dashed out the side door, not wanting to get caught.
Shivam tried to chase after them but was quickly blocked by the four pose-holding seniors. As he stepped back, the juniors quietly closed the door behind him, trapping him inside.
"Let me out!" Shivam shouted, now clearly panicking.
From the hallway, the Head Girl peeked inside, saw the scene unfolding, hesitated for a moment, then muttered, "Sorry," and ran off.
A Little Later – Innovation Lab
The Innovation Lab buzzed with soft chatter and occasional clicks. Students were hard at work on various projects meant to benefit society—solar panels, waste management apps, water purifiers, and more.
Abhay stepped in and scanned the room. Spotting Lucky near the entrance, he asked, "Where's Kritagiya?"
Lucky, still engrossed in his code, pointed toward the back corner. Kritagiya stood there, confidently flirting with a group of giggling female students.
Abhay sighed and walked over. "Hey, I need your laptop," he said bluntly.
Without waiting for much of a reply, he took the laptop from Kritagiya, then casually snuck over to their sleeping teacher's desk and pulled out a pair of earbuds.
Finding a quiet corner, he sat down, plugged in, and began his research on the mysterious System.
One Hour Later
Abhay leaned back in his chair, the laptop screen still glowing in front of him. He smiled slightly, eyes gleaming with determination.
"Okay," he whispered to himself. "Now I know everything about the System."