Morning dawned with a subdued sort of energy. Light poured through the window of Room 304, casting soft shadows on the polished surfaces of Aaryan Verma's desk. He got up with resolve, his thoughts clear, as if the tension of the academic maelstrom had abruptly stopped to give him time to catch his breath.
Always, the glass panel glowed softly into being before his eyes.
> Daily Check-In: Successful
> Reward: Physical Reflex Conditioning Module – Tier I
> Length: 12 Hours | Impact: Enhanced coordination, quicker hand-eye syncing
The instant he agreed, a soothing current ran through his nervous system. Not paralyzing—just enough to ease his limbs, make them more compliant. A muscle memory readjustment, as if his body were gearing up for some hard work.
Two task progress bars floated beneath the check-in prompt:
> Weekly Challenge: Beat Projected Top 3 in Composite Skill Index – [41% Complete]
> Academic Task: Finish First in Next Internal Assessment – [Pending]
A week had not been enough time to alter the rankings of the institute's closest competitors.
He stood, shrugged his shoulders, and glanced over at the small black backpack slung near the door. In that plain bag, hidden from everyone, was a doorway to his system inventory. The five-cubic-meter area he had just been assigned enabled him to store tools, components, notebooks anything he could possibly need on a moment's notice.
He hooked the bag over one shoulder and departed.
By half past morning, the engineering lab buzzed with intent energy. Professor Raghavan hovered in the middle, creating circuit diagrams on a large glass plate as students rushed to record them. Subject of the day: Microcontroller Precision Sensor Calibration.
Aaryan listened intently, recording every schematic, his mind twice as active. His reflex module made it nearly automatic to track the logic trail.
"Now," Raghavan said, swabbing the panel with a practiced motion, "I need a working setup. Pressure sensor array calibrated to at least 92% accuracy. You have 45 minutes. Start."
The lab erupted.
Silently, Aaryan dipped into his backpack—not to dig through for components like everyone else, but to quietly gesture toward an unseen menu that he alone could see. In the time it took to blink, a high-tech toolkit and precision sensors appeared in his hand, glossed over as though they were naturally there.
His hands flew with a blur of speed, soldering connectors and splicing boards together at clockwork speed. The reflex module was going full force.
Across the room, Rohit Saxena leaned back on a counter, his face in a frown. He elbowed another student next to him. "See that? How in the world did this guy manage a precision kit?"
The other student shrugged, not knowing.
Rohit glared.
Aaryan, on the other hand, triggered his last wire and started the test cycle. The outcome was instant: 96.4% accuracy.
Raghavan checked his equipment, nodded silently, and scribbled a note on his tablet. Then he gestured to another team still struggling with their cables.
It was a small triumph, but one that hit close to home.
Later that afternoon, in the empty corridor between labs, Rohit cut Aaryan off with a strategic shoulder block.
"You thinking smart with those flash answers, freshie?"
Aaryan blinked at him, unmoved. "Doing what the professor told me."
"Ah, yeah," Rohit sneered. "Maybe it is easy when someone else is doing the pulling. Got a personal tutor in your pocket or what?"
"I learn. You could try it."
Rohit's sneer grew even deeper, but he said nothing. Students were witnessing this now. The tension dissolved into quiet as Aaryan moved on.
Aaryan opened the system panel once more in the dorm. A faint message flashed softly in the corner.
> [System Tip: Integration Feature Unlocked]
> Smartwatch Blueprint (Tier II) completely completed and ready for compatibility module.
> Status: Waiting for Compatible Core Interface
His AI woke up beside the panel.
"Smartwatch integration pending. Core functionality attainable on successful hardware assembly. Suggestion: Start blueprint mapping."
Aaryan let out a sigh and rolled up his sleeves.
Time to craft something revolutionary. But first, he needed to ensure that no one would ever be able to find out how deep down this rabbit hole it went.