---
The city of Aryanagar buzzed with the usual chaos—traffic horns, heatwaves rising from cracked pavements, and the scent of roasted peanuts mingling with diesel. Inside a crumbling fifth-floor apartment, Kaito Ryuu lay flat on a ripped mattress, staring at the spider crawling across his ceiling.
He didn't even have the energy to kill it.
His phone buzzed for the fifth time in ten minutes.
> "Reminder: ₹8,214 due today. Pay or face penalty + interest."
Kaito groaned and tossed the phone aside.
"Do they think I'm hiding the money under my mattress?" he muttered, pulling open the tin can he called a savings jar. A grand total of ₹100 lay inside, crumpled and slightly stained.
No job.
No family.
No future.
He hadn't eaten properly in two days. The neighbor's cat had more fat on its bones than him.
He opened his cracked Redmi phone again, hoping for… something. Maybe a miracle job posting or a lottery win.
Instead, his screen glitched.
The colors faded to grayscale. Then black.
"Great. Now it's dead too," he sighed.
But then—a golden ripple spread across the screen.
Text began to form, letter by letter:
> [ SYSTEM INITIALIZED ]
— TASKMASTER PROTOCOL ONLINE —
Host Identified: Kaito Ryuu
Status: Financially Collapsing | Social Value: 2/100
ERROR: Survival Rating Critically Low. System Deployment Triggered.
[ FIRST TASK ISSUED ]
Give your last ₹100 to the old beggar outside the tea shop.
Reward: ₹5,000 cash transfer + System Binding + Beginner's Luck Buff (48h)
Time Limit: 59:59
"What… the actual… hell?"
He rubbed his eyes, but the words remained.
He tried locking the screen, even restarting the phone—nothing changed.
> Time Remaining: 58:23
The countdown ticked relentlessly.
Kaito didn't believe in miracles. Or systems. Or games that fell from the sky and fixed your life. But the words weren't going away.
He laughed bitterly. "Whatever. I'm broke anyway. If this is a prank, at least someone's entertained."
He stuffed the ₹100 note into his pocket and headed outside.
---
The streets were alive with noise and color. Rickshaws honked. Vendors shouted over each other. A kid ran past him barefoot with a pack of chips.
And there he was.
The beggar.
Exactly as described—outside Chaiyya's Tea Stall. Blind in one eye, with half his teeth missing and a rusted steel cup in front of him.
Kaito hesitated. This ₹100 was literally all he had. He could still buy a packet of rice or some bread.
But his gut—no, something deeper—told him to do it.
He knelt down and slipped the note into the cup.
The beggar looked up with a raspy chuckle. "Bless you, boy. May your kindness return tenfold."
"I'm hoping for ten thousandfold," Kaito muttered.
As he stood—
> [ TASK COMPLETE. ]
[ REWARD CLAIMED. ]
₹5,000 Deposited into Account
System Binding… SUCCESSFUL
Beginner's Luck Buff Activated: +10% Favorability, +5% Luck (48h)
His phone buzzed again. He opened his banking app with trembling hands.
Balance: ₹5,012
His knees almost gave out.
"It's… real?"
> [ NEXT TASK UNLOCKED ]
Spend ₹5,000 on a suit within the hour.
Reward: ₹25,000 + Appearance Buff (Level 1)
Time Remaining: 58:00
---
Kaito rushed to the nearest clothing outlet—"Mehra's Menswear," a modest local shop with a flickering signboard.
Inside, racks of discount suits lined the walls.
He spotted it immediately. A navy-blue slim-fit with a satin lapel. Classic, simple, clean.
The clerk eyed him suspiciously. "You… sure about this one? It's ₹4,999."
Kaito nodded. "Wrap it."
In the changing room, as he buttoned up the blazer, he barely recognized the man in the mirror.
Then it hit:
> [ TASK COMPLETE ]
₹25,000 Deposited
Appearance Buff (Level 1) Acquired: +15% Charm, +10% Clean Aura
New Trait Unlocked: Presence [Uncommon] – You will be noticed when entering a room.
He stepped outside.
And people looked.
Even the clerk, previously bored and half-distracted, blinked twice. "Damn… you clean up good, man."
Kaito smiled faintly.
"I guess I do."
---
Outside, as he adjusted his cuffs, a familiar voice pierced the air.
"Yo! No way! That you, Kaito?!"
It was Dinesh, a classmate from high school. Loud, arrogant, and one of the many who used to call him "Cockroach Kaito" because of his thrift-shop clothes.
He leaned against a bike, surrounded by three girls and two other boys.
"Bro, you got rich or what?" Dinesh laughed. "New suit? What happened, someone died and left you money?"
Kaito's smile was razor-thin. "Something like that."
The girls were already whispering to each other. One of them, a slender girl with sharp eyeliner, was definitely checking him out.
Dinesh's face twitched.
"You win the lottery or what?"
> [ SYSTEM TASK: Humiliate a Former Bully – Optional ]
Make them feel irrelevant.
Reward: Rolex (Market Value: ₹250,000) + Status Buff (Vanity +1)
Kaito tilted his head.
"You ever heard of investment capital?" he said smoothly.
Dinesh blinked.
"No? Thought so."
The jab was surgical.
The group snickered—at Dinesh this time.
"You're flexing a ₹4,000 suit, bro," Dinesh muttered.
Kaito smirked, raising his wrist.
Suddenly, with a shimmer, the Rolex appeared.
> [ TASK COMPLETE – Bonus Triggered by Verbal Precision ]
Rolex (Silver Edition) Acquired
Vanity Buff: +5% Self-Presentation
Passive: Flash Effect – First Impressions Enhanced in Public Settings
"Damn!" one of the girls said, eyes wide. "That's a real Rolex?"
Kaito didn't answer. He just gave Dinesh a parting nod and walked away, silent and deadly.
---
The air-conditioned café welcomed him like a portal into a better world. Clean marble floors. Jazz music. Real espresso machines.
As he stepped in, heads turned.
Even the manager noticed—and hurried over.
"I'm sorry, sir, we have a reservation-only policy after 4 p.m.—"
Kaito flashed his phone, showing the ₹25,000 balance and his newly unlocked Digital Black Card Tier 1.
The manager went pale.
"I… apologize. Would you like the corner window seat?"
> [ TASK: Establish Presence in a High-Class Environment – Complete ]
Reward: Black Card Tier 1 – Daily Limit ₹50,000
Trait Upgrade: Aura of Confidence – Level 2
Next Milestone Unlocked: Total Wealth > ₹100,000
He sat down by the window and ordered an iced mocha and butter croissant. The café was quiet—but not for long.
A woman entered.
Tall. Black slacks, heels, sunglasses. Sharp cheekbones. Radiated money.
She paused as she saw him. Her gaze lingered—not just on the Rolex or the suit, but on his composure.
"Do we know each other?" she asked, pausing near his table.
Kaito looked up, sipping his mocha calmly. "Not yet."
She smiled.
"Confident. I like that."
She walked past him, heels clicking, but her eyes flicked back once before she sat down across the room.
> [ Passive Triggered: Presence + Aura of Confidence ]
Favorability increased with nearby target (???)
Name: Unknown | Affiliation: ??? | Interest Level: Mild Curiosity (↑)
Kaito blinked. "Wait… was that a scan?"
The system was evolving.
And it was starting to reveal more than just tasks.
---
He leaned back as the sun dipped over Aryanagar, turning the buildings gold.
Another prompt appeared:
> [ NEW BRANCH UNLOCKED: PROPERTY ROUTE – PHASE I ]
Task: Secure your first living space. Budget: ₹30,000
Reward: Studio Apartment Ownership + Homeowner Trait
He exhaled slowly, the croissant half-eaten on his plate.
This was only Day One.
And the game had only just begun.
---
SYSTEM DASHBOARD: Kaito Ryuu
Attribute Value
Total Wealth ₹30,012
Status Rising Nobody (+1)
System Rank F-Class Taskmaster
Buffs Beginner's Luck (48h)
Appearance +15%
Charm +10%
Aura of Confidence Lv.2
Traits Presence (Uncommon), Vanity
Inventory Navy Suit, Rolex, Digital Black Card
Hidden Task Destiny Thread: ??? (Locked)
---
End of Chapter 1
🡒 Next: Chapter 2 – Suit, Status, and Stares
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