Chapter 6 The Flow of Time
When Anshul stepped out of the café, the night air of New York felt colder than before.
A light wind moved through the empty streets, carrying the faint smell of rain that still lingered from earlier in the evening.
The city had grown quieter.
Most of the shops were closed, and the crowds that filled the sidewalks a few hours ago had already disappeared.
Anshul walked slowly along the street, his hands in his jacket pockets.
The effects of NZT had not faded yet.
His mind remained incredibly sharp.
Every sound, every movement, every detail around him seemed clearer than ever before.
But instead of focusing on the environment, his thoughts were fixed on something else.
The system.
He took out his phone and opened the World Theater interface again.
The screen lit up instantly.
Traveler Level: 1
Current World: Limitless Mind
Story Progress: 4%
Anshul stopped walking.
The number had increased.
Just a few hours ago it had been 3%.
Now it was 4%.
He stared at the screen thoughtfully.
"So the story keeps moving…"
Even if he did nothing.
That made sense.
The events of the movie would continue whether he interfered or not.
But another thought appeared in his mind.
"What happens when I leave the world?"
Would the timeline freeze?
Or would it continue moving forward?
Anshul opened the world selection page again.
The enormous list appeared.
Movies.
TV series.
Stories from countless different universes.
It truly looked like an endless library.
But something else caught his attention.
Next to several worlds he had previously opened, a small indicator appeared.
Limitless Mind — 4%
The Princess Diary — 0%
Princess Diary: Royal Engagement — 0%
Ella the Enchanted — 0%
Monte Carlo Journey — 0%
The Fashion Intern — 0%
Catch Me If You Dare — 0%
Money Game — 0%
Social Network Era — 0%
Elysium Station — 0% (Abnormal)
Anshul noticed something interesting.
Only the current world had a progressing percentage.
All the others remained at 0%.
Which meant something important.
His brain quickly analyzed the pattern.
"If I haven't entered a world…"
"…time there doesn't move."
But the moment he entered it, the story would begin.
And from that point onward, time would continue to flow.
Even if he left.
Anshul smiled faintly.
"That's actually a very clever design."
It meant every world was essentially frozen until he stepped into it.
But once activated, it became a real timeline.
Which also meant something dangerous.
If he left a world in the middle of its story…
The plot would keep progressing without him.
Characters would continue living their lives.
Events would continue happening.
And when he returned, the situation might already be very different.
Anshul looked up at the night sky.
"So there's no resetting timelines."
This made the World Theater feel much more realistic.
It wasn't a game.
It was closer to a collection of parallel universes.
Each one following its own story.
And he now had the ability to travel between them.
Anshul leaned against a streetlight and continued studying the interface.
Then he opened the full world library again.
The list scrolled endlessly.
Thousands of worlds.
Perhaps even millions.
Some of them were familiar.
Others were completely unknown.
But among the endless list, several TV series worlds appeared as well.
Sherlock Chronicles
Silicon Valley Story
Suits of Law
The Big Bang Society
How I Met Your Mother Story
Anshul examined them carefully.
These worlds were relatively peaceful.
No superpowers.
No monsters.
No large-scale wars.
Which made them perfect side worlds.
For example, the Sherlock Chronicles world could help him develop his deduction skills.
The Silicon Valley Story world might provide insight into building technology startups.
And the Suits of Law world could be interesting because both of his parents were lawyers in the real world.
Anshul chuckled quietly.
"If they ever find out about this…"
"They would probably love that world."
But for now, those were only possibilities.
He still had one more thing to understand.
The abnormal world.
Elysium Station.
Even among the endless list of worlds, that one still stood out.
Anshul opened it again.
The same warning appeared.
Abnormal World Detected.
Traveler discretion advised.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"This world definitely doesn't belong in Level 1."
The technology in that story was far beyond modern society.
Medical machines that could cure almost any disease.
Autonomous combat robots.
Military-grade exoskeleton suits.
And most importantly…
A massive space station orbiting Earth.
Compared to the current world, it was practically science fiction.
So why was it classified together with ordinary worlds?
Anshul could only think of one explanation.
A bug.
Or an error in the system.
If that was true…
Then it might also be the greatest opportunity.
But only if he survived.
Anshul closed the interface and started walking again.
The city lights stretched across the horizon, illuminating the empty streets.
His mind continued planning.
Learn as much as possible.
Use NZT carefully.
Prepare before entering dangerous worlds.
Because the World Theater was not forgiving.
One mistake could mean death.
But if he succeeded…
Then the rewards would be beyond imagination.
Anshul Giri looked up at the sky once more.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"This journey…"
"…is only just beginning."
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