Abhay stood tall in his room, a confident smile spread across his face. With a determined voice, he called out, "System."
At once, the familiar translucent screen shimmered into view in mid-air. This time, however, there was a small red cross button in the corner. Curious, Abhay tapped it. The screen vanished instantly.
For a moment, Abhay just stood there, stunned. And then he burst into laughter—tears of joy welling up in his eyes. "Yes! I finally figured it out!" he cheered. "I can summon it… and dismiss it too!"
Still smiling, he called the System again, and the screen obediently appeared.
This time, Abhay noticed a new tab labeled Skill Store. He clicked on it eagerly, only for a message to pop up:
[Balance: 0 System Coins]
Before he could react, another window opened, displaying a mocking message:
[Hello, Broke Player]
Abhay's smile faded.
He clenched his jaw, walked over to the corner of his room, and picked up his cricket bat. With a frustrated grunt, he swung it hard—right through the screen. Though intangible, the bat seemed to register the impact, and the screen went flying out of the window like a physical object.
"Stupid system," he muttered, setting the bat aside.
Despite the insult, he had learned something valuable: the Skill Store existed. Not only that, but there was also a Weapon Store. Both, however, required currency. Just as he was about to explore further, a glowing red dot appeared on a new tab with a sun-like symbol. Under it, the words Daily Login Bonus flashed invitingly.
He tapped it without hesitation.
Instantly, a reward notification popped up: You Have Received: Gray Gauntlets.
The gauntlets materialized on his bed. They were sleek, steel-gray in color, with strange hollow cracks etched into the surface—each crack looked like it was meant to hold something specific.
As soon as he slid them on, another screen appeared in front of him.
Skill Unlocked: Crack in Fabric
Description: Allows the user to create dimensional cracks that only they can enter.
Requirement: Minimum Level 5
Abhay groaned, staring at his current status: Level 1.
"How am I supposed to reach Level 5?" he yelled.
As if in response to his outburst, the System screen changed.
MISSION AVAILABLE
Mission Name: LONELY LION WITH NO BITCHES
Objective: Beat the crap out of 5 people.
A wide grin spread across Abhay's face. "Now that's doable," he said to himself. "All I need to do is beat up that stupid Head Boy. He's always angry at everyone—if I hit him first, his followers will definitely show up. That's four more, easy. Then I just run."
Next Day – School, Outside Yoga Room
Abhay stood frozen in disbelief.
Through the glass panel, he saw Shivam Sharma—the same hotheaded Head Boy—sitting peacefully on a yoga mat, eyes closed, breathing calmly. Meditating.
Meanwhile, the seniors were lounging in the corner, completely immersed in their usual gunfight game on their phones.
Abhay blinked. What's going on today?
Determined to find someone to fight, he wandered the school corridors. But one by one, every usual troublemaker he knew was either absent or strangely mellow. No one was even in the mood for conflict.
Just as he was losing hope, Abhay's eyes caught a commotion in the distance. A group of boys seemed to be ganging up on a single student.
With renewed purpose, Abhay dashed forward—ready to intervene—but stopped short when he heard the bullies begging for mercy. Apparently, the seniors from the yoga club had already beaten them up and were now dragging them to the yoga room for further "discipline."
As they were shoved inside, Shivam calmly closed the door. Moments later, faint cries and whimpers echoed from behind it.
Abhay, now crouching in the hallway corner, felt utterly defeated. A single tear rolled down his cheek. "Why is everyone so good today?" he muttered.
Night – Park
The whole day had gone by without him finding a single valid target. No fights. No injustice. No chaos. It felt like the universe itself was mocking his mission.
Dejected and dragging his feet, Abhay strolled through the park near his society. He wasn't expecting much.
But then, just as he passed by a dimly lit bench, he saw them—five boys surrounding a girl he recognized from his building. Their voices were loud and aggressive, and one of them grabbed her wrist as she tried to pull away.
Abhay's eyes lit up.
"Jackpot," he whispered.
His fists clenched as he stepped forward, the gray gauntlets tightening around his wrists with a soft hum.
This was his moment.