The day was routine. Aaryan arrived at his first class of the day, at **Bangalore Institute of Technology**, the campus abuzz with seniors and freshmen. The lecture hall already hummed as he walked in, and he let out a sigh of relief to discover that his seat beside Ishika was still unoccupied.
As he sat down, Ishika glanced up from her documents, offering him a courteous smile. Aaryan smiled in return, sensing a slight change between them—an implicit understanding developing from their exchanges earlier.
The professor arrived a few minutes later, and the lecture started. As boring as the lesson material was, Aaryan couldn't help sneaking glances at Ishika. She was focused, taking notes that overshadowed him. She was obviously a genius, a prodigy, and Aaryan couldn't help but be impressed again.
They barely uttered a word throughout the lecture, but a passing smile and gentle glances spoke everything. It was a gray, ordinary class, yet something in it seemed off. Perhaps it was the friendship, or perhaps it was the knowledge that, for all the troubles that lay in front of him, Aaryan was no longer by himself in this enormous new world.
During the afternoon, the campus buzzed with excitement for the traditional ragging session every year—a ceremony in most colleges, though a softer form than the terror stories Aaryan had listened to during his childhood. Freshers were expected to endure some teasing from the seniors, a initiation, so to speak, into college life.
Aaryan had psyched himself up for this. But as he stood in a group of other freshmen, waiting for the ceremony to begin, he noticed that something was not quite right. Some of the upperclassmen started crossing the line, and they were giving nasty remarks at one specific freshman. It was the kind of teasing that transitioned from light to uncomfortable within a split second.
Aaryan could not just sit around and do nothing. He did something on the spur of the moment and interfered, reprimanding the seniors for what they were doing. The seniors, surprised in the first place, retreated with a laugh, brushing him aside with some caustic remarks.
Ishika, who had stood at a distance, stepped forward after the tension had passed. "You didn't have to do that," she said softly, yet with admiration. "But. thanks for doing it."
Aaryan shrugged, looking embarrassed. "I couldn't stand there and do nothing. It wasn't fair."
She smiled up at him—warm, authentic—and Aaryan recognized then that this had nothing to do with protecting some other person; it had done something between them. She saw him differently now, maybe as someone who wasn't not brave enough to assert what was good, even in an environment where conformity pressures existed.
That night, as Aaryan strolled back into the dorm, something strange occurred. He'd just crossed past the courtyard when a surge of energy coursed through him—like an electrical shock. His body felt lighter, as though something he didn't realize was weighing him down was being removed.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out, looking at the screen.
**SYSTEM BINDING COMPLETE.**
The words lit up on his phone, and his heart missed a beat. A joke? He pressed the notification, curiosity getting the better of him. In a flash, a new screen appeared on his screen. His eyes widened reading through the information.
**SYSTEM ACTIVATED.**
**REWARD: 5,000 XP**
**TASK: Finish 1 Academic Assignment**
**BONUS: 1 Advanced Learning Module Unlocked.**
Aaryan blinked at the words. The screen flickered briefly before settling into stillness once more. He had a strange feeling as if something in his head had realigned itself—a burst of sudden clarity, as if his mind was sharper, more acute than it had ever been.
It wasn't a dream. It was real.
The following couple of days were a blur. Aaryan was amazed and overwhelmed by the presence of the system in his life. Whatever work he completed, whether academic or personal, seemed to invite fresh incentives. He could notice minor alterations—he became more efficient in studying, his memory improved, and even learned intricate lessons with a familiarity he never dreamed of.
But the system remained a secret. He was prudent enough not to mention it to anyone—least of all Ishika, who remained in the dark regarding his newfound powers.
Their bond grew incrementally, nonetheless, and as the days went by, Aaryan discovered himself anticipating the times they were able to converse, much as it was merely for their studies or some casual remark about the latest thing to happen at school.
The ragging itself had been the turning point, not only in how others viewed Aaryan, but also in how he viewed himself. He was no longer merely a struggling freshman searching for his place; he was a man on a mission, a man who could turn his life around. The system with its rewards and assignments was only the start.
As Aaryan reclined in his dorm room, the system's new interface dazzling him with light, he couldn't help but feel subdued determination. It was his time, his moment to sculpt the future—not his own, in solitude, but of the world.
And Ishika? She was already being built into that future.