I. The Hive of Information (Digital Setting)
Agastya ran until he reached 'The Byte Den,' the 24-hour cyber café near Dadar Station. He settled into a private cubicle. The clock on his System interface showed 22:15:32 remaining.
He plugged in the black, unmarked USB drive. The computer instantly recognized [SGMS_ASSET_001]. He double-clicked [TRADE_INITIATE.EXE].
The desktop was instantly replaced by a complex, high-speed trading interface, a window into the financial underworld.
[DATA STICK ACTIVATED. INITIATING DATA TRANSFER. WARNING: DATA WINDOW IS EXTREMELY SHORT. YOU HAVE 5 MINUTES TO EXECUTE THE TRADE.]
A massive, cold surge of knowledge—not read, but possessed—flooded Agastya's mind. He saw the predictive analytics: an announcement in four hours regarding a massive government contract for the 'FutureNet' infrastructure project. The intelligence pointed to an explosive rise in the shares of Aryaman Power Solutions (APS), bypassing the expected favorite, Global Petroleum Dynamics (GPD). He had the future market price; he just didn't have the capital.
[HOST LACKS NECESSARY CAPITAL. ₹5,00,000 IS REQUIRED. UTILIZE TEMPORARY SKILL FOR BRIDGING LOAN.]
II. The First Skill: Leveraging Digital Debt
The System flashed a new, temporary skill, immediately integrating its knowledge into Agastya's panicked mind:
TEMPORARY SKILL INJECTION
Skill:Basic Financial Acumen (Level 0 – For Task Execution Only)Effect: Grants instant understanding of core banking instruments, rapid digital credit lines, and high-interest shadow finance structures, including encryption and routing protocols. Duration: 1 Hour.
The skill allowed Agastya to see the solution instantly: the Digital Hawala network. He needed a lightning-fast, digitally secured, short-term loan that would accept pre-market insider data as collateral.
He accessed a secure, encrypted messaging tunnel (a feature built into the Data Stick interface) to contact a high-level digital fixer named 'The Broker' (Patil).
Agastya (typing):Urgent capital required. ₹5,00,000. 4-hour return window. Collateral: Time-sensitive Data on Aryaman Power Solutions (APS) pre-market rise.
The Broker (instant reply):5Lakhs is a digital fingerprint. What is the guarantee? I only accept verified, exclusive market intelligence or immediate physical collateral.
Agastya's hands flew across the keyboard, his confidence rising with the System's knowledge. He leveraged the imminent self-destruction of the Data Stick—proving its data was a single-use commodity—as the guarantee.
Agastya:I am borrowing against the APS rise due to the 'FutureNet' contract news at 03:30 AM. I require instant RTGS transfer to my brokerage account. I return ₹6,00,000 (20% interest) at 04:00 AM. If I fail, I send you the trade data now, and you can liquidate my family's remaining physical assets with a single keystroke. Deal?
The Broker was silent for forty-five tense seconds.
The Broker:Sending one-time encrypted access code. Use it to link your brokerage account. The money will be transferred instantly via a private offshore bank route (RTGS via Saffron Finance). Do not fail. The deadline for return is 04:00 AM. If the money isn't back, your identity and family will be digitally erased.
Agastya typed the access code into the Data Stick interface, linking it directly to the brokerage platform he had just created. The screen instantly flashed a confirmation: ₹5,00,000 received via encrypted channel. The entire digital loan process took less than five minutes.
[CAPITAL ACQUIRED: ₹5,00,000. HOST HAS SUCCESSFULLY UTILIZED TEMPORARY SKILL. COMMENCE TRADE EXECUTION.][TIME REMAINING FOR DATA VALIDITY: 2:45.]
III. The Acquisition (Digital Execution)
Agastya quickly registered with a reputable, high-volume brokerage platform, using the anonymous identity provided by the System. His Basic Financial Acumen skill allowed him to navigate the complex digital forms and security checks instantly.
He saw the stocks: Aryaman Power Solutions (APS) was trading at ₹115. He executed a massive, high-leverage pre-market order, committing the full ₹5,00,000 to the immediate purchase of APS shares, scheduling the execution for the exact moment the contract news was set to drop—3:30 AM.
He hit 'CONFIRM.'
The Data Stick's interface flashed red.
[TRADE EXECUTED. ASSET VALUE DEPLETED. DATA STICK IS SELF-DESTRUCTING.]
With a soft whoosh of hot air, the USB drive in the port melted into a pile of smoking black dust. Agastya was left with only the trading platform on the screen and the terrifying wait.
IV. The Surge of Wealth
Agastya sat rigid in the cubicle for three agonizing hours. At 3:29 AM, the news broke. On the grainy television screen, a Breaking News ticker in Hindi flashed:
"Massive ₹2000 CR FutureNet Contract Awarded to Aryaman Power Solutions (APS), Citing Revolutionary GreenTech."
Agastya grabbed the mouse. The APS stock was already charting a near-vertical climb in pre-market trades. His ₹5 Lakh investment was leveraging a monumental, unprecedented spike.
By 3:45 AM, he executed the sell order. The platform calculated the profit instantly. The final amount, after brokerage commissions, taxes, and the Saffron Finance transaction fees, settled in the account.
₹12,45,000.
[SYSTEM TASK 001: THE FIRST TRANSACTION - COMPLETE.]
[REWARD PROCESSING]
System Credit (SC): 500 ACQUIRED.
Skill: Basic Financial Acumen (Level 1) ACQUIRED.
Effect: Host now possesses fundamental knowledge of banking, investment, and market analysis.
Asset: The Silver Key (One-time Use) ACQUIRED.
Description: A physical key. Opens any non-digitally locked door in the host's immediate vicinity. (Maximum range: 50 meters).
LEVEL UP: SYSTEM LEVEL 1.
Agastya instantly executed a rapid digital transfer of ₹6,00,000 back to the encrypted account provided by The Broker, exactly thirty minutes before the deadline.
A terse, single-line message appeared on the secure chat: 'Account cleared. You are remembered, Shastri.'
He closed the chat. The System had forced him to acquire wealth, but he had acquired the notice of a powerful, shadowy financier in the process.
The total remaining in the account was ₹6,45,000.
V. The Debt Cleared
The clock showed 4:30 AM when Agastya reached his tenement. He had to resolve Rana Kadam.
He woke his mother, Purnima. He showed her his phone screen, which displayed the astonishing digital balance. "The debt is cleared, Ma," he said.
"How? They will come and take it all," she whispered, her fear undimmed.
"Rana Kadam gets what is owed, but he receives a message too," Agastya stated, his voice hard.
He used his banking app to instantly transfer ₹5,00,000 via UPI to the one-time bank account Rana used for his money lending business—a transaction that would leave an undeniable, trackable trail.
He then took out the Silver Key. He was not going to give Rana the satisfaction of finding the money; he was going to deliver a psychological blow.
He approached Rana Kadam's gaudy house, which was secured by a heavy iron padlock. He placed the Silver Key against the padlock. The metallic object instantly dissolved into black mist, and the gate swung open.
He found Rana Kadam asleep on his sofa. Agastya pulled out his phone and transferred the last of his ₹1,45,000 balance to a new, secure account. He then placed the phone, displaying the ₹5,00,000 UPI transaction receipt, on Rana's chest.
He leaned in and whispered the line, his new, cold authority replacing his old terror:
"Dene poora, tujhi shakti sampali. Ata mi ahe." (The debt is paid, your power is finished. Now, it is I.)
Agastya swapped Rana's loaded revolver for a piece of charcoal and left, using the Silver Key to lock the gate behind him. As the padlock re-materialized, the Silver Key in his pocket faded to dust.
He had not just paid a debt; he had delivered a message of power.
[THREAT LEVEL: RANA KADAM. REDUCED. HOST SURVIVAL CHANCE: IMPROVED.]
Agastya returned to his family, exhausted but irrevocably changed. He was no longer a victim. He was an Acquirer under the ruthless direction of the Supreme Godly Money System.