The walk back from Sudhin Sir's tuition was a blur of internal calculations. Every time Rahul's worn-out chappals struck the sun-baked asphalt of Bakultala.
He felt the rhythmic pulse of his new reality. By the time he reached the rusted iron gate of his home, his "System Wallet" had swelled by another three dollars.
To any other teenager in 2007, thirty dollars was a fortune—enough to buy several high-end video game CDs or a month's worth of restaurant meals. To Rahul, it was merely seed money for a revolution.
He bypassed the kitchen, where the scent of afternoon mutton curry was beginning to waft through the house, and slipped into his room.
He locked the door—a gesture that earned a puzzled shout from his mother about "suffocating in the heat"—and sat at his old wooden desk.
The desk was a graveyard of his former self: a half-eaten eraser, a dried-up Nataraj pencil, and a stack of Class IX notebooks filled with the uninspired scribbles of a boy who didn't know he was destined to die in a different timeline. Rahul cleared the clutter with a single sweep of his arm.
"System," he whispered. "Show me the future."
The translucent blue interface shimmered into existence, casting a ghostly cerulean glow over the dusty periodic table taped to his wall.
[WELCOME, HOST RAHUL SEN]
[SYSTEM FUNCTIONS INITIALIZED]
The menu was more comprehensive than he had first realized. It wasn't just a shop; it was a roadmap for a civilization.
Rahul navigated directly to the Tech Marketplace. His breath hitched as the virtual catalog expanded. This wasn't just 2025 technology—the era he had just left. This was the "End of History" technology.
"Filter," he commanded mentally. "Consumer Electronics. Sort by Price: Low to High."
The list populated instantly. He felt a pang of irony as he looked at the items.
* Advanced Fitness Tracker (Real-time health analytics): 0.5 Achievement Points
* Noise-Cancellation Earbuds (Adaptive AI Sound): 0.5 Achievement Points
* Smart Pen (Handwriting to Digital): 1.0 Achievement Points
* AI-Powered Learning Tablet: 1.0 Achievement Points
"Achievement Points?" Rahul noted the currency change. A small information icon flickered.
> [CURRENCY: ACHIEVEMENT POINTS]
> Achievement points are earned by leaving a significant impact on the current timeline. Examples: Topping state exams, winning national titles, patenting recognized research, or influencing the socio-economic trajectory of a region.
He looked at the items again. They were all greyed out, locked behind a secondary requirement.
> [REQUIREMENT: SCHEMATIC UNDERSTANDING]
> The Host cannot 'buy' what the Host does not understand. To unlock the purchase of a product, the Host must possess the prerequisite knowledge levels in the relevant subjects (e.g., Physical Science, Computer Tech, Material Science).
Rahul leaned back, a dry laugh escaping his lips. "So, no shortcuts. Even with a god-like system, I still have to be the smartest man in the room to own the room."
He scrolled further down, moving past the "affordable" gadgets into the Advanced Technology category. Here, the greyed-out text felt like a tease from a distant century.
* Quantum Encryption Device: 15 Points
* Personal Cloaking Device (Short Duration): 12 Points
* Portable Fusion Battery: 120 Points
* Zero-Point Energy Converter: 600 Points
* Prototype Anti-Gravity Vehicle: 1,200 Points
"Anti-gravity..." Rahul whispered, his eyes reflecting the blue light of the screen. In 2007, the world was still debating if the iPhone—which had only been announced months ago—would even be a success. Here he was, staring at the price tag for a flying car.
Rahul's banker brain, the one that spent years calculating risk and interest at SBI, pushed past the shiny gadgets. He knew that owning a "Smart Pen" wouldn't change India. But owning the factory that made them? That would change the world.
He swiped to the Technology Production Lines section. These weren't individual items; they were complete blueprints and automated setup protocols for manufacturing hubs.
* Smartphone Production Line (2008 Standard): 50 Points
* Basic AI Chip Manufacturing Unit: 120 Points
* Autonomous Electric Vehicle Assembly Line: 1,500 Points
* Graphene-based Semiconductor Lab: 1,500 Points
* Fusion Energy Research Facility: 5,000 Points
The implications were staggering. If he could unlock the Smartphone Production Line by 2008, he could beat every major player to the punch in the Indian market. He could bypass the era of expensive imports and provide "Aatm Nirbhar" (Self-Reliant) technology a decade before the term became a national slogan.
But the "Achievement Point" cost was high. Fifty points. To get that, he couldn't just be a good student in Bakultala. He had to be a phenomenon.
Curious about how he was perceived by this ancient, powerful system, he clicked on his Personal Development Dashboard. It was a brutal, honest mirror.
[HOST STATUS: RAHUL SEN]
* Physical Strength: 1.2 (Average 14-year-old: 1.0) - Note: Slightly higher due to recent 'awakening' adrenaline.
* Mental Processing: 4.5 (Average 14-year-old: 1.0) - Note: Drastically elevated by 'Photographic Memory' and 'Future Soul' integration.
* Social Influence: 0.02 (The world barely knows you exist.)
* Wealth Factor: 0.000001 (Negligible.)
"Ouch," Rahul muttered. "Tell me how you really feel, System."
However, beneath the stats, he saw the Skill Enhancement tree. It was a sprawling map of human potential. He saw skills like 'Master Oratory,' 'Micro-Expression Analysis,' 'High-Frequency Trading Intuition,' and even 'Quantum Coding.'
Each skill required a mix of EXP (earned from reading/learning) and Achievement Points (earned from doing).
Rahul stood up and walked to his window. Outside, the world was blissfully unaware. A Rickshaw-puller was arguing with a lady over two rupees.
A group of kids was playing cricket with a half-broken bat.
The "2008 Financial Crisis" was a storm cloud still over the horizon, invisible to everyone but him.
He realized his path was divided into three distinct phases:
* Phase 1: The Scholar (Current): Use the Photographic Memory to devour every textbook in the West Bengal board. Reach Level 5 in all basic sciences. This would unlock the "understanding" requirement for basic 2008-era tech and earn him the first few Achievement Points by topping the state.
But then he remembered the truck. He remembered the blood on the asphalt, the failed marriage, the sister who lived in fear of her in-laws, and the "corporate bullying" he endured at the bank. The pain of his past life was a fuel far more potent than any "Genetic Enhancement Serum."
He sat back down. The sun was setting, casting long, bruised shadows over Bakultala. He didn't turn on the light. The glow of the System was enough.
He picked up his Physical Science textbook. This was a subject he had neglected in his first life, settling for a mediocre grade. Now, it was the key to unlocking the Portable Solar Power Bank—his first targeted tech.
> [READING COMMENCED...]
> Chapter 1: Mechanics. Chapter 2: Heat. Chapter 3: Light...
The words blurred into data. His brain, boosted by the system, was no longer just reading; it was simulating. As he read about the laws of thermodynamics, he could see the energy flow in his mind's eye.
> [NOTIFICATION: PHYSICAL SCIENCE EXP +100]
> [NOTIFICATION: PHYSICAL SCIENCE EXP +200]
> [NOTIFICATION: 5,000 WORDS READ. REWARD $5.00 CREDITED.]
He didn't stop. He read until his eyes ached and the numbers started to dance. He read until the "Achievement Point" system felt less like a game and more like a destiny.
By 9:00 PM, his mother knocked on the door. "Babu! Dinner! And turn off that computer, you'll ruin your eyes!"
Rahul smiled. He didn't even have a computer. He had something much better.
"Coming, Maa!"
As he walked out to the dining table, he looked at his father, Rajib, who was tired from a long shift at GRSE. His father's hands were stained with the soot of a world that relied on heavy, dirty labor.
Soon, Baba, Rahul thought. Soon, you won't have to touch a welding torch ever again. I'm going to build you a world where machines do the sweating, and you just enjoy the sun.
Late that night, after the house had gone silent and the only sound was the creaking of the old ceiling fan, Rahul opened his "Nokia Hammer." He looked at the contact: Sayu.
He realized he hadn't thought about her once since the system showed him the "Anti-Gravity Vehicle." How small his world had been! How tiny his ambitions! He had been willing to waste his life for a girl who saw him as a "Spare Tire."
He deleted the draft message he had started earlier. He didn't need to explain himself. The distance between them was no longer just emotional; it was evolutionary.
He lay back, staring at the ceiling. The System's "Personal Development Dashboard" flickered one last time before he slept.
[NEW MISSION DETECTED: THE PRODIGY'S DEBUT]
Goal: Secure 100% marks in the upcoming school assessment.
Reward: 0.5 Achievement Points, $50.00, Unlock: 'Basic Electronics' Schematic.
Rahul closed his eyes. 100%? In his first life, that was an impossibility. In this life, it was just the Tuesday routine but he won't do it.
Why? Someone who got barely passable marks suddenly jumped to 100 % there is only one conclusion: Cheating.
He will open himself little by little, every unit test he'll push his percentage a little, by annual exam he'll top the class.
"India is going to remember the name Rahul Sen," he whispered into the darkness.
The boy who fell was gone. The Legend was just getting started.