Chapter 7
Accelerated Learning
The night in New York gradually turned into early morning.
The sky above the city slowly brightened, shifting from deep black to a dark shade of blue. Streetlights flickered off one by one as the first hints of sunlight appeared behind the distant skyline.
Anshul had not slept.
Normally, staying awake the entire night would leave him exhausted.
But under the influence of NZT, he felt the complete opposite.
His mind remained clear.
Focused.
Alert.
It felt as if his brain had transformed into a perfectly tuned machine that could operate endlessly without fatigue.
Inside a quiet public library, Anshul sat in front of a table covered with books and his open laptop.
English textbooks.
Economics materials.
Programming tutorials.
Financial reports.
Several language learning guides.
To an ordinary person, mastering even one of these subjects would take months or years.
But for Anshul, the process had become completely different.
His eyes moved across the pages rapidly.
Paragraph after paragraph disappeared under his gaze.
Yet every piece of information stayed perfectly organized in his memory.
It was as if his brain had become an enormous storage system.
Every fact he learned instantly found its place.
Every concept connected smoothly with other ideas.
At one point he paused and closed the book in front of him.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"German grammar is easier than I expected."
He had only started studying the language an hour earlier.
Yet now he could already read simple sentences without difficulty.
His pronunciation still needed improvement, but the structure of the language had already become clear.
NZT truly lived up to its reputation.
Anshul leaned back slightly in his chair and stretched his arms.
Then he opened the World Theater interface again.
Traveler Level: 1
Current World: Limitless Mind
Story Progress: 6%
The number had increased again.
Last night it had been four percent.
Now it had reached six percent.
Anshul studied the screen thoughtfully.
"So the timeline continues moving…"
Even without his involvement.
That meant somewhere in the city, the protagonist of this story was slowly moving toward his encounter with NZT.
Soon the man would discover the drug.
Soon the events of the movie would accelerate rapidly.
But Anshul was not worried.
Because he had already secured his advantage.
Dozens of NZT pills rested safely inside his backpack.
More than enough to stay ahead of the story.
He closed the interface and continued thinking.
The biggest benefit of this world was obvious.
Knowledge.
NZT allowed him to absorb information at an incredible speed.
Which meant this world could become the foundation for everything that came later.
Languages.
Business strategies.
Technology.
Psychology.
Anything he learned now could become useful in future worlds.
Anshul picked up another book.
This one focused on financial markets.
Normally the subject would appear complicated.
Charts.
Statistics.
Economic indicators.
But under the influence of NZT, everything became surprisingly logical.
Patterns appeared clearly.
Cause and effect relationships became obvious.
Even complex financial concepts felt easy to understand.
"Interesting…"
He flipped through several pages quickly.
Within minutes he had finished the entire chapter.
And every concept remained perfectly clear in his mind.
At this speed, he could master entire academic fields within days.
But as his thoughts continued racing forward, another question appeared.
What should he do after completing this world?
The World Theater contained countless stories.
Movies.
TV series.
Different genres.
Different timelines.
Each one offered something unique.
Anshul opened the world library again.
The endless list appeared on the screen.
Titles scrolled past rapidly as he moved his finger down the display.
Some were peaceful.
Some were dangerous.
Some contained technology far beyond modern civilization.
Among the titles he recognized several TV series worlds again.
Sherlock Chronicles.
Silicon Valley Story.
Suits of Law.
The Big Bang Society.
How I Met Your Mother Story.
Compared to many movie worlds, these environments were relatively safe.
They could serve as side worlds where he learned useful skills.
For example, the Sherlock Chronicles world could help him sharpen his deductive reasoning.
Silicon Valley Story might offer opportunities to understand startup culture and modern technology development.
Suits of Law would be interesting as well.
After all, both of his parents were lawyers.
A faint smile appeared on Anshul's face.
"If they ever discover this system…"
"They'll probably want to visit that world themselves."
But that thought belonged to the future.
For now, he had something else to consider.
The abnormal world.
Elysium Station.
Even among the endless list of worlds, it still stood out.
Anshul tapped the title again.
The warning message appeared.
Abnormal World Detected.
Traveler discretion advised.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.
That world clearly belonged to a much higher level.
Yet it appeared among ordinary Level 1 worlds.
If that truly was a system error…
Then the opportunity hidden inside it might be enormous.
But the danger would be equally great.
Anshul closed the message and stood up from the table.
The library had started filling with early morning visitors.
Students.
Office workers.
People beginning their daily routines.
Meanwhile, Anshul had already gained several days' worth of knowledge in a single night.
He walked toward the exit slowly.
Outside, the morning sun had finally risen above the skyline.
New York was waking up.
Cars filled the streets again.
Pedestrians hurried along the sidewalks.
The city was returning to its usual rhythm.
Anshul stood quietly for a moment, watching the crowd.
None of these people knew that a traveler from another world had just spent the entire night preparing for something far bigger.
He checked the system interface one more time.
Story Progress: 7%
The number had increased again.
Which meant the story of this world was moving forward.
Soon the protagonist would take NZT.
Soon the events of the movie would accelerate.
But that no longer concerned Anshul.
Because by the time the story truly began…
He would already be far ahead.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"This world…"
"…is only the beginning."
And somewhere beyond this city, beyond this universe even, countless other stories were waiting.
Stories that Anshul Giri would eventually step into.
One world at a time.