The sunbeams piercing through the curtains of his dorm room barely roused Aaryan Verma. His eyes snapped open not because of the sun, but because of the soft buzz of activation within his mind.
>
>[Daily Check-In: Successful]
>Reward: Micro Energy Stabilizer x1
A warm, golden flash of illumination coursed through the system panel that was hanging quietly in his line of sight. The prize manifested as a silver vial no bigger than a button battery in his System Inventory.
**"Micro Energy Stabilizer: An inactive energy managing unit. Diminishes weariness, makes device more efficient by 3%."**
It was not flashy per se, but it was far too useful to his current proof-of-concepts. He hidden it away inside his System Inventory and mentally shuttered the key to the third compartment. Even when he pretended to rummage through his actual backpack, true interaction always fell through the metaphysical UI hidden from everyone except him.
Taking a quick dip in the hydration station and crunching on a protein bar, he headed over to the principal lecture hall.
Professor Raghavan's tone was stern that morning, but his voice held something more than the typical dryness.
"Before we start today's subject on embedded real-time systems, I have some announcements," he said, tapping on his tablet. "As some of you are aware, the peer-reviewed prototype showcase is approaching annually. but this year, we're bringing forward the internal team assessment by three weeks."
Students shifted, some groaning audibly.
"Yes, that means your first working demo will be in on Monday. That's three days away. 20% of your final grade depends on it. You'll be presenting to senior faculty and a panel of industry-alumni."
There were gasps, curses, and whispers in the room.
Aaryan's eyes did not falter. His mind was already in overdrive.
The System beeped, as if it had been waiting for the moment:
> [Main Task: Rank First in Next Academic Test]
> Time Left: 11 Days
> Prize: ₹10,00,000 (System Currency) + Learning Module Upgrade
And beneath it, a lighter, finer line emerged.
> *Emotional interference detected. Collaborative strain may affect performance. Mitigation advised.*
---
At their common lab bench, things were already hot.
"We're doing all this as a team, yeah?" Gautam folded his arms. "I just feel like we're along for the ride on your project. You build, you mess around, you decide."
Aaryan didn't answer right away. Ishika leaned in between them.
"I mean, he's the one who actually gets the architecture and neural-layer connecting. It makes sense. But we can divide up the UI layer, Gautam. You do the visual feed?"
"I suppose," Gautam grumbled, not quite satisfied.
Aaryan said nothing. Not because he was in agreement or in disagreement, but because the actual architecture—the sheer depth of his proof-of-concept—could not be told. It was not constructed with school-grade hardware merely. It was augmented by system diagnostics, optimized AI back-end, and ghost-layer scripting support. Revealing it publicly would mean describing what no one would believe.
Once the others departed to work on their own parts, Aaryan stayed behind, tapping on his laptop as his invisible system panel spread into the edge of his field of vision. From inventory, he chose the **Micro Energy Stabilizer** and mentally pulled it to his main device cluster.
The laptop flickered briefly as internal fans wound down. The load on the processing decreased, but performance was unaffected. It was as if viewing a car engine go quiet as it continued accelerating.
His digits flew faster. All sensor feedback loops he had programmed executed with greater smoothness. The earlier debugger chip—the one he'd gotten with the fabrication blueprint—now executed stutter-free.
The hours slipped away.
---
That evening, when the lab cleared out, Aaryan remained. He dipped his hand into his actual backpack and, pretending to pull out an old circuit box, mentally opened his System Inventory. The chip pulsed softly, its blue casing glowing with circuit lines that writhed like veins.
> [Debugger Chip Active - Integration Sync: 94%]
He mounted it into the center of the prototype—a synergy of AI learning feedback, biometric response sensors, and adaptive motion modules. Initially drawn from the smartwatch design the system had presented him with days prior, this product was already pushing beyond.
That chip was more than a diagnostic device—it was a converter. It converted tiny code deviations into dynamic, real-time corrections.
> Micro Energy Stabilizer Installed. Efficiency Increased. Residual Heat: 7% Below Threshold
The system produced a small message:
> *Prototype Stabilization Achieved.*
He relaxed a little, stretching his fingers. The exhaustion that usually came after hours of intense designing wasn't present. His mind stayed focused, quick.
"Let's see who really ranks first," he grumbled.
---
The following day was a haze of reviews, small code tweaks, and firmware compression. Gautam had returned to contributing, primarily to the front-end UI and visual feedback layer. Ishika worked on data logging and statistical overlays.
Aaryan watched and learned everything, provided suggestions when required, and plugged in every loophole they left unattended. Meanwhile, the prototype in his possession—the actual prototype—kept strengthening.
On the last evening prior to the Monday presentation, the system flashed once more:
> \[Hint: Consecutive successful prototype presentations unlock unique performance-based system evolution path.]
He gazed at that line for a long time. Then smiled.