Aditya was sitting in the back seat of a car named *Dhoomketu*. This car brand was established in 2065 and was primarily owned by Sovereign Bank, which also managed its operations due to its significant shareholding. *Dhoomketu* was renowned for its reliability and security features. It was as secure as it was fast. A common saying about this car was that even if it were to crash at a speed of 500 kilometers per hour, it wouldn't sustain a single scratch. This fact alone underscored how mind-blowing the *Dhoomketu* car truly was.
While the company was extraordinary, the price of its cheapest car was equally extraordinary. The car in which Aditya was currently seated was worth approximately 150 million USD, translating to around 1.5 million points. By this time, currency operated in various forms, such as dollars, rupees, and yuan. Although the concept of nations no longer existed, these old currencies were still used in the regions where they once prevailed. To unify these currencies, the *Deep Space Warfare Organization* introduced a new currency called "points." The exchange rates were different for each currency: 100 dollars equaled one point, 50 rupees equaled one point, and 75 yuan equaled one point.
Previously, the dollar had been the supreme currency, but as India and China progressed, the U.S. began to lag. By this time, the U.S. was considered weaker compared to India and China. However, one notable thing about the U.S. still stood out: its per capita income was significantly higher than that of India and China. On average, an Indian or Chinese citizen earned 100 points annually, while an American citizen earned 250 points. This indicated that while the U.S.'s global dominance had diminished, it remained ahead in many aspects, such as per capita income, life expectancy, and corporate influence. Though India and China had advanced significantly, the U.S. still maintained a respectable influence globally—albeit not as dominant as in the 21st century.
Returning to the car, the *Dhoomketu* Aditya was in wasn't the most expensive one. However, Vivek Oberoi had gifted this car to the company. The most luxurious car of this brand was exclusively reserved for the company's head, who bought it with their own funds. Though Aditya wasn't in that car now, it would automatically be allocated to him once he reached his ancestral home.
When Aditya sat in the car, the driver greeted him respectfully and asked, "Sir, where should I take you?"
"Inside the Sovereign University campus," Aditya replied briefly.
Sovereign University, where Aditya was studying, was also established by his father, Ranveer Singh Chauhan. This university was located in the inner parts of Mumbai. Though Aditya had spent most of his life in the outskirts of Mumbai, he received a hostel room when he enrolled here due to his academic excellence.
The driver nodded and started driving towards Sovereign University. Soon, Aditya reached near the university. However, when the car was some distance from the campus, he asked the driver to stop in a deserted alley. He then headed towards the university hostel on foot. The driver offered to drop him off, but Aditya firmly declined. Before leaving, Aditya made sure to take the contact numbers of Vivek Oberoi and Rishabh Malhotra from him.
Aditya was now inside his hostel room, where his three friends were lounging and chatting. When they saw Aditya enter, they included him in their conversation. His three friends, who came from affluent families, were John White, Sahil Khan, and Lu Shen. John was from America, Sahil from Dubai, and Lu Shen from China. Although they had known each other for just two months, they had developed a strong bond. Aditya, too, mingled and chatted with them for a while.
Soon after, he ended the conversation and decided to sleep, knowing he had to teach a lesson to some goons later that night. Sleeping early seemed like the best choice.
It was 10:00 PM when Aditya quickly got up and quietly slipped out of the hostel without his friends noticing. He left using a secret art granted by the system, ensuring no one detected his departure. Soon, he reached the location where he had heard voices earlier. The area was eerily silent. He approached a villa where the group was staying and managed to enter without drawing any attention.
Inside the villa, there were 10 to 15 people. Most of them were relaxing in the living room after dinner. Some were playing video games, others were talking on their phones, while a few were simply sitting idle. Suddenly, Aditya appeared in front of them.
The group was startled to see him. They hadn't even noticed his arrival. Observing their alert expressions, Aditya smirked and said jokingly, "How was my entrance? Pretty impressive, right? By the way, I was just wondering where you guys got the guts to plan on blowing up an entire city with a bomb. Are you members of some terrorist group? Because, as far as I know, such groups existed in the 21st century, not anymore.
"And if you're not terrorists, that means you're either doing this to entertain yourselves or working for some powerful organization. Regardless of your motives, you made one big mistake—you picked the city I live in."
Hearing this, the group was shocked. They had believed no one knew about their plans. The leader of the group, a man named Sanjay Malik, stepped forward and said, "Kid, I don't know who you are, but I'll tell you this—you've made a grave mistake by coming here. Now that you know all of this, you have to die."
He then addressed his companions, saying, "Whoever kills this boy will receive 10,000 points from me."
When everyone in the room heard their boss's words, a gleam appeared in their eyes. They all quickly stood up and began advancing toward Aditya. At that moment, in their minds, Aditya was already a dead man. Their eyes betrayed their murderous intent as they looked at him.
One of them, a Half-Step Noble-level warrior, said to Aditya, "Kid, I've been meaning to buy a luxury item for my wife. I could have easily bought it after completing this assignment, but now that you've shown up, and I'm going to get all these extra points, I won't forget to thank you. So, I'll make sure to give you an easy death."
With that, he launched an attack on Aditya. As the man moved to strike, Aditya heard the voice of the system in his mind:
> "Host, this man is at the Half-Step Noble level, as are most of the others. However, their boss has reached the peak of the Noble level. Therefore, during their attacks, I will grant you power up to the mid-level of Noble. But when you face their boss, I will return your power to the peak level of Noble. Now, quickly defeat them and start earning your points."
The system then fell silent again.
Realizing that the system had given him a new assignment, Aditya was overjoyed. Without hesitation, he charged at the man. He closed the distance quickly and struck with such force that the man slammed into the living room wall and collapsed to the floor, blood spilling from his mouth. Shocked, the man stared at Aditya in disbelief.
When his companions saw how badly Aditya had injured him with just one attack, they became alert and started carefully analyzing Aditya. Even their boss, Sanjay Malik, looked stunned and began observing Aditya closely.
At that moment, Aditya stepped closer to them and said, "Bye-bye. I don't care what reward your boss promised you. But now that you've come to attack me and want to kill me, it's only fair that I kill you in return. After all, you were planning to do the same to me."
With that, Aditya dove into the crowd and began attacking them. In just a few moves, he forced them to retreat. When they saw how skillfully Aditya was fighting, they grew excited. One of them said to his companions, "Come on, brothers, let's kill this kid together! Whether we get the points or not, this fight is turning out to be a lot of fun!"
Saying this, the man and the others launched another coordinated attack on Aditya. But Aditya was no ordinary opponent. Although this was only his second real fight, he already possessed the knowledge and techniques passed down from his father's battles.
Once again, he fought fiercely, and this time, he managed to kill many of them. As he defeated them, a voice echoed in his mind, and a window screen appeared before his eyes.
Ding! You have killed a Peak Warrior-level warrior. You gain 25 experience points.
Ding! You have killed a Half-Step Noble-level warrior. You gain 50 experience points.
Ding! You have killed an Early-stage Noble-level warrior. You gain 100 experience points."
Aditya kept hearing these notifications in his head. Each time he killed a warrior, a window screen would appear in front of him, displaying information about the person he had defeated.
It wasn't that Aditya was killing them effortlessly. The truth was that their foundations were very weak. Otherwise, experienced warriors like them—who had survived countless life-and-death situations—would not have been so easy to defeat. Because of their weak foundations, Aditya could eliminate them with relative ease.
While Aditya was fighting and killing the remaining warriors, he suddenly heard a voice filled with rage.
"How dare you kill my men! You will pay for this—mark my words!"
After saying this, the boss of the thugs launched an attack on Aditya.