The moment he stepped out of the house, the system flickered in front of him and a new window opened.
[UPDATE —
Body Transformation Available:
The host requires 100 UUP to enter the transformation phase.]
[Total UUP available: 60]
[UUP required: 40]
Krish froze for a moment when he saw the window.
When his stepmother noticed him standing still in one place, she couldn't stop herself from speaking.
"What happened now? Why are you standing there like a statue? Go out quickly, your father is waiting."
Krish heard Meena's words but gave no reaction.
Seeing this, Meena clenched her teeth in irritation.
Just then, the screen in front of him flickered again, and the information changed.
Ding!
[Information Updated]
Minor Social Interaction Detected
Emotional Pressure: Mild
Social Resistance: Neutral
UUP Gained: +2
Total UUP: 62 / 100
Krish's eyelids twitched slightly.
"Social… interaction?"
His throat went dry.
Meena now stood right in front of him, hands on her waist, annoyance clearly visible in her eyes.
"Hey, Krish! Are you listening or not? Don't mess with my head this early in the morning. Go out, you're getting late."
Her voice reached his ears, but Krish's attention was fixed on the bluish transparent screen floating in front of him—something no one else could see.
So…
This is how it works.
Standing silently, the other person's irritation, social pressure—
everything was being converted into UUP.
Krish slowly took a breath.
He was starting to understand now.
Transformation wasn't just built through training…
It was built by clashing with people, connecting with them, making them feel something.
"What are you staring at?" Meena snapped.
"You can't even speak properly."
For the first time, Krish slightly lowered his head.
"I'm… going."
His voice was flat—no argument, no resistance.
Meena paused for a moment, as if expecting him to throw back a taunt.
But when Krish walked out without looking back, she could only mutter—
"Strange boy…"
The moment Krish stepped outside—
Ding!
[Information Updated]
Social Detachment Successful
Emotional Control: Stable
UUP Gained: +3
Total UUP: 65 / 100
His steps halted for a second.
The corners of his lips lifted ever so slightly.
"So even staying silent counts…"
Across the street, his father was standing near the bike, waiting.
The sunlight was soft, the air carried a trace of morning chill.
As Krish walked forward, he glanced one last time at the screen.
Transformation was still locked.
But the distance was shrinking.
Not 40 anymore… now only 35 UUP.
And for the first time, he realized—
Before changing him,
this system was teaching him how to clash with the world.
Which meant he couldn't leave this place peacefully.
He would have to do something—something that increased interaction, so he could gain more UUP.
Then he looked at his father standing there, looking quite dejected.
Krish's gaze suddenly sharpened, and with a faint smirk, he walked toward him.
"I'm leaving."
"But before that, I have a small question.
May I ask it?"
Hearing such words from Krish, his father was stunned for a moment.
Because before today, Krish had never spoken a single word on his own.
Whatever was said to him, however it was said—he followed it without question.
But today, for the first time, he had taken the initiative to speak so clearly and plainly.
"What question? What kind of question?" his father asked, confused.
"Yes… you can ask."
The moment he heard the approval, Krish smiled with quiet disdain.
"Every day you stand here silently…
Have you ever felt that in this house, you're just present, not necessary?"
His words weren't loud.
There was no anger in them.
They were just… direct and flat.
For a moment, his father couldn't even process what he had heard.
The hands resting on the bike's handle unconsciously loosened.
"What… what are you saying?"
There was less sternness in his voice, more confusion.
Krish tilted his head slightly, that same cold glint in his eyes.
"I'm just asking,"
"Don't you ever feel that?"
"That day, you didn't even try to find out if there was any truth in that woman's words."
"She said something, and even if you didn't want to, you accepted it."
Hearing this, Meena—standing near the door behind them—furrowed her brows.
"What kind of way is this to talk?
Before today, he never even muttered a word.
And now he dares to question us—unbelievable.
Where did this pig suddenly get so much courage from?"
She said angrily.
At that very moment—
Ding!
[Information Updated]
Social Conflict Escalated
Authority Figure Engaged
Emotional Tension: Moderate
UUP Gained: +5
Total UUP: 70 / 100
---
Krish didn't even look at the screen.
He had grown used to it by now.
His father took a deep breath.
"Krish… I didn't believe her words.
I'm sure there was some misunderstanding."
"But I can't really do much in these matters.
She doesn't even know you properly yet."
"She hasn't even been in this house for a year.
Give her some time… maybe she's just not comfortable living with you yet."
Listening to this, the same bitter smile stayed on Krish's lips.
"Comfortable…"
He repeated the word, stepping one step closer.
"Have you ever listened to what that woman says?
And you still think that—
Never mind."
"I just want to know one thing—
If today I walk away from here,
will it make any difference?"
The air suddenly grew heavy.
Meena was about to open her mouth when—
Ding!
[Information Updated]
Deep Emotional Probe Detected
Suppressed Emotions Triggered (Others)
UUP Gained: +7
Total UUP: 77 / 100
---
His father's eyes lowered for a moment.
He couldn't answer.
And that…
was an answer in itself for Krish.
He let out a soft, mocking laugh.
"Alright,"
"I got my answer."
He turned back—not toward the bike,
but toward the road.
From behind, his father's voice came again, weaker than before—
"Krish… stop."
Krish didn't stop. Walking away, he said—
"Don't worry, I'll get used to it."
"And yes, I'll go on my own.
So you should go back to your woman—
otherwise, in your absence, she might become uncomfortable again."
"Maybe… with a neighbor."
As soon as he took his steps forward—
Ding!
[Information Updated]
Emotional Dominance Achieved
Social Initiative: Successful
UUP Gained: +10
Total UUP: 87 / 100
---
His steps slowed.
87.
Just…
13 more UUP.
Krish looked up at the sky.
"So really," he thought,
"leaving peacefully is impossible…"
This time—
he didn't mind it.
After what had happened two days ago,
Krish had already stopped expecting anything.
His father did look ashamed of his actions.
But even then, without standing by him, without asking a single question,
he had decided to send him away.
Krish slowed his steps as he walked down the road, but he didn't stop.
Behind him, the house now looked like nothing more than a structure—
bricks, walls, and people
who were once called "family."
His father's voice still echoed in his ears—
weak, incomplete…
just like always.
That same scene from two days ago surfaced in his mind.
The day when, without asking a single question,
without even looking at him once,
the decision was announced—
"Stay out for a few days.
It'll be better for everyone."
Better—for whom?
That question had remained unanswered then.
And it still was.
There was no expression on Krish's face.
Whatever emotions he had shown so far belonged to the memories of another Krish.
None of them were his own.
---
Krish kept walking.
The road stretched ahead—uneven, cracked in places, familiar yet suddenly distant.
Each step felt lighter, not because he was free…
but because he had stopped resisting.
Then—
Ding.
The sound came without a screen.
Krish frowned.
A second later, the translucent blue interface slid into view again—quieter this time, steadier.
---
[Passive State Monitoring]
Host Emotional Output: Suppressed
External Awareness: High
Detachment Level: Stable
→ No immediate UUP gain
→ Condition stored for later evaluation
---
"So it's watching even when I do nothing…"
Krish thought.
He didn't slow down.
A bus roared past him, wind brushing against his clothes. On the other side of the road, a small crowd had gathered near a tea stall—men laughing loudly, a shopkeeper arguing with a customer, life unfolding loudly and unapologetically.
Krish stopped near the curb.
For the first time, he looked at people not as background noise…
but as variables.
Interaction creates pressure.
Pressure creates response.
Response creates UUP.
That was the equation.
A voice suddenly cut through his thoughts.
"Hey—watch where you're standing!"
A middle-aged man glared at him from a parked scooter.
Krish hadn't even noticed he was blocking the way.
"Move aside if you don't want trouble."
Krish looked at him.
Really looked.
There was irritation, impatience…
but also expectation.
An expectation that Krish would lower his gaze.
Apologize.
Move away quietly.
The old pattern.
Krish didn't do that.
Instead, he calmly asked,
"Is this road yours?"
The man blinked.
"What?"
"I asked," Krish repeated, voice level,
"did you buy it?"
A few heads nearby turned.
The man straightened, offended.
"What kind of nonsense—"
"I'm standing," Krish said, unhurried.
"You can go around."
There was no insult in his tone.
No challenge.
Just certainty.
The man stared for a second longer, then scoffed and pushed his scooter forward, muttering curses under his breath.
The crowd slowly dispersed.
Krish remained where he was.
Ding!
---
[Information Updated]
Public Boundary Assertion
Confidence Without Aggression
Bystander Awareness: Low
UUP Gained: +6
Total UUP: 93 / 100
---
93.
Krish exhaled softly.
"Seven more…"
He resumed walking.
A little further ahead, he noticed a familiar figure sitting on the pavement near a closed shop—a boy around his age, school bag at his side, face buried in his knees.
Crying.
Quietly.
Krish would have ignored it before.
He had ignored many things before.
But now…
he stopped.
Not out of kindness.
Not out of pity.
Out of curiosity.
He stood there long enough for the boy to look up, startled.
"What?" the boy snapped, wiping his face.
"Got something to say?"
Krish shook his head.
"No."
"Then why are you staring?"
Krish thought for a second, then answered honestly.
"Because you look like someone who was told to leave."
The boy froze.
"…How do you know?"
"I don't," Krish said.
"I guessed."
Silence settled between them.
The boy laughed bitterly.
"They said I'm a burden. That I should stay with relatives for a while."
Krish didn't respond.
He simply said,
"They always say 'for a while.'"
The boy looked at him again—this time properly.
"You too?"
Krish nodded once.
Nothing more.
That was enough.
Ding!
---
[Information Updated]
Emotional Resonance Established
Shared Experience: Confirmed
Empathy Without Attachment
UUP Gained: +5
Total UUP: 98 / 100
---
98.
Krish's fingers curled slightly.
"So close…"
The boy sniffed and stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
"Thanks… I guess."
Krish didn't reply.
He turned away and took two steps forward.
Then—
Ding.
But this time, the sound was different.
Deeper.
Heavier.
The screen didn't just appear.
It expanded.
---
[Threshold Approaching]
UUP Requirement Nearly Fulfilled
Transformation Readiness: 98%
→ Final Trigger Needed
→ Nature: Undefined
→ Source: Self or External
---
Krish stopped.
A slow smile formed—not sharp, not mocking.
Tired.
Aware.
"So it wants one last push…"
He looked ahead.
The city waited.
Loud.
Indifferent.
Full of people who would push, question, judge, or ignore him.
He took a step forward.
Not knowing what the final trigger would be—
only knowing one thing:
This time, he wouldn't step back.