The big plans went away.The disguise.The AI.The so-called empire.
Vicky shut the notebook page titled Project: Invisible and opened a new one.
Experiment Log: Fundamentals.
He began with the simplest question.
Test 1: Stamina & Cooldown
Objective: Find out how many times he could use his power in a row.
He loaded GTA: San Andreas.He went to the first coin location, pressed his thumb to the screen, and pulled.
A cold wave.A light dizziness.
He wrote:
Coin #1: Mild headache. Slight dizziness. Like standing too fast.
He moved CJ to the next coin.He tried again.
Sharper cold.Headache worse.Pulling his hand back felt slow, heavy.
Coin #2: Headache increased. Fatigue noticeable.
He pushed for a third.
The nausea hit instantly.His hand slid into the screen like before, but his body protested. His vision blurred when he withdrew.
He sat down hard, head between his knees.
Coin #3: Nausea. Blurry vision (3–4 seconds). Cannot continue.
He lay on the floor for a minute, breathing slowly.Three coins was the current limit.And the cost was harsh.
He estimated a one-hour recovery before he could think straight again.
Test 2: Non-Game Barrier
After resting, he moved to the next question.
Objective: Test if the power worked on non-game digital images.
He searched for a stock photo of a gold bar.High-resolution. Clear. Realistic.
He pressed his thumb on the screen.
Nothing.
Hard glass. Zero reaction.
He tried again.Same result.
He wrote the conclusion:
Result: Fail. Power does not work on photos, videos, or websites.Must be inside an actual game world.
A major limitation.No printing money from Google Images.
Test 3: The Realness Scale
The apple from PUBG had tasted fake.The Minecraft bread had been real.
Why?
He tested it.
First: a medkit from a realistic shooter.He pulled it out.Plastic wrap. Bandages that felt like cheap cloth. Antiseptic wipes with no smell.
A prop.
Then: a healing herb from a fantasy RPG.Bright green leaf. Soft texture. Mint-like smell. Warm. Lively.
A real item.
He wrote the conclusion:
Realness depends on the item's role in the game world, not graphics.Realistic games → fake replicas.Fantasy games → actual functional items.
A breakthrough.He wasn't pulling objects.He was pulling "concepts" the world recognized.
A fantasy healing item acted exactly like a healing item.
By the time he stepped out of the cyber café, the sun was setting.Orange sky.Purple clouds.
He wasn't discouraged.He was clearer.
He had rules now.Limits.Boundaries.
He cycled home, steady and calm.
Back Home
He entered the house just as Reena looked up from her laptop.
"Vicky, good. Can you help me? I'm making a digital portfolio, but the formatting is all weird. You're doing a computer course, right?"
Vicky paused for a second.
This was real life. Normal. Simple.A space where he didn't need potions, coins, or secrets.
"Yeah, Didi," he said, pulling up a chair. "Show me."
He sat beside her and fixed headings, margins, images.Plain, ordinary things.
For that hour, he wasn't a boy with a strange power.He wasn't building plans or hiding coins.
He was just a brother helping his sister.
And somehow, that grounded him more than any experiment.
He closed the laptop gently.
He had learned something important today.
Before mastering his power,he needed to master himself.