CHAPTER 42: THE COPYCAT CLAIM

A new day started.Early morning a notification hit Raj’s phone at 7:14 a.m., just as he was brushing chalk off his palms after a warm-up grip session.

It was from Ghostline’s official account.

Subject:

RC-V1 SELECTED FOR FEATURED GEAR CIRCLE (OPEN SHOWCASE)

Underneath, a clean caption:

"Designed from silence. Built with memory. RC-V1 enters Ghostline’s open round as one of the most emotionally resonant gloves tested this season."

It wasn’t flashy.But it was public.And that changed everything.

By 10:00 a.m., comments started piling up on the test portal and Ghostline’s private feedback platform.

"This looks oddly familiar."

"I’ve seen this curve before."

"That inside wrist-lock,is that a tweak or a trace?"

"Yo, is this a spin-off of EvoGrip’s old Axis Loop?"

At first, Raj didn’t care.

Trolls happened.

But by noon, a formal post appeared ,shared over 120 times before it was taken down.

From a mid-tier glove startup called Gravex Gear.

Their caption was simple.

"We respect creators. But tracing is not creating."

(Attached side-by-side comparison between their older Axis Loop glove and RC-V1.)

Raj stared at the post, heart tightening.He hadn’t even heard of Gravex.He never once saw their glove, not even by accident.

And yet,The curve in the photo did look a little similar.Not identical.But similar enough to raise eyebrows if you didn’t know the full story.

A system notification popped up:

[System Alert: External Dispute Detected]

You are being challenged publicly — not legally.

This is a Perception Test, not a court battle.

System Response:

– Do not engage.

– Prove with innovation.

New Questline Activated:

"Let the Next Glove Speak"

Objective: Complete RC-V3 with visible design deviation

Outcome: Audience Perspective Shift

Reward: Title – "Vision Speaks Louder"

Raj stepped back from the table, arms tense.He wasn’t angry.He was confused.

How did this happen? Why now?

He had worked in silence for so long. Studied details. Measured things differently.

Everything he built came from feeling, not reference.So why did the curve match?

He forwarded the post to Kiran with a simple message:"This showed up today. Just sharing for awareness."

The reply came two hours later.

"We’ve seen it. Our legal is aware.Your glove’s inner design and memory-lining are untouchable.Stay calm. Build louder."

– Kiran

[System Thread Update – Confidence Layer Fortified]

Bonus: Reputation Loss Blocked

Passive Enabled: Builder’s Silence

– Less mental disruption from external commentary

Raj placed his phone face-down.Then walked over to the wall.Pulled out a fresh sheet of sketch paper.And stared at it.

If they think RC-V1 looks like someone else’s past,

Then RC-V3 will look like something they’ve never seen.

Raj leaned over the workbench, fingers locked together, eyes staring at the edge of the glove sketch he had just folded and set aside.He wasn’t spiraling.But the silence in the room felt louder than the accusations.

Tracing?

He had built RC-V1 from hours of trial, failure, foam burns, and midnight seam adjustments. The wrist-lock they mentioned wasn’t inspired by any brand. It came from a moment when his own grip had slipped in rain two years ago.

That’s what they couldn’t understand.His gloves didn’t come from market gaps or reverse-engineered models.They came from moments no one else saw.

He looked at the faded post-it he had once pinned to the corner of his wall.His first-ever glove note.

"I just want it to hold when everything else doesn’t."

He whispered it again now, under his breath, almost like a mantra.Then picked up the RC-V3 sketch and added a fourth section.

"What happens when the world doesn’t believe you?

You build the next glove anyway."

Raj didn’t speak for the rest of the day.He didn’t check comments.He didn’t reply to Priya’s messages.He just sat at the edge of his sketch table, hands stained with graphite and foam dust, sketch after sketch tossed to the side.

None of them were angry.They were precise.

If they doubt your ideas, create something they can’t ignore.

The base structure of RC-V3 had already broken from tradition.Now, Raj added something unthinkable:

A dual-layer airflow tunnel running across the palm, wrapped inside stitched memory foam that would shape based on muscle movement.

It was expensive.Difficult to prototype.Almost impossible to mass-produce.But it had never been done.Not like this.Not with feeling behind the frame.

He labeled the section "Vortex Grip Mesh."

It adjusts with adrenaline levels. Just like a player does.

A system notification popped up:

[System Trigger: Radical Innovation Path Chosen]

Passive Unlocked: Conceptual Leap

– Risk-Reward Balance: High

– Scout Visibility Increased (Flagged by 2+ external observers)

Bonus: +20 Brand Points

As Raj finalized the draft, Priya finally entered, quiet, cautious.

She looked at the state of the room,gloves scattered, foam rolls half-cut, pages full of fierce arrows and sharp curve adjustments.

"You’re not sketching like someone building a glove," she said.

Raj didn’t look up and said:"I’m building a reply."

Priya stepped closer."You think they’ll stop talking when they see this?"

Raj paused."No. But they’ll start listening."

She didn’t argue.Just leaned over and examined the airflow design."You stitched breath into this," she whispered.

Raj finally smiled ,at that moment, a system ping echoed softly.

New External Thread Registered

Social Poll Created – Copycat or Creator?

Trending Question:

"Did RajCraft borrow too much from the Axis Loop?"

Vote Count:

– 53%: Just a coincidence

– 42%: Looks similar

– 5%: Definitely copied

Raj didn’t flinch.But Priya saw the tension.

She placed a hand on the edge of the table.

And said just three words:

"Let it breathe."

Raj looked at her, confused.

She clarified:

"Your glove. Your story. Don’t hold it tight. Let it breathe."

[System Response: Advice Validated]

Emotional Stability Buff: Recovered

Bonus Passive: Design Flow

– +5% clarity in next 3 hours of creative output

Raj stared at his latest sketch, then whispered:

"RC-V3... Let’s shut them up softly."

Raj sat quietly in the back corner of the campus library , a place he rarely visited.

His laptop open.No tools. No foam. No stitching.Just a link.He hovered over the submit button on a design-sharing portal used by sports gear analysts.

It wasn’t social media,it wasn’t Ghostline.

It was a third-party gear tester’s site called PlayerRoot, known for anonymous design submissions and blunt, unfiltered reviews.

He uploaded RC-V3’s concept file under a pseudonym:

"R.Stride_03"

Under "additional notes," he typed:

"Designed for instability. Built to remain calm in chaos. Feedback welcomed."

Then clicked Submit.

[System Update: External Peer Field Opened]

Observer Field Activated: Third-Party Eyes

Passive Bonus: Feedback Confidence Shield

– Emotional hit from negative feedback reduced by 10%

Quest Progress: Let the Next Glove Speak – 65%

The next day, at 7:52 a.m., PlayerRoot’s X (formerly Twitter) account posted the following:

"We just reviewed a glove concept unlike anything we’ve seen this year.

Built to flex with stress.Designed like a memory you haven’t processed yet.

If this was stolen, the thief is a genius.

But we think, we’re looking at the start of a storm."

Within 2 hours, the post crossed 14,000 views.By noon: 42,000.Raj didn’t comment.

Didn’t repost.Didn’t react.

He just stared at the glove sketch lying across his desk and whispered:

"You’re not a defense.

You’re the next question."

[System Quest Complete: Let the Next Glove Speak]

Reward: Passive Skill – Rise Without Reply

Description: When false accusations are countered with action, you gain reputation stability and creative strength.

Bonus: +35 Brand Points

Title Gained: Builder of Storms

That evening, as he re-entered the stitching room, something caught his eye.A courier envelope rested on the bench.

No sender name.Only his name, handwritten in plain black ink:

"Pavan Raj — Workshop Block 1"

He opened it.

Inside: a single glove.

Gravex’s Axis Loop model.Original. Untouched.But the brand tag?

Torn off.And tucked inside the glove, a post-it note:

"Designs don’t matter if you don’t own your story."

– F#0

Raj held the glove for a long time.Then placed it gently beside RC-V3.And said softly:

"Let’s build the one they’ll never mistake again."

Raj didn’t return to work immediately.He stayed seated with the Gravex glove on the table beside his own.For a moment, they almost looked like brothers.But only at a glance.Because the more he stared, the clearer it became:

One was built from repetition.

The other was built from pain.

And it showed.

He opened his sketchbook ,not to draw.But to flip back to a page he’d never touched since sketching it weeks ago.

A design he had once called "Glove 0.5."

It was unstable. Ugly. Raw.

He stared at it now and realized something.

The flawed lines weren’t a mistake.They were a phase.A phase no one saw.That’s what Gravex didn’t understand.

His glove didn’t start from Gravex’s design.It passed through everything Gravex ignored.

He took a marker and wrote on the back of the old page:

"Designs don’t just evolve.

They remember."

Then folded it and slipped it into the same pouch as RC-V3.Not for documentation.

For closure.

That night, before locking up, he texted Priya one line:"I didn’t fight them back. But I feel stronger."

She replied instantly:"Because this time, you didn’t need to."

A system notification popped up:

[System Echo Finalized: Copycat Claim Resolved Through Creation]

Permanent Passive: Origin Trail Secured

– Your future designs will no longer trigger concept confusion when exposed

Bonus Reputation: +22

Scout Tier: Elevated (5 confirmed observers)

And with that, Raj stepped into the night ,not with fire in his fists.But with peace in his hands.

To be continued...