William stared at the system notifications. He had missed two new features that were unlocked the moment he turned eighteen. This was a lesson for him. He vowed to himself that he would check the system more often. He checked these features out. He sat down on a bench nearby, feeling a bit tired. He glanced at his stamina. Sure enough, the jogging had brought down his stamina to 50%.

  He opened the Perk System first.

  [Perks - Perks can be obtained by spending Perk Points. 1 Perk Point is rewarded for every 2 levels of a skill. Perks are an extension of a skill that can either be applied in real life or improve an aspect of the skill. Each skill has its own perks.]

  [Available Perks - 3 perks in Chromesthesia, 3 perks in Shut-In, 4 perks in Coding, 50 perks in Gaming, 3 perks in Languages, 5 perks in Speaking, 5 perks in Crawling, 5 perks in Walking, 5 perks in Running, 2 perks in Hand-to-Hand Combat, 2 perks in Swordsmanship, 1 perk in Business, and 1 perk in Designing]

  Damn, I get 50 perks. Though I don't know what perks really are, they are bound to be something good. But I'll investigate this later. For now, let's check the other feature.

  [Technology - This System tracks your current technology and innovation with the relative technological level of your era. By developing and selling technologies and innovations that are at or above your relative technological level, you can earn Innovation Points. Innovation Points can be used to buy future technology, though no development or sales of this technology will earn you Innovation Points.]

  [Current Technological Level 1980-2000 - Information Age]

  I see then. The System seems to reward genuine creation or innovation more than simply copying. Though it doesn't account for the fact that I'm copying technologies from the future. And even if it did give points for selling or creating things bought from this new store, I wouldn't do that unless it's very crucial for my success. I wonder what's available in the shop. He thought with curiosity as he opened it.

  [Current Innovation Points - 3247]

  Wait, why do I have so many points? Oh, wait. All of my products were released after this feature was available to me, so it makes sense.

  [Quantum OS - 400 points| QFS File System - 500 points| Quantum Browser - 600 points| NTFS File System - 400 points| VM support Integration - 300 points| UI/UX Innovation - 247 points| QuantumPay(In Progress) - 400 points]

  He nodded. It was convenient, knowing where all the points came from. He appreciated it. Though the points for UI/UX Innovation were given weirdly, he didn't mind.

  [Filter by Era]

  [Near Future(2000 - 2010) - 24 Available]

  [Mid Future(2010 - 2030) - 47 Available]

  [Far Future(2030 - 2080) - 89 Available]

  [Speculative(2080+) - 12 Available]

  [Filter by Category]

  [Computing and Software]

  [Hardware and Electronics]

  [Biotechnology and Medicine]

  [Energy and Power]

  [Transportation and Aerospace]

  [Material Science]

  [Telecommunication]

  [Military and Defense]

  Curious, William selected Near Future, and Computer and Software, just to see what was available.

  [Near Future - Computer and Software]

  [Social Media Platform Architecture - 450 Points]

  [Smartphone Operating System Foundation - 850 Points]

  [Cloud Computing Infrastructure - 750 Points]

  [Search Engine Algorithm (PageRank-style) - 600 Points]

  [Video Streaming Platform Architecture - 500 Points]

  He skimmed through the list and dismissed it immediately.

  I don't need any of these. Social Media? I can code that myself. Search Algorithm? I already know everything there is to know about that. Cloud Computing? That's even easier.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Buying software was pointless. He could already do all of it. If he bought the knowledge, he might gain the knowledge on how to do it, which he already knew, and he wouldn't get any of these points for doing it. Software was never the bottleneck anyway. It was hardware. He glanced at the shop again and selected Far Future and Hardware & Electronics.

  [FAR FUTURE (2030-2080) - HARDWARE & ELECTRONICS]

  [Quantum Processor Architecture (Early Generation) - 8,500 Points]

  [Neural Processing Unit (Dedicated AI Hardware) - 4,200 Points]

  [Photonic Interconnect Technology - 6,800 Points]

  [Advanced Semiconductor Lithography (3nm-1nm processes) - 12,000 Points]

  [Neuromorphic Computing Architecture - 7,500 Points]

  These were useless too! At least, for the time being. He couldn't produce them, even if he wanted to. To produce them, he would need more technologies related to fabrication, and that required more points. He couldn't even afford these ones. He sighed. My Cybersecurity skills are lacking compared to the rest. Maybe I should focus on it?

  He thought as he searched for cybersecurity. Apparently, it was under Telecommunication. Why? He didn't know, but it was there. He selected Far Future and Telecommunication, and further filtered it to show only cybersecurity-related stuff.

  [Far Future (2030-2080) - Telecommunication]

  [Quantum Encryption Protocol (QKD-based) - 5,200 Points]

  [Post-Quantum Cryptography Suite - 2,800 Points]

  [Zero-Trust Network Architecture (Advanced) - 3,400 Points]

  [AI-Driven Threat Detection & Response - 4,100 Points]

  [Hardware-Level Security Architecture - 3,900 Points]

  Now, this is interesting. He thought to himself. Security was something he could easily implement, but even with his skills, there was someone who would be able to get past his defenses. It probably won't happen for half a decade, but it would eventually happen. And he didn't want any data leak to happen from his company.

  First thing that drew his eyes was Hardware-Level Security Architecture. He clicked on it and it expanded.

  [Hardware-Level Security Architecture - 3900 Points

  - Security measures integrated at the chip design level

  - Includes: Secure enclaves, trusted execution environments, hardware-based authentication

  - Note: Prevents many classes of software-based attacks]

  He paused. As much as this would be perfect, it requires custom chip designs, partnerships with manufacturers, and even possibly building my own fabrication facilities. This would mean a lot more work for Eve, and I don't think we're ready to face the jagguenauts that are the hardware industry.

  Next, his eyes led him to the second cheaper option.

  [Post-Quantum Cryptography Suite - 2,800 Points

  - Encryption algorithms resistant to quantum computer attacks

  - Includes: Lattice-based, hash-based, and multivariate cryptographic systems

  - Note: Can be implemented on classical computers, future-proof against quantum threats]

  He read it twice. Since it could be implemented on classical computers, it was perfect. It didn't require any special hardware, and it was all just mathematics. For a second, he considered going down the Cloudflare route by using lava lamps.

  The price was a bit steep. He only had 3247 points, which would leave him with only 447 points if he bought it. Then, he remembered that he would get more points from QuantumPay, and that snuffed out any hesitation.

  He almost bought it, but restrained himself. He was still outside. He had no precaution. What if the System stuffed the knowledge into his head to the point he passed out? He jogged back home, completing another lap.

  After some warming up and daily sparring with Eve, he took a quick shower and lay down on his bed. He took a deep breath and bought it.

  [SELECTED FOR PURCHASE]

  - Post-Quantum Cryptography Suite: 2,800 Points

  [TOTAL: 2,800 Points] [REMAINING: 447 Points]

  [CONFIRM PURCHASE?]

  [PURCHASE COMPLETE]

  [Post-Quantum Cryptography Suite has been added to your Knowledge Base]

  [Note: This purchase will not generate Innovation Points upon implementation]

  The knowledge came in like a wrecking ball. He had never been hit so hard in the brain. It completely filled him with foreign knowledge, though, thankfully, there was no duplicate knowledge. It seemed to take into account what he already knew. The knowledge of post-quantum mathematics and mechanics appeared in his mind. The knowledge truly opened his mind as more and more came crushing in. He suddenly knew how to not only implement, but also the theory behind lattice-based encryption schemes, hash-based digital signatures, and multivariate cryptographic systems.

  His eyes opened. His blue and brown eyes stared at the ceiling. For a minute, he didn't move. His mind moved first to interpret all the information it was receiving. William blinked, his consciousness slowly returning. He rubbed his head. If I tried to learn this slowly, it would take a month to 6 months. Absolutely ridiculous. He sighed. What he got wasn't just one type of encryption method. Instead, what he got was ALL encryption methods from lattice-based encryption, hash-based digital encryption, and multivariate cryptographic systems. At least, everything from 2030 to 2080. Despite the amount of knowledge contained, it costs too little. He felt like 2,800 points was too cheap.

  [Sir, the reason it is so cheap is that for your first purchase, all options are discounted by 60%.]

  He nodded, thanking Pennyworth. That makes a lot more sense. Otherwise, it would just be giving knowledge away for free.

  William frowned. Now, he had to decide what to use for his security. He was leaning towards lattice-based encryption schemes for his security, as they were the most future proof and had a lot of potential. While he now knew all the schemes, he didn't want to use any of them. If anything, he wanted to combine the best of the best.

  He got up and walked over to his new computer. It was just bought a day before. He planned to combine three schemes. NTRU, which was fast; Kyber, which was efficient; and FrodoKEM, which was heavier and harder. By combining these three, he could theoretically be invincible if his security was targeted by a quantum computer. But a pure combination wouldn't work. The hardware just wasn't there yet. So he had a plan.

  In his plan, a Frodo-style LWE(Learning with Errors) would form the core, where every handshake between clients or systems would occur within the unstructured lattices. It was the key exchange layer.

  Over that, he planned to layer a kyber-style ring optimization, trimming it without introducing exploitable symmetry. Finally, he embedded an NTRU-style polynomial obfuscation, ensuring that even if data was intercepted, they'd face modular equations, which were frankly impossible to handle.

  He dubbed it TheodosianWalls. While he wanted to name it something with Quantum in its name, since it had something to do with quantum, he decided not to. His desire for trolling was far more potent than his desire for symmetry. He didn't have OCD, thankfully. Otherwise, he would be truly miserable, especially with his personality and traits.