Ethan sat at his small, cluttered desk, his cracked Samsung J5 plugged into the wall, barely holding on to life. He exhaled slowly, rubbing his temples.
He had done it. He had resigned.
A few hours ago, he had been a part-time teacher barely scraping by. Now, he was an unemployed man with ten grand in his account and the OmniTech System at his fingertips.
It was finally time to fully explore the system and he was going to start with the introductory mission.
"System, open the mission tab" he commanded and an interface opened before his eyes.
{Missions}
Introductory mission
Objective: Create and complete your first piece of technology.
Mission Details: this mission should follow the three steps listed below in order to be considered completed,
Choose a Field: Select from AI, Robotics, Cybersecurity, Energy Systems, or another available category.
Design a Prototype: create a simple yet functional piece of technology.
Test & Finalize: Ensure the tech works and can be used or sold.
Rewards: Unlocks Tech Development Interface, +5% boost to relevant Tech Proficiency, initial funding bonus]
Ethan scanned the through the options he could choose from, thinking about which to start with.
He immediately eliminated robotics and energy systems since he had the least proficiency in those fields.
Even if he added the 10% tech boost granted by the system, he doubted he'd be proficient enough to create a finished product.
Plus both fields were expensive and his ten grand would only take him so far.
Other fields had the same problem, either he wasn't proficient enough or they required too much initial funding.
That left him with AI and Cybersecurity—two fields he had solid knowledge in.
AI was tempting, but developing something groundbreaking in that field would take more time and resources than he currently had.
Plus, AI models required massive datasets, computational power, and cloud services—none of which he had easy access to right now.
Cybersecurity, on the other hand, was cheaper to develop, could be purely software-based, and had an immediate market.
Besides, it was 2010 and companies were constantly under attack by hackers, malware, data breaches you name it.
The demand for better security was only going to increase, and with his future knowledge, he already knew which vulnerabilities would plague businesses in the coming years.
If he played this right, he wouldn't just make a quick profit, he would dominate the cyber security field alongside every other field, as was his plan this time around.
There was no making the world a better place with his tech this time around. This time, he was going to take it for himself.
"System, I choose Cybersecurity," Ethan said, finalizing his decision.
[Field Selected: Cybersecurity]
[Mission progress: 20%]
'So that's how it works' Ethan nodded in understanding before another question popped up,
"What if I decide to change the field midway?" He asked.
[Once a field is selected, it cannot be changed,] the system stated. [Any product created outside the chosen field will not count toward the mission.]
"I see" he nodded.
This meant he had to carefully consider his options before selecting a field for the system's mission.
Now, he just needed an idea on what exactly to create and for that, he need to do some research.
His eyes landed on the laptop sitting on his desk, and his eyelid twitched. He had completely forgotten he even owned this relic at some point.
A Dell Inspiron 1501—horribly outdated and barely functional. The device had been with him for years, surviving on sheer luck and a bit of careful maintenance, but it was painfully outdated.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard before he sighed and shook his head.
"This thing barely loads a webpage without freezing… I seriously need a new one." He muttered in annoyance.
"Still, it would have to do for now."
Letting out a resigned sigh, he opened his browser, ignoring the sluggish response time, and started researching the state of cybersecurity in 2010.
He already knew the major hacks that had happened and which vulnerabilities companies had overlooked.
But he needed to see what the market was like, who the major players were, what solutions were currently being offered, and most importantly, where the gaps were.
His first search brought up the giants of the antivirus and cybersecurity industry at the time, but their focus was mostly on virus detection, firewalls, and spam protection.
Ethan scrolled further, narrowing his search to penetration testing, network vulnerability scanning, and system auditing softwares.
Nessus, Metasploit, and Qualys popped up. They powerful tools, but they required expertise to use effectively.
Right… back then, most security tools weren't exactly user-friendly.
They were built for IT professionals, not for businesses or individuals who just wanted to protect their data.
That was his gap.
He needed to create a software that could provide enterprise-level security without requiring users to be cybersecurity experts.
A tool that automated security assessments, detected vulnerabilities in real time, and offered clear, actionable solutions.
Something simple enough for small businesses and individuals to use but robust enough to attract major clients.
The idea was taking shape in his mind, and with it, came a name,
Sentinel.
A lightweight cybersecurity suite that combined penetration testing, network monitoring, and threat detection in a single, easy-to-use interface.
It would function as both an intrusion detection system (IDS) and a proactive security auditor, scanning for weaknesses before hackers could exploit them.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
This software was going to be his first mark in the tech world and it was going to official set him on track to the top.
As he jotted down more details, his laptop suddenly let out a soft whirr, then a click.
"…Huh?" Ethan blinked in confusion.
The screen had frozen and the browser was unresponsive.
A second later, the entire display distorted for a while before the laptop let out a weak, almost pitiful beep and shut down completely.
Ethan blinked again.
He pressed the power button. Nothing.
"You absolute piece of junk" he raged, slamming a fist on the laptop.
That seemed to have done the trick as the computer suddenly powered on with the classic windows power on sound.
Ethan massaged his forehead in resignation before letting out a sigh, "let's get a new laptop first."