Chapter 8

Today was one of those days that stood out from all others to Henry. Was it his birthday? Not at all. Had he won the lottery, possessing more money than he had ever dreamed possible? Not all. Did his cheats become overwhelmingly popular, overnight, like a gift from God, and now everyone knew about them? Not a bit. But notwithstanding the elimination of all these probabilities, something very unique was indeed taking place, a monumental shift in the direction of his advancement that he should not ignore.

Henry had been putting in much effort and dedication both to physical fitness and to building up his enterprises and was finally reaping some dividends of that labor. The commitment he had always shown was now paying off in great results, not only regarding the change in his body but also concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of the operational system. As he looked again at his system interface, a major change in this regard caught his attention in a jolting manner.

[Name - Henry Miller]

[Age - 20]

[Strength- 5]

[Agility - 6]

[Stamina - 5]

[Intelligence - 12]

[[Skills - Game Hacking 101, Epiphanes, Universal compiler(C)]

[Points - 95]

Henry stared aghast at the screen before him in disbelief. His points, which had been hovering at the modest total of 20, shot up to an incredible 95 in only a few weeks. The rise was just that dramatic, with Henry being quite out of his head with wonder as to what could have caused such an improvement. He knew quite definitely that his use of cheats had not been responsible for this amazing increase in points, because quite frankly, he did not have the customer base to spur such an upward shift. It was, in fact, the HackerOne bounty that made such an exceptional growth spurt take place.

He only made 5 system points after Dockky's friends purchased his cheats. He normally wouldn't have gotten that much but the system had deemed that the importance of the cheats to them was quite high. Following that, even with hundreds of people using his cheats, he barely got 20 points. The reason for this vast difference was that unlike Dockky's friends who paid, the other members were using the free cheats. It was truly difficult to make a huge amount of system points.

The big bounty of $17,000 he gained for his elaborative reporting of the XSS (Cross Site Scripting) made many contributions to this spectacular rise in his total points. His effort to fix a bug had been well acknowledged and successfully compensated by the system. So long as the solution he had given was to active utilization and implementation, he would have started earning extra rewards continuously over time.

What amazed Henry more than anything else was the unbelievable speed at which points were adding up so easily. He had neither anticipated nor expected such an overwhelming development of points, right in front of his eyes. The bonus, with its immediate payment being so tempting and in reward, and its effect on his score, had reached the astonishing total of 75 points. He knew this figure could only continue to rise as more and more users were starting to take the new fix that was released. It was so exciting and thrilling for the open of this avenue of income, as it unfolded to new possibilities of financial gain.

Although PayPal wasn't a paid service –at least not on the surface-- the amount of users that use PayPal is astronomical. He couldn't help but imagine what his points would be if those were paying users. He also knew from the assimilated system knowledge that the 75 points he earned were only 30% of the amount he should've made. He didn't get the full amount because the project – Paypal – didn't belong to him

Of course, such points to receive more advanced skills had crossed his mind from time to time, but when Henry opened the system shop and started to look around, he was gradually overcome by an incredible feeling of disbelief rather than excitement.

[Regeneration: Over time regenerates wounds, replenishes vitality, and is quickly recuperated from injuries. 90,000 points]

[Neurocomputronics: Learn about creation and evolution in sentient systems, meaningfully integrating quantum, bio-, and synthetic technologies. 70,000 points]

[Quantum Energetics: To learn how to harness and manipulate quantum energy systems for powering through the development of ultracapacitor and superconductor-based high technology and circuitry. 12,000 points]

[Mechano-Architectonics: Design self-repair, adaptive machinery, and dynamic structures to extend the frontier of what is possible in engineering. 50,000 points]

These special skills belonged to another dimension, a world so different from his, and were something far beyond the means and understanding of a person like him to possess at least within the present circumstances. While one can surely fantasize about the prospect of learning high technology belonging to future ages and inventions, it gradually emerged that the path right in front of him was going to take lots more points than what he had on hand.

The gap between low-tier skills and middle-tier skills wasn't just huge, but rather tremendous, with their prices skyrocketing upwards by tremendous amounts into the tens of thousands of points. 

With that, Henry turned his attention again to the triumphs he could muster at this present moment. Henry muttered in amazement that his intelligence stat had been going up more than he had hoped, probably due to the relentless and continuous effort he had been investing in the diverse set of skills provided by the system.

Knowing it well from the inside, he was convinced that as long as he did not give up and continued to put his efforts together, his intelligence would rise with time to find its place in realms whereby it would complement the prowess of his skills beautifully. What this system was offering to him was an excellent ground on which he could face an exponential increase in his personal growth and development.

With the cheat systems running smoothly for him, and with the server semi-autonomous courtesy of Dockky's hard work, Henry wasn't putting in nearly as much time into the moderation side of things as he used to. To such an end, he had set up a bot-one it used for basic actions and user interaction with the server. Everything from banning users that broke the rules to enforcing whatever form of moderation was necessary was assigned to it; full clearance over what could be done was given to Dockky. He'd become, through necessity and the course of events, the public face representing their Discord server regularly and communicating with the community, whereas Henry had stayed quiet and silent, a true backseat driver in their collaboration.

It was well thought out and a very strategic move on his part to build such a reputation at that time without raising too many eyebrows.

The long-run vision he had was doubtless clear and articulate: he knew he needed to extend further and further in every direction continuously. As good and welcome as financial gains coming from his endeavors were, what got him going- even more than the money, arguably-was the huge potential in using the experience his system would gain over time to solve more problems, reveal more vulnerabilities, and, build a reputation. Each vulnerability he managed to crack, other than an opportunity to carry more cash in one's pocket, got to be different points of value to the system, improving its standings. 

Henry breathed in deeply of the coolness filling his lungs and waking his senses, stepped out of his apartment, and onto the world outside his home. The cool breeze and the few seconds of relief from the screen glow did his mind and spirit a great deal of good. It was then, while walking, that he came upon his reflection staring at him from the glass of a storefront window. His deep black hair and striking eyes seemed oblivious to the hustle and bustle going on around them. He was rather average in appearance, but the poise with which he carried his body bespoke something else entirely: a newfound confidence or awareness in the poise.

He was no longer just a college graduate working at some poorly waged job and finding it hard to make ends meet. Rather, he was a man who had found the great key that would let him in through the portal to an utterly new and exciting world place that held promise for bringing him to unprecedented levels of money and influence. 

Henry went to the nearest facility selling refreshments and ordered something to drink. While he was paying for it, the thought struck him: his life was changing. All these years he had led a very tight economy, always afraid of overspending even a single penny. However, with the generous rewards the system gave and the relative success he'd had with his gaming cheats, being clever, he could finally afford to enjoy a little bit more than he was used to. Not that he became frugal or extravagant with his resources still couldn't understand why people would bother with all the hassle of collecting watches worth millions of dollars.

After all, he thought, a watch is just a contraption that measures time. Still, for the first time in what seemed like forever, he finally experienced this freedom wherein he could make choices in life without spending every waking moment obsessing about what it all cost. Henry had mostly lived in poverty all his life, and that had been his definition of wealth.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized money did not change a person; it only afforded one more option and avenue. He would never live a life of extravagance or hedonism, but he was ready to live a life where his actions could be based on pure wants and interests and not dictated by the urgent needs of the moment.

The chuckle that now escaped his lips was light and echoed in the silence as Henry came out of the store, starting to walk his way back toward his apartment.