CHAPTER 71: SYSTEM SHOP AND KNOWLEDGE UPGRADE

The moment Ethan confirmed, a new the screen with his status closed and a new screen opened.

This was different, it was similar to a website with catalogue he could scroll through.

[OmniTech Shop]

Skill Enhancements – Upgrade existing proficiencies or unlock specialized sub-branches.

Knowledge Packs – Compressed data bundles granting instant theoretical understanding.

Tech Blueprints – From rudimentary circuits to cutting-edge prototypes, purchasable with SP.

Current SP: 1000]

Each category explained itself, the skill enhancements served to upgrade his knowledge and proficiency, the knowledge packs was a safer alternative to the raw knowledge absorbing he previously did, and finally, the tech blueprint which offered blueprints to various tech as the system explained.

Normally, the presence of the Knowledge packs would negate his need for the simulation pod... If it didn’t require SP.

But it did, and he didn’t exactly have a stable stream of SP right now so the simulation pod was a must.

With a sigh, Ethan decided to go through the tabs one at a time. He mentally willed for the [Skill Enhancements] tab to open and it did.

The new window was a bit less impressive than he expected but he still scrolled through it.

[Knowledge enhancement (tier 1): increases all your proficiencies by 10%. Note: this enhancement only works on tier 1 knowledge and below.

Price: 50 SP.

Knowledge enhancement (tier 2): increases all your proficiencies by 20%. Note: this enhancement only works on tier 2 knowledge and below1.

Price: 100 SP

Knowledge enhancement (tier 3): increases all your proficiencies by 20%. Note: this enhancement only works on tier 3 knowledge and below.

Price: 200 SP

.....

Knowledge enhancement (tier 6): increases all your proficiencies by 100%. Note: this enhancement only works on tier 6 knowledge and below.

Price: 1600 SP]

Well, he took it back, this was interesting. The highest he could currently afford was a tier 5 knowledge enhancement which offered 80% proficiency increase, at tier 5.

This meant that it was probably a 110% increase at his current knowledge tier, if he assumed the increase per tier drop was 10%. How much exactly does he need to move to the next tier?

He had no idea, but he had a feeling that it’d be 100%.

Next was the [Knowledge packs] tab. This one was separated into multiple tabs ranging from tier 1 to 6.

But there was also a tab that allowed him to scroll through all of he wished and he went directly to that one instead of filtering them.

[Computer Science (tier 3): grants 30% tier 3 knowledge and proficiency in computer Science.

Price: 100 SP

Cybernetics (tier 4): grants 20% tier 4 knowledge and proficiency in Cybernetics.

Price: 250 SP

Artificial Intelligence – Neural Networks (tier 3): grants 40% tier 3 knowledge and proficiency in Neural Networks.

Price: 150 SP

Quantum Mechanics (tier 5): grants 10% tier 5 knowledge and proficiency in Quantum Mechanics.

Price: 600 SP

Nanotechnology (tier 5): grants 30% tier 5 knowledge and proficiency in nanotech and nanobots.

Price: 1000 SP]

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

"So it doesn’t give you the whole package, just slices of it," he muttered. "Layered progress, like stair steps."

He could instantly see the trap—the Knowledge Packs were cheaper than grinding out pure experience or even buying the enhancements, but if he became dependent on them, his SP would vanish fast.

A hundred here, two hundred there, and he’d be broke before scratching the surface of tier 4.

Still, the sheer breadth was staggering. There were packs on biotechnology, cryptography, cloning and even time & dimensional travel1 (which was priced at an insanely high 1 million SP). If he wanted to, he could turn himself into a walking library overnight.

But for now... his SP pool was limited.

Suppressing his urge to splurge, Ethan moved on to the final tab: [Tech Blueprints].

This tab was the one with the real ’miracle’. It seemed infinite and no matter how much he scrolled through, there was no end in sight, no matter how much he scrolled.

It was also the only tab with a search function which Ethan could access with a thought.

There were a few tech blueprints that immediately caught his attention but the SP cost was also insanely high for most.

[Personal Energy Shield (tier 3): Blueprint for a compact defensive barrier generator capable of absorbing low to mid-tier projectile and energy damage.

Price: 700 SP

Neural-Link Interface (tier 4): Blueprint for a direct mind-machine interface capable of syncing with any systems.

Price: 850 SP

Nanobot Colony (tier 6): Blueprint for programmable nanobots capable of a wide range of uses1.

Price: 15,000 SP

Cloning Pod (tier 6): A pod capable of fully cloning any biological being. Requires rare biomaterials and high energy input1.

Price: 100,000 SP

Bio-Regenerative Chamber (tier 5): Medical pod capable of enhancing and accelerating healing.

Price: 5,000 SP]

Ethan’s eyes widened at the options on this tab. Any of these tech would shake the balance of the world if dropped into the wrong hands.

Knowledge of the cloning pod alone would send the world in a frenzy. The possibilities with it were endless. From cloning failed organs to actually completely making someone disappear and replacing them with a cloned puppet.

Now, the system didn’t state whether the clones would be sentient or not, but either way, it was still a miracle of a tech.

And Ethan already had multiple ideas for it, but he had to shelf them for now... At least until he had enough SP.

Although he could try recreating some in his TDI, he doubted he had enough knowledge and proficiency to achieve one at the same tier.

For now, he chose what he could afford, the Tier 5 knowledge enhancement pack, leaving him with 200 SP.

[Would you like to use the knowledge enhancement now?] The system asked, still using Athena’s voice.

"Depends on how painful it’ll be," Ethan answered. He still had a bit of a headache and he wasn’t willing to increase it.

[Your brain has been conditioned from the previous knowledge absorption,] it explained, [so it shouldn’t be too painful.]

There was a suspicious uncertainty in the system’s voice causing Ethan to frown a little, but that didn’t change the fact that no matter how much he delayed it, he’d eventually have to go through it.

"Alright then," he said as he mentally prepared himself, "let’s do this."

An increase in his knowledge right now would shift everything. He braced himself, and the system didn’t wait.

[Applying Knowledge Enhancement (Tier 5)...]

This time, the words appeared on the holographic screen before him.

Heat seared through his skull and he could feel literal spark running across his brain as if it had been dunked into liquid lightning. The pain wasn’t as much as the first absorption but it was still brutal.

His breath hitched and his teeth ground together but not a single scream left his mouth.

He endured since this was nothing compared to what he had experienced in that ’dream’.

[Enhancement Complete.]

[Knowledge and Proficiency Updated.]

---

[Knowledge and Proficiency

] [Tier 4]

Artificial Intelligence (AI): 100% → Tier 41

Robotics & Automation: 68% → Tier 3

Cybersecurity & Hacking: 100% → Tier 4

Quantum Computing: 52% → Tier 4

Biotech & Genetic Engineering: 73% → Tier 4

Nanotechnology: 80% → Tier 3

Energy Systems & Fusion Tech: 75% → Tier 3

Weapons & Defense Systems: 80% → Tier 3

Software & Algorithm Design: 96% → Tier 4

Material Science & Fabrication: 50% → Tier 3

Mechanical Engineering: 100% → Tier 4

Electrical Engineering: 98% → Tier 4 ]

---

Ethan gasped as his vision steadied. His headache was gone completely, replaced by something else, something far more alien.

He felt different... More alive? No—that word didn’t even scratch the surface.

His senses felt sharper, not in the physical sense but in the way his mind processed them. The hum of the machinery in the background wasn’t just noise anymore—it was a rhythmic oscillation, easily broken down into frequency patterns.

The faint buzz of the holographic screen had a measurable harmonic resonance he could now instinctively calculate.

It wasn’t just hearing or seeing. It was as if his brain had become a superconductor of thought.

His gaze drifted back to the [Tech Blueprints] tab. Where before they had seemed like distant miracles, now... he understood.

Not fully, tier 6 was still far above his reach, but the foundational principles behind a Personal Energy Shield or a Neural-Link Interface were suddenly crystal clear.

If he had the materials and time, he might even attempt to create them without needing the purchased blueprint, especially with the TDI.

With the amount of information and calculations flowing through his head, it was surprising that he hadn’t gone insane.

But even though he hadn’t, with the way his mind refused to focus on a single thing, he might as well be.

Although, he already had a solution in mind, so he allowed himself to drown in the bliss of knowledge alien to even great minds of his time.

The corners of his lips twitched before they widened into a smile.

"This... this changes everything."

Parts of that biological being can be cloned too.From machinery to medicine.100% tier 4 is not equal to 100% tier 3 or 2. every 101% the knowledge moves to the next tier.The knowledge enhancement for tiers below 2 is higher by a certain percentage with each tier drop.Tier 6 physics