Chapter 56: Getting An Implant Part Two

"You want a what?"

Old Dunner stared at Arthur.

Arthur calmly looked back at him.

"A neural processor."

"...A neural processor?"

"Yes."

Old Dunner slowly lowered the cigar from his mouth.

For the first time since Arthur had entered the shop, the man’s expression had completely changed.

He looked genuinely confused.

Arthur glanced at the holographic display.

"There are several models listed here."

"There are."

"And some of them seem rather impressive."

"They are."

"So I’d like to know which one you’d recommend."

Old Dunner stared at him for several seconds.

Then he sighed.

"Kid."

"Yes?"

"Do you even know what you’re asking for?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"An implant."

"That’s not what I meant."

Old Dunner leaned forward, resting both mechanical arms against the counter.

"Neural processors aren’t strength enhancers. They don’t boost your physical speed either. They certainly aren’t some fancy piece of chrome you slap into your skull because you want to become smarter."

"I know."

"Do you?"

Arthur nodded.

Old Dunner narrowed his yellow eyes.

"Then why the hell do you want one?"

"Because I need my mind to be faster."

Old Dunner’s expression changed slightly.

"...Faster?"

Arthur nodded.

"I’m a swordsman."

"That much I figured from the muscles you get on those arms."

Dunner folded his arms.

"My fighting style relies heavily on perception and reaction."

Old Dunner took another drag from his cigar.

"So you want something that can process information faster."

"Exactly."

Old Dunner stared at him.

Then he slowly smiled.

"Interesting."

Arthur tilted his head.

"What’s interesting?"

"Most cadets come in here asking for stronger arms, reinforced bones, enhanced muscles, or faster legs."

He gestured toward the holographic display.

"They want to hit harder."

He pointed toward Arthur.

"You want to think faster."

Arthur shrugged.

"Thinking faster sounds useful."

Old Dunner chuckled.

"You’re not wrong."

He tapped the holographic display.

The list of neural implants expanded.

〘NEURAL ENHANCEMENT IMPLANTS〙

〘GENERATION II COGNITIVE PROCESSOR〙

〘GENERATION II REACTION ACCELERATOR〙

〘GENERATION III TACTICAL NEURAL CORE〙

〘GENERATION III MULTI-TARGET PROCESSOR〙

〘GENERATION IV SYNAPTIC ACCELERATOR〙

Arthur’s eyes widened slightly.

There were far more options than he had expected.

Old Dunner noticed.

"Don’t get excited."

"Why?"

"Because half of those will probably be useless to you."

Arthur frowned.

"Why?"

Old Dunner pointed at the list.

"Compatibility."

He tapped the first implant.

"That one’s cheap."

The second.

"That one’s fast."

The third.

"That one’s powerful."

Then he tapped the fourth.

"And that one will probably make you throw up."

Arthur stared at him.

"...That’s reassuring."

Old Dunner grinned, then shrugged.

"Welcome to cybernetics."

Arthur sighed.

He continued reading.

Then his gaze stopped.

One particular implant stood out from the rest.

There was no flashy description.

No ridiculous promises.

Just a simple name.

〘GENERATION III PREDICTIVE NEURAL CORE〙

Arthur’s eyes narrowed.

"What’s that?"

Old Dunner’s smile disappeared.

He looked at the implant Arthur had selected.

"...That?"

"Yes."

"Why that one?"

Arthur pointed at the description.

"Because it sounds useful."

Old Dunner stared at him.

Then he slowly leaned back.

"Kid..."

"What?"

"Pick something else, all right? Anything else on the list except that."

"What? Is there something wrong with it?"

Dunner sighed, then gave Arthur a deadpan look.

"...You really want to know about that one?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Why wouldn’t I?"

Dunner slowly leaned back against the counter.

"Because some things are better left alone."

Arthur frowned.

That was hardly the answer he expected.

He glanced back at the holographic display.

The implant he had selected was listed among the Generation Three neural enhancements.

On paper, it sounded almost perfect.

Increased neural processing speed.

Improved reaction time.

Enhanced information processing.

Better coordination between the brain and body.

Exactly what Arthur needed.

Yet Dunner was looking at it as though Arthur had just asked him about a bomb.

Arthur pointed at the holographic display.

"It’s a Generation Three implant. What’s the problem?"

Dunner opened his mouth.

Then closed it.

He sighed.

"Look, kid..."

Before he could continue, a voice suddenly came from the other side of the room.

"The problem is that it can kill you."

Arthur turned.

The pink-haired cadet was still sitting at the end of the counter.

She hadn’t even looked up from her holographic interface.

Arthur blinked.

"...Excuse me?"

The girl finally raised her eyes.

Her blue eyes briefly flicked toward the holographic display.

"That implant."

She pointed toward it.

"It’s dangerous."

Dunner sighed.

"See? This is why I didn’t want to explain it."

The girl ignored him.

"It’s called the Predictive Neural Core."

Arthur looked back at the hologram.

That was indeed the name displayed beneath the implant.

She continued.

"It doesn’t simply make your brain process information faster."

Her expression became slightly more serious.

"It forces your nervous system to process information before your conscious mind normally would."

Arthur’s eyes narrowed.

"...Before?"

"Yes."

She leaned back in her chair.

"It constantly analyzes everything around you. Movement. Sound. Spatial changes. Muscle contractions. Environmental disturbances. Even tiny changes in an opponent’s posture."

Arthur’s attention sharpened.

That sounded useful.

Very useful.

The girl seemed to notice his expression.

"Don’t get excited."

"That’s where the danger begins."

Dunner quietly poured himself a drink.

The cadet raised one finger.

"The human brain has limits. Your nervous system wasn’t designed to process that much information continuously."

Arthur looked at the implant again.

"So it overloads the brain?"

"Eventually."

She raised another finger.

"And that’s only the first problem."

Arthur frowned.

"There’s more?"

"Much more."

She sighed.

"The implant doesn’t just process information. It tries to predict what happens next."

Arthur’s expression changed slightly.

Predictive processing.

That sounded strangely familiar.

Genesis immediately came to mind.

The girl continued.

"It compares everything you’re seeing against patterns stored in its neural database. If it detects something that resembles a previous movement, it can predict what your opponent is likely to do and force your body to react to it."

Arthur stared at the hologram.

"So it’s basically predicting and countering attacks."

"To a degree."

She shrugged.

"But the problem is that the implant doesn’t know where to draw the line."

Arthur tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"