Chapter 57: Getting An Implant Part Three

"The more information it receives, the more aggressively it tries to process it, forcing your body to react to things that are similar yet different to what it has stored in its database, putting you in danger instead of protecting you."

"The moment it notices this error, it begins to forcefully begin rectifying it, putting more strain on your brain as it further heightens your senses to avoid making the same error."

She tapped the side of her head.

"And the faster it tries to process everything, the more strain it puts on the brain."

Dunner finally spoke.

"That’s why we don’t recommend it."

His voice was unusually serious.

"Most neural implants are designed to work alongside the brain."

He pointed at the holographic display.

"That thing is different."

"It tries to push the brain beyond its normal operating limits."

Arthur’s expression became awkward.

"You don’t say?"

The pink-haired cadet answered immediately.

"Yes, so pick something else."

Arthur paused for a moment and faced her completely.

"Miss."

She looked over.

"I don’t believe you’ve introduced yourself."

The girl’s expression changed slightly.

Arthur continued calmly.

"You’ve been giving me quite a bit of advice for someone whose name I don’t even know."

He said, sounding mildly amused.

Placing his hand thoughtfully under his jaw as he tilted his head, he then asked,

"Do you normally involve yourself in other people’s business this easily?"

The question caught her completely off guard.

Her lips parted.

"I..."

For the first time since Arthur had entered the shop, she seemed genuinely flustered.

Her gaze briefly shifted toward Dunner.

Then back to Arthur.

"I wasn’t..."

She stopped herself, seemingly realizing that whatever excuse she gave would only make her look worse.

After a brief pause, she sighed and calmed herself.

"My name is Rina Valcrest."

Her voice regained some of its composure.

"I’m a second-year cadet."

She lightly touched the silver ’2’ displayed on her shoulder.

"I saw you come in looking for an implant, and you were considering a neural enhancement that could potentially damage your brain."

Her blue eyes narrowed slightly.

"Of course I was going to say something. It wouldn’t be right to let a cute young man blindly put himself in danger when I can advise him to do better."

She said playfully.

...Is she flirting with me?

Arthur shrugged.

"Fair enough."

"The name’s Arthur Von Ashbourne."

Rina blinked.

"You’re introducing yourself?"

"You gave me your name. It seemed appropriate."

There was a faint smile on his lips.

"But now we’re even."

Rina stared at him for a moment.

"...So you are saying you are THE Arthur Ashbourne... the new cadet with a perfect assessment rating? You’re quite something."

"So I’ve been told."

Arthur resumed scrolling through the implants.

"And since you’ve already decided to involve yourself..."

His eyes flicked toward her.

"Perhaps you can tell me what you would recommend instead."

Rina’s expression shifted to the holographic interface.

A faint, confident smile appeared on her face.

"Here."

She leaned toward the holographic display beside Arthur and reached past him.

With a few gestures, she scrolled through the list of implants.

"Not everything that enhances the nervous system is designed to increase processing power."

She continued scrolling.

"Some simply make the communication between the brain and the body faster."

The list changed.

Several artificial spines appeared on the holographic display.

Rina stopped at one.

"This."

She tapped the display.

A detailed profile expanded across the hologram.

〘GENERATION V: SYNAPTIC ACCELERATION SPINE〙

Arthur’s eyes immediately focused on it.

Rina pointed toward the description.

"This one significantly improves reaction speed."

She glanced at him.

"It doesn’t make your brain process information faster. Instead, it accelerates the neural signals being sent from your brain to the rest of your body."

She tapped another section of the display.

"Normally, your brain decides what to do, then the signal has to travel through your nervous system before your muscles actually respond."

"With this, that transmission becomes significantly faster."

Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly.

So that was the difference.

Genesis could show him what was coming.

This implant would allow his body to respond to what he saw much faster.

Exactly what he needed.

He scrolled through the specifications himself, carefully reading every detail.

〘GENERATION V: SYNAPTIC ACCELERATION SPINE〙

〘Function: Neural Signal Acceleration〙

〘Primary Effect: Dramatically increases the transmission speed of neural commands between the brain and the body.〙

〘Secondary Effects: Enhanced reaction speed, improved motor response, reduced neural transmission delay.〙

Arthur read through the rest of the specifications.

There were no prediction functions.

No artificial intelligence.

No attempt to force the brain into processing information beyond its natural limits.

It simply made the connection between his mind and body faster.

Arthur nodded slowly.

"Yeah."

He looked at the holographic display.

"This is certainly the one."

Rina smiled.

"I thought you’d like it."

Arthur continued reading.

Then he reached the price.

His expression immediately changed.

〘PRICE: 150 CADET POINTS〙

Arthur stared at the number.

"...150?!"

He leaned back slightly.

"That may be a little more than I can afford right now."

Rina blinked.

Then, without much hesitation, she said,

"That’s fine."

Arthur turned toward her.

"I’ll pay for it."

Arthur’s eyebrows rose.

"...You’ll what?!"

Rina casually waved a hand.

"I’ll pay for it."

Arthur studied her.

There was no hesitation in her expression.

"No."

Rina looked at him.

"No?"

"You don’t need to do that."

She smiled.

"Think of it as an apology."

"For what?"

"For butting into your business."

Arthur stared at her for a moment.

Then he glanced back at the implant.

Rina continued.

"You were right. I involved myself without even introducing myself first."

She shrugged.

"So let me make up for it. My treat, okay?"

Arthur remained silent.

He looked at the price again.

Then at Rina.

There was clearly more to consider here than simply accepting a free implant.

Cadet Points were valuable.

And someone he had met only minutes ago was offering to spend 150 of them on him.

Arthur’s eyes brightened slightly.

...Is this one of the perks of being in a world ruled by women? Ohhhh, I’m gonna get used to this.

Interesting.

Very interesting.