Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 2022: Upgrade System’s First User

If Naysha refused, Ning could always find another way to test her or simply look for someone else, but by this point, he had already seen enough to know that she had reason to choose the new helmet.

She had stepped in to protect someone when there was nothing for her to gain, refused to knowingly involve herself with stolen equipment even when she desperately needed a replacement, and only turned violent after learning that the same men had deliberately destroyed something essential to her life.

Now, the only thing left was to see how much risk she was willing to accept.

Naysha kept staring at the helmet in Ning’s hands for a while before finally asking, "What exactly are you planning to do with my old one if I agree to this?"

"I haven’t decided what to do with it yet. I might take it. I might not."

She gave him an annoyed look. "That’s not really an answer."

"It’s unfortunately the only one I can give right now," Ning said. "Now please, choose."

Naysha exhaled slowly through her nose, clearly dissatisfied, but her eyes still returned to the new helmet almost immediately.

Whatever doubts she had, the possibility of walking away with a working replacement was difficult to ignore, especially when getting another one through official channels was apparently going to be troublesome enough that she was still standing there talking to him.

Eventually, she reached for the damaged helmet she had been wearing.

Once she pulled it free, Ning got a better look at how badly it had been ruined. One side had clearly been tampered with, but there was no outward sign of it. The camera was damaged, and so was the screen. And while Ning couldn’t see it, he was certain the chip itself had been damaged as well.

Naysha held it up slightly. "You seriously want to exchange that for this?"

Ning nodded.

She narrowed her eyes. "Fine. In that case, I’ll take it."

Ning handed over the new helmet, watching her the entire time.

Naysha turned the new helmet over in her hands and examined it with the familiarity of someone who had used this sort of equipment for years. Her fingers moved across the outer shell before checking the connection points along the inside, and after a moment, her expression grew suspicious again.

"I’ve never seen a helmet like this before. Which company is this from?"

"None," Ning said. "It’s... a creation of my friend."

"Why does everything you say make me even more suspicious of you?" she asked.

Ning smiled slightly. "It’s the truth. You could report that helmet as lost property, but no one will come get it, because it belongs to no one. As I said from the start, I did not steal it. I’m just looking for someone who is worthy to wear it."

Naysha narrowed her eyes but didn’t say much. She returned her attention to the helmet and looked it over once again.

"You can keep inspecting it if you want, but eventually, you’re going to have to put it on."

Naysha gave him a flat look. "You have a remarkable talent for making every sentence sound like a warning."

"It’s a curse," Ning said with a smile.

That earned him another long stare, but in the end, her need for a helmet won out over her caution. Naysha lifted the artifact and placed it over her head, expecting the usual delay while the device calibrated itself.

Instead, the adjustment happened almost instantly.

The inner structure shifted around her with surprising precision, tightening just enough to fit comfortably while aligning itself with the standard connection points used by equipment on Truimal. Naysha barely had time to notice how unusual that was before something far stranger happened.

A voice spoke directly inside her mind.

<Would you like to accept the Upgrade System?>

Naysha froze so completely that even Ning almost laughed.

A moment later, both hands went to the helmet. "What the hell was that?"

Ning remained seated against the wall, watching her reaction with quiet amusement. "You’ve been given a choice. Make the choice."

"The voice," she said sharply. "There was a voice in my head."

"I know."

Naysha stared down at him. "Is this supposed to happen?"

"Yes. And please, make the choice."

Naysha’s eyes narrowed. "Then tell me what the Upgrade System is."

Ning let the question sit for a moment, mostly because he wanted to see whether she would try to remove the helmet before hearing the answer.

She did not.

"It’s something that can help you do things you shouldn’t normally be able to do," he said. "More importantly, it could change your life quite a bit if you decide to accept it."

"That’s not an explanation," Naysha said. "Tell me what this is."

"I could," Ning said. "But... it’s better if you find that out all by yourself."

For a few seconds, Naysha looked as though she was deciding between taking the helmet off immediately and forcing a proper explanation out of him first. Ning decided to make the situation slightly more interesting.

"You’ve been chosen for something important, Naysha."

Her expression changed instantly.

She went completely still and looked down at him with far more attention than before.

"I never told you my name."

"No."

"Then how do you know it?"

Ning only smiled.

"That’s not the question you should be worrying about right now."

Naysha’s gaze hardened, but the uncertainty underneath it was obvious.

Ning leaned back against the wall, still holding her ruined helmet in his hands.

"The real question is whether you’re willing to accept the System."

Naysha looked at the screen where the question hung before her.

The Upgrade System.

She did not know what it was, but if it was as the man before her said, something that could help her change her life, then she would absolutely accept it.

"Yes," she said slowly. "Yes, I accept."

<Congratulations, Naysha Flores. You are now the user of the Upgrade System.>

<Would you like a Tutorial?>

The girl stared at the screen for a moment before slowly nodding.

"Yes. I would like a tutorial."