Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 2027: Loser’s Table

It took a while before Ning finally reached the counter, where a tired-looking member of the kitchen staff held out a hand for his identification.

"I don’t have one yet," Ning said. "I transferred in today, and administration said the cafeteria would know what to do until mine is ready."

The staff member’s expression immediately relaxed.

"Heard about you. Go ahead."

"Thank you."

Ning accepted his meal and moved away from the counter. Though finding somewhere to sit turned out to be slightly more difficult.

Almost every table already had groups gathered around it, and it was obvious that most of the students had known one another for quite some time. Conversations continued easily across the room, with people shifting aside for friends before they even reached the table.

Ning had been warned that transferring this late would make mingling harder.

He looked around until he found someone sitting mostly alone.

The student wore glasses and had chosen a place near the end of one of the longer tables, with enough empty seats around him that the gap stood out compared to the crowded tables nearby. He was eating quietly while occasionally glancing toward a small display beside his tray.

Ning walked over and sat across from him.

The young man looked up immediately, showing a surprised expression along with a tinge of fear. He glanced around as though checking whether Ning had somehow missed every other table in the cafeteria.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Ning. I transferred into the academy today."

Understanding appeared on the young man’s face, followed almost immediately by concern.

"Oh. You shouldn’t sit here. You should find somewhere else."

Ning picked up his utensils. "I’m sorry. Is this table reserved?"

"No. You... you just don’t want to sit here."

Ning raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

The young man lowered his voice slightly. "This is the losers’ table."

Ning looked at the empty seats around them, then back at him. "Are you a loser?"

The question caught him off guard. "What?"

"You said this is the losers’ table, and you’re sitting here, so I’m asking whether you’re a loser."

The young man adjusted his glasses awkwardly. "I didn’t mean it like that."

"How did you mean it, then?"

He hesitated before answering.

"I’m just not... like the others."

Ning continued eating while listening.

The young man glanced toward several louder tables farther away. "I’m not popular, I’m not especially good in training, and I don’t know the right people. I mostly stay out of everyone’s way, which is usually better."

"So you’re not cool. And that makes you a loser?"

"That’s what everyone else calls it."

Ning shrugged. "Screw what they say. You’re the only one you should be listening to."

The young man looked at him for another moment before leaning slightly closer.

"You really shouldn’t sit here. People notice who you associate with, and you’re new enough that you still have a chance to avoid getting dragged into stupid things."

"I’ve been dragged into worse things than cafeteria politics."

"You don’t understand."

Ning laughed and continued eating, which frustrated the young man more than anything else.

He sighed. "You’re going to get yourself into trouble."

"What’s your name?"

There was a brief hesitation before he answered.

"Jason."

"Which batch?"

"One twenty-two."

Ning smiled. "Same as me, then. We should be friends."

Jason’s expression became even more troubled. He stared at Ning in silence before shaking his head. He looked down at his food and continued eating.

Ning finished his own meal shortly afterward and stood.

"I’m going to look around the academy. You want to give me a tour?"

Jason looked up at him.

"No."

Then he picked up his tray and left before Ning could say anything else.

Ning watched him walk away in a hurry.

With nothing else keeping him in the cafeteria, Ning headed outside.

The academy grounds were much busier now than they had been when he first arrived. Students filled the training yards, some practicing basic physical exercises while others worked in groups beneath the supervision of instructors. Farther away, several enclosed areas appeared to be dedicated to weapons or technical training.

Ning wandered without any particular destination until his attention settled on two enormous hangars near the edge of the academy.

He already knew what they contained.

Mechas.

The word had developed from the name Mekharan over thousands of years, though the human machines themselves had long since become a separate category of technology. They were enormous piloted mechanical bodies built partly to let humans fight on the same scale as their machine enemies.

Ning had been curious about them ever since Crownus first mentioned them.

His attention shifted before he could approach any closer.

Naysha was in the training yard. She wasn’t in the cafeteria—he had checked—so it made sense that she would be here. Ning could imagine she had no hunger given all the new changes she was going through.

She wore the helmet Crownus had created, now transformed to match her old one closely enough that nobody looking at her would suspect anything unusual. From the outside, she appeared to be another academy student going through her training.

Except she looked distracted.

She kept looking toward the hangars as though she needed something from there.

Ning had access to the System screen of the Upgrade System, so he linked with it, and a quick look showed him exactly what Naysha was seeing.

<Quest: Repair 10 broken machines in total>

<Reward: Repairs per Week increased by 2>

Ning laughed slightly, but not because of that quest.

She had gained another one.

<Quest: First Complete Scan of a Mecha>

<Reward: Unlock one additional System function.>

Ning looked toward the two hangars again.

"That’s going to be annoying."

A complete scan meant she could not simply look at one from a distance and record whatever exterior information the System could see. She would need enough access for the System to understand the entire machine, including its internal structures and components.

That would require getting close.

Possibly very close.

He was curious how she was ever going to do that anytime soon.