I pondered it for a moment, but there was no real reason to refuse.
'But how the hell do I put it on?'
I couldn't spot a single seam anywhere.
Then, as if it were alive, the suit began to melt and flow onto my hand.
"Whoa!?"
In an instant, it slithered up my arm like a living creature, enveloping my entire body.
Before I could even react, it covered me from head to toe.
Suddenly, the mirror reflected a bald, faceless black figure standing there.
I was startled, but the fit was incredibly comfortable.
So comfortable, I wouldn't have realized I was wearing it if someone told me otherwise.
Even though my head was completely shrouded in black, there was no obstruction to my vision at all.
But the smooth, featureless bald head gave off a creepy vibe.
And it was fascinating.
'Just draw on some eyes and a mouth, and it'd be straight-up Venom.'
Before the gates started popping up, there was a trend of hero movies.
One of them, Venom, came to mind.
The suit clung perfectly, showcasing the volume of my muscles in vivid detail.
The well-defined, ripped physique staring back at me from the mirror still didn't feel like my own body, but damn, it looked cool even to me.
I knew how much effort it took to build muscles like that through training alone, so it was mind-blowing that awakening could sculpt something like this.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
As I admired the suit in the mirror, Suni suddenly crossed my mind, so I called out just in case.
"Suni?"
Suni was the voice-recognition AI program from my old Combat Suit.
[Yes. Master.]
A familiar female voice echoed in my head.
From Suni's voice, I could tell this suit was connected to my Combat Suit.
"Can you figure out what's going on here?"
[Unable to understand the question.]
"Do you know the Combat Suit has changed?"
[Yes. Recognizing it.]
"You're aware of it?"
[Yes.]
"Do you have memories from before?"
[Past stored data is undamaged.]
"What about the black mana stone?"
[Data from point of contact exists, but no data on changes afterward.]
I could sense that Suni had changed somehow.
Our conversations never flowed like this before.
The voice-recognition AI in the suit wasn't anything advanced to begin with.
It was just basic software that executed commands based on my voice.
Even in "conversation," it was only predefined responses to my input.
This didn't feel like talking to that old program anymore.
I decided to keep going.
"How's your status?"
[Status is optimal.]
"Helmet's gone. No issues with other functions?"
I didn't know about newer suits, but nearly every function on the one I bought was tied to the helmet.
With no trace of a helmet, things like Suni, monster detection, or navigation shouldn't work.
[No issues with prior functions. Thanks to Master's system, performance is now over double the previous level.]
The Combat Suit had become an awakening skill.
And in the process, it had been upgraded.
Suni had changed too, apparently.
The black mana stone.
I suspected it had triggered something, but there was no way to investigate.
This wasn't a problem I could solve by mulling it over.
I'd awakened, and my Combat Suit was upgraded.
So far, it was a good situation.
A great one, even.
"Anyway, any way to fix this head?"
A pitch-black, featureless muscle-bound freak staring back from the mirror wasn't exactly a good look.
[Shall I release head protection?]
"You can do that?"
[Yes. Possible.]
"Release it."
The suit covering my head melted away like liquid, revealing my face.
It really felt alive.
'Is this really a Combat Suit?'
"What the hell makes it work..."
[Operated by Master's system.]
Not much of an answer for clearing up my doubts.
It was basically saying, "It works because it's a skill."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
The skill name confirmed it was still a Combat Suit.
Awakening itself was already some inexplicable mystery, but seeing it manifest from the suit was still astonishing.
"Can you see the messages I see?"
[Cannot recognize them.]
"You can't see them?"
[Yes. But if Master grants permission, it's possible.]
"My permission?"
[I am subordinate to Master's system. Without Master's permission, I cannot recognize the messages Master sees.]
"Subordinate?"
[Yes. I am now part of Master's system.]
The Combat Suit was a skill.
Suni had been the Combat Suit's voice-recognition AI.
'Since the Combat Suit became a skill, Suni's part of it too?'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Right then, a message popped up in front of me.
"What does system sync mean?"
[It means the Combat Suit will be fully synchronized with Master's system.]
It seemed like it wasn't synced yet.
"....No clue what that means."
[Currently, I manage the Combat Suit. Sync means Master can fully control it with will alone.]
I was starting to get it a little.
Right now, I used the suit through Suni.
But after sync, I could control it directly with my thoughts, like the status window.
There didn't seem to be any reason not to do it.
Then a thought struck me.
Suni was the suit's management program.
"If we sync, what happens to you?"
[It will be as Master wishes. If Master desires, I can be preserved... or deleted.]
I swear I felt emotion in Suni's voice.
It was fear.
Did she think she'd be deleted?
And it was ridiculous that I was attributing emotions to an AI.
Even without real feelings, after nearly ten years together, I'd grown attached.
"After all that time rubbing elbows, I couldn't do that."
I chuckled in response.
[...]⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
I went ahead with the sync.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
"No."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
It said it would take time, but it was over in less than a minute.
And surprisingly, I felt nothing special.
Suni had said the Combat Suit would now respond to my will.
'Activate monster detector?'
I felt a pulse emanate from me, spreading outward.
It was an incredible sensation.
The suit was doing it, but it felt like I was.
Feels like almost 100 meters... and it's picking up people, not just monsters.
Is this what the upgrade means?
Like having an extra arm.
But it required focus, so probably tricky in combat.
Multitasking wasn't my strong suit.
Good thing I hadn't deleted Suni.
"Suni."
[Yes. Master.]
Suni's voice rang in my head.
"Anything different?"
[After syncing with Master's management system, I can now provide more proactive system support.]
"What's that mean?"
[Within the scope of Master's permission, I can now take autonomous actions using the system.]
AI talk was hard to follow.
"So... you'll do what I tell you better?"
[That's one way to put it. Also, Master can now issue commands to me with will alone.]
No need to speak out loud, apparently.
'Like this?'
[Yes.]
'You seem smarter.'
[Far superior compared to my previous self.]
'How much better?'
[Data storage goes without saying, but I now have autonomous learning capabilities as well.]
The old Suni was voice recognition in name only—a simple program.
Now, she felt like a real AI.
Good or bad? She was more capable, so no downside.
"Anyway, this suit's too flashy..."
[This is the optimal efficiency state.]
"Can't make it look like before?"
[Possible to some degree, but it would come with performance degradation.]
It might look bulky, but it felt incredibly comfortable.
The old suit had been pretty comfy with the systems running; this one was on another level.
I could probably throw on an outer jacket over it with my face exposed.