Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 1962: Jun’tal

Jun’Tal woke to the sound of leaves moving above him. For several seconds, he remained completely still while trying to understand why the ceiling of his bedroom had been replaced by overlapping branches and patches of pale sky.

The air was cold enough that he could feel it against his face, while the ground beneath him was covered by a thick layer of dry leaves and soft moss that made it immediately obvious he was nowhere near his home.

He sat up quickly and looked around.

Trees surrounded him in every direction, some tall enough that their upper branches disappeared into the canopy, while beyond them he could hear the distant sound of waves striking against rocks.

There were no houses, roads, vehicles, or signs of another person anywhere nearby, and the last thing Jun’Tal remembered clearly was being somewhere close to his town before everything around him had suddenly become confusing.

What was it that he did last? He tried to remember, but the memory didn’t come to him so easily. He was with his friends, wasn’t he? Yeah, he was with the boys, roaming around the town, trying to find something fun to do.

School was out today because of some summit thing happening in the south.

So then, where was he? This place looked nothing like his hometown.

Suddenly, his stomach growled.

The hunger hit him hard enough that Jun’Tal briefly forgot about everything else. The hunger was so maddening that he would eat the bark off a tree if he had to. Just when he thought of that, however, he noticed a small plate sitting several meters away beneath one of the trees.

Several sandwiches had been placed on the plate beside a bottle of water, looking so deliberately prepared that his first instinct was not to touch any of it.

Jun’Tal stared at the food suspiciously.

There was no reason for sandwiches to be sitting in the middle of an unknown forest unless whoever had brought him here had left them intentionally, and that thought did very little to reassure him.

Unfortunately, whatever had happened before he woke had left him feeling as though he had not eaten for days, so while his mind told him no, his heart listened to his body instead.

Jun’Tal immediately reached for the sandwiches and began devouring them. It was quite a tasty sandwich, albeit a little stale, but none of that mattered since Jun’Tal had the best seasoning to flavor his every bite.

Hunger.

He was 2 sandwiches down with 3 more to go when he heard another voice.

"You’re awake."

The boy nearly choked.

Jun’Tal spun around so quickly that he almost dropped the sandwich, finding a man sitting against a tree several meters away as though he had been there the entire time.

The stranger looked relaxed, wearing some sort of black costume that looked familiar, although he couldn’t place it right away.

"Who are you?" Jun’Tal asked weakly.

"You can keep eating," Ning told the kid.

The hunger had now subsided just enough that Jun’Tal knew not to continue until he understood what situation he was in.

"Where is this place? Did you bring me here?" Jun’Tal asked, his eyes narrowing in worry. "Did you kidnap me?"

Ning shook his head. "Don’t worry too much just yet," he said as he reached into his pocket and brought out a small tablet. "Here. This should ease your mind."

He tossed the device toward him.

Jun’Tal caught it. He looked at the tablet strangely for a moment before clicking the power button. The tablet was already unlocked, with a single video file waiting on the screen, and after another uncertain glance toward Ning, Jun’Tal pressed it.

His mother appeared first.

The relief that went through him was immediate.

His father sat beside her, while his younger sister remained squeezed between the two of them with one hand holding tightly onto their mother’s sleeve. They looked worried, but besides that, there was nothing else.

His mother started speaking, telling him that he was to stay with the stranger for a few days while he taught him how to control his new powers.

His father repeated the same thing afterward, making it clear that they had agreed to let Jun’Tal leave.

The recording ended.

"Your parents already know you’re here, so you do not need to panic at all."

Jun’Tal stared at the blank screen for several seconds before finally lowering the tablet.

"Who are you?"

"I am—" Ning paused for a moment. "One second."

He reached into his storage again and pulled out the familiar black mask, placing it over his face before turning back toward the boy.

"Recognize this?"

Jun’Tal froze.

He had seen that mask many times on news broadcasts, advertisements, interviews, and hero rankings, especially over the past few months as the mysterious hero from Conjora became one of the most talked-about awakened people in the world.

"Blackfang?"

Ning nodded.

Jun’Tal looked at the mask and then at the tablet in his hand, clearly trying to connect everything together.

"What happened to me? Where am I?"

"Do you remember anything?" Ning asked.

The young boy paused for a second, shaking his head. "Nothing."

"So you don’t remember gaining a new ability?" Ning asked.

Jun’Tal’s expression immediately changed. "New ability? Me?"

"Yes."

"What did I do?"

Ning could see the fear beginning before the boy even finished asking the question.

"Did I hurt anyone?"

"Nearly," Ning said. "But I stopped it before anything happened."

Jun’Tal lowered his eyes, unable to fully comprehend what he was hearing. How was this possible?

Ning gestured toward the food.

"Finish eating first, because you’re going to need some energy before we start testing what you can do."

The boy did not appear interested in the sandwich anymore.

"What power did I awaken?"

Ning thought about how best to explain something that Jun’Tal himself probably did not yet have the scientific understanding to properly comprehend.

"You can convert water to energy at a near-perfect efficiency. It’s probably the strongest power I’ve ever seen."