Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 1964: Indestructible

Ning checked Jun’Tal after looking at the result of his power, expecting to find burns across his arms or at least some damage where the explosion had erupted directly in front of him. To his surprise, Jun’Tal looked frightened and shaken, but physically he seemed completely fine.

"Hold out your hand," Ning said, and Jun’Tal did so without arguing while he still stared at the crater in disbelief. Ning turned the boy’s palm over and examined it closely, but there was not even a red mark where the blast had begun.

His skin was completely spotless.

Ning frowned and checked both of Jun’Tal’s arms as well, wondering whether the damage might have been hidden somewhere less obvious. There was nothing there either, even though the heat and pressure from the explosion should have been more than enough to injure an ordinary person standing that close.

"How are you feeling?" Ning asked.

Jun’Tal looked at his hands before answering. "Scared."

"I meant physically."

"Oh." The boy moved his fingers and rotated his wrists a few times. "Fine, I think. Nothing hurts."

That only made Ning more curious.

"System, why wasn’t he injured?"

<Jun’Tal’s body underwent significant physical evolution during his awakening>

Ning raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of evolution?"

<His body adapted in order to survive the consequences of his own ability>

<His durability has increased to the point that conventional damage is unlikely to injure him>

Ning looked back toward Jun’Tal, who was still examining his hands as though he expected burns to suddenly appear.

"How durable are we talking?"

<Practically indestructible by the standards of this planet>

That was far beyond what Ning had expected.

Jun’Tal had not simply awakened an ability powerful enough to turn water into an enormous amount of energy. His body had changed alongside that ability, becoming durable enough that the very energy he created would not come back to bite him.

Ning thought about the blast again and realized the System’s explanation made sense. If Jun’Tal’s body had remained normal, the first uncontrolled activation of his power might have killed him before anyone even understood what he had awakened.

"What is it?" Jun’Tal asked after noticing Ning staring at him again.

"Apparently, your body changed during your awakening as well," Ning explained. "You became much more durable so that your own power wouldn’t kill you."

Jun’Tal looked confused. "Durable?"

Ning considered the System’s answer before deciding that simply telling him would not mean much without proof.

He created a small needle.

Jun’Tal immediately became suspicious.

"What are you doing?"

"Testing something," Ning said as he handed it over. "Try to prick your finger."

The boy looked at the needle, then at Ning. "You want me to stab myself?"

"Just enough to break the skin."

Jun’Tal hesitated, but eventually placed the tip against one of his fingertips and pushed. Nothing happened, so he increased the pressure until his expression tightened slightly.

"It feels sharp," he said. "But it isn’t going in."

"Push harder."

Jun’Tal hesitated at first, but when he realized he was failing even when he pushed it, he started pushing harder. He tried his hardest by the end, and the needle still failed to penetrate his skin.

After another attempt, he gave up and handed it back with a confused expression.

Ning took the needle and decided to try it for himself. He took Jun’Tal’s palm and pushed the tip against it.

"Tell me if it hurts too much."

Jun’Tal nodded nervously.

Ning began with roughly the amount of force a normal person might use, then steadily increased it when the needle still failed to pierce the skin. He eventually used a small portion of his own strength, enough that almost anything ordinary on Hyrron would have been punctured or crushed under the same pressure.

The needle bent, but Jun’Tal’s palm remained untouched.

Ning stopped and looked at the deformed piece of metal.

"Well, that answers that."

Jun’Tal stared at his hand, stunned.

"At this point, there probably isn’t anything on this planet capable of hurting you through ordinary physical force."

The boy went quiet.

Ning could understand why. Jun’Tal had already learned within the span of an hour that he possessed enough power to cause unimaginable destruction and that his body had apparently become nearly impossible to damage at the same time.

The changes were a bit too fast.

"At least there’s one good part to all of this," Ning said as he threw away the bent needle. "You should be safe from your own power."

Jun’Tal did not look entirely convinced that this counted as good news, but he followed Ning back toward the section of beach where the first explosion had occurred.

The damage looked worse now that the dust had settled.

The crater was several meters across, with darkened sand spreading around its edges, while numerous pieces of crude glass were scattered across the beach where the heat had been intense enough to melt the sand before it cooled again.

Jun’Tal picked up one of the pieces carefully.

"I did this too?"

"Yes."

He looked toward the crater again and swallowed.

Ning walked closer to the damaged area and examined it for a moment before turning back toward him.

"You need to try again."

Jun’Tal looked at him as though he had misheard.

"Again? But the last try..."

"That’s exactly why you need to keep trying. You used too much water the first time, so this time use less."

Jun’Tal looked uncomfortable. "I thought I was already using almost nothing."

"You were using almost nothing by normal standards," Ning said. "But for your power, it was still too much."

Even an amount of liquid Jun’Tal considered insignificant could become dangerous once converted completely into energy, which meant his control needed to become far more precise than that of an ordinary awakened person.

Jun’Tal stepped closer to the water but kept a safe distance from the ocean itself. He lifted one hand again and focused on the moisture along his skin, this time trying to isolate an amount so small that he could barely imagine it.

He failed.