Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 1969: A Ring

Once Jun’Tal had proven that he could control his energy well enough to produce sustained heat instead of an explosion, Ning decided it was time to deal with another problem. Even with several days of training, Jun’Tal’s ability remained far too dangerous for him to simply walk back into normal life without some kind of additional protection.

Ning created a small ring made from metal and a pale crystal that shimmered faintly when it caught the light, then held it out toward Jun’Tal.

”Wear this at all times.”

Jun’Tal accepted the ring and looked at it curiously before sliding it onto one of his fingers. It fit perfectly, though that only made him more suspicious of how much thought Ning had already put into it.

”What is it for?”

”Suppressing your power.”

Jun’Tal immediately looked up. ”Suppressing it?”

Ning nodded. ”The crystal inside the ring is Aullazire, which is what they use in suppression machines.”

Jun’Tal turned the ring slightly, studying the crystal set into the metal. ”How does that work?”

Ning pointed toward the ring as he explained. ”Every awakened person carries traces of Aullazire inside their body, and those traces resonate at a particular frequency that is connected to their power. This ring produces the same frequency as yours, but in reverse, so the two interfere with each other, canceling it out. Which, in practice, means you don’t have powers while you’re within the range of this frequency.”

Jun’Tal frowned as he tried to follow the explanation, then remembered something Ning had told him before. ”I thought you said my powers couldn’t be suppressed.”

”They can be suppressed. They just can’t be completely neutralized,” Ning explained. ”Try your power on that tree. See if you can char it.”

Jun’Tal looked toward a nearby tree and placed his palm upon it, focusing on the same kind of controlled heat he had practiced earlier. His power activated normally, but the difference became obvious almost immediately.

The energy around his palm was so much weaker that, forget charring, the tree’s bark didn’t even heat up properly.

”Woah!” he said finally in surprise. ”I do still have my power, but it’s so much weaker.”

”Correct.”

Jun’Tal seemed relieved. ”Then that’s all I need, isn’t it? My power is safe.”

”No.”

The answer erased most of his excitement.

Ning continued before Jun’Tal could argue. ”You can’t rely on the ring. If it breaks, gets stolen, or stops working for any reason, then you’re suddenly left with your full power and no way to handle it.”

Jun’Tal looked at the ring more carefully.

”There’s another problem too,” Ning said. ”If you train while wearing it all the time, you’ll get used to the weakened version of your ability instead of your real one.”

Jun’Tal slowly nodded as he began to understand.

”You might start thinking that a certain amount of effort only creates this much energy,” Ning continued. ”Then one day, you use your power without the ring and accidentally release far more than you intended because your instincts were built around suppression.”

That possibility clearly bothered Jun’Tal more than the idea of the ring breaking.

”So I shouldn’t train with it?”

”Not normally. Wear it when you’re living around other people, but when it comes time to use your power, whether for training or anything else, you take the ring off.”

Jun’Tal looked down at the ring again and nodded. ”Alright.”

Ning was satisfied with that answer.

Jun’Tal hesitated for a moment before asking, ”What now?”

”Now you go home.”

The boy froze.

For a second, he simply stared at Ning as though he had misheard him, but the excitement appeared almost immediately.

”Really?”

”Yes.”

Jun’Tal smiled for the first time in a while without any fear or uncertainty mixed into it.

Ning did not make him wait.

A short while later, the two of them returned to Jun’Tal’s hometown, where his family had been waiting for news since the day Ning had taken him away. The moment Jun’Tal appeared, his mother rushed toward him and pulled him into an embrace, while his father followed close behind and his younger sister grabbed onto him from the side.

Jun’Tal looked embarrassed by how tightly they were holding him, but he did not try to pull away.

Ning waited until the family had calmed down before explaining what would happen next. ”He can stay home, but I’ll need to take him away from time to time so we can continue training.”

Jun’Tal’s parents looked toward him with concern.

”His power is still dangerous,” Ning continued. ”He has much better control now, and the ring he’s wearing will weaken his ability while he’s around other people, but that doesn’t mean the problem is solved.”

His father looked at Jun’Tal’s hand and noticed the ring for the first time. ”So his power is still dangerous?”

”Even with the ring, yes. Very.”

Jun’Tal’s mother remained quiet for several seconds before finally asking the question that had clearly been bothering her. ”What kind of future can he have like this?”

Ning looked toward her.

”If he always has to worry about losing control, then how is he supposed to live normally?” she asked. ”How is he supposed to have a family one day or go somewhere without being afraid that he might hurt someone?”

Jun’Tal’s expression changed slightly, and Ning could tell that the boy had been wondering the same thing even if he had never said it aloud.

”It’ll be fine,” Ning said. ”I’ll make sure he learns enough control to live a normal life.”

The parents did not look completely convinced, but Ning continued.

”If he works hard enough, there may even come a day when his power becomes useful instead of something he has to fear. He could become a hero if that’s what he wants.”

Jun’Tal blinked.

”A hero?”

Ning looked toward him. ”Maybe. That depends entirely on you.”

Jun’Tal thought about it for a moment before shaking his head slightly. ”I don’t know if I want to be a hero.”

”That’s fine.”

The boy looked toward his parents and then back toward Ning.

”But I’ll work hard. If that’s what it takes for me to have a normal life.”