Reincarnated With An SSS-Rank Talent In An Apocalyptic World-Chapter 82: The Truth Of Aether

My eyes fluttered open, revealing the white padded ceiling above. The exhaustion and pain were gone once again, but the stench and taste of blood never left my nose and mouth. Then I heard a sound beside me—the sound of snoring—so I shifted my face in that direction and saw Jake lying beside me, sleeping peacefully.

"This kid..." I muttered while sitting up.

Only after I sat up did I realize my clothes were blood-soaked and sticky, but what could I do about it?

With a heavy sigh, I pushed myself up, rising to my feet before shifting my attention back to Jake. I nudged him a bit with my foot, and he made some unintelligible sounds before his eyes opened. Watching him rub his eyes like a child just waking up was quite amusing.

The moment his eyes landed on me, they widened with surprise, and he quickly jumped to his feet with childish enthusiasm that didn’t fit a soldier.

"Big brother, you’re alive!" he exclaimed, his eyes scanning my blood-soaked clothes.

I simply shrugged off his words and asked a question.

"How long have I been asleep?"

Jake froze at the question for a moment, then reached into his back pocket and pulled out an old golden pocket watch that caught my attention. The intricate carvings and embedded jewels on the watch were too eye-catching to ignore.

I know pocket watches aren’t really a big deal, but this... This one wasn’t just any pocket watch you could grab from an antique store. I was certain it was made of real gold.

Even the way Jake carried it—like it was heavy—proved it was the real deal.

’Did I just make friends with a trust fund kid without knowing?’ I couldn’t help but think. ’It seems my luck is starting to change.’

"Twelve hours," Jake replied after checking the time, unaware of my thoughts.

I pushed the thought aside and narrowed my gaze, pondering his words. If what he said was true, then it should be somewhere around 8 p.m. or so. The battle over the Sabine River must be over by now.

"We need to get going," I said while adjusting my Rai’ki gloves.

I still remembered that my weapons had fallen from my hands during the fight with the orc berserker, so I needed to find them as soon as we left this place.

"Okay, big brother!" Jake nodded.

Buzz!

A grand white gate appeared and flung open. Without hesitation, we walked in, and the next moment we were on the bridge, now filled with the stench of blood and decay. The bodies were gone—just a few severed limbs here and there, accompanied by puddles of blood scattered across the ground.

In fact, the bridge floor had been dyed red with dried blood, a clear testament to how intense the fight had been.

Blegh!

Jake couldn’t handle the odor and began puking up his breakfast. I paid no attention to him and simply stretched out my hand in an attempt to recover Rai’ki, but there was no response. I remained calm. This was within my expectations. If all the bodies were cleared to allow war machines to pass through, why would they leave an Aether weapon behind?

"Big brother, look!" Jake called out.

I turned to him, tracing his finger toward a faint blue shell somewhere about two kilometers eastward from the bridge, hidden among tall trees. If it hadn’t been night time, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it.

"They safely crossed the bridge... I guess we won," I said with a sigh of relief.

While I knew we would win, I never ruled out the possibility that things could go south—especially if Lee Bai pulled something sneaky.

"Let’s join them!" I said, and Jake nodded.

Together, we headed in that direction cautiously. We both knew anything could happen. We could easily be jumped by an orc scout.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, we entered the thick forest. As we moved toward the nearly concealed dome, I noticed a few drones circling above, and I threw a playful salute at one before focusing on the journey again. However, a few steps in, a thought crossed my mind. I turned to Jake and asked:

"What happens if a human uses an Aether weapon?"

I’d heard so much about humans not being able to use Aether weapons, but after using one myself, I realized there wasn’t anything special about it. I just pulled the trigger and it fired like any normal gun. So what was the big deal?

Jake seemed taken aback by the question. He speed-walked to my side with genuine shock written all over his face. It was the kind of look you’d give someone who didn’t know something everyone was supposed to know.

"You really don’t know?" he asked, shocked by my ignorance.

"I’m a Limitless who only used an Aether gun for the first time yesterday. Why would I keep tabs on things that don’t concern me?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ooh." Jake nodded in agreement after giving it some thought.

He walked past me, then turned to meet my gaze while walking backward.

"The thing is, we can use Aether weapons—but we shouldn’t," Jake said.

His response made me want to slap the shit out of him, but that would mean losing my trust fund subordinate who could bring me lots of benefits in the future, so I kept my hands to myself.

"Explain better," I said simply, and he nodded.

"Aether energy is the most powerful form of energy ever discovered by humans—far more dangerous than nuclear energy. If mere exposure to nuclear radiation without protective gear can kill you, imagine what direct contact with raw Aether energy would do to the human body."

Buzz!

My eyes dilated at the thought, and now it all made sense. This explained why soldiers didn’t even attempt to touch Aether-powered guns, let alone use them.

"But that means humans can use Aether energy... if there are protective gears?" I asked, but Jake shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Unfortunately, there are no protective gears for Aether energy," he sighed. "You either evolve through biogenic surgeries—which give you a certain level of resistance to Aether energy—or you’re a Limitless, gaining complete immunity to the side effects of Aether energy."

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at f(r)eew𝒆bnov𝒆l.com Only