Chapter 13: Chapter 11: What Kind of Cheat Is This? Give Me a Refund!!!
As the dim and brief daylight of Barbarus slowly arrived, the weary people silently woke from their nightmarish slumber.
Sounds of activity began to emerge from the settlement.
However, none of this concerned Hades at the moment.
In his earthen hut, Hades sat cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed in meditation, completely motionless, with barely a breath to indicate he was alive, almost as if he were dead.
After his sudden experience in the Warp, Hades gradually became aware of his "power."
He had become "complete."
Just as a psyker can sense their psychic power and soul, Hades could now sense his "untouchable power."
Psykers can perceive their psychic energy, feel it surrounding them, and with training, can use and control it.
Similarly, as an untouchable, Hades could sense his unique power.
He could clearly "see" concentric circles of black light radiating outward from him.
The further the light traveled from him, the lighter the black became until it gradually faded, revealing the normal world.
The closer it was to him, the more the world turned black and white, distorted, and around Hades' body, it became a pure black void.
He tried to sense himself and found that he, too, was an empty void.
So, this is what it means to be an untouchable?
Hades continued to hold his breath and focus.
As his perception expanded and concentrated, the black light emitted from him began to fade, but at the same time, its reach extended further.
He also tried to change the shape of the black matter but found he couldn't recreate his state during the battle. His black field remained a simple spherical shape.
As the black field extended, Hades could even "see" some faint white light in the distance.
This was the furthest extent of the black light. Beyond that, Hades could not sense anything.
When the black light barely touched the white light, it began to erode it.
However, because Hades had diluted the black light to its limit and due to the distance, the erosion was almost negligible.
But Hades could clearly sense that he was "devouring" this white light.
He was initially confused by this perception—
—Wait, the white light at this location… is it his neighbor Lazel?
So he was eroding a human soul??!!
Hades instantly retracted his "black field."
He tried to compress his black range, but to his dismay, he found he could only control it to a radius of five meters.
Trying to shrink it further seemed impossible—the black had almost become a tangible void.
Hades suddenly opened his eyes, cold sweat pouring down.
He seemed to realize why people instinctively disliked, avoided, and even hurt him.
It was merely an unconscious self-preservation response to the harm his presence inflicted on their souls?!
Wait, what about Herila, who had always been close to him???
Hades suddenly didn't dare to think further.
He needs to stay rational.
Hades began to carefully recall his past memories and realized that his previous power was too weak, far from its current scale after the battle with the Xenos Overlord Lazar.
This meant that he might have caused some soul damage to others before, but it wasn't as significant as the potential harm now.
Hades silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Yet a sense of frustration lingered in his heart.
Those who were good to him and close to him were the ones most harmed by his unconscious presence.
So this is what it means to be an untouchable?
According to the lore, ordinary soldiers fighting alongside an untouchable might at best lose the will to fight or, at worst, suffer convulsions and fainting.
Prolonged exposure to an untouchable's ability could even drive a person insane.
Even though his power was previously weak and only unconsciously extended to its maximum sensory range, constant exposure and accumulation could still take a toll.
Damn.
Is this the so-called cheat power of a transmigrator? Why is it a double-edged sword for him?
Hades futilely tried again to shrink his black field, but it was evident that the field only trembled slightly without any significant change in range.
Maybe he should practice more regularly?
As Hades was lost in thought, a sudden knock on the door interrupted him.
"Hades, it's me! Why aren't you at the fields? Are you still not feeling well?"
"I made some porridge for you, open the door."
Herila's voice came abruptly from outside the door.
Hades could faintly sense a small white light, and he was startled.
He immediately ran to the farthest corner from the door.
The area by the door immediately left his coverage range.
What the hell… what should I do?
Cold sweat dripped down Hades' face as he pretended to clear his throat.
"Uh... Herila, just leave the bowl outside. I'm not feeling well and don't want to get up. Thanks for bringing me the porridge."
Herila's concerned voice came through again, "Are you sure you're okay, Hades? How about you open the door and let me take a look at you?"
"It's fine, really. I'm just too tired. I've been sleeping and don't want to get out of bed to open the door."
"Alright then," Herila, though worried, didn't think much of it since Hades insisted. "I've put the porridge on your windowsill. Remember to drink it while it's hot."
"Okay, okay, got it."
"Well, I'm leaving then. Rest well."
"Bye."
Only after Herila's footsteps faded did Hades cautiously open the door.
The bowl of steaming white porridge was indeed on the windowsill, filled with plenty of rice, making it seem more like a meal than just breakfast.
Hades recalled Herila's light just now, which was noticeably dimmer than his neighbor Lazel's.
His heart ached.
Damn it, what kind of situation is this?
Should he not interact with others?
Filled with anger and a sense of futility, Hades once again tried to violently compress his field.
His veins bulged, and sweat poured down—yet ultimately, the field's range remained unchanged.
Damn it!
Hades collapsed back inside, holding his head in despair.
There was only one solution left, which was to leave this human settlement.
Actually, if he entirely avoided human contact, his "untouchable" ability was quite useful.
Every creature on Barbarus had a soul. Hades knew he couldn't devour them instantly, but if he compressed the blackness enough, he could potentially suppress them to some degree.
A powerful untouchable could even make soul-bearing beings unconsciously "erase" their presence from their minds, achieving perfect "invisibility."
Hades contemplated that if he insisted on staying in this settlement and didn't want to harm others, he couldn't perform combat duties.
Death Guard squads required at least two people. He'd have to take on tasks far from people and avoid any combat.
Like extensive farming.
Uh, Hades didn't want to stay here farming endlessly, only to survive until the Emperor arrived.
Though he prided himself on being the master of slacking off, and his previous combat tasks mostly involved slashing at fodder, he couldn't just live like that.
Sorry, he really couldn't.
Moreover, he now had the "untouchable" ability.
People with such abilities were naturally unfit for normal human society.
They were destined to be warriors.
Maybe he should take a chance?
Through training and combat with the Death Guard, Hades was no longer the frail boy who fled from a Pale Laugher.
Now, wielding a scythe, he could even take down a group of Pale Laughers.
He couldn't wait passively for disaster to strike.
Before that, he needed to use every moment to become stronger.
No passive waiting!!!
Hades looked around his small room.
Inside were just a bed and a desk, the desk neatly stacked with notes, farming tools hanging quietly on the wall, a coil of rope he had made himself by the door—these simple and monotonous items were his entire life for the past few years.
Hades stood up, his mind made up.