SSS-Rank Awakening: My Talent Multiplies Everything

Darkness slowly peeled away as Kael’s vision returned, and the first thing he noticed was that the snow was gone.

He wasn’t standing outside anymore.

He was inside a cave.

The ceiling stretched high above him, disappearing into the darkness, while strange glowing crystals had been embedded throughout the walls. Their pale light illuminated the enormous cavern well enough for Kael to make out his surroundings.

Then he saw them.

His expression immediately changed.

Countless cocoons covered the cavern.

They were everywhere.

The strange structures appeared to have been formed from some kind of translucent, gel-like substance, their surfaces constantly shifting as though they were still alive. But the substance itself wasn’t what caught Kael’s attention.

It was what was inside them.

Humans.

Kael’s pupils contracted.

They were the exploration teams.

The same Hunters he had been working alongside for the past several days were trapped inside those disgusting cocoons. Their bodies were completely submerged within the strange gel, with only their faces exposed.

None of them moved.

Kael couldn’t tell whether they were unconscious or dead.

His gaze moved from one face to another, desperately searching for some indication that they were still alive.

Then he noticed the tubes.

Long, pipe-like appendages were attached to the heads of the trapped Hunters. They disappeared into the ceiling before spreading throughout the cave, each one connected directly to a person’s skull. Thick liquid slowly traveled through them, disappearing somewhere beyond Kael’s field of vision.

It looked as though something was being extracted from their heads.

Kael’s mind struggled to process what he was seeing.

What the hell was happening? How had he gotten here? Where was everyone else? His body instinctively tried to move, but nothing happened.

Kael frowned and looked down. Only then did he realize the truth... he was trapped as well.

The same translucent gel surrounded his entire body, holding him firmly in place. A tube was attached to his head, and something was slowly being pulled from him through it.

The moment he realized that, an intense headache struck him.

Kael clenched his teeth.

The sensation was horrible.

It felt as though something was reaching directly into his brain and slowly tearing pieces out of it. His body had also become frighteningly weak. Every ounce of strength seemed to have been drained away, leaving his muscles barely capable of responding to his commands.

"Fuck."

Kael tried to force himself free but nothing happened.

It felt as though every drop of energy and life force had been sucked from his body.

Then a voice suddenly echoed through the cavern.

"Impossible."

Kael froze.

"You..."

The voice sounded genuinely shocked.

"How did you wake up?"

Kael’s eyes narrowed as he tried to locate the source.

The voice wasn’t coming from any of the trapped Hunters.

He slowly raised his head.

Then he looked toward the ceiling.

The instant he saw what was there, Kael wished he hadn’t looked.

Something was attached to the ceiling.

At first glance, it resembled a gigantic brain.

But that comparison wasn’t enough.

The thing was enormous, several feet across, its grotesque mass spread across the stone ceiling like some biological growth that had infested the entire cavern. Thick, viscous liquid constantly oozed from its surface, dripping down in slow strands.

The mass pulsed.

Once.

Twice.

Like a gigantic heartbeat.

Kael’s stomach churned.

Countless pipe-like tentacles extended from the creature, spreading throughout the cave before connecting to the heads of every Hunter trapped inside the translucent cocoons.

The realization hit him immediately.

This thing was feeding on them.

Kael stared at the creature.

His brain seemed to ripple from the sight.

A strange pressure spread through his skull, and the longer he looked at the brain-like monster, the worse his headache became. It wasn’t simply disgust.

Something about looking at the creature itself was causing damage to his mind.

Kael’s expression twisted.

Then a system notification suddenly appeared before him.

[Full Body Scan Beginning.]

Kael’s vision flickered.

[Full Body Scan Completed.]

[Host has sustained Physical Damage.]

[Host has sustained Mental Damage.]

[Recovering Condition.]

A new window appeared.

[Physical Condition: 1% Recovered.]

[Mental Condition: 1% Recovered.]

The effect was immediate.

The crushing pressure inside Kael’s head began to weaken.

The terrible headache slowly subsided, while the exhaustion weighing down his body also started to disappear.

One percent.

It sounded insignificant.

Yet Kael could feel the difference.

His muscles regained some of their strength.

His breathing became steadier.

His thoughts became clearer.

Kael didn’t waste a second.

The moment he felt enough strength return to his body, he gathered every bit of force he could and pushed against the gel surrounding him.

"Break!"

His muscles tensed.

A violent burst of strength erupted from his body.

Crack!

The translucent substance fractured.

Cracks spread across the cocoon before the entire thing suddenly gave way.

The gel collapsed around Kael, releasing his body.

He fell forward and caught himself against the ground, immediately pulling the tube from his head.

The substance wasn’t nearly as durable as he had expected.

Good.

At least he wasn’t trapped anymore.

Kael barely had time to recover before the creature above him reacted.

The brain-like mass began pulsing violently.

"You..."

Its voice shook the entire cavern.

"How dare you?"

The glowing crystals embedded in the walls flickered as an overwhelming pressure suddenly descended.

"You puny human."

The creature’s voice became filled with rage.

"How dare you interfere with my meal?"

Kael’s expression hardened.

"Now die."

The moment those words were spoken, Kael’s head exploded with pain.

A massive mental wave slammed directly into his consciousness.

"ARGH!"

Kael screamed.

His knees nearly buckled beneath him as the pressure tore through his mind. It felt as though an invisible hammer had smashed into his skull, threatening to split his brain apart from the inside.

Yet before the attack could completely overwhelm him, a tremendous wave of energy surged from within his body.

It rushed toward his mind, reinforcing his mental fortitude and helping him withstand the overwhelming assault.

Kael gritted his teeth.

The attack was still raging.

Another mental wave crashed into him.

Then another.

Then another.

Each one was stronger than the last.

His body shook violently as he struggled to remain standing.

"AAAAAGH!"

Pain coursed through every part of his consciousness.

His vision blurred, his ears rang, and his thoughts grew impossible to organize. But Kael refused to collapse. If he gave in, he would die, with no second chance. He had to resist.

The brain-like creature seemed surprised by his persistence

"Hmm."

Another wave of mental energy surged through the cavern.

"You have quite the mental fortitude for a puny human."

Kael’s teeth clenched tightly.

The creature’s voice became colder.

"But it’s of no use."

Its enormous mass pulsed.

"Now die."

The next wave was different.

It was far stronger than everything that had come before.

The instant it struck, Kael’s mental defenses finally began to crumble.

His consciousness trembled.

His vision distorted.

The cavern disappeared behind a veil of darkness.

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