My System Doesn't Give Power

The past three days and nights had been every bit as hellish as Zac had feared.

He had learned more about Mana Coating in those three days than he likely would have discovered in several weeks on his own. However, the price had been steep.

His body had been broken, healed, forced back into working condition, and pushed forward again so many times that even he had lost count.

Armani had finally released him only a few hours earlier. The moment Zac returned home, he intended to collapse onto his bed and sleep until his body remembered what peace felt like.

Then, just as he reached his room, a horrifying realization struck him.

His classmates had returned from the portal the previous night, which meant Simon’s training resumed that morning.

Zac slowly turned towards the clock, and it was already past four-thirty, and the training began at five-thirty.

He stood beside his bed, staring at it with the longing of a starving man gazing through a restaurant window.

[I know that look. It’s the same one every exhausted working man gives his bed.]

"Can you wake me after half an hour?"

[In your current state, I doubt even an electric shock would wake you up.]

"Acceptable."

Before his body could betray him, Zac reluctantly stepped away from the bed.

For the past three days, Armani’s Energy Restoration Pills had kept him going without rest, repeatedly forcing his body into an artificial state of readiness.

Now that the pills were no longer sustaining him, all the exhaustion he had accumulated came crashing down at once.

His limbs felt both hollow and impossibly heavy. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes, and keeping them open had become a battle in itself. Even his thoughts drifted in and out of focus.

The threefold gravity pressing down on his body made every ordinary movement feel ten times worse.

Zac splashed cold water over his face, changed into his academy uniform, and spent the remaining time pacing around the house to keep himself from accidentally falling asleep.

Meanwhile, most of the first-year students had already arrived at the training ground. After witnessing Simon’s punishments, no one wanted to risk arriving even a second late.

Groups of students stood across the field, discussing their experiences inside the portal. Their excited voices filled the morning air.

The familiar group of seven had gathered near the center of the training ground, though one member was noticeably absent.

Marty kept glancing towards the entrance.

Shobin noticed his distracted expression and stepped closer. "Have you seen Zac?"

Marty shook his head. "No. That’s exactly what I’m wondering."

He checked the time on his VSB for what must have been the hundredth time. "It’s almost five-thirty. Why isn’t he here yet?"

"I hope he’s late," Adrian said from beside them. "I’ve been waiting to see someone other than myself hopping around the training ground."

He lifted his chin. "They won’t look nearly as graceful as I did, of course, but it should still be entertaining."

Marty stared at him. "You want your classmate to suffer because you don’t want to be the only one who was humiliated?"

"What do you know? Shared suffering strengthens bonds." Adrian paused. "Not that I have any desire to bond with commoners."

"Don’t worry. He’ll be here," Marty said confidently. "Zac doesn’t usually miss training."

"He had better arrive soon," Daniel added. "Why don’t you call him?"

"I already tried several times. He isn’t answering."

Kelly looked towards the entrance with concern. "Maybe he’s still asleep."

"No chance," Marty replied. "He’s not much of a sleeper."

Shobin considered it for a moment. "Could he have run into some sort of trouble?"

"Trouble?" Sabrina said suddenly.

She rarely joined their casual conversations, so everyone turned towards her. "If anyone is causing trouble, it’s probably him, not the other way around."

Kelly blinked at her.

Sabrina folded her arms. "He’s probably too embarrassed to show his face because he still hasn’t mastered Mana Coating."

Marty immediately shook his head. "I’ve known Zac longer than any of you. He isn’t the type to hide over something this small."

"He can be petty, sarcastic, unreasonable, and occasionally unbearable. But one thing he isn’t is a coward."

"If that was meant to be praise, you did a terrible job," Shobin said.

Marty ignored him and continued. "And as for him being in trouble, I doubt it. I don’t think there’s anyone in this academy who could cause him enough trouble to make him miss training."

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "You speak as though he’s some enormously important figure."

"He may not be, but that doesn’t mean..."

"But what?" Adrian cut in. "Does he secretly have some godlike patron protecting him from the shadows?"

Marty’s expression shifted slightly. "Let’s just say it’s something along those lines."

"What?"

Before anyone could question him further, Simon entered the training ground, and every student immediately stopped talking and moved into formation.

Dressed in his usual kimono and wooden sandals, he walked to the front of the class and swept his gaze across them. "It appears that all of you have improved slightly in Mana Coating."

The students’ expressions brightened at the rare praise, but before their pride could fully surface, Simon continued. "Don’t get carried away. You haven’t even scratched the surface."

Their smiles instantly vanished.

"The portal gave you practical experience. That is useful. But a technique understood only in theory is worthless until you can apply it under pressure."

As Simon spoke, several students noticed a lone figure slowly approaching the training ground.

Zac dragged himself towards the class with all the enthusiasm of a corpse returning to its grave.

His uniform was slightly dishevelled, his hair untidy, and the dark circles beneath his eyes made him look as though he hadn’t slept in weeks.

The students noticed him approaching, but none dared turn their heads fully. Simon had already punished them once for losing focus, and no one was eager for a second lesson.

Marty’s relief quickly gave way to concern when he saw Zac’s condition. "What happened to him?" he muttered.

Sabrina narrowed her eyes as Zac drew closer, but whatever crossed her mind, she kept it to herself.

When Zac finally reached the formation and stopped beside the others, Simon looked him over from head to toe. "Not a particularly good morning for you, is it?"

Zac struggled to focus on his face. "The last few days have been difficult."

"I didn’t ask for an explanation."

"Sir, what happened was..."

"Didn’t I just say I didn’t need one?"

Zac released a tired sigh. "Do you want me to frog-jump around the training ground?"

Adrian’s eyes lit up immediately.

Simon glanced at Zac before answering, "Normally, yes. But not today."

The excitement on Adrian’s face collapsed into genuine disappointment.

Zac bowed his head slightly. "Thank you for understanding, Sir."

"That isn’t what just happened."

Zac looked up.

Simon clasped his hands behind his back. "I understand that you’re exhausted. That doesn’t mean you’re getting off scot-free."

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"Instead of watching you hop around the training ground, I want to see what you’ve learned over the past three days."

"You want me to demonstrate my mana coating?"

"Has your hearing deteriorated as well?"

"No, Sir."

Zac stepped forward and prepared to circulate Mana through his body, but before he could begin, Simon raised one hand.

"Wait. What’s the point of displaying the technique like an exhibition piece? Put it into practice."

Zac frowned. "I don’t understand, Sir."

Simon looked him directly in the eyes. "Fight me."

The entire training ground fell silent, and even the students standing farther away turned their attention towards them.

Zac stared at Simon, briefly wondering whether exhaustion had finally driven him to hallucinations. "What?"

"I said attack me with everything you’ve learned."

"Sir, that’s..."

"Are you afraid?"

Zac’s fingers tightened at his side. "No, Sir."

"Then come at me."

Zac looked down at his empty hand. "I need a sword."

Simon’s expression went flat. So did everyone else’s.

"You’re a swordsman, yet you don’t own a sword?"

"Not this again," Zac thought. "My sword was damaged recently."

Simon sighed, reached into his inventory, and tossed him a sword.

Zac caught it by the hilt and instinctively tested its balance.

"It’s an ordinary training sword," Simon said. "However, it has been reinforced well enough to withstand Mana Coating."

Compared to the Flame Slasher Armani had given him, the weapon felt crude, heavy, and poorly balanced. Even so, it was far superior to an ordinary sword and more than sufficient for a brief spar.

Zac drew a slow breath and stepped away from the formation.

The other students immediately moved back, clearing a broad space around him and Simon.

Kelly leaned towards Sabrina. "I know this sounds ridiculous, but do you think he can actually land a hit?"

"No," Sabrina replied flatly.

Daniel focused intently on Zac’s stance, watching every movement closely in the hope of learning something from the exchange.

Shobin’s attention shifted between the training sword and the mana beginning to gather around Zac’s hand.

Adrian folded his arms. "This may prove entertaining enough to meet my noble standards."

Marty glanced at him. "You never learn, do you?"

Adrian scoffed and returned his attention to the field.

Zac’s body screamed for rest, but the moment his fingers closed firmly around the sword’s hilt, the fog clouding his thoughts began to clear.

"System, why does my mind suddenly feel sharper?"

[Have I not told you that your bloodline is a remarkable thing? It may be dangerously volatile, but it also possesses an instinctive hunger for battle.]

The system paused.

[Don’t celebrate yet. Once this is over, all that exhaustion will come crashing back several times harder.]

"I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it."

Simon looked at Zac.

"Begin."

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