My System Doesn't Give Power

The instant Simon gave the command, Zac vanished from where he stood.

Despite the exhaustion dragging at his limbs, his footwork remained sharp. He crossed the distance in a burst and appeared directly in front of Simon, the training sword already cutting towards his shoulder.

Mana surged from Zac’s arm into the weapon at the final moment. A thin, translucent coating wrapped around the blade, sharpening its edge and reinforcing the metal just before impact.

Simon calmly raised one hand.

Clink...

The blade stopped against his index finger.

Zac’s eyes narrowed.

Simon looked past the sword at the dark circles beneath his eyes. "Weapon Coating." His gaze shifted to the mana distributed evenly along the blade. "You learned it remarkably quickly."

"I spent the last three days in literal hell."

Without wasting a second, Zac twisted his wrist and pulled the sword free. He rotated with the motion, turning the failed strike into a horizontal slash aimed at Simon’s waist.

Simon caught the blade between two fingers.

The abrupt stop sent a violent jolt through Zac’s arm. However, unlike before, the Mana Coating around the sword did not collapse. It flickered briefly before stabilizing again.

Watching from the edge of the training ground, Daniel’s eyes sharpened. "He maintained the coating even after direct contact."

Shobin, who is studying the flow of mana around the blade, said, "Not only that. He reinforced the exact point of impact just before Simon blocked it."

"Is that really so difficult?" Kelly asked.

"For someone who only began learning Mana Coating a few days ago?" Shobin replied. "Extremely."

Zac released the sword with one hand and stepped inside Simon’s reach.

The mana coating his free arm shifted instantly towards his elbow. He drove it towards Simon’s ribs, but Simon tilted his body by the smallest possible margin, allowing the strike to pass harmlessly beside him.

But Zac had already anticipated the evasion, so he planted his right foot on the ground, redirected the coating from his elbow to his shoulder, and lunged forward with a short body check.

Simon placed one palm against his forehead, stopped him dead, and gave a light push, and the force sent Zac stumbling several steps backwards.

Before he had fully regained his balance, he transferred the coating into both legs and launched himself forward again.

He brought the sword down towards Simon’s head. Simon raised his hand and stopped the blade against the back of his finger.

Unlike the others, Sabrina was not watching merely for entertainment.

Her eyes followed every shift in the coating, every transfer of Mana from weapon to limb, and every moment Zac reinforced one area while abandoning another.

His control had improved beyond anything she had expected.

Zac advanced again, this time using shorter steps and subtle feints to disguise the direction of his next strike. The mana around his sword faded almost completely, making it appear as though he had lost control.

At the last possible moment, the coating reappeared along only one edge of the blade, and Zac thrusted towards Simon’s chest.

Simon caught the sword between two fingers once again. But this time, Zac did not try to pull it free.

He released his right hand from the hilt, stepped closer, and shifted his Mana towards his knee before driving it into Simon’s abdomen.

Simon’s free hand moved.

His palm struck Zac lightly in the chest.

The coating around Zac’s torso formed just in time, reinforcing the point of impact. Even so, the difference in strength was overwhelming.

Zac was hurled backwards.

He struck the ground shoulder-first, rolled several times, and finally came to a stop on one knee near the edge of the cleared space.

Dust clung to his hair and uniform, and the students stared at him in silence.

He had failed to touch Simon, but the exchange had revealed far more than any simple demonstration could have.

Zac had displayed weapon coating, localized body coating, rapid redistribution, and precise reinforcement while in motion. More importantly, he had applied each of them without stopping to gather Mana every time.

And more importantly, he had done all of this when he was extremely exhausted and under increased gravity.

Kelly slowly nudged Sabrina with her elbow. "It looks like he might master it first."

Sabrina’s expression hardened. "No, he won’t." A competitive fire burned behind her cold eyes. "I won’t allow it."

She was not the only one affected. Several other students watched Zac with renewed determination.

Adrian folded his arms and gave an approving nod. "His technique is crude but surprisingly presentable."

Daniel glanced at him. "Presentable?"

"Indeed. Though it still lacks the elegance expected of a true noble swordsman."

"You don’t even use a sword."

"That is irrelevant."

At the center of the field, Zac pushed himself fully upright and brushed the dirt from his sleeves.

"Enough," Simon said.

Zac looked at him. "But I can still..."

"No." Simon’s tone left no room for argument. "You are clearly exhausted. Your reactions are slowing, and your concentration is beginning to slip. Continuing would tell me nothing useful. I’ve already seen what I needed to see."

Zac exhaled, lowered the sword, and handed it back to him.

The moment the tension of the sparring match left his mind, exhaustion clouded his thoughts once again. His body felt as though it might collapse at any moment.

Simon returned the sword to his inventory. "You did well for a first-year student. She must have put you through hell."

Zac’s tired eyes widened slightly. "You know?"

"Of course." Simon regarded him calmly. "The academy is far more open than you seem to believe. Information travels quickly, especially when a big player like she is involved."

Several students reacted at once.

Most of the class assumed Simon was referring to Matilda. A few had already begun wondering whether she had been giving Zac private instruction.

Only Marty remained unsurprised.

Simon studied Zac for another moment. "Your control has improved considerably, but it still needs work. You shift the coating well, but you use too much Mana to reinforce the point of impact."

"That wastes energy and slows your next transfer."

"I’ll work on it."

"You should."

Simon turned away. "Now go and change into your training clothes."

Zac looked towards the changing rooms.

He desperately wanted to ask the kimono-clad instructor to excuse him for the day, but he knew Simon would put him through the training even if he were already half-dead.

Rather than waste what little energy he had left arguing, Zac quietly did as he was told.

Once the training session finally ended, Zac collapsed beneath the small tree, which is his usual training spot.

He lay flat on his back with one arm draped over his eyes, too exhausted to care about the dirt clinging to his uniform or the sunlight beating down on him.

After a while, the warmth against his face abruptly disappeared as a large shadow fell over his body.

Zac slowly opened his eyes and found the other six members of the group standing around him, all staring down as though they had gathered to inspect a corpse.

Adrian held a small stick in one hand. He leaned forward and prodded Zac’s cheek with it. "I believe he’s dead."

"Cut the crap, Adrian." Marty swatted the stick away.

Zac groaned and forced himself into a sitting position.

Adrian clicked his tongue. "So he’s alive. How disappointing."

Zac raised his head and stared at him through half-open eyes. "Your concern is deeply touching. If these bags under my eyes weren’t holding back the tears, I might even cry."

"Apparently, exhaustion still hasn’t dulled your sarcasm," Daniel remarked.

Marty crouched beside him. "Mate, you look like a zombie."

"If you lot had returned one day later, I might genuinely have become one."

Daniel studied him more carefully. "What exactly happened to you?"

"Didn’t you hear what I said?" Zac replied wearily. "The last few days were rough."

Sabrina stood slightly apart from the others without saying a word. However, the intensity of her stare made it obvious that she was still thinking about Zac’s progress with Mana Coating.

Marty leaned closer. "Did she really put you through that much hell?"

Zac looked at him with hollow eyes. "I experienced death at least a hundred times, and I mean it without any exaggeration."

Shobin glanced between them. "Wait. Do you know who trained him?"

Marty looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"The woman you just mentioned."

"Oh, you mean his aunt?"

For a fraction of a second, Zac’s exhaustion vanished, and his eyes widened. "Marty, don’t."

Kelly immediately leaned forward. "His aunt works at the academy?"

Before Zac could stop him, Marty answered without giving it a second thought. "Of course. The vice principal is his aunt."

Silence descended over the group.

Kelly’s mouth fell open. Daniel’s usually composed expression cracked, while Shobin stared at Zac as though he had just discovered an entirely different person standing before him.

Even Sabrina’s cold expression shifted noticeably. And as for Adrian, his jaw dropped so far it looked in danger of coming loose.

Zac raised one hand and slapped it against his forehead.

Marty looked around at everyone’s reactions, then turned back to him. "I wasn’t supposed to say that, was I?"

"What do you think?"

"Right. I’ll keep my mouth shut."

"There’s not much point now. You’ve already spilled everything."

The others continued staring at Zac in stunned silence.

He dragged himself to his feet, swaying slightly beneath the triple gravity. "It isn’t that big a deal."

Kelly blinked several times. "What do you mean it isn’t a big deal?"

"Armani Wild," Shobin said slowly. "The Armani Wild, vice principal of New Dawn Academy and known across the world as Infamous Wild."

He looked directly at Zac. "She’s your aunt?"

"Kind of."

Daniel frowned. "How can someone be kind of your aunt?"

"It’s complicated."

Sabrina’s gaze sharpened. "So that’s why your mana coating improved so quickly." Her voice remained as cold and direct as ever. "And here I thought you had achieved it entirely through your own efforts."

Zac turned his tired eyes towards her. "It doesn’t matter how I learned it. What matters is whether I can use it."

"What convenient logic."

"Accurate logic."

Kelly looked between them and quietly stepped aside before the conversation resulted in someone being frozen again.

Shobin was still trying to process the larger revelation. "How did you keep something like this from us?"

"I didn’t keep it from you. I simply never saw a reason to bring it up." Zac sighed. "And as I’ve already said, I don’t think it’s that big a deal."

"It is an enormous deal," Adrian declared. "Have you never heard the stories surrounding your aunt?"

He pressed one hand dramatically against his forehead. "How foolish of me. Of course you have. Who in this world hasn’t heard of Armani Wild?"

"Actually," Marty interjected, "he only found out she was his aunt a few days before we came to the academy."

Daniel looked genuinely baffled. "What sort of family relationship is that?"

"As I said, a complicated one," Zac repeated.

Adrian stepped closer, suddenly animated. "Then you desperately need to educate yourself. Do you know what she did to the Flameheart family? Or during the Black Coast Incident? What about the Nine-Tower Massacre?"

When Zac’s blank expression answered every question, Adrian stared at him in horror. "How can you know absolutely nothing about your own aunt? The entire world knows those stories."

"Everyone except him," Marty added.

"Stop." Zac raised both hands. "I’m already exhausted enough to lose consciousness while standing. Whatever legendary tales you’re dying to tell me can wait until tomorrow."

He turned towards the exit. "I’m going home."

"Right, I’m coming with you." Marty hurried after him. "You look like you might collapse before you make it out of the training ground."

Before leaving, Shobin called after Marty. "Earlier, you said no one in the academy could cause Zac enough trouble to make him miss training. Was that because you already knew about this relationship?"

"Of course," Marty replied. "When we first arrived in Central City, we lost our entry permits. The harbor guards mistook us for illegal entrants and threw us in jail."

"They arrested you?" Kelly asked, her eyes widening.

"Briefly. Zac contacted the vice principal, and she came to collect us."

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "Why do I get the feeling that isn’t the whole story?"

Marty scratched his cheek. "She also leveled most of the harbor."

Kelly’s expression went rigid.

Adrian swallowed and glanced towards Zac’s retreating figure. "Yes. Respect is definitely the safest approach."

By the time Zac reached home, it was only half past twelve in the afternoon.

He barely managed to take a bath before collapsing onto his bed. The moment his head touched the pillow, consciousness abandoned him without the slightest resistance.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!