My System Doesn't Give Power

[Pictures of the bunnies and other scenes are in the Discord.]

All four bunnies wore warrior attire, their bodies protected by armor made from a mixture of iron and leather.

One wielded a sword; another carried a shield, while the remaining two held a heavy axe and a spear nearly twice their own height.

Zac watched as the axe-wielding bunny leapt into the air and brought its weapon down, smashing a beast’s skull into the crimson snow.

"Are those really bunnies?"

[More like killer bunnies.]

Zac’s gaze shifted toward the cave behind them. "Are they protecting something inside?"

He studied the enormous rabbits again. "Besides, they don’t belong in this environment. I think they’re someone’s pets."

[More like the product of a skill, if I had to guess.]

Zac glanced at the System panel. "But you don’t have to guess. You already know what they are, don’t you?"

[I do. In fact, I know far more than just that.]

"And I need to pay for you to tell me."

[Exactly.]

Zac sighed and asked. "How much?"

[Do you want the full story, or do you only want to know what those killer bunnies are?]

"Explain the difference."

[The first difference is the price, obviously. The complete explanation will cost fifty Info Points. The shorter answer will only cost ten.]

"That’s surprisingly cheap."

[That’s because if you ask what the bunnies are, I will only tell you what they are. Then you’ll need another ten points to learn what’s inside the cave, another ten to discover who they belong to, and so on.]

[The questions will simply keep multiplying.]

"You just want me to choose the more expensive option, don’t you?"

The system remained silent.

Zac let out another weary breath. "Fine. Give me the full version."

[-50 Info Points]

A translucent panel appeared before him.

[The Rabbit Warriors are summons created through a special skill belonging to the pink-haired human woman known as Kelly Carter.]

[Kelly Carter has fallen into a trap and is currently unconscious. Although there is no immediate threat to her life, the probability of death will increase considerably if she remains trapped for too long.]

Zac’s expression changed slightly, but the information continued.

[Inside the cave, the white-haired ***** woman from your class is attempting to open her final meridian. She is currently unable to move or interrupt the process.]

[Based on current calculations, the Rabbit Warriors have approximately fifteen to twenty minutes remaining before their summoning duration expires.]

[Further information regarding the Rabbit Warriors, Kelly Carter’s trap, or their current circumstances will require additional Info Points.]

Zac read the panel twice.

However, only one detail held his attention.

The system had explicitly identified Kelly Carter as a human woman. But when it referred to Sabrina, the word before "woman" had been concealed, as though it were information he was not qualified to access.

Zac narrowed his eyes. "System, you called Kelly human, but you censored Sabrina’s race."

He stared at the blurred word. "What exactly is going on here?"

The system remained silent.

Zac waited for a moment before asking, "What does that mean?"

[It means you do not possess enough Info Points to access that information.]

"Are you implying she isn’t human?"

[Five hundred Info Points are required for that answer.]

Zac released a slow breath. "I already have enough mysteries piled onto my plate. I don’t need another one right now."

He looked away from the panel. "Let’s forget about it."

Just then, Zac noticed the Rabbit Warriors flickering faintly. Their enormous bodies repeatedly faded in and out of existence.

"What’s happening to them?"

[Didn’t I tell you their summoning duration was limited? Their time is nearly over.]

Zac immediately drew the ordinary iron sword from his inventory, and lightning began crackling across its blade.

"Let’s save Miss Ice Cube first."

[How heroic.]

"Just balancing my karma after what I did a few hours ago."

With that, Zac leapt from the ridge. He landed directly between the cave and the horde of beasts.

The moment they noticed him, the monsters lunged.

Zac, on the other hand, raised his sword, and lightning flashed through the crimson snow as he charged into the horde.

Since the beasts were only E-rank and D-rank, the battle ended within seconds. Their numbers delayed him slightly, but none of them were powerful enough to pose any genuine threat.

After the last beast fell, Zac released the remaining lightning from his sword. The ordinary steel could no longer withstand the elemental energy and crumbled into ash.

Zac stared at his empty hand. "I hope I don’t have to fight again. That was my last sword."

[Perhaps you should have considered that before channelling lightning through ordinary steel.]

"Yeah. I realize that now."

He turned toward the cave.

The Rabbit Warriors noticed his gaze and immediately became agitated. They glared at him, gripping their weapons tightly.

Zac raised both hands. "Relax. I’m not here to hurt the ice cube."

But the summoned warriors had no way of understanding him; they slowly advanced, raising their weapons.

"Hey, I’m an ally, all right?"

Without warning, the sword-wielding rabbit slashed at him.

Zac flickered backward and reappeared several meters away.

[It appears they cannot distinguish allies from enemies.]

"Yeah, I noticed."

He reached into his inventory and pulled out a carrot he had stored among his cooking supplies.

"Hey, you overgrown bunnies. Want a carrot?" He held it out toward them.

[Every time I consider raising your intelligence rating in my System Codex, you do something so monumentally stupid that I’m forced to classify you as an idiot all over again.]

The Rabbit Warriors showed no interest whatsoever, and instead, they charged again.

"No kidding. It seems they don’t like carrots."

("...")

[Just kill them and enter the cave.]

"I can’t do that. You said they were created through her summoning skill, right? What if destroying them causes some kind of backlash to her?"

[And once again, you prove that a trace of intelligence does exist somewhere inside that head of yours.]

Zac retreated farther from the cave. "Anyway, the danger is gone. I’ll leave before they try turning me into rabbit food."

He ran in the opposite direction while the Rabbit Warriors continued to flicker. One after another, their bodies gradually faded away as their summoning duration came to an end.

After giving the cave one final glance, Zac turned toward the endless wasteland.

"System, show me where Kelly is."

[-10 Info Points.]

A translucent arrow appeared in front of him, visible only to his eyes. It floated in the air like a marker from a game, pointing toward a narrow path between two crimson ridges.

Guided by the arrow, Zac started walking.

***

Zac soon ventured deeper into the Crimson Ridge. Suddenly, the marker slowed and tilted downward.

He stepped closer and noticed a wide pit dug into the ground. Its edges were concealed beneath a thin layer of crimson snow, as though someone had deliberately tried to hide it.

At the bottom, Kelly lay unconscious.

Her pink hair was spread across the frozen ground, and one of her arms rested awkwardly beneath her body. Although there were no visible injuries, her breathing was shallow.

"Is this a trap, or did she stumble into a natural pit without noticing it?"

[Is that a question?]

"No. Don’t." Zac immediately shook his head. "I’m just thinking out loud. Don’t steal my points." With that, he jumped into the pit and carried Kelly back to the surface.

He checked her pulse and released a relieved breath. "She really is just asleep."

Zac placed her on the ground, scooped up some crimson snow, and used a small current of lightning to melt it into water.

Then he splashed it across her face.

Kelly stirred and mumbled, "Five more minutes... I’ll wake up."

Zac stared at her.

Then he lightly slapped her cheeks. "Hey. Wake up."

Slap!

"Come on."

Slap!

Kelly’s eyes flew open.

"Stop! Stop!" she shouted, covering her face. "If you keep slapping me like that, my face is going to swell like a pig’s!"

Zac stopped and looked at her. Kelly stared back at him for a few seconds. "Zac? Is that you?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

Kelly blinked sleepily. "But what are you doing in my room?"

Zac slowly looked around at the crimson snow ridges and the endless frozen wasteland. Then he looked back at her. "Really?"

Kelly blinked several more times before finally noticing her surroundings.

"Oh." She sat up. "Sorry. My mistake."

Zac crouched beside her. "What happened to you?"

Kelly’s eyes suddenly widened. "Wait! Now I remember!" She immediately grabbed Zac’s hand. "We have to save Snow. She’s opening her meridians right now, so she’s completely defenseless. We have to reach her before they do."

"If you’re talking about the beasts outside the cave, don’t worry. She’s safe."

Kelly froze. "What beasts?" Her grip tightened around his hand. "I’m not talking about beasts. Wait, are you saying she was surrounded by beasts?"

"Yeah. I cleared them out." Zac gestured toward the direction he had come from.

"I saw those rabbit soldiers fighting the beasts outside the cave. I figured they were protecting something, or someone, inside. So I killed the beasts before coming here."

Kelly immediately looked relieved, then her expression changed again. "Wait. How do you know those rabbits were my summons?"

"I didn’t."

Kelly paused. "Oh." She slowly released his hand. "So I just told you myself."

Zac gave her a flat look.

Kelly immediately waved it aside. "That doesn’t matter. We still have to hurry. They could return at any moment."

Zac’s eyes narrowed. "Who are ’they’?"

"The ten second-years." Kelly’s expression became serious. "They’re the reason I ended up unconscious. And they might try to do something to Snow while she’s defenseless."

The system immediately spoke inside Zac’s mind.

[And just when you thought no one would find out what happened.]