My System Doesn't Give Power

"Wait, before going there, can you tell me what really happened?"

Kelly hesitated for a moment.

Inside Zac’s mind, the system spoke cheerfully.

[You do know you could always learn the entire story from me, right? Since you’re my host, I might even offer you a discount.]

"I’m not paying you again, so shut up."

Kelly blinked. "Did you say something?"

"No. Nothing. You can start."

She studied him suspiciously for a second before finally speaking. "Well, Snow and I were teleported fairly close to each other. We found one another not long after entering the realm."

"Then we came across a pack of wolves. Snow followed their tracks back to their nesting ground, and that’s where we found those strange green plants."

Kelly paused briefly. "Snow recognized them immediately. She explained that they were useful for opening and stabilizing meridians."

"You mean Mend Stem Sprigs?"

"Yes, those." Kelly looked at him in surprise. "Wait, how do you know about them? Snow said she read about them in an old book. Do you have a copy of that book too?"

Zac gave her a slightly awkward smile. "Uh... maybe."

Kelly adjusted her position and continued. "After that, we started hunting more beasts and collecting the plants they were guarding. Since I had fewer meridians opened, Snow offered to stand guard while I finished mine."

"Once I opened all twelve, it was her turn to cultivate. So I stayed outside to protect her."

"And then what happened?" Zac asked.

"Well, a few hours ago... I think. I don’t really know how long I was unconscious." Kelly rubbed the side of her head.

"Anyways, one of my spy bunnies detected a group moving toward us."

Zac raised an eyebrow. "Wait. You can create spy bunnies too?"

Kelly’s expression instantly brightened. "I know, right? My ability is ridiculously broken. And it’s not just spy bunnies. I can even create..."

"Wait, wait." Zac raised a hand. "As interested as I am in hearing about your rabbit empire, continue with the story."

Kelly pouted slightly. "Fine. My ability lets me summon different types of bunnies, and spies are one of them."

She paused, trying to remember where she had left off. "Where was I? Right, the group."

"They were ten second-year students, and they clearly had malicious intentions. My bunnies helped me determine that none of them were particularly strong individually."

"But they were all C-ranks," she continued. "And there were ten of them, so I knew I couldn’t fight them easily."

"And Sabrina was still opening her meridian," Zac said. "So you couldn’t let them discover she was inside the cave."

"Exactly." Kelly’s expression became more solemn. "You know how people can be. Two young women left vulnerable in front of ten men with bad intentions..."

Zac suddenly remembered Sabrina’s anger from when they first met and thought, "Maybe they should’ve gone after her before coming after me. That would’ve saved me a lot of trouble."

He shook his head. "Just continue the story."

"Right." Kelly cleared her throat. "Since they were heading directly toward us, I needed to distract them and draw them away from the cave."

"So I left several warrior bunnies behind to protect Snow, then led the second-years in the opposite direction."

A smug smile appeared on her face. "And just as I expected, the moment they saw a helpless woman like me, they followed without thinking twice."

"Everything was going well at first, but somehow they caught up." Her smile faded. "And because my luck is spectacular, one of them had a mental-type ability."

"She used it on me before I could stop her and forced me to fall asleep." Kelly looked at Zac. "That’s all I remember. When I opened my eyes again, you were sitting in front of me."

Zac replayed everything she had said in his mind. Then he turned and looked toward the pit.

"They must have dug that hole and placed you inside."

Kelly frowned. "But why did they leave me alive?"

"Maybe they had something else to deal with first," Zac replied. "They probably planned to come back for you later."

Kelly’s expression immediately became serious. "You think they were after Snow?"

"There’s always that possibility." Zac paused. "Although I can’t imagine anyone willingly trying to get close to that ice cube."

Kelly ignored the insult. "Miss Matilda said only our class would be allowed into this section of the realm. So why were second-years here?"

"Who knows?" Zac stood up. "We’ll only be able to investigate properly once we leave this place."

Kelly also rose to her feet and brushed the crimson snow from her uniform. "Fine. I’m going back to check on Snow."

She looked at Zac. "Are you coming with me?"

"No."

Kelly stared at him in surprise. "You came all the way here to save us, and now you’re leaving without even waiting for a thank-you?"

"I’m not convinced she’d thank me no matter what I did." Zac glanced away. "Besides, I was only nearby."

Kelly narrowed her eyes slightly but did not question him further. "Fine." She turned and started walking toward the caves.

"Wait," Zac suddenly called out.

Kelly stopped and looked back. Zac opened his inventory, took out a bundle of Mend Stem sprigs, and tossed it toward her.

Kelly caught them with both hands. "What are these for?"

"I already opened all twelve of my meridians, so I don’t need them anymore."

Kelly looked down at the bundle. "But I already opened all twelve of mine too. I just told you that."

"I know."

Her expression slowly softened. "Oh. Are these for Snow?"

"Not necessarily." Zac turned away. "Use them however you want."

He took a few steps before turning back once more. "And don’t tell that ice cube I helped either of you." Without waiting for an answer, he began walking away.

Before he could disappear into the snowfall, Kelly called after him. "Thank you."

Zac lifted one hand without looking back. "Go check on your friend."

Kelly watched him for another second before hurrying toward the cave.

Inside Zac’s mind, the System spoke.

[You’re remarkably bad at pretending not to care.]

"I only gave them away because I don’t need them."

[Of course. Naturally.]

Zac’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance, but he continued walking through the crimson snow.

When Kelly reached the cave, she immediately saw the aftermath of the battle.

Cracks spread across the ground, several crimson stones had been shattered, and patches of frozen snow were torn apart by deep claw marks and weapon strikes.

Although none of the beasts’ bodies remained, she could easily tell that a fierce battle had taken place there, and as she approached the entrance, Sabrina was already walking out of the cave by herself.

Her white hair moved gently in the cold wind. Her face looked slightly pale, yet there was a faint radiance around her that had not been there before.

Kelly immediately ran toward her and pulled her into a hug. "Snow, are you all right?"

Sabrina looked at her calmly. "I’m fine."

Her gaze moved over Kelly’s clothes as she checked her for injuries. "What happened to you?"

Kelly fell silent for a brief moment.

She thought about Zac. Since he had specifically asked her not to mention that he had helped them, she decided to respect his request.

"I detected ten second-years heading toward us," Kelly said. "So I left a few warrior bunnies here to protect you and led them away."

Sabrina’s eyes sharpened. "What? Second-years?"

Despite the concern in her voice, her face remained as calm and expressionless as ever. "Are you okay?"

Kelly nodded. "Well..." She began explaining everything that had happened, carefully leaving out Zac’s involvement.

When she finished, Sabrina narrowed her eyes. "So you woke up by yourself and came straight back here?"

"Yeah."

Kelly gestured toward the ruined battlefield. "And my warrior bunnies killed all the beasts here while you were cultivating."

Sabrina looked at her. "Your bunnies?"

"Yep." Kelly smiled proudly. "Aren’t I amazing?"

"You certainly are." Sabrina studied her for several seconds.

Kelly maintained an innocent smile, though unease slowly crept through her because she was lying directly to her friend’s face.

In the end, Sabrina did not question her further. "It’s good that you’re safe."

Kelly released a quiet breath of relief. "Oh, by the way, how many meridians do you still need to open?"

"I’ve already opened eleven," Sabrina replied. "I only need to open the final one. Once my eleventh meridian is fully consolidated, I’ll attempt the twelfth."

"Oh, then it’s a good thing I have these." Kelly lifted the bundle of Mend Stem Sprigs and showed them to her. "Since we have so many now, we won’t need to go out and hunt more beasts."

Sabrina looked at the large bundle in her hands. "Where did you get all of those?"

Kelly hesitated for a fraction of a second. "I found them." Sabrina continued staring at her. "You know that pit I was unconscious in? They were growing everywhere inside it."

"What a heavenly coincidence," Sabrina said flatly. She stared at Kelly for several more seconds. Kelly smiled innocently, doing her best to conceal how uncomfortable she felt about lying.

"I only need one or two for my final meridian," Sabrina finally said.

"We can keep the rest."

"For what?"

"We could sell them after leaving the realm."

Sabrina’s expression remained indifferent. "Do whatever you want."

She turned and looked back at the cave. "We should move somewhere safer before I try opening my final meridian."

"Yeah, agreed." Kelly glanced around at the ruined ground. "This place has definitely lost its peaceful atmosphere."

Together, the two of them left the cave and began searching for another location.

The next two days passed slowly.

Most of the students spent their remaining time opening and consolidating their meridians. Some continued hunting beasts and collecting herbs, while others remained hidden inside caves, unwilling to risk another dangerous encounter.

After wandering for a long time without finding anything worthwhile, Zac eventually discovered another small cave and decided to spend the remainder of his punishment there.

He ate canned food, slept comfortably, and practiced circulating mana through all twelve of his newly opened meridians.

Marty’s group continued following their rotation system. One person cultivated while another stood guard, and the remaining two ventured outside to hunt beasts and collect herbs.

Meanwhile, Kelly stood guard while Sabrina attempted to open her final meridian.

After Sabrina successfully opened her twelfth meridian, she remained inside the cave for several hours, consolidating it with the black liquid made from boiled Mend-stem sprig leaves.

By the final day, nearly every student had made considerable progress. Almost all of them had opened at least seven or eight meridians.

Then, without warning, a pale light appeared around every student who had entered the Summer and Winter Realm a week earlier.

Before anyone could understand what was happening, their bodies began disappearing from the realm. When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves back at the academy, inside the realm’s exit hall.

And Matilda was already waiting for them.

She stood and looked over the returning students. "It seems all of you made it back safely. Welcome."

Her gaze moved across the group. "It also appears that each of you has made considerable progress. Congratulations. Now that you’ve returned, we can begin discussing your next..."

"Snore..."

Matilda stopped speaking.

"Snore... snore..."

Everyone turned their heads toward the source.

There, in the middle of the exit hall, Zac lay on the floor with a pillow beneath his head and a blanket covering his body.

He was sleeping like a hibernating bear, and everyone, including Matilda, stared at him with the same thought.

"Seriously?"