My System Doesn't Give Power

Once the laughter subsided, Matilda moved on to the next topic.

"Now that most of you have nearly completed the meridian-opening process, it’s time to move on to the second phase of your training. Coating"

The students immediately straightened in their seats and listened intently.

The mere mention of the next phase brought a different kind of silence to the classroom. Some students had already witnessed experienced variants using it, while a few others, including Zac, had attempted it themselves but failed to grasp it properly.

"This will also be the last class in which I officially teach all of you together like this."

Murmurs instantly spread across the classroom.

"The last class?"

"Is she leaving?"

"Are we finally getting another instructor?"

Matilda raised a hand. "Calm down and let me finish before you start planning my retirement. I’m not leaving, and you’re not getting rid of me that easily."

The classroom gradually quietened. "Today, I’ll teach you the fundamentals of Mana Coating. After that, you’ll be given two months to train and master it."

"Two months?" a student repeated. "Just for coating?"

"Yes."

Matilda’s expression became serious.

"At the end of those two months, each of you will undergo an assessment on Mana control and coating mastery. The assessment will measure how precisely you control your Mana and how proficiently you can apply coating."

She paused before continuing. "Those who reach the academy’s required standard will be granted access to the academy’s Skill Library."

The classroom went completely still. "Each of you will be permitted to choose any two skills from the library, excluding those located on the uppermost floor."

Matilda stopped speaking, allowing the students a moment to comprehend what she had just announced.

"Is she serious?"

"They’re giving us skills for free?"

"And two of them?"

"Oh, my God. It’s always been my dream to enter the Skill Library of the oldest academy on the planet."

"She said only the uppermost floor is restricted. Does that mean we can choose A-rank skills?"

Even the quieter students could not conceal their excitement.

New Dawn Academy was the oldest academy in the world and had maintained its position as the foremost academy throughout most of its history.

Many of the legendary figures who had shaped the modern world had emerged from New Dawn. Even several members of the first generation of variants had contributed to its establishment, granting the academy an exceptionally rich and prestigious legacy.

There were even claims that its Skill Library possessed a wider variety of techniques and abilities than the headquarters of the Variant Association itself.

A popular saying existed within the variant world:

If New Dawn cannot find a suitable skill for you, you probably won’t find one anywhere.

Whether the saying was entirely true or not, none of the students cared at that moment. They were being offered two skills without paying a single Kyros.

For young variants who had only recently begun their training, the opportunity was nothing short of heaven-sent.

"Two free skills?" Marty whispered excitedly. "Mate, that’s like receiving free food for life."

"That depends entirely on the food," Zac replied nonchalantly.

Marty ignored him and began muttering to himself. "An attack skill... No, maybe something that improves my regeneration."

He rubbed his chin. "Or I could choose an elemental skill."

"You’re a defensive-type warrior, Marty. You should probably choose defensive skills."

"I know, but it doesn’t hurt to dream."

Before the students could become too absorbed in their fantasies, Matilda interrupted them. "Settle down and don’t celebrate prematurely."

Her voice immediately subdued the room. "Access to the Skill Library is not guaranteed simply because you are a student here. If your Mana control is poor or your coating fails to reach the required standard, you will not be permitted to enter."

Several students’ excitement visibly diminished.

"Of course, you’ll be given an additional month to train before attempting the assessment again. However, those who pass on their second attempt will only be allowed to choose one skill instead of two."

Matilda looked over the classroom sternly.

"So train properly and make the most of this opportunity. Waste the next two months, and you’ll be left watching your classmates soar through the skies while you dig yourself a hole and sleep in it."

The students immediately became more attentive.

Satisfied, Matilda continued. "As I said, after today, you will no longer attend regular classroom lessons in the same manner as before."

"Following the two-month training period and your assessment, you’ll attend combat training once every week for the remainder of your first six months at the academy."

She paused. "The sessions will be supervised by Sir Simon."

Zac’s eyes lifted slightly.

He immediately remembered the bearded man wearing a kimono and straw hat whom he had encountered at the academy market.

Marty quietly nudged him. "Is that the same Mr. Simon we saw at the market?"

"Unless there’s another Simon wandering around here dressed like a traveling swordsman, it has to be him."

"Do you think he’ll remember us?"

"Unless he has Alzheimer’s, of course he will."

Marty opened his mouth to reply.

"Mr. Williams, Mr. Delencore." Both of them immediately looked forward.

Matilda stared at them. "Would you like to share your private discussion with the class?"

"No, ma’am," Marty answered immediately.

Zac nodded solemnly. "He was merely expressing his excitement, ma’am."

"Save that excitement for Sir Simon’s training. I’m certain he’ll appreciate it."

Matilda walked around the desk and leaned against its edge. "Just because your regular classroom lessons are ending doesn’t mean I’ll stop teaching you. I am still your class supervisor."

"If you have questions, encounter difficulties during training, or require guidance, you may come to me at any time."

Her gaze swept across the students. "And I strongly recommend that you do so instead of blindly experimenting and destroying your bodies."

Matilda straightened. "Now, enough about future rewards."

With a slight movement of her hand, Mana gathered around her fingers.

It spread smoothly across her skin, forming a thin, almost transparent layer that shimmered beneath the classroom light.

The students’ attention immediately fixed on her hand. "Now for the actual reason behind today’s class."

Matilda raised her hand, allowing everyone to clearly observe the perfectly controlled layer of Mana surrounding it.

"Let’s begin."

"Water." Matilda looked across the classroom.

"From the moment you’re born until the day you die, you drink water several times every single day. But because it is readily available and something you’ve done since childhood, you rarely think about it unless you’re thirsty."

"Even when schools teach us how vital water is to the human body, most people forget the lesson the moment class ends."

Her gaze moved across the students. "But can any of you confidently say that you could live your entire life without drinking it?"

The students remained silent.

"No, right?"

[Technically, that isn’t entirely true,] the System said inside Zac’s mind.

[What she said applies to ordinary humans, but in the world of variants, it is only true up to a certain level. Once a variant reaches S-rank, their body no longer requires ordinary food or water to sustain itself.]

"That’s still a long way away."

[True. On a backwater planet like this, the number of people who awaken S-rank potential or beyond are very low.]

[And the number who survive long enough to actually reach that level is even smaller.]

[So yes, in a way, what she said is correct. But if you consider the wider universe, or even the exceptions on this planet, claiming that no one can live without water would still be inaccurate.]

While Zac listened to the system’s needless correction, Matilda continued her lecture.

"The same principle applies to coating."

"I’m not saying you’ll immediately die if you fail to learn it. But for a variant, coating is as essential as water is to an ordinary person."

"More importantly, coating isn’t limited to combat."

"For example, if you ever need to ride a flying beast, a coating can anchor your body against the wind pressure. Without it, you might be thrown off its back before you even leave the ground."

"And that is only one of countless situations where coating can prove useful."

She paused briefly. "But before I explain what coating actually is, let me tell you a little about its history."

The students listened attentively.

"During the apocalypse, humanity was continuously driven back by mutated beasts. Although humans possessed intelligence, technology, and newly awakened supernatural abilities, we still couldn’t compete with them properly."

"The reason was simple."

"Awakening was entirely new to humanity. We didn’t understand our own abilities, nor did we know how to develop them. For most people, the only skills available were the ones they had naturally awakened."

"Beasts, on the other hand, already possessed several innate advantages."

"They were born with racial abilities and instinctively knew how to use them. A beast could wield its natural powers with greater proficiency than a human who had spent years trying to master a newly awakened ability."

"And so, the brightest minds of humanity began searching for a way to close that gap."

"That was when coating was invented."

[Not true.]

Zac’s eyes shifted slightly.

"Are you saying she’s lying?"

[No. She isn’t lying. She’s simply ignorant, just like nearly everyone else on this planet.]

"So, would you be kind enough to enlighten this ignorant mortal?"

[Well, since you asked so politely.]

The system continued.

[The technique you call coating was not actually invented by humanity. Countless civilizations throughout the universe practise similar techniques.]

[The names and methods may differ, but the fundamental principle is nearly universal.]

"So humans only rediscovered it?"

[Exactly.]

[Since Earth has no communication or meaningful contact with other civilizations, humans naturally assumed they were the first to create it.]

[Then they gave it a painfully unimaginative name like ’coating.’]

Meanwhile, Matilda continued her lecture. "After coating was developed, humanity’s overall combat strength nearly doubled."

"The technique was rapidly distributed among the major human forces, allowing variants to confront mutated beasts on far more equal terms."

"It would not be an exaggeration to say that the creator of coating contributed as much to humanity’s survival as many of the greatest warriors of that era."

"Even now, centuries later, we continue to use the same fundamental technique."

Matilda turned toward the board and wrote a single word.

COATING

Then she faced the students again. "Now, what exactly is it?"