My System Doesn't Give Power

When Zac opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a narrow alleyway between towering buildings.

[Successfully returned from a pocket dimension.]

[+200 Info Points]

"Really, you didn’t give me points for the tournament, but now you are giving?"

[If you don’t like it, I can always take it back.]

"Like I will let you."

He walked toward the opening, and the moment he stepped out, the sheer extravagance of Central City unfolded before his eyes.

Even this early in the morning, the streets were already bustling with people. Luxurious cars moved along the roads as commonly as city buses, and almost everyone Zac passed carried themselves with an unmistakable air of wealth and status.

"Well, this is Central City, after all."

[You should have brought some extra clothes before coming here.]

"Why? What’s wrong with my clothes?"

[Nothing is wrong with them. They simply don’t fit the atmosphere very well.]

"Oh, you mean the luxury element? I’m not particularly fond of it."

[Neither am I. But you don’t want unnecessary attention, right? Then it would be better if you blended in with your surroundings.]

"Well, what’s done is done. Let’s just finish what we came here for and move quickly."

Zac pulled out his VSB and downloaded the official city map from the Variant Association’s website, just as Matron had instructed.

It didn’t take long for him to determine his location. "So I’m in the Inner District."

He then checked the coordinates Armani had sent him. "And according to this, Siegfried lives in the Core District. Good. I teleported fairly close to the entrance."

"This shouldn’t take long. But before going anywhere, let’s first fill our stomach."

He stopped at a small restaurant nearby for breakfast, and for someone who had spent the last six months mostly eating his own cooking, having a proper restaurant meal again felt heavenly.

He ate until he was completely satisfied before stepping outside and calling a taxi. Once inside, Zac gave the driver the destination.

The man checked it, then turned around with a peculiar expression. "I can take you as far as the entrance to the Core District, kid, but I can’t take you inside."

"Why not?"

The driver looked at him again. "You’re new to the city, aren’t you?"

"You could say that."

The man started the car. "The Inner District and the Core District aren’t exactly the same kind of place."

As he drove, he continued, "The Core District is a place of power. Many of the world’s leading organizations have their headquarters there. The World Bank, the Variant Association, major guilds..."

He glanced at Zac through the mirror. "And out of the world’s top five academies, except New Dawn, the other four are located inside the Core District too."

"So normal people can’t enter?"

"Not ordinarily." The driver shrugged. "People like us usually don’t have any reason to be there anyway."

"But if you want to enter, you need either an invitation or authorization from one of the organizations inside, a registered residence there, or official permission from the Variant Association."

Zac leaned back in his seat. "I see. Fine, just get me as close to the Core District as you can."

"That I can do." The driver nodded, and the taxi continued deeper into Central City.

After nearly half an hour, Zac stepped out of the taxi and found himself standing before the entrance to the Core District.

Calling it heavily guarded would have been an understatement.

Security personnel were stationed throughout the enormous checkpoint, and everyone entering was subjected to strict verification.

Of course, people carrying the insignia of influential families or wearing the uniforms of major organizations barely had to undergo any inspection at all.

Seeing that, Zac thought, "It seems double standards and class discrimination exist everywhere."

[Not just everywhere in this world. Everywhere in the universe.]

Zac slowly approached one of the guards and presented his academy identification.

The guard examined the ID, ran it through the verification system, and looked at Zac once more before finally allowing him through.

The moment Zac entered the Core District, he immediately sensed the difference.

[The mana density here is extremely high. It’s almost comparable to your academy’s pocket dimension.]

"Yeah, I felt it too.Maybe that’s why they built the Core District here in the first place."

[That seems reasonable.]

He pulled out his VSB, checked Siegfried’s location again, and called another taxi.

He showed the driver the destination, and the man’s expression changed the moment he saw the address.

He looked at the screen, then at Zac. "Are you going to meet Master Siegfried?"

"Yeah. I have an appointment."

The driver raised an eyebrow in surprise. "So you’re going there to ask Master Siegfried to forge something for you?"

"Yeah. He’s a blacksmith, isn’t he? Why else would I be visiting him?"

"If you would allow, can I speak my mind?"

"Go ahead."

The driver hesitated before starting the car. "I’ve driven plenty of people to that compound over the years."

"Oh? Then you must know quite a lot about him."

"Actually, no." The driver shook his head. "I only know the same things that were known by everyone. I have been driving as a taxi driver here for the last 8 years and have gone by his compound countless times, but never have I even seen him in person."

"And it’s not just me; young masters from influential families, executives from major organizations, powerful variants, and all kinds of people have gone there hoping to convince Master Siegfried to forge something for them."

"But as far as I know, none of them succeeded. He just turned every one of them away."

Zac raised an eyebrow. "So you’re saying he doesn’t give a damn about anyone’s influence or power?"

"Not at all. How can you impress someone with influence who once stood near the summit of the world?"

"Whatever kind of influence people try to impress him with, he has probably already seen far greater things during his life."

"So it doesn’t matter who they are. If he doesn’t want to forge something for them, that’s the end of it. No one can convince him otherwise."

"At least that’s what I heard from the people around here."

The driver hesitated. "I don’t know what brought you here, but if you won’t take offense, I’d say you’re probably making a wasted trip."

[Another encouraging person. Wonderful.]

"Sorry for saying that," the driver added. "I’m only telling you what I’ve seen and heard over the years."

"That’s fine. I’ve already heard something similar."

Zac looked outside. "But it’s still better to try than not try at all, right?"

The driver chuckled. "Well, I can’t argue with that. Who knows? Maybe all the stars will align for you today."

"Let’s hope they do."

After nearly forty-five minutes of travel, the taxi finally came to a stop.

The driver glanced back. "Sir, we’ve arrived."

"Already?"

"Yeah. The Core District is relatively smaller than the Inner and Outer Districts. Master Siegfried’s compound isn’t too deep inside either."

"I see." Zac paid the fare with an extra and stepped out.

The driver gave him one final look with a happy smile. "Good luck. I hope you actually get the chance to meet him."

"Thanks."

After the taxi disappeared, Zac turned around and saw he was standing before an enormous compound that occupied the entire street.

High walls surrounded the property, completely separating it from its surroundings, while everything within sight appeared immaculate, almost unnaturally pristine.

There was no traffic, no pedestrians walking on the pavement, and no noise of vehicles. The entire street was utterly peaceful.

Zac slowly walked toward the main gate, noticing several security guards stationed there.

The moment one of them saw him approaching, he raised a hand. "Stop. This is private property. No one enters without an invitation."

Zac took out his academy identification. "I’m a student of New Dawn Academy, and I came to see Master Siegfried with a recommendation."

The guard barely glanced at the ID. "It doesn’t matter. Master Siegfried doesn’t meet visitors without his personal approval. Whether you’re an academy student or a teacher or even a noble, it makes no difference."

"But..." Before Zac could respond, another guard approached.

"What’s going on?"

The first guard turned toward him. "This young man claims he’s from New Dawn Academy and came to meet Master Siegfried."

The second guard paused. "New Dawn, you say? I did receive word that a young man would arrive today carrying a recommendation from someone highly influential."

He then looked at Zac. "Who recommended you, young man?"

Zac hesitated, thinking about whether he should say it or not. He knows how famous Armani is; if news that someone has her recommendation got out, it would surely put him in a lot of praying eyes. So he chose to hide it.

"I don’t think I should say their name. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to reveal who they are."

The guard studied him for a moment before nodding. "Fair enough. People making recommendations of this nature usually prefer discretion."

[Translation: rich people enjoy unnecessary secrecy.]

"You say that like I’m some kind of poor person. You do remember I have more than two thousand billion Kairos in my account, right?"

[Fair point.]

The guard then stepped aside and said, "You may enter."

But before Zac could move, the first guard suddenly spoke. "Sir... a young man already came a few hours ago."

"What?" The second guard slowly turned toward him in shock.

"I thought he was the person we were told to expect, so I already let him inside."

The man’s expression hardened. "You thought? Didn’t you verify him?"

The first guard lowered his head. "He looked like someone from an influential family, so I assumed..."

"You assumed what?" The senior guard began shouting while rubbing his forehead.

"How long have we been working here? Haven’t you seen enough rich young people coming here trying to meet Master Siegfried?"

He exhaled heavily. "I don’t know what I’m going to do. If Master Siegfried finds out we allowed someone inside without approval, he’ll throw both of us out before we can even explain ourselves."

The first guard looked equally miserable.

[He just got a countdown on his career.]

"Don’t mock someone else’s misery."

[When did you become a saint?]

"I’m not, just cultured enough to know that taking pleasure in someone else’s misery is a sin."

[Fine. From today onward, let me become the living embodiment of Scrooge.]

Zac put on a confused face. "Who’s Scrooge?"

The system went silent.

[You... don’t know?]

"Am I supposed to?"

[Please, at least tell me you people still celebrate Christmas.]

That we do. It comes during winter, right?

[Thank God.]

While Zac was having a banter with the system, the first guard glanced toward Zac. "Sir, should we let him enter?"

The senior guard stared at him. "What do you think? We already let the wrong person inside. If we turn away the one we were actually expecting, Master Siegfried will be even angrier."

He rubbed his forehead again. "And I don’t want to be at the center of that anger."

He then looked at Zac. "Go ahead, kid."

Zac nodded. "Thank you."

He entered while the two guards continued their increasingly uncomfortable discussion behind him.

[You haven’t even met the legendary man yet, and someone already has a headache.]

"I had nothing to do with that."

[Your presence always seems to coincide with disaster.]