My System Doesn't Give Power

Siegfried didn’t speak for a while. He simply stood there with an intimidating aura, studying Zac with his eyes.

The look he gave him wasn’t the kind one would normally give a guest. Instead, it felt as though Siegfried was judging him with that glare, deciding whether he was worth the time.

Eventually, he asked, "Who are you, boy, and why are you here?"

"My name is Zac Delencore, a student at New Dawn Academy, and I’m here to see you about commissioning a new weapon. I want you to forge me a sword."

"Are you ordering me, boy?"

"No. I’m just requesting it."

"And what made you think I would accept?" Siegfried asked. "For the last ten years, I haven’t forged a single piece of equipment for anyone. Even people with great power have come to me and gone empty-handed. So what made you think I’d do it for you?"

He continued, "You walked into my compound, got into trouble within minutes, and now you’re standing in front of me, far too comfortable for someone your age."

"I wouldn’t say I’m comfortable. Your forge feels like it’s trying to cook me alive."

"Are you insulting me, boy?"

Instantly, the blacksmith’s aura flared in anger, trying to put pressure on Zac.

[Now you’ve done it.]

Zac still wore the same calm expression, looking at Siegfried as though nothing had happened.

Seeing that, Siegfried asked, "Are you not intimidated by me?"

With a calm smile, Zac said, "Panicking isn’t going to help me. And why should I be intimidated in the first place? If you didn’t want to see me, I wouldn’t be here anyway."

"So you’re saying you’re not scared of me?"

"Why would I be? Are you intimidating? Yes, very. Am I being cautious? Yes. Being cautious around someone stronger than me is common sense. But am I terrified? Not particularly. It doesn’t help me in any way."

"You have a way with words, don’t you?"

"I’m just choosing my words carefully before saying them out loud to someone who could crush me with a single move."

"At least you have some awareness." Siegfried looked at him. "Now, what happened outside?"

"What about it?"

"He insulted you and threatened you with my name. But you did nothing. You just stayed calm. Not even an angry glare. From your mana density, I can tell you’re more than capable of subduing him. Why did you stay calm?"

"Because I didn’t see any reason to take action."

"Even when he insulted and threatened you?"

Zac smiled slightly. "Do you want the honest answer or the humble one?"

"What do you think?"

"The honest one, then." Zac paused. "I might get annoyed, but I don’t get angry every time a fly starts buzzing beside my ear."

Siegfried stared at Zac for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. "Aha... Haaahaaaa... Ahaaaaa..."

[Congratulations. You made the giant laugh.]

"Stop it. I still don’t know why he’s laughing like that," Zac told the System.

After laughing to his heart’s content, Siegfried said, "You really are nothing like him."

"You mean the kid from outside?"

[You are a kid too, you know.]

"No, I’m not talking about him. I’m talking about your father."

For a moment, Zac was surprised, but he soon tried to hide it. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"You don’t have to pretend I know everything about you."

Zac became more cautious and asked, "You know about my father?"

"Of course I do. Why do you think I agreed to see you? If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have batted an eye at you even with that girl’s recommendation."

With that, the atmosphere in the room finally became normal. But questions stormed Zac’s mind about how Siegfried could have known.

Actually, considering the old man’s age, reputation, and the kind of people he’d dealt with throughout his life, it would have been stranger if their paths had never crossed.

But that wasn’t the surprising part. The surprising part was Siegfried knowing the relationship between Zac and his father.

"Now tell me, why are you using your mother’s last name instead of your father’s?"

Another surprise came Zac’s way. "You know my mom too?"

"Of course I know her. Why does that surprise you so much?"

"Well, she never talked about you or anything related to the Variant world."

"I wouldn’t blame her. She went through a lot, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she held a grudge against all of us." Siegfried paused. "Anyway, back to the question. Why are you using your mother’s last name? And why didn’t you introduce yourself as his son?"

"My father left me a message saying he had a lot of enemies. Since he isn’t here in person, I thought it would be safer to hide my identity."

"Well, the part about him having a lot of enemies is an undeniable truth. And I wouldn’t say using your mother’s last name is a bad idea."

Zac looked at him. "How did you find out about me? Did Armani tell you?"

"Yeah. She told me enough."

"Well, that still doesn’t answer how you know who my father was."

"Boy, I knew your father long before Armani ever started sticking her nose into other people’s business."

[That sounds personal.]

"Did you really think I’d let some teenager walk into my private forge just because that impulsive woman sent a message?"

"Impulsive, does no one have anything good to say about her?"

"Well, if you already knew who I was, then why did you pretend you didn’t?"

"I wanted to see what you’d do for me and to judge whether or not you’re worthy of getting me back to work."

"And the result?"

"I’m still deciding."

"Great."

"So, how’s Martha?"

"My mother?"

"Yeah. How many Marthas do you know?"

"Well, she’s doing fine."

"And what about your sister? And what’s her name again?"

"Carrie. She’s fine too. She just started middle school."

"Middle school, huh?" Siegfried said. "Time sure flies. They’re in the capital now, aren’t they? I heard they moved here recently."

"Yeah."

"It’s been ages since I last saw your mother. As for your sister, I’ve only seen her once, when she was born."

"You were there when she was born?"

"Not in the room, if that’s what you’re imagining. Your father sent word after she was born, and I visited not long after."

Zac looked at him. "Were you really that close to my parents?"

"Your mother and I knew each other through your father, but I wouldn’t say we were especially close. Your father, though..." Siegfried’s expression shifted slightly. "That was a completely different story. We went back a long way."

"How long?"

"Long enough."

"He’s avoiding the question, isn’t he?"

[Exactly.]

"He was much younger than me, obviously," Siegfried continued. "But neither of us ever treated the age difference as something important. We spoke to each other as equals. We were friends, and there was mutual respect between us."

For some reason, Zac found himself more curious than anything else.

He had spent years hearing fragments about his father. Stories, reputation, and pieces of information other people either believed or refused to tell him.

But this felt different.

Siegfried wasn’t speaking about some famous figure or repeating stories he had heard from someone else. He was talking about a long-lost friend.

Noticing the change in Zac’s composure, Siegfried asked, "Getting comfortable now?"

"No. I’m still being cooked alive." Zac looked at him. "But if you’re going to tell me more stories about him, I’m all ears. Please continue. I want to know more about him."

Siegfried seemed to understand immediately where the conversation was heading. "You’re going to ask me what happened to him, aren’t you?"

"Well... that’s not my next question, but it is on the list."

Siegfried gave him a small smile.

Seeing that smile, Zac asked, "So you do know what happened to him?"

"I know parts of it. But I don’t have the complete picture."

Zac’s attention sharpened. "That’s more than enough, can you tell me?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because Armani specifically told me not to."

Zac stared at him. "That’s your reason? You’re Siegfried, not some random person. What are you afraid of? And why is Armani deciding what you’re allowed to say?"

Siegfried gave him a flat look. "Be very careful with what you’re saying, boy."

"No. I want to know the truth. She already refused to tell me anything, and she’s even told everyone at the academy who’s old enough to know something about my father not to tell me."

Zac’s voice grew firmer. "Now I finally meet someone who actually knew him, and you’re going to do the exact same thing because she asked you to?"

"Try to understand, boy. Her reasons were very convincing."

"What kind of reasons? What exactly did she warn you about?"

Siegfried answered without hesitation.

"You."

Zac frowned. "Me?" Zac looked at him, perplexed.

"Yes, you," Siegfried continued. "She told me that if I told you everything I knew about your father’s disappearance, you’d start digging into it even further."

"Of course I would. He’s my father."

"And that is exactly why she told me not to tell you."

Zac fell silent.

"She warned me that you have a habit of taking matters into your own hands."

"She’s afraid that if you learn what happened, you’ll make your own assumptions and walk straight toward whatever is most likely to kill you."

Siegfried’s expression remained serious.

"She’s worried that your emotional instability, especially when it comes to your family, will get you killed. That’s the only reason I’m playing along with her."

Zac stared at him, unable to respond.

[False accusation. Defamation. Character assassination. Unfortunately, all true.]

Zac let out a long breath, trying to control himself. "Can you at least tell me exactly what she said?"

"She said, ’If you tell him too much, he’ll start looking for things he isn’t ready for and walk straight into danger and get himself killed before he’s strong enough to do anything useful.’"

He looked directly at Zac. "And she’s completely right. You’re still a youngling trying to grow into a giant. Take it slow."

His voice became calmer. "Think about it yourself, boy. You’ve been in my forge for less than an hour, and you’re already throwing a tantrum and arguing with a man several times your age who has the power to wipe you out of existence."

He continued, "And you’re talking badly about someone whose power you can’t even begin to fathom. That alone shows how impulsive you can be."

Zac opened his mouth to deny it, but he couldn’t.

[He’s got you there.]

Zac slowly leaned back in his chair. "Everyone keeps deciding what I can and can’t know. It feels like I’m a puppet."

"Sometimes, knowing something before you’re ready for it is a dangerous game."

"As wise as that sounds, it also sounds incredibly convenient."

Seeing Zac’s defeated expression, Siegfried spoke again. "I can’t tell you what you want to know. But that doesn’t mean I have nothing to tell you."

That immediately caught Zac’s attention.

"There are things about your father that Armani has no reason to hide from you. Things like how I met him, what kind of man he was..."

"I already know what kind of man he was."

"Do you now?" Siegfried looked at him with faint mockery. "You knew him as your father. But you don’t know the variant side of his life."

"And there’s one story in particular that you should hear."

Siegfried looked directly at him. "The story that leads to why I actually agreed to see you."