My System Doesn't Give Power

Chapter 85: Trouble in Market

Once Matilda left the classroom, everyone’s gaze slowly shifted toward Sabrina. Feeling the entire class staring at her, Sabrina turned around with a calm expression.

"I am a mage," she said. "And I have high compatibility with mana. That’s why sensing and controlling mana was easier for me." With that, she turned back around and sat down.

After hearing her explanation, most of the students gradually left the classroom. Only Zac, Marty, Kelly, Adrian, Daniel, and Shobin stayed behind.

The six of them gathered around Sabrina, and Marty was the first to speak. "Miss Sabrina..."

"I told you not to call me ’Miss.’"

"...Yeah, Sabrina," Marty corrected himself. "Can you tell us a little more about how you opened your first meridian?"

Sabrina looked at him for a moment before answering. "Just like I said, I have a high compatibility with mana that made sensing and controlling it much easier for me."

"But I will say one thing: trying to force mana or dominate it from the very beginning will only make things harder."

"At first, don’t try to control it. Simply guide it and treat it like flowing water. Once you become familiar with its flow, slowly start taking control of it."

After hearing her explanation, everyone fell into thought. Even Zac, who normally mocked almost everything she said, remained silent this time.

He genuinely considered her advice.

[Look at that, for the first time, you didn’t mock her and actually listened. Did the Ice Princess finally melt your heart?]

"Princess or not...if it’s useful, I don’t care where it comes from."

Suddenly, Shobin remembered something and turned toward Daniel.

"Daniel, can you tell us what the Summer and Winter Cell actually is? I searched the academy website, but all I found was that it’s used to punish students."

Daniel’s expression changed slightly.

"Well...My sister never really explained what it is. But from what she told me...it’s a very weird place."

Marty tilted his head. "How weird can it be?"

Daniel looked around at everyone before speaking. "She said it’s a place where fire freezes you to death...and ice burns you to a crisp."

The classroom fell silent.

Marty blinked. "Yeah...That’s definitely weird."

Adrian immediately frowned. "That makes absolutely no sense. How can fire freeze someone? And how can ice burn hotter than flames? That’s complete nonsense."

He looked at Daniel suspiciously. "Are you sure your sister wasn’t just messing with you?"

Daniel shook his head. "I don’t think so."

Shobin looked at him again. "Then why don’t you just ask her?"

Daniel fell silent. After a moment, he finally spoke. "We stopped talking to each other a long time ago."

His voice remained calm, but the expression on his face carried emotions far heavier than his words, so no one asked anything further.

After a brief silence, Marty slowly turned toward Zac. "Why don’t you ask?"

The others also turned toward him.

Zac let out a long sigh. "Fine. I’ll ask her when I get the chance and message you guys."

Kelly’s eyes lit up. "Great! Then let me create a group chat for all of us. That way you won’t have to message everyone separately."

Zac immediately stopped her. "Fine. But on one condition. Don’t spam the group with ’Good morning’ and ’Good night’ messages."

Kelly blinked. "Hey! What’s wrong with those?"

Later that day, Zac and Marty walked through the academy market to restock their groceries.

Since the Beginner’s Food restaurant followed its opening hours very strictly, getting a table wasn’t easy even if they arrived on time. So cooking at home had gradually become the norm.

Marty walked beside Zac, carrying a small grocery bag. "Zac, do you think we’ll really be able to open all twelve meridians before next month?"

"Of course not," Zac answered without hesitation.

Hearing that, Marty nearly tripped over his own feet. "Why did you answer so fast?"

"Because I’m not interested in lying just to comfort you." Zac picked up a few vegetables from one of the stalls while speaking. "Even that Ice Cube only managed to open one meridian in an entire week. At best, she might open another four or five in the remaining three weeks."

Marty looked even more worried. "Then why did Miss Matilda give us an impossible task?"

"I don’t know." Zac placed the vegetables into his basket. "Maybe she really wants all of us to get punished, or maybe she has some reason for wanting us to experience the summer and winter cells."

Marty thought for a moment before asking, "Can’t you ask the vice principal about it?"

"Absolutely not."

"Why?"

"You think she’ll let me live if she finds out I bothered her over something like this?"

Marty nodded seriously. He still remembered what had happened at the harbor. The image of the woman standing there, drenched in blood, still haunted his nightmares. "...Yeah. Let’s forget I ever suggested that."

Just then, someone suddenly bumped into Marty from the side. Marty staggered and nearly dropped his grocery bag. "Hey, watch where you’re..."

He stopped mid-sentence, seeing the person who had just bumped into him was wearing a white ribbon tied around his upper arm.

"A second-year," Marty thought.

The student looked down at him with a cold expression. "You’ve got some nerve talking to a senior like that."

Marty’s expression stiffened. Before he could say anything, the student took a step closer. "Who do you think you are, fatty?"

Zac immediately stepped beside Marty. "It’s our fault. We should’ve paid more attention." He lightly grabbed Marty’s shoulder, intending to leave.

But the second-year student smiled, and the three students standing behind him stepped forward, blocking their path.

"It’s your fault. I know that much." The senior looked at Zac. "But do you really think I’ll let it go just because you admitted it?"

Marty quietly lowered his head. "I’m sorry; it won’t happen again."

"Sorry won’t cut it, fatty."

Zac looked at him calmly. "Then what do you want?"

The second-year pointed at the ground. "Kneel and kowtow three times and shout, ’I’m a blind pig,’ so forgive me for bumping into you, Senior."

Marty stared at him for a second. "Dude...Are you serious? What era are you living in? Kowtow? That tradition died before my grandmother’s grandmother did."

The second-year’s face immediately darkened. "Are you mocking us, fatty?" The very next second, he lunged at Marty and threw a punch straight at his face.

Before the punch could land, Zac stepped in front of Marty and caught the incoming fist with one hand.

The second-year student froze. Zac looked him straight in the eyes. "Didn’t he already apologize? So why make such a big scene?"

The second-year glared at him. "Who are you? Trying to play the hero?" As he spoke, he tried to pull his hand back, but no matter how hard he struggled, Zac’s grip didn’t move an inch.

"Let go of my hand, you motherfu...!" Before he could finish cursing, Zac tightened his grip.

"Ah...AAAH!"

The scream echoed through the market. The second-year’s arrogant expression instantly twisted into one of pain.

"What are you doing?! Let go of my hand this instant!"

Zac tightened his grip even further.

Crack! Crack!

The sound of bones cracking echoed through the street.

"AAAHH!"

Just before he could completely crush the man’s hand, Zac let go. The second-year immediately stumbled backward, clutching his wrist.

His face was red with anger and humiliation, even more than pain. "You...How dare you attack a senior?"

His three friends quickly rushed over. "What happened?"

Unwilling to admit what had really happened, the second-year pointed at Zac. "This guy... He tried to sneak attack me! Grab him!"

The three second-years immediately stepped forward, channelling their mana and coating it around their body.

Marty’s expression became tense.

Inside Zac’s mind, the system spoke excitedly. [Wonderful. Finally, some entertainment.]

Before anyone could make a move, however, a rough voice came from behind one of the vegetable stalls. "What’s going on here?"

Everyone turned toward the voice. Standing behind one of the vegetable stalls was a bearded man holding a grocery bag in one hand.

He wore a loose, slightly crumpled kimono and a straw hat, making him look more like a farmer than someone from the academy.

Zac and Marty looked at him in confusion. The second-year students, however, immediately straightened their backs. "Sir Simon..."

The man called Simon didn’t even bother looking at them. He continued inspecting the vegetables in front of him, casually holding a carrot in his hand. "Don’t you have anything better to do than bully your juniors?"

"Sir, that’s..."

"I don’t need your useless explanations." He dropped a few vegetables into his bag. "Now get the hell out of here."

"Yes, sir." The second-years immediately turned to leave. But before walking away, the one whose hand Zac had nearly crushed glanced back at him. "This isn’t over, punk."

Zac gave him a small, mocking smile. "I’ll be waiting."

The second-year’s expression twisted with frustration, but he didn’t dare say anything else in front of Simon, and the four of them quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Only then did Marty finally relax and let out a long breath. "That was close."

Zac turned toward Simon. "Thank you, sir."

[Yeah, yeah. Thanks a lot; you ruined my entertainment.]

Simon casually waved a hand. "I don’t think thanks are necessary. Even without me, you would’ve handled them."

Zac looked at him. "Then why did you step in?"

Simon slightly turned toward him. "I don’t like unnecessary chaos inside the academy, and even if you had won, they could’ve gone straight to the disciplinary committee and filed a complaint against you."

Marty blinked. "That’s dirty. Aren’t they the ones who started it?"

Simon paid for the vegetables before answering. "That’s what people like them do. Get used to it; there are plenty more like them in this world."

[Humans. They’re incredibly creative...especially when they’re blaming someone else for their own mistakes.]

Marty looked at Simon curiously. "Sir, are you a teacher at the academy?"

"Do I look like one?"

Marty’s eyes slowly traveled from Simon’s straw hat to his wrinkled kimono. He slowly opened his mouth, but before he could say something he would probably regret, Zac spoke first. "I believe appearances can be deceiving."

For the first time, Simon properly looked at Zac with a faint smile appearing on his face. "Good answer." He adjusted the grocery bag in his hand.

"I’m Simon, battle training instructor."

Marty immediately straightened his back. "I’m Marty Williams. A first-year student." Zac nodded. "And I’m Zac Delancore."

Simon narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Zac?"

"Yeah. Zac Delancore."

Simon smiled faintly before turning around. "I don’t like calling people by made-up names, so I’ll just remember you as Zac."

Zac was stunned for a moment. "Wait...Do you..."

Simon simply raised a hand as he continued walking. "No more questions, kid." A few moments later, he disappeared into the crowd.

Marty slowly looked at Zac. "Did he..."

"...Yeah." Zac’s expression turned serious. "He knows my real name." For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. Inside Zac’s mind, the System chuckled.

[I know exactly what you’re thinking, ’Great. Another old man who speaks in riddles.’ Am I right?]

"Just shut up."

After buying the rest of their groceries, Zac and Marty returned to their respective houses.

The moment Zac got home, he placed the grocery bag on the kitchen counter before walking straight to the living room.

He sat down on the sofa and opened his VSB. His eyes stopped on a familiar name in his contact list.

The moment he saw it, memories of Mellow City and everything he had shared with Lima resurfaced, leaving him slightly melancholic.

The system sighed dramatically.

[Here we go again; the last few weeks were so peaceful without your painful, cheesy romance. What terrible karma did I accumulate in my previous life to end up attached to this kid?]

Zac completely ignored the complaint and tapped Lima’s contact.

The phone rang for a long time before finally getting connected.

A sleepy voice came from the other end. "...Who is this?"

Without missing a beat, Zac answered, "Your future husband."

A few long seconds of silence.

Then... "I’m hanging up."

"No, no, no, wait! Wait, wait, wait!"