My System Doesn't Give Power

Simon regarded the exhausted class with open disappointment before shaking his head.

"You are all D-rank variants. Even with your attributes stripped away, and even if you had never exercised a day in your lives before awakening, your bodies have already surpassed those of ordinary humans."

"All you had to do was overcome the imaginary barrier your minds placed in front of you."

"Instead, most of you lacked either the willpower or the common sense to realize that you weren’t truly weak and that your minds were simply deceiving you."

The students remained silent as Simon continued.

"In the future, you won’t only be fighting monsters with physical abilities or mana-based attacks. Brute strength alone will never be enough to survive on a battlefield."

"You will encounter beasts capable of manipulating fear, cultists who specialize in mental techniques, illusion-based abilities, emotional manipulation, and countless other threats."

His expression hardened.

"If your minds and willpower cannot even help you overcome something created by your own imagination, then no one in this world will be able to save you."

"Remember this. The mind is the most important and dangerous weapon possessed by any sentient being."

The entire class fell silent. They knew he was right, which leaves them with no excuse to defend their performance.

Simon let out a quiet sigh. "I originally intended to introduce the next stage of your training a few days from now."

A faint smile slowly appeared on his lips. "But after witnessing today’s performance, I’ve decided to begin immediately."

"Why do I suddenly feel a chill running down my spine?" Marty thought.

Shobin swallowed nervously before asking, "Sir, what exactly do you mean by the next stage?"

Simon’s smile widened slightly. "Oh, nothing. I’m simply going to bring all of you down."

Before anyone could ask what he meant, he snapped his fingers.

The crisp sound had barely reached their ears when an invisible force crashed down upon the entire class.

Boom...Boom...Boom...

Bodies slammed into the ground one after another.

"Argh!"

Shouts, groans, and curses erupted across the training field.

One moment, the students had been standing. Next, they were forced to their knees before collapsing face-first onto the ground.

Those who had already been lying down were pressed even deeper, their bodies sinking into the earth beneath them.

It felt as though their muscles were being torn apart and their bones slowly crushed.

Zac gritted his teeth as every muscle in his body trembled violently.

"Is this gravity?"

[What do you think?]

Nearby, Marty’s face was nearly buried in the dirt. He struggled to raise his head. "What... did... you... do... to... us?" Each word left his mouth with tremendous effort.

Simon calmly observed the miserable students. "Oh, nothing. The bronze bracelets around your wrists have functions beyond merely stripping away your attributes."

He paused. "What you’re experiencing is only five times Earth’s normal gravity."

Simon watched their pitiful attempts to move before shaking his head.

"Judging by your current condition, leaving it at five times normal gravity would probably kill half of you. I suppose I should lower it slightly."

He snapped his fingers again.

The crushing pressure immediately eased. The weight bearing down on them was still immense, but it no longer overwhelmed them completely.

One by one, the students began pushing themselves off the ground and struggling back to their feet.

"It is now twice Earth’s normal gravity," Simon explained. "Here is your fact for the day. I assume all of you intend to enter portals eventually. Some of you may even wish to explore ruins."

His eyes moved across the class.

"Gravity is not consistent across every realm and ruin. Some possess only half or a third of Earth’s gravity, while others have five or even ten times as much."

"The highest recorded gravity was discovered inside a particular ruin, which measured up to eighteen times Earth’s normal gravity."

Simon looked at the students sprawled before him. "What do you think would happen if you entered a place like that in your current state? That’s right, you would be crushed into pulp before you could take a single step."

His voice remained calm and matter-of-fact. "So, if you truly intend to become capable variants, use this opportunity to train yourselves under increased gravity."

"From this moment onward, you will eat under it, sleep under it, train under it, and live under it until I say otherwise."

He turned away, then paused. "And don’t assume you’ll eventually become comfortable. Every time your bodies adapt, the gravity will be increased again automatically."

Without sparing the students another glance, Simon walked out of the training ground.

The system’s voice sounded inside Zac’s mind.

[Another famous training method borrowed from anime. On the bright side, at least this one shouldn’t make you bald.]

[Although I can’t guarantee you won’t become shorter.]

With considerable effort, the students dragged themselves out of the training ground.

Under twice the normal gravity, their movements had slowed to a crawl. Every step felt as though invisible weights had been chained to their limbs, and even the simple act of swinging their arms while walking had become exhausting.

From a distance, they looked like badly assembled robots running on their last scraps of battery.

They somehow made it to the changing rooms, changed back into their academy uniforms, and began leaving the training grounds.

Before long, the familiar group of seven naturally gathered together again.

None of them had the energy to speak, but Shobin eventually broke the silence. "Are we going to Beginner’s Food for lunch?" he asked wearily.

"No," Marty declared with absolute certainty. "What we did today completely drained me. I’m not moving another muscle until tomorrow."

He placed a hand over his stomach. "I’m going straight home, eating whatever food I have left, and sleeping until evening. Anyone who disturbs me will become my mortal enemy."

Zac stared at him in astonishment before slowly looking up at the sky. "I think a storm is coming."

Everyone turned towards him in confusion.

Zac pointed at Marty with a solemn expression. "You’re choosing sleep over food. If that isn’t a sign of an approaching disaster, I don’t know what is."

"Oh, screw you," Marty muttered.

Adrian released a dignified sigh and attempted to run a hand through his hair. However, under the increased gravity, his arm came down far harder than intended, making it look as though he had just smacked himself over the head with a stone.

"This is appalling," he complained. "I can’t even maintain my elegance under this gravity."

He carefully lowered his hand.

"As for today, I intend to take a warm bath immediately and cleanse this divine body of sweat. It is already an unforgivable tragedy that I was forced to perspire in front of commoners."

Marty gave him a tired look. "You’re still thinking about that?"

"Of course." Adrian looked genuinely offended. "Do you have any idea how valuable the bodily fluids of a noble of my standing are? Have you forgotten that I was considering selling my sweat as a luxury product?"

He glanced at Marty with pity. "Not that you could afford it."

Kelly stared at him through exhausted eyes. "Would anyone actually buy that?"

"People buy useless things all the time," Adrian replied. "At least mine would come with the honor of having touched my skin."

[Host, he crossed the limits of ordinary narcissism a long time ago. I believe he is now charting unexplored territory.]

[At this rate, he may soon evolve into an entirely new species.]

Zac ignored the comment and continued walking beside the others.

Kelly looked as though her soul had abandoned her body. She dragged her feet along the path and released a miserable sigh. "It still makes no sense to force a summoner through physical training."

Sabrina glanced at her. "The answer hasn’t changed. Being a summoner doesn’t make physical endurance unnecessary."

"But my summons are supposed to do the hard work. That’s the entire point of being a summoner."

"And what will you do when you run low on Mana?"

Kelly considered the question for several seconds before answering honestly, "Run?"

"Exactly," Daniel said. "Which is why you need physical training."

Kelly snorted and turned her face away from them.

Daniel stretched his aching shoulders as he spoke. "Resting after training like this is understandable, but don’t forget that we still need to practice Mana Coating."

The entire group fell silent.

Marty’s expression slowly shifted from exhaustion to horror. "I completely forgot about that."

He clutched the side of his head and groaned. "Whoever said academy life was heaven deserves to have their mouth torn off. I swear, if I ever hear anyone say that again, I’ll make them regret spreading such lies."

"I’ll help you," Kelly said immediately.

Adrian, who had suffered the most punishment that day, nodded in agreement. "False advertising is an insult to civilization. Such criminals should be punished severely."

Everyone looked at him in mild surprise. It was the first time he had agreed with any of them.

"What?" Adrian asked. "A noble must always defend the truth, especially when the lie inconveniences him personally."

Zac turned towards Sabrina. "Hey, Ice Cube."

Sabrina stopped walking and slowly looked back at him. "Don’t call me that."

"Yeah, yeah." Zac waved her complaint aside. "How is your Mana Coating practice going?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Why do you care?"

"I don’t. Mine is going terribly, so I thought hearing about someone else’s suffering might make me feel better."

The corner of Sabrina’s lips curved into a faint, victorious smile. "Then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. My practice is going extremely well."

Zac’s expression fell. "Of course it is."

Kelly looked at Sabrina with admiration. "Snow, have you already managed to coat your whole body?"

"Not entirely, and it still isn’t perfect. I can maintain a stable layer around my hands and arms, but the thickness fluctuates whenever my concentration slips."

Shobin adjusted his hair with interest. "That’s still far ahead of the rest of us. Would you mind giving us a few pointers?"

"Even a basic explanation of how you maintain the Mana layer would help," Daniel added.

"Fine," Sabrina said. "I’ll help all of you under one condition."

Everyone turned towards her attentively.

She raised her hand and pointed directly at Zac with a twisted smile.