Everyone Has A System But Me!

When we sat down together, I found myself staring at the stone floor, wondering what to do next.

"Should I absorb more world energy?"

Thea glanced at me briefly, her stormy gray eyes sharp with thought.

"You could, but I think it's better to focus on consolidating your energy first. After fusing with external energy, it's important to get used to moving that new volume of energy around. You won't be able to immediately control it like your original amount."

I nodded. "That makes sense." I paused, smirking slightly. "But I wasn't exactly used to my original energy either, you know, before you dragged me to the floor."

Thea chuckled lightly. "Well, think how much better you'll be at it now."

She smiled at me, and for a brief moment, I forgot about the cold floor and the exhausting training.

Alright, back to focusing. No more gym bullies. No more crazy girls itching to fight me. Just me and this cold stone floor.

So cold… no, no. Forget it.

Breathe.

I felt it again—that faint hum of energy, fuller than before. Some of the world's energy had escaped during the fight, but some of it had fused with my own.

I focused on it, starting from my fingertips, guiding it toward my center. I circulated it throughout my entire body, letting it flow naturally. After a few minutes, I pushed harder, forcing it to flow in the opposite direction.

It felt… weird.

Kind of like trying to force yourself to pee after being trained your whole life to hold it in until you get to a bathroom. Trust me, way harder than it sounds.

When I finally opened my eyes, my energy felt restored. And when I stood up, I actually did feel stronger. Like I could take on the world—or at least jog across the room without collapsing.

"Alright," I muttered to myself. Now what?

More cultivation? Weight training?

I glanced over at Thea. She was completely absorbed in her own meditation, her brows slightly furrowed, her lips pressed into a firm line.

Better not bother her.

But before I could decide on my next move, heavy footsteps thundered from the doorway.

Our instructor—the hulking old man—was back.

The room fell silent as everyone froze in place, all eyes snapping to the towering figure in the doorway.

He walked to the center of the room, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder.

"I hope you trained hard. Tomorrow we will begin endurance training, so I hope your stamina stat has been raised enough to handle it."

A collective shiver ran through the room. Some recruits visibly flinched, while others broke out into nervous sweat.

That… concerned me.

If the system kids—who presumably had been pumping stats into stamina—were nervous about what was coming, what chance did I have?

The instructor's gravelly voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.

"Now, follow me. We're heading to the dorms."

Without another word, he turned and began walking away. Around a dozen recruits fell in line behind him, shuffling forward with quiet obedience.

I glanced at Thea, still sitting cross-legged with her eyes firmly shut.

Should I wake her up?

Yeah, probably.

I crouched down next to her and gave her shoulder a gentle shake.

"Thea. Grandmaster Thea. Wake up."

Nothing.

"Hey, Thea!" I shook her a little harder. "Come on, we have to leave!"

Her stormy gray eyes shot open, sharp and piercing. For a split second, she looked like she was about to unleash some vicious insult or possibly throttle me where I stood.

Before she could say anything, I raised my hands in surrender.

"Relax! Look—" I pointed toward the doorway, where the last few recruits were slipping out. "We're heading to the dorms."

Thea blinked, her scowl softening into groggy confusion.

"Oh… right."

She pushed herself to her feet, wobbling slightly before regaining her balance.

Together, we shuffled toward the doorway, falling into step with the last of the recruits as we followed the instructor's broad back through the winding halls.

My thoughts buzzed with fragments of what Thea had said earlier about consolidation, about energy, about tomorrow's endurance training.

The path ahead felt impossibly steep, but… at least I wasn't walking it alone.

We all walked through the twisting corridors and up several flights of stairs. I was really glad I'd started cultivating—otherwise, this climb would have been exhausting.

After a long stretch of silence, boredom started gnawing at me. I glanced over at Thea, who looked equally bored, and decided to break the silence.

"So—why don't you have your system yet?" I asked casually.

"The same reason as you, Late Bloomer," she said with a chuckle. "Well, not exactly. I'm still only seventeen. Next week, I should finally be able to see it. How about you? Any special reason?"

My palms started sweating a little. "Haha, no… just an actual late bloomer, I guess. I scream out status every day just to check."

She smirked at that, but before the conversation could continue, we stepped outside.

And I froze.

"Holy—just—wow."

Under the moonlit sky, countless stars stretched across the heavens. Tiny specks of light glittered against a velvet-black canvas, more than I'd ever seen in my entire life.

Back home, light pollution choked the stars into near-oblivion. Sure, I'd seen photos of galaxies and breathtaking nightscapes, but seeing it with my own eyes?

It was… something else entirely.

"You okay?" Thea asked, her voice pulling me back to the moment. She tilted her head slightly, clearly puzzled by my wide-eyed stare.

"Better. This is amazing!" I said, maybe a little too loudly, earning a few curious glances from the recruits ahead of us.

"What is?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"The stars! So many of them. I mean, really! There are just… so many. I never knew—I mean, I've seen stars before, but not like this. Not like this."

Thea chuckled, her gray eyes softening slightly. "What, are you crazy? They're just stars."

I paused, realizing something. If you saw a sky like this every night, it wouldn't be anything special. To her, this was just… normal.

But to me? It felt like a miracle.

We kept walking, the night air cool against my face, until we reached two large tents set up near the edge of a forested area.

I turned around, expecting to see some grand castle looming behind us. Instead, I was greeted by a squat, cubic stone-brick structure. It wasn't glamorous—it was… functional.

Guess most of the structure is underground. Explains the maze of hallways and torches.

Speaking of torches… I remembered all the ones flickering in the gym earlier. That can't be good for anyone's lungs, right?

"Alright," the instructor's deep voice boomed, pulling me back to the present. "Girls, you get the tent closer to the building." He pointed sharply to the two tents in a clearing a few dozen meters away. "Boys, take the other. Go in, stay out here, but don't wander around. Anything else is fine."

With that, the hulking man turned and walked away, his massive silhouette fading into the shadows.

The other recruits shuffled toward their assigned tents without hesitation, a few yawning, others muttering quietly to themselves.

I turned to Thea. "So, I guess… I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yep," she said with a small stretch. "I'm getting pretty tired. Besides, tomorrow's training is going to be rough. We should get some sleep."

I nodded. "Yeah… sleep sounds good."

We exchanged a brief smile before heading toward our respective tents.

As I ducked into the tent, I glanced back once, catching sight of Thea disappearing into hers.

The tent was pretty simple—barebones, really. No furniture other than the ten or so bunk beds crammed inside. Honestly, it felt unnecessary considering there were only around eight boys and four girls in total.

I expected trouble, maybe a repeat of the gym bullies or some awkward stares. But to my surprise, everyone just ignored me. They went about their business—chatting quietly, yawning, or settling into the thin sheets and straw mats that passed for beds here.

Maybe they really did just want to use the mats at the gym earlier.

With a shrug, I chose the bottom bed near the back corner of the tent and lay down.

The thin sheet felt rough against my skin, and the straw mat underneath wasn't doing my spine any favors. I stared up at the wooden slats above me and thought about what I'd left behind.

Honestly? Not much.

Sure, I'd miss my foster brothers and sisters. They were good people. But I was already on my way out because of my age. My life had been… fine. No major complaints.

But, man, I was really starting to miss a proper comforter and a mattress that didn't feel like someone had crammed hay into a sack and called it a day.

Time passed slowly, and eventually, the tent filled with the sound of deep, resounding snores.

Loud ones. Invasive ones. Ones that rattled in my skull like someone revving up a chainsaw next to my ear.

"I'm going to lose my mind," I muttered out loud.

With a huff, I threw off the thin sheet, grabbed it in frustration, and slipped out from the bottom bunk. I shuffled past the rows of sleeping recruits, careful to step quietly.

Freedom.

The night greeted me with open arms. The stars above were still impossibly bright, and the crisp breeze brushed against my face.

The world felt… quieter out here.

I walked a short distance away from the tent until the chorus of snores was finally drowned out by the stillness of the night.

Once I was far enough, I sat down on the cold ground, pulling the sheet over my shoulders like a makeshift cloak.

The stars twinkled above, countless and brilliant.

They really are something else.

For a moment, I silently thanked whatever forces were listening that it wasn't winter—or if it was, that it wasn't a cold one.

The ground was hard, the sheet was thin, and tomorrow promised exhaustion and endless training.

But at least, for now, under this infinite blanket of stars, I felt… at peace.

The sharp blare of a horn yanked me out of sleep so violently that I nearly threw the thin sheet over my head in protest.

"Everyone, get up! Move it! You have two minutes!"

The instructor's voice boomed across the clearing with all the subtlety of a wrecking ball through glass.

I groggily blinked away the tiredness, feeling the weak warmth of the rising sun brushing against my face.

Around me, boys and girls stumbled awkwardly out of their tents, forming into surprisingly neat lines despite looking like they'd just been ejected from a malfunctioning toaster.

Okay, I noticed this before, but this feels way too intense for a training camp about unlocking personal stats. This feels… organized. Too organized.

Pushing the thought aside, I stood up and fell in line, sliding in next to Thea.

She glanced at me sideways, trying—and failing—not to roll her eyes.

"Did you seriously sleep out here?"

"Quieter than the tent," I replied, stretching my arms over my head. "And not much less uncomfortable. No wonder they stuff hay into the beds—it's like they expect a herd of cows to bunk down in there."

Thea snorted softly, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Fair point."

Before I could follow up with another quip, the big man in charge barked out again.

"Follow me. Do not fall behind!"

With that, he turned and jogged into the nearby woods.

The collective groan of every sleep-deprived recruit echoed behind him as we started moving.

I glanced at Thea as twigs snapped under our boots and branches scratched at my arms. "This feels a little… over the top, doesn't it? The tents, the strict rules, the shouting. Are we training for something?"

She gave me one of those looks—the kind that screamed, Are you being serious right now?

"You—" she started, then hesitated. "Where are you from?"

The question caught me so off guard that I nearly tripped over a tree root.

"Where?" I repeated, blinking at her.

"Yeah. Where?"

My brain scrambled for an answer. Something believable, something clever, something that wouldn't make me look like an absolute fool.

But my mouth had other plans.

"No idea."

Thea stumbled slightly this time, her stormy gray eyes wide as she shot me a look. Honestly, it gave me a chance to slow down, which was a win in my book because running is the worst.

"What do you mean no idea?" she asked, her voice low but sharp.

I shrugged, trying to look casual while also gasping for air. "Did the language change just because I slept outside? I mean no idea. No idea where here is, no idea where I came from, no idea about… well, anything before yesterday."

Thea's eyebrows knitted together, and for a moment, I thought she might press me further.

But instead, she let out a sharp breath, muttering something under her breath that I was pretty sure wasn't a compliment.

We kept jogging, the instructor's voice barking commands ahead of us, and the line of recruits slowly stretched and curved along the dirt path.

I could feel Thea glancing at me occasionally, her curiosity practically radiating off her.

Well, that could've gone smoother.

But hey, at least I'd bought myself a few extra seconds of slow jogging.

And for now, that was victory enough.

Until it wasn't.

How long have we been running? I'm pretty sure I've aged five years.

Honestly, who would ever think this is a good idea?

Thea glanced at me, her stormy gray eyes narrowing slightly. Was that… worry? Or was it shame?

"Are you using your inner strength?"

"Oh! Oh right! Thanks, I forgot."

Now there was no mistaking it—she was definitely looking at me with worry. But not the kind of gentle, nurturing worry. No, this was the "Oh no, he's hopeless" kind of worry.

But seriously, could I be blamed? Cultivation was just a fantasy word in my vocabulary until yesterday. I barely remembered I wasn't at home when I woke up this morning. Honestly, if it weren't for the instructor's magnificently loud horn skills, I probably would have rushed off to pack my backpack and head to school.

Thanks to Thea's gracious reminder—of which I made a mental note to suck up more to her later—I managed to focus and let my inner energy trickle into my legs, easing the burning sensation somewhat.

Okay, okay. This is better. Slightly better.

But first, I had a question.

"So—considering my total absence of knowledge—"

Thea cut me off under her breath, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I believe that to be literally true."

I chose to ignore that, as the mature one in this dynamic.

"What exactly are we doing?"

"Training," she said flatly.

I blinked. "Uh-huh… and training for what, exactly?"

"After three years here, we're off to battle."

I froze mid-step. My foot caught on a root, and I nearly became one with the forest floor.

Thea grabbed my arm, yanking me forward before I could become a Peter-shaped pancake on the trail.

"Battle? You can't be serious."

She didn't say anything, just kept jogging, her expression unreadable.

"For who? For what?" I pressed.

Here's the thing: it's really hard to feel patriotic for a country—or state, or empire, or whatever this place is—when I know literally nothing about it.

Thea sighed, finally giving me a sideways glance.

"It's… complicated. Look, not everyone here gets drafted into fighting. Some people stay back, some take non-combat roles. But if you're here—if you're training like this—then you're probably being prepared for the front lines."

The front lines.

Oh, that's great. That's just fantastic.

After another forever—and by forever, I mean an eternity that probably rewrote the laws of time and space—I stumbled forward, barely lifting my feet off the forest floor.

"Thea… it's over. I can't go on," I wheezed, clutching my chest dramatically. "Go on without me. Tell my story. Make sure they know I was… moderately brave."

Thea gave me a look that was somewhere between disbelief and pity.

"It's barely been over an hour, Peter. Relax, focus, and keep moving. We're probably almost done anyway."

Her confidence felt like an insult.

But then, like the voice of an angel descending from above—or rather, a very loud, very cranky angel—the instructor's shout cut through the trees:

"Halt!"

Oh, sweet merciful relief.

I immediately complied, bending over with my hands on my knees and gasping like a fish flopping on land.

"Peter?" Thea said, her voice cautious.

I raised a shaky hand. "One sec. Dying. Busy."

I sucked in a final gulp of air and glanced at her. "Thea?"

"What now?" she sighed, already bracing herself.

"Food?"

"What?" she asked, blinking in confusion.

"When… do we eat? I'm starving."

"How should I know? Everyone's first day was yesterday!"

I muttered something about survival rates and my odds of becoming forest mulch when the instructor's voice rose again.

"You will now get your food!"

For a brief, fleeting moment, I almost forgave him for the time of forced jogging. Almost.

Until he kept talking.

"This forest has plenty of edible plants and animals. A tank's job is more than just protection on the battlefield. We protect the squad at all times. You will work alone, in groups, or together to hunt and forage. After today's results, I will group you based on ability and instruct those who need it. You will try again tomorrow. And the day after that. Until everyone can feed themselves daily."

I stared blankly at him.

"Monster," I whispered under my breath.

I turned to Thea for guidance, wisdom, or maybe even comfort. Instead, I found her frozen in place, staring at the trees like they were filled with ghosts.

"Thea?" I prompted.

"Yeah?" she replied, her voice a little shaky.

"You don't happen to know… anything about hunting or edible plants, do you?"

Her head turned toward me, her expression one of pure dread.

"Do you?" she asked weakly.

"No."

She let out a long, defeated sigh and dropped to her knees, as though she could absorb energy directly from the forest floor if she stayed there long enough.

"Maybe someone else will help us?" I suggested hopefully.

We both turned to look at the other recruits.

Everyone was already splitting into groups—groups that, judging by their smooth coordination, had clearly been formed yesterday.

Each team moved purposefully into the forest, weapons and makeshift tools in hand, like they actually knew what they were doing.

We were officially alone.

I slowly turned back to Thea, dread creeping up my spine.

"We're gonna starve," I said flatly.

"Yep," she muttered.

We sat there in silence for a moment, the sounds of distant chatter and crunching leaves filtering through the trees.

"So… berries, maybe?" I ventured.

She glared at me.

"Don't. Eat. Anything. Unless you know what it is."

"Noted."

We remained kneeling there, two clueless recruits with no plan, no knowledge of survival, and approximately zero confidence in our ability to not die in the next 24 hours.

Well, I thought, at least I won't die alone.