For a few seconds after the orc fell, no one moved.
Then the courtyard erupted.
Applause broke out from windows, from doorways, from behind cracked pillars. People stepped out cautiously, eyes wide, voices overlapping.
"You did it!"
"He killed it!"
"Did you see that?!"
Ark ran to James first, breathless, eyes shining. "Kuya, that was insane. You looked so cool. So powerful!"
James didn't know where to look. The praise felt heavier than the fight. His hands still trembled.
Then the body of the orc began to glow.
Eight stones pushed out from its flesh like embers surfacing from ash and dropped onto the concrete with soft, chiming sounds.
Runes.
Everyone saw them.
And everyone stopped clapping.
Silence returned—but this time, it was sharp.
Hungry.
People looked at the runes.
Then at each other.
Then at James.
Several stepped forward at once.
James reacted on instinct.
He moved first.
Fastest.
He swept all eight runes into his hand before anyone else could even bend down.
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
Three of the stones were different colors.
And one of them—
One of them shimmered in shifting light.
Rainbow.
The reaction was immediate.
"That's not fair!"
"You're hoarding them!"
"Other people need to get stronger too!"
"You're being greedy!"
Voices rose. Faces hardened. A few people stepped closer, anger replacing the earlier admiration.
James felt something inside him snap.
He turned, eyes sharp.
"Greedy?" he said, voice low but cutting through the noise. "You think you're different from me?"
They fell quiet.
"You want these runes to get stronger, right?" James continued. "To protect yourselves. To survive."
No one answered.
He raised the runes slightly.
"And you think I don't?"
A man opened his mouth, but James didn't let him speak.
"Some of you want power to protect your family," James said. "Some of you want power because you're scared. And some of you—" his eyes swept the crowd, "—might want power for the wrong reasons."
That made several people look away.
"You don't know each other," James said. "You don't know me. And I don't know you. So don't pretend this is about fairness. This is about survival."
Silence fell fully this time.
Some lowered their heads.
Others didn't.
A few stared at him with quiet resentment.
James didn't care.
He turned back to Ark.
And held out the rainbow rune.
"Here," James said. "You take this."
Ark blinked. "What? No! You should have it!"
"I'm serious."
"But you're the one fighting! You're the strong one!"
James frowned. "And you're the one who needs to protect someone."
Ark glanced at his sister clutching his arm.
He hesitated.
"No, kuya. You—"
"Ark," James cut in, firm now. "Take it."
They went back and forth for a few awkward seconds, almost like two people arguing over who should pay the bill.
Finally, Ark sighed and accepted it.
The moment the rune touched his hand, a system window appeared in front of him.
Ark's eyes widened.
[Unique Class acquired. Would you like to absorb it?]
[Absorb Unique Class: Buffer]
[Yes] [No]
"…Unique class?" he whispered.
"What?" James asked.
Ark stared at the screen. "It says… do I want to absorb a unique class?"
"Click yes," James said immediately.
Ark did.
A soft light wrapped around him.
[Congratulations. You have acquired the class: Buffer.]
Another window followed.
[You have received a class skill.]
Ark read aloud, disbelief clear in his voice.
"Hope of the Unknown…"
He swallowed.
"It increases stats by 1% every minute… and it doesn't stop. It keeps increasing as long as it has mana to consume. And… it can be used on other people too… like an area effect…"
He looked at James, stunned.
"This is… broken."
James smiled faintly. "Good. You'll need it."
Ark bowed his head slightly. "Thank you. Really."
James nodded.
Then his vision flickered.
We then get a flashback when James touch those runes.
The moment James snatch those 8 runes, a system window appeared.
[Congratulations for defeating a Level 30 Orc.]
[Special reward granted.]
James blinked.
'Level… 30?'
A new skill appeared.
[Skill Name: Eye of Scale]
[Description: Allows the user to glimpse a brief summary of a person's background and alignment.]
[Uses: 5 times per day]
James tested it immediately.
He looked at Ark.
Activated the skill.
A faint overlay appeared.
[Player's Name: Ark]
[Player's Background: An ordinary college student boy living his life, until he got transported to another world, seeing an angel for the first time and learning that the world will get plunge into chaos.]
[Alignment: Neutral]
James exhaled slowly.
So this is what it's for…
To know.
To judge.
To be careful.
Using this skill—James decided to give the rainbow rune to Ark.
He looked at the rainbow rune earlier in his hand in memory.
Good thing I gave it to him.
The scene returned to the present.
Ark was still thanking him. His sister still holding his arm tightly.
Around them, people whispered.
Some in admiration.
Some in envy.
Some in quiet resentment.
James felt it.
The shift.
The invisible line forming between him and everyone else.
Not because he wanted it.
But because power had already started drawing it.