Chapter 5: The Pent-up Agression

"Are you okay?" The woman asked with genuine concern. "Your eyes look lost. If you feel weird, I can take you to the medbay so you can get checked out."

The kind gesture from this stranger threw Rayleigh completely off guard.

’Why is a Runer being nice to a worthless trash like me? Or doesn’t she know I’m a non-rune?’

The circumstances of Rayleigh’s question ought to be studied in the academy. A powerful rune citizen with the rank of an ascendant being nice and caring to a normal human was unconventional. Never done before.

"You’re Rayleigh Pierce, aren’t you?"

’So she knows who I am.’ A perplexed Rayleigh wondered.

The woman waited for an answer, but all she got was an awkward silence and a skeptical look from him, so she did what she was tasked with doing.

"Well, if you’re all right, I suggest you get on with your reason for coming here—I suppose you’re here for your old job." She shifted her weight, moving her view toward the left. She pointed down a hallway.

"Go straight, take a left; the last door to your right is where the dean is waiting for you."

The beautiful young lady walked away thereafter. She glanced briefly at Rayleigh once more before disappearing at the end of the hallway opposite.

Rayleigh wondered why she did that. There was nothing particularly interesting about him. Physically, he was as normal as one could get and, in addition to his ’Runeless’ state, as some would say, he was supposed to be invisible.

Rayleigh decided not to dwell on it any longer. He did as she instructed, and he soon found himself inside the office of the academy dean.

The dean, a middle-aged man, was scribbling something on a hologram when Rayleigh walked in. He didn’t even acknowledge his presence. That was the status quo for how Non-Runers were treated.

Rayleigh skipped any formalities. "I’m here for my old job as the school janitor. I just need you to sign off—"

"No!" the dean bellowed

Rayleigh was slightly thrown off by his reaction. "W-what do you mean no?"

The dean stopped, finally acknowledging Rayleigh’s presence. The disgust and disappointment in his eyes were uncanny—disgust for powerless citizens. "I mean you cannot have your old job back, Mr. Pierce."

"Why?" Rayleigh inquired as he felt his frustration coming back.

"It is simple. You are an ex-convict of a heinous crime. We cannot allow you to work in this building. Go find work somewhere else, maybe a dump somewhere outside the city. It would suit you," The dean spat unapologetically. He quickly went back to ignoring the pathetic thing before him, scribbling something on the screen.

Rayleigh didn’t argue. He didn’t plead. He didn’t budge. He didn’t care. Seven years ago, he would have begged for his job back, but he wasn’t that person anymore.

He exited the academy building, stepping out into the open of Skylark City.

For the next nine hours, Rayleigh wandered the streets searching for jobs; he found none. No one wanted to hire an ex-con whose name was known for trying to kill a high-ranking admiral of Tron City.

Everyone believed Tris attempted to spark a conflict between the two cities of Tron and Skylark by killing an admiral. No one knew the real truth.

By the time night fell, Rayleigh was completely exhausted and famished.

He checked his credit balance to see if he had enough to get a train ticket back to his apartment on the other side of the city.

[Credit Balance: 52 Nexels]

’This should be enough.’

►Ding!

► [ System has detected vital signs of three Rune Humans ]

Looking at the pop-up, Rayleigh couldn’t help but sigh. "Shit..."

"Well, well, well, look who it is..."

At this point, Rayleigh had had enough of people calling out to him from behind.

He turned around to see who it was. Three figures approached him, but he couldn’t see their faces as it was dark in Skylark City. His eyes suddenly caught a flash of a silver passerine bird as the men came in contrast

’Silvered agents.’ Rayleigh frowned. ’What do they want?’

"We don’t want to waste your time, so we’ll just cut to the chase. Transfer your Nexels to us, and you can be on your way home."

Nexels, being the official currency of the New World, were a resource to everyone.

Extortion was common; if you weren’t powerful enough to earn respect, you got preyed on. What better person to prey on besides non-runers?

"No, I can give it to you. This is all I have, and I need to get home." Rayleigh explained.

The Silvered agent Rayleigh, presumed to be the leader, stepped forward. "Do I look like I care? You can give it to us willingly, or we can take it ourselves. Personally, I prefer the latter."

His palms began to emit a bright glow. He activated his rune gene, and he was ready to use it on Rayleigh.

Rayleigh stood his ground. Something he never thought he would ever do. "No."

Maybe he was finally tired of being pushed around because he wasn’t born with the dominant gene. Maybe his pent-up aggression, born from years of physical and psychological torture from the elites, had gotten to him.

Or maybe because he now possessed an advanced system that could potentially make him strong.

Just then, before anyone could make a move, a sound rang in Rayleigh’s ears.

Ding!

► [ Attributes, Weaponry and Defensive Systems are online ]

► [ Potential threat detected ]

► [ Activating Defensive System. Energy Shield Activated ]

Rayleigh couldn’t see it, but he felt something warm—something almost sentient wrapping around him. An invisible energy field encased his body completely. Aside from the invisible energy field, he felt something else surging through his veins; it was like adrenaline, but this was different; this felt raw. If Rayleigh had back pain when he woke up earlier today, it was gone completely.

Raw power exploded in the air around his arm as the Silvered agent swung his glowing fists. His aim was Rayleigh’s chest.

He laughed hysterically as his fists moved through mid-air. "That’ll teach you, runeless freak!" He yelled.

KRAK!

A shattering sound tore out from the Silvered’s fists. "Arghh!" He cried out as his fists connected with something rock-solid. He stumbled backwards, clutching his wrist, which was now bent at an unnatural angle.

The other two agents who were relaxed immediately activated their respective powers.

"H-how? How did a runelsss cunt like you do that?!" His voice shook from the stinging pain of a broken wrist.

Rayleigh simply smiled. For one, he had been waiting for this moment his entire life.

"Less talking, more screaming. Shall we?"