The line outside the **Adventurer's Guild** wrapped halfway around the stone plaza. Kids were laughing, bragging, sparring. Most were freshly sixteen — freshly eligible.
Ren stood quietly near the back, hands tucked into his jacket pockets. His iron gauntlet hung from his belt, dull and scuffed. Unlike the others, he wasn't showing off.
A noble's son up front hurled a fireball into the air. Cheers followed. The guild clerk gave him an **A-Tier ranking**. Another showed off teleportation and got **B-Tier**. A girl turned her skin to crystal. **C-Tier**, but with "potential."
Ren didn't move.
The line shrank. His turn came.
He stepped forward and placed his hand on the orb — a crystalline scanner fixed into a marble podium.
*"Name?"*
"Ren."
*"Class?"*
Ren hesitated. "...Unarmed Focus."
It wasn't flashy. Just a class that was supposed to enhance raw combat skill. Punch harder. Dodge better. He never felt it do much of anything.
The orb blinked.
Then buzzed.
> **Class Rank: D-Tier.**
> **Stability: Inconsistent.**
> **Classification: Inconclusive. "ClassLocked" suspected.**
A pause fell. Some kids behind him snickered. One voice — nasal, sharp — cut through.
"Still broken, huh? Ironhand's back again."
*Calem*. Local noble brat. Same age. Same town. Everything else — different.
Ren said nothing. The clerk, clearly unimpressed, forced a smile.
"You're… registered. Here's your ID badge. Starting quests are on the board."
Ren nodded, took the badge, and walked away — not toward the cheers and sparring rings, but toward the back wall.
---
The **lowest tier quests** were tucked into a dusty corner. "E-Rank" missions. Herb gathering, rat extermination, cargo escort.
Ren picked the one nobody else touched:
> **"Ruins Patrol: Confirm goblin activity — return with proof."**
> Reward: 30 copper.
> Risk: "Low."
He signed his name and left without a word.
---
### That Night – Outside the Ruins
The sky bled orange as Ren approached the ruined stone archway. Cracked bricks. Overgrown vines. The ruins sat just beyond town, but nobody came here unless paid.
Ren pulled on his gauntlet and stepped inside.
At first, nothing moved. Dust. Silence. Just an old staircase leading downward. Then — a sound.
Scraping. Low growls. Three figures crept from the shadows — short, hunched, fanged.
**Goblins.**
One rushed him with a jagged dagger.
Ren sidestepped, ducked low, and slammed his fist into its gut. The iron gauntlet struck hard — the goblin tumbled back, coughing blood.
The other two snarled and lunged together.
Ren caught the second by the arm and pivoted, slamming it into the wall — but the third sank a blade into his shoulder.
He winced. Pain flared. His legs wobbled.
*Too slow.*
Blood dripped down his arm. The third goblin leapt again, aiming for his throat.
And then — it happened.
---
His breath stopped.
Time *slowed*.
He felt something — not fear, not anger, but a pull. Like a door creaking open inside his chest.
His vision sharpened.
Muscles tensed. Everything inside him *clicked*.
He moved before thinking — dodged low, came up with a spinning elbow, and shattered the goblin's jaw. The gauntlet sparked.
The goblin collapsed.
Silence fell.
His breathing was ragged, his body shaking.
The goblin's blood steamed where it hit the stone.
He stared at his gauntlet. It was glowing faintly. Heat radiated from it — not magical, but alive. *Responsive.*
Then, as fast as it came, the feeling vanished.
He staggered. Dropped to one knee. Vision blurry again. Whatever that power was, it had burned out.
But it saved him.
---
As he left the ruins — injured, tired, but alive — something moved in the shadows above.
A figure cloaked in silver fur leaned against a crumbled wall, eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
"...ClassLocked, huh?" the figure murmured.
A smirk.
"Interesting."