The small house was drowned in silence. Only the sound of an old clock's ticking could be heard, blending with Adam's calm breathing. He sat alone in the worn wooden chair, staring at the half-cracked window. The afternoon sunlight entered through gaps in the shabby curtains, illuminating tiny dust particles floating in the air. Everything felt ordinary. But not for Adam.
Inside his head, that voice echoed clearly again—mechanical yet profound, like a whisper not from this world.
["Chronicle Sync" is a cross-dimensional system that enables synchronization with legendary characters from various chronicles.]
[As a Jobless, you are not bound by the limitations of this world. You possess unlimited potential.]
[Your first synchronization roulette is now available. Do you wish to proceed?]
Adam clasped both his hands together. Strange emotions mixed in his chest. Part of him was still a fourteen-year-old who had just been labeled trash by the world. But another part—the part carrying memories of his previous life—whispered loudly: *This is the way.*
"Yes," Adam answered quietly, his voice barely audible.
Instantly, blue light filled his vision. The air around him vibrated, as if some foreign power descended directly from the sky. Before him, a large wheel formed. It spun slowly at first, then faster and faster.
Inside the wheel, shadowy silhouettes appeared one by one. The figure of a swordsman with a great sword. An old wizard with a long staff. An archer girl with silver hair. The shadow of a mysterious man with red eyes. There was even a vague figure that seemed to come from an alien world, not Eryndor.
The wheel spun faster. Those shadows alternated, making Adam's heart pound hard. His breath caught. Seconds felt like minutes. Until finally, the wheel slowed down. Slowly. Very slowly.
Finally it stopped. Light illuminated one figure. The shadow of a young man with long black hair. His eyes were sharp, full of weariness. His body was thin, wrapped in a shabby robe. On his back hung a simple sword, not a fancy blade. His face wasn't the face of a great hero, but the face of a wanderer who had lived alone on the road for too long.
[Ting!]
[Congratulations! Synchronization successful with Shiro Enzo – The Lone Wanderer]
[Sync rate: 10%]
[Wanderer's Instinct + Survival Adaptation acquired]
Adam froze. That name was unfamiliar, but along with the notification, fragments of images flashed through his head. Long dusty roads. Cold nights accompanied by small campfires. Fighting bandits alone. Eating whatever he could from wild plant roots.
Shiro Enzo. A wanderer the world never knew, but who always survived.
Another notification quickly followed.
[Skill unlocked: Basic Swordsmanship (Lv.1)]
[Skill unlocked: Survival Instinct (Lv.1)]
[Skill unlocked: Foraging (Lv.1)]
[Status Window]
Name: Adam Luck
Age: 14
Job: Jobless (Freelancer)
Level: 1
HP: 100
MP: 50
STR: 5
VIT: 5
DEX: 5
INT: 5
WIS: 5
LUK: 5
Skills:
— Basic Swordsmanship (Lv.1)
— Survival Instinct (Lv.1)
— Foraging (Lv.1)
Cheat: "Chronicle Sync" – Active inheritance: Shiro Enzo – The Lone Wanderer (10%)
Adam fell silent. From the outside, nothing had changed. His body was just as thin, his clothes still shabby. But inside... something was different. A small fire had just been lit.
First inheritance. Basic skills. Simple, but real.
"So... even as Jobless, I can survive," he murmured softly.
He remembered what being Jobless meant in this world. Jobless was the end of everything. No leveling. No EXP path. No future. But now, he had this cheat. *
Adam stared at that panel again. Shiro Enzo's name was displayed clearly. Not a great hero, not a legend, just a wanderer. But... that's exactly what made him suitable. Shiro had no official path. Just like himself.
"If I can absorb the experience of someone like him..." Adam clenched his fist. "I can also survive. I can also move forward."
The panel's light gradually faded, leaving Adam alone in that cramped room. However, something inside him had already changed. He stood up, walking toward the wall where Marcus's rusted sword hung. His hand reached out, grasping the wooden handle that was already starting to crack.
For a moment, the sword felt light. But when he swung it once into the air, Adam could feel something new. His movement was no longer clumsy. His left foot automatically stepped forward to balance his body.
[Basic Swordsmanship Lv.1 active]
That simple slash might not impress anyone. But for Adam, it felt different. There was a stability he had never possessed before. He tried swinging once more. His right hand was steady, while his left hand instinctively helped hold the end of the handle. The sword didn't swing wildly, but moved along its path.
*So this is what it feels like to have a skill...*
Adam smiled thinly. He had once heard his friends talk about how their bodies felt stronger after getting a job. But experiencing it directly, after living with an ordinary body for fourteen years, was truly different.
He put the sword back on the wall. His hand trembled slightly, not from fear, but from excitement he could barely hide.
Night deepened. Adam lay on the wooden bed with a thin blanket. But his eyes didn't close immediately. His mind was busy thinking of plans.
"If this system really works, I can level up like other jobs. The difference is, my path isn't a single route. I can contain anyone's experience connected through Chronicle Sync."
He stared at the dark ceiling. "Level 20... if there really is a new spin at that point, I'll get another synchronization. If every twenty levels I can add inheritance... then no one can predict what I'll become later."
His smile was thin, more like mockery toward the world. *The world considers me trash. But precisely because of that, I have opportunities they don't have.*
The next morning, cold air greeted Adam as he left the house. Millhaven's stone streets were still empty, with only a few merchants just opening their shops. Adam kept his head down, both hands tucked into his shabby shirt pockets. He only intended to buy a piece of bread before going to the forest.
But his steps stopped as he entered the main alley. Three kids his age were already waiting there. They leaned against the wooden fence, faces full of mocking smiles.
"Oh, look who finally came out of his hole," said one of them, who was thin with messy hair. His voice was loud, enough to attract the attention of several passersby.
"Millhaven's pride and joy Jobless!"The other two laughed loudly. "Your name is Luck, but your life is clearly not lucky," said the fat one while patting his own belly.
Adam didn't answer. His eyes just stared straight ahead, his steps remaining calm. Then from behind them, a slightly bigger kid stepped forward. His shoulders were broad, his face carrying a smile full of arrogance. He was Ryle—the blacksmith's son who had gotten the Warrior Apprentice job just a month ago.
"Adam Luck," Ryle said in a mocking tone. "Marcus and Elena's child. Everyone hoped you would inherit something... but it turns out there's nothing. Even the gods are disgusted looking at you."
Some people passing by began to slow down, staring in their direction. Gossip was always more interesting than one's own business.
Adam sighed inwardly. He wasn't surprised. Since that ritual, everyone was waiting for a chance to spit on him. But Ryle wasn't finished yet. He stepped closer, his face becoming more arrogant.
"What? You're not angry? Or too cowardly to speak? No wonder your parents died in vain. The world really doesn't need weak offspring."
Those words stung. But Adam just stared into Ryle's eyes without flinching. His gaze was flat, calm, as if those words had no weight.
"I don't need to answer you," he finally said, his voice low but clear. "You've only had a job for a month. Don't think the world will bow to you. The monsters out there don't care whether you're a Warrior or not."
Ryle's face immediately reddened. "You—!" He raised his hand, trying to roughly push Adam. But Adam's body moved by itself. His foot stepped half a step to the side.
[Survival Instinct Lv.1 active]
[Reflex +5%]
Ryle's hand only hit empty air. The other kids fell silent, not believing what they had just seen. Adam continued walking past them without looking back even once. His silence was more piercing than a thousand taunts.
Ryle clenched his fist, his face red with rage. But there was doubt in his eyes. Earlier... Adam's movement wasn't the movement of an ordinary person.
Adam didn't look back. He just kept walking to the bread shop, then returned home with a piece of bread in hand. All along the way, people's gossip was clearly audible.
"He really didn't react, huh?"
"Kind of scary too, his eyes were so cold."
"Even though he's Jobless, he didn't look afraid..."
Adam heard it all, but didn't care.
*Let them talk. Time will show the truth.*
That night, Adam sat back at the wooden table with the oil lamp burning dimly. He opened his status once again.
[Status Window]
Name: Adam Luck
Job: Jobless (Freelancer)
Level: 1
HP: 100
MP: 50
STR: 6
VIT: 6
DEX: 6
INT: 5
WIS: 5
LUK: 5
Skills:
— Basic Swordsmanship (Lv.1)
— Survival Instinct (Lv.1)
— Foraging (Lv.1
Cheat: "Chronicle Sync" – Active inheritance: Shiro Enzo – The Lone Wanderer (10%)
His stats had increased slightly compared to this afternoon. His body also felt different—lighter, more agile. Adam stared at Marcus's rusted sword hanging on the wall.
"Father, Mother... I know my path is different. But I will move forward."
He began formulating a plan. "First step: test the system by hunting small monsters. [Slimes] or [Giant Rats] at the city's edge. If EXP really comes in, it means the path is open. Second step: use Foraging to collect wild plants. The results can be sold to apothecaries or used myself. With that, I don't need to spend all the small money from my adoptive parents' inheritance. Third step: survive until level 20. At that level, Chronicle Sync will open new synchronization. Another inheritance will come. If accumulated, I can create my own path."
Adam closed his eyes, smiling thinly. The world judged him Jobless. But he knew the truth: he wasn't trash. He was just a wanderer on a road no one else had traveled.
Night grew late. The air in Millhaven pierced the skin, carrying the scent of moist earth. From his room window, Adam stared at the sky. The pale moon hung alone, shrouded by thin clouds. He closed his eyes, letting his thoughts drift. Shiro Enzo's shadow appeared faintly. A thin man sitting under a dead tree, eating raw roots while lighting a small fire. Empty eyes, frail body, but surviving.
*He's not a hero. But he never died.* Adam smiled crookedly.
"That's more than enough."
The next morning, Adam woke up earlier. He prepared Marcus's rusted sword and a piece of bread left from last night. That was all his provisions. He stared at the empty table. There was no other food. His savings were only a handful of copper coins—not enough to live long.
"If I fail to hunt, I'll starve to death. But if I succeed..." Adam clenched his hand, "I can prove this path is real."
He walked to the city's edge. The stone road gradually turned to dusty earth. Wild grass grew on the left and right sides. The small forest outside Millhaven was famous as a place for beginners to practice. [Slimes] and [Giant Rats] were its main inhabitants. Warrior, Mage, or Hunter students often came here, accompanied by instructors. But Adam was alone.
His steps were steady. Survival Instinct pulsed gently in his body, making his eyes more alert, his ears sharper. It didn't take long for his eyes to catch something.
A [Slime] with transparent green color was crawling slowly on a rock. Its body undulated, reflecting sunlight. Adam swallowed.
"This is the first test."
He drew his rusted sword. His hand trembled slightly, not from fear, but from tension.
[Basic Swordsmanship Lv.1 active]
His feet automatically shifted, stepping on the ground more steadily. His body position was balanced. His slash felt more directed. He advanced. His rusted sword slashed downward.
*Splash!*
The [Slime]'s body split in two, its fluid spreading to the ground. The creature trembled, then liquefied until it disappeared.
[Ting!]
[You have defeated a Slime]
[EXP +10]
[Level up! You have reached Level 2]
Adam froze. His eyes stared at that transparent panel for a long time.
[Status Window]
Name: Adam Luck
Level: 2
HP: 110
MP: 55
STR: 7
VIT: 6
DEX: 6
INT: 5
WIS: 5
LUK: 5
Skills:
— Basic Swordsmanship (Lv.1)
— Survival Instinct (Lv.1)
— Foraging (Lv.1)
Cheat: "Chronicle Sync" – Active inheritance: Shiro Enzo – The Lone Wanderer (10%)
His body trembled. But this time not from fear. His smile appeared slowly, then widened.
"I leveled up..." Tears almost fell from his eyes. "I really leveled up."
In the distance, people's voices could be heard. Several young adventurers entered the forest, joking while carrying gleaming weapons. One of them pointed at Adam.
"Hey, isn't that the Jobless?" Another laughed. "What's he doing here? Trying to commit suicide?"
Adam looked down for a moment, then looked ahead again. He didn't answer. No need. He just gripped his sword tighter.
*Let them laugh. I'll keep moving forward. In the end, results can't be hidden.*
Evening approached when Adam returned home. His shabby clothes were dirty with soil and slime. But in his hands were several bottles containing clear liquid—remains of [Slime] bodies that could be sold. Hunger gripped his stomach, but the smile on his face didn't disappear.
He placed those bottles on the table, then opened his status once again.
[Status Window]
Name: Adam Luck
Level: 2
HP: 110
MP: 55
STR: 7
VIT: 6
DEX: 6
INT: 5
WIS: 5
LUK: 5
Skills:
— Basic Swordsmanship (Lv.1)
— Survival Instinct (Lv.1)
— Foraging (Lv.1)
Small stats. Low level. But for Adam, that panel was proof. Proof that the Jobless path wasn't completely closed. He sat in the chair, staring at the oil lamp.
"This is just the beginning," he whispered. "Tomorrow I'll go further. I'll keep advancing until the world is forced to acknowledge my path."
His golden eyes gleamed in the dim light. The small fire inside him burned brighter. The wanderer's path had just begun.