Adem's POV
The carriage rocked along the dirt path, its wheels groaning with every bump. Inside, a group of young nobles sat stiffly, their clothes fine but travel-worn, their faces pale with unease. One boy lay sprawled on the wooden floor, blood streaking down his forehead.
Among them sat a child who looked younger than the rest. Twelve at most, though his bald head and surprisingly muscular frame made him stand out. His black eyes opened slowly, deep and sharp, though a faint confusion flickered in their depths.
His name, at least the one this body carried, was Adem Veyron.
But in truth, Adem remembered something entirely different. He remembered standing at the gate of his school, exhausted after an all-nighter spent "studying" ,which in reality meant binging cultivation novels instead of actual exam prep. He had been about to walk inside to write his final exam when, out of nowhere, headlights blazed and a truck flattened him like roadkill.
'Perfect. An honorable death for a genius like me ,killed by truck-kun'.
He hadn't even been upset about it. He was probably going to fail anyway. Why not fail spectacularly? At least this way, he wouldn't even have to hand in the empty paper.
But as his eyes scanned the unfamiliar wooden walls and stiff, nervous children around him, Adem realized with growing unease that he wasn't dead. At least, not completely.
Confusion gave way to pain as his skull throbbed. Memories he didn't recognize came crashing down like a flood. A noble lineage. A family name. A grandfather on his deathbed, the last surviving relative of this body. A future inheritance of land and title, though fragile and uncertain.
Adem clutched his head, squeezing his eyes shut. The pain dragged him down into blackness, and when he opened his eyes again, the world had changed.
He now stood in ankle-deep water stretching endlessly in every direction. Above him, the sky was an infinite blue, clear and suffocating. For a long moment, he simply stood there, dazed. Then his gaze snapped forward.
A massive golden wheel floated silently before him, glowing faintly.
His lips twitched. "…Really? A gacha system?"
The wheel spun lazily as a cold, mechanical voice rang out.
[Ding! Congratulations for winning a Reincarnation Opportunity.]
[You have been granted 5 spins on the Great Cheat Wheel.]
Adem reached toward it on instinct, but before his hand could touch, the wheel began to turn on its own, the clicking sound echoing across the still waters.
[Ding! Congratulations! You have gained Talent: High Comprehension.]
[Ding! Congratulations! You have gained Technique: Force Control Skill (Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor).]
[Ding! Congratulations! You have gained Technique: Great Reincarnation Art (Martial World).]
[Ding! Congratulations! You have gained Technique: Space-Time Model (Comprehension ability: Creating Heavenly Laws).]
[Ding! Congratulations! You have gained Technique: Ten Extremities (Beyond the Timescape).]
[Ding! You have used all your spin opportunities. Goodbye, forever.]
The wheel dissolved into sparks, fading away as if mocking him.
"…Goodbye, forever? That's it? No tutorial, no explanation, not even a damn world introduction?" Adem muttered, slack-jawed. He had read hundreds of webnovels, and even they gave the protagonist more time than this.
He rubbed his temples. At least the cheats are overpowered, maybe too overpowered. How am I supposed to use half of these with a mortal body?
A sudden jolt shook him from the illusion. The carriage had stopped. Adem blinked back into reality, his heart pounding. His eyes fell to the boy lying on the floor, groaning awake. His face was pale, his forehead wounded, but his eyes were sharp and calculating as they snapped open.
Recognition chilled Adem's spine.
'No way… that's Leylin. Leylin Farlier.'
The name alone was enough to send a shiver down his back. He had read Warlock of the Magus World. He knew exactly what kind of snake this dude was: ruthless, brilliant, utterly without mercy. A monster in the making, wearing the face of a harmless youth.
Adem forced himself to look away. "This is going to be troublesome or maybe not yet."
For now, he needed to focus on survival. His cheats were monstrous, but most of them were far beyond his current ability to use. High Comprehension and Force Control , those, at least, he could put to work immediately. The rest… would have to wait until he actually had cultivation to fuel them.
He rose from his seat, muscles still stiff, and stretched. The carriage door creaked open, and Adem caught a glimpse of the world outside. Colors shimmered faintly in the air as high comprehension had already started to work, allowing him to see threads of mana, glowing just enough to be seen by sensitive eyes. This world pulsed with magic, and his heart gave a small, excited beat.
But before he could admire it further, his stomach growled loudly.
"…Great. Exploring my limits and this world can be done later ,now I face the greatest enemy of humanity, hunger."
He spotted the scar-faced knight standing outside, the one tasked with guarding and feeding them, though his name escaped him at the moment. Food was being handed out, plain but filling. Adem stepped forward, ignoring Leylin and George, who was helping Leylin up , completely. Getting involved with them this early was suicide.
He accepted the food silently, his thoughts racing.
'This body is twelve. Still growing. I remember that Grandpa always used to say that you can't conquer the world on an empty stomach. I'll need every ounce of strength I can get in this world.'
As he sat back down with his meal, Adem Veyron let his gaze drift for a moment longer on Leylin, who was quietly observing the others, probably using his A.I Chip.
'The story has already started it seems.'