A title. A mark. A profession. That's what mattered in this world. It's what defined us. People didn't care about who you were or what you dreamed of. They cared about your system—what job you'd been assigned. Your value was determined by it. And mine?
The system didn't give me a boxer's reflex or a lawyer's persuasion. No. It gave me Unskilled Laborer. Rank F. The lowest. Every day, I woke up, dragged myself to another back-breaking day of work, and felt the weight of my curse grow heavier.
I had no future. No hope. I wasn't even important enough to be considered a failure. I was the invisible one. The one no one noticed.
The system had seen fit to give me the bare minimum. It hadn't even bothered to show me any potential for improvement. People who got unlucky and received low-rank professions still had a chance to rise. They could grow their skills, improve their rank. Even if you started as a Janitoror Cashier, you could eventually become a decent person, useful to the world.
However, I did not possess such hope. My system did not progress. It remained unchanged. Regardless of my efforts or the intensity of my work, I remained merely a laborer, carrying boxes and performing the most degrading, menial jobs imaginable.
It wasn't always . I used to dream. I used to think that maybe, just maybe, my system would surprise me—that it would reveal a hidden power, a secret job waiting to be unlocked. But that was foolish. At seventeen, I had learned the painful truth. I was nothing but a cog in a system too big to care about one worthless person.
At times, I questioned whether it would have been preferable if I had never existed. At least then, I wouldn't need to endure this life. Each day felt identical—draining, solitary, and meaningless.
The endless ridicule, the pitying looks. No one ever took me seriously. No one ever saw me as a person. I was just the guy who did the dirty work, who was only useful in the eyes of those who didn't want to lift a finger.
I hated them. I hated the world.
And I hated myself for being too weak to change it.
It was late in the day, and I found myself at the familiar spot-the crumbling brink of a cliff gazing down at a barren valley. The moonlight danced on the shattered stones beneath, and a coldness surged through me, biting like frost. The wind cried out from afar, reminding me of my deep solitude. I followed all their instructions. I had put in more effort than anyone else, believing that perhaps, just perhaps, I might achieve a better life.
But the system had its own idea of what I deserved.
It hadn't given me a choice.
And tonight? Tonight I had decided.
I could bring it all to a close. I could bring it to a halt. The persistent pain in my chest, the fatigue, the infinite days of emptiness—I had reached my limit. The ache in my bones, the shame in my heart, the heavy burden of being insignificant in a world that required you to be significant—none of it mattered now.
Thus, I remained there, a step away from the brink.
I shut my eyes, allowing the breeze to envelop me. There was a short instance of tranquility before I allowed my body to lean forward. That was the sole method available for me to flee.
The only way I could finally be free.
But then, just as my foot was about to move—
The sound pierced my thoughts, a mechanical hum in the air that sent a strange shiver down my spine. My body froze. I wanted to ignore it, to silence the annoying noise that was always so distant and impersonal, but it wouldn't stop.
[Congratulations! You have received a hidden profession: Jobmaster (SSS-Class)!]
My heart stopped. My breath hitched. I couldn't breathe. My hands trembled as I reached for the holographic screen in front of me. The words flashed in the air, bright and impossible to comprehend.
There was no way. No way this was real. The system didn't just give out SSS-class professions to people like me. Unskilled Laborer. That was my title. That was my curse. My future.
I had spent years with that label, and now, suddenly... this?
[You are now the Jobmaster. The system will allow you to learn, master, and switch between all available professions.]
[Warning: This is an irreversible process. Use your newfound power wisely.]
I couldn't move. The air around me felt heavy, as if the world had shifted in that single moment. A weightless sensation filled my body, like something had unlocked within me.
My system... my system was... evolving. I sensed the rhythm of something fresh—something strong—flowing within me.
For the first time in years, I sensed vitality.
But how? How was this possible?
I gazed at my hands, anticipating the familiar, soiled, callused palms I had endured for many years. However, at that moment, I noticed something unusual. A dim light radiated from my fingertips. The atmosphere surrounding me buzzed with vibrancy, as if the system had been anticipating this moment, for me to ultimately realize my actual capabilities.
I wasn't an Unskilled Laborer anymore.
I was something else. Something greater.
I'm unsure how long I remained there, my heart pounding with the understanding of what had just occurred. However, I was certain of one thing: my life, the route I had accepted, had come to an end. The system had offered me a chance-no, the opportunity—and I wasn't going to waste it.
The world had cast me aside. But now, I was going to make it regret that mistake.
And nothing—nothing—was going to stop me.