Once A pauper, system upgraded

Once A pauper, system upgraded

penn9315 · Ongoing · 91.4k Words

1.1k
Hot
1.1k
Views
0
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Ethan Ashworth had nothing — no money, no family, no future. Just a rundown room, a handsome face that brought him nothing but pain, and the daily beatings from rich bullies who saw him as trash.

Then came the brutal ambush behind the school building. Left bleeding and alone as the weekend began, Ethan finally gave up on life.

That was when the voice spoke.

[Bloodline Legacy Contract activated.]

Suddenly, the frail orphan from the slums was thrust into another world — a realm of magic, kings, and monsters. With a mysterious system at his side and a sword in his hand, Ethan must complete deadly missions to grow stronger.

Because back home, the rich still rule… and he has a score to settle.

Chapter 1

Chapter One

March 25th, 2030

The first rays of sunlight pierced through the cracked walls and dusty window of the cramped single room that served as Ethan’s entire world. A worn-out foam mattress lay on the bare floor, and the only other furniture was a rickety wooden cupboard that doubled as a table, a plastic chair, and a small bag containing his few belongings. A faded bucket and a wastebasket sat near the door, completing the bleak picture.

Anyone who stepped inside could see at a glance how deeply impoverished Ethan’s life was. He lived at the very bottom of society — the kind of poverty people whispered about but rarely witnessed up close.

RING… RING…

The sharp sound of his old phone alarm shattered the morning silence.

“Ughhh!”

Ethan groaned loudly as he reached out and slapped the phone to silence it.

“Another night with barely any sleep,” he muttered, running a hand through his messy snow-white hair. The motion revealed a pair of striking ocean-blue eyes, heavy with exhaustion.

Despite his dire circumstances, Ethan was undeniably handsome. His sharp jawline, well-defined facial features, and tall 6’2” frame made him look like someone who belonged on billboards rather than in a slum. Yet his looks had never brought him any real advantage.

The memory of his first confession still stung.

“You might be good-looking, but what’s the use if you can’t even pay for my meals? I’d rather be with a rich, ugly man who can take care of me than waste time with someone like you.”

Since that day, Ethan had buried any thoughts of romance and focused solely on one goal: escaping poverty.

“Ah, damn it — it’s Friday. I have classes today,” he grumbled, forcing himself to sit up.

He dragged himself to the half-filled plastic bucket he had managed to fetch water for the night before, carried it into the tiny attached bathroom, and washed up quickly. After drying off, he changed into his school uniform: a crisp white long-sleeve shirt, black tie, and black trousers. Even in poverty, he refused to let his appearance become as shabby as his surroundings.

Standing in front of the small cracked mirror hanging on the wall, Ethan carefully combed his white hair into place. He slung his old, faded backpack over one shoulder and stepped out of his room — which was, in reality, his entire house.

Outside, the narrow street looked exactly as it always did. Dilapidated houses crowded together while children in torn clothes ran around playing. Women balanced heavy buckets of water on their heads, dragging reluctant kids along, and several men in work clothes prepared to head to nearby construction sites.

The air smelled of hardship, yet the people here shared a strange sense of community and quiet resilience. Ethan often told himself that one day, when he finally made it, he would pull every single person in this neighborhood out of this life.

Lost in thought, he didn’t notice the two middle-aged men walking toward him until they were close.

“Well, if it isn’t the scholar from the trenches,” one of them called out with a grin.

Ethan snapped out of his daze and smiled.

“Morning, Uncle Marcus. Morning, Uncle Malik,” he greeted warmly.

The two brothers were well-known in the area for taking on any kind of manual labor that came their way. They often invited Ethan to join them on weekends and holidays for extra cash.

“Morning, kid,” Malik replied, patting him on the shoulder. “When are you finally getting rich and rescuing your big uncles from this place, huh?”

“Soon,” Ethan answered with a genuine smile. “Very soon.”

Both men chuckled.

“Listen,” Marcus continued, “that billionaire, Mr. Harrington, just started a big project not far from here. He hired us for some odd jobs starting tomorrow. You free to come along?”

“I’ve got nothing planned,” Ethan said. “I’ll definitely join you guys.”

“Perfect. Study hard today, scholar. We’re counting on you,” they said, waving as they walked off.

Ethan didn’t waste any more time. He greeted a few neighbors on his way and quickened his pace. The walk to school usually took nearly an hour, so he moved briskly.

Riverland High School

By early morning, the prestigious Riverland High School was already buzzing with activity. Students arrived in sleek, expensive cars — some driving themselves, others chauffeured by parents or drivers.

As they stepped out, the young elites walked with confident, exaggerated strides, their designer clothes, accessories, and loud conversations radiating wealth and entitlement.

Most of them were children of politicians, celebrities, and business tycoons. The morning entrance was always filled with shameless displays of luxury.

“My new custom Lamborghini Egoista is arriving tomorrow. Can’t wait to show it off at prom.”

“Prom is going to be insane this year. I heard the Lorenzo family is performing live.”

“Check out this diamond-encrusted watch my dad got me.”

“My mom just got a huge settlement from the divorce. She’s buying me a new Mercedes next week.”

The air was thick with boasts and one-upmanship.

Ethan had long grown used to the noise. He sighed deeply as he approached the grand school gates.

“It’s going to be another long day…”

“Who the hell are you talking to, you nobody?”

A short, arrogant-looking student suddenly blocked Ethan’s path, staring up at him aggressively.

Ethan looked down at the 5’2” boy with mild confusion.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” he replied calmly.

The smaller boy’s face twisted in irritation.

“Are you deaf? Or do you want me to call my guards to teach you some manners?”

Ethan, already exhausted from lack of sleep and the long walk, simply stared down at him with a bored expression. He had no interest in entertaining this morning drama.

His calm demeanor only fueled the boy’s anger. The short student tried to throw a punch at Ethan’s stomach, but Ethan — hardened by years of physical labor — easily caught the fist mid-air.

A small crowd quickly gathered, watching the scene unfold.

“Isn’t it too early for this?” Ethan asked in a tired voice.

The shorter boy yanked his hand back, cheeks burning with embarrassment in front of the onlookers.

“You’ll regret this!” he spat before storming off.

Ethan let out the heavy sigh he had been holding and continued walking toward the school building, ignoring the noisy crowd of wealthy students around him.

He had no idea that this small confrontation would soon spiral into much bigger trouble.

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

Bound by Fate, Freed by Choice

Bound by Fate, Freed by Choice

4.5k Views · Completed · Nafisatuu
When Lyla's fated mate is revealed as Alpha Kaiden—her sister's ruthless ex-husband—the only thing he offers her is public humiliation and a brutal rejection. Heartbroken and branded as unworthy, she flees her pack, determined to uncover the truth behind her sister's mysterious disappearance.

Her escape leads her to Alpha Rowan, the commanding leader of the Blackwood Pack, who offers shelter, protection, and an unexpected chance at a new life. But Rowan’s fierce and jealous fiancée sees Lyla as a threat, and the pack’s charming Beta is drawn to her quiet strength.

As a dangerous attraction simmers between Lyla and Rowan, they begin to unravel a dark web of secrets that implicates Kaiden and threatens both their worlds.

With her hidden power awakening, Lyla must navigate treacherous loyalties, face the alpha who shattered her, and decide: Will she follow the destiny fate forced upon her, or claim the love and strength she has chosen for herself?
A Queen Among Tides (Book 5 in the Gods' Saga)

A Queen Among Tides (Book 5 in the Gods' Saga)

3.9k Views · Ongoing · ADB_Stories
One mistake centuries ago left Lemuel cursed by the Goddess Merlos and forced to wander the earth granting the wishes of those who touch him. Lemuel was looking at an eternity of loneliness until his unexpected soulmate plucked him right out of the sea.

Shocked to find he's been bound in more ways than one to Sebastian, the future King to the Kingdom of Atlesper, Lemuel resists Sebastian's advances at every turn, believing this may be one pairing Goddess Zarseti got wrong.

Lemuel will have to face his past in hopes of starting a new future, but an overly flirtatious King is the least of his worries when he learns Sebastian's parents are convinced that a conniving usurper disguised as a curvy blonde, is the future king's true soulmate.

A Queen Among Tides is the 5th book in the Queen Among Series/The Gods' Saga. This is an interconnected series. To see how it ends, I recommend reading the full series.

Books in the series order:
A Queen Among Alphas - Book 1
Bite-Size Luna - A Queen Among Alphas Prequel (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Snakes - Book 2
A Queen Among Blood - Book 3
A Queen Among Darkness - Book 4
Whole Again - A Queen Among Alpha's spin-off (available under book 1)
A Queen Among Tides - Book 5
Valor, Virtue, and Verve - Tides Prequel Spin-off (will be available under book 5)
A Queen Among Gods - Book 6
Runaway Empress - A Queen Among Snakes Prequel (will be available under book 2)
A Queen Among Tempests - Book 7
Dark Vocation - Darkness spin-off (will be available under book 4)
A Court of Arcane Souls Anthology (side character short stories exclusive to Ream)
Royal Shadow Series (Next Gen Coming Soon)
Timeless Us

Timeless Us

2.2k Views · Ongoing · Jennifer Cooper
A strange traffic jam hurls Chloe twenty-three years into the future.
The world she knew is gone.
Her husband, Nathan, is no longer the young man she left behind—he’s successful, respected, and living with a new family.
But when the woman who disappeared twenty-three years ago suddenly returns…
can love survive the years that were lost?
The Vampire Prince's Hybrid Bride

The Vampire Prince's Hybrid Bride

48.5k Views · Ongoing · Riley Above Story
As a wolfless orphan, Joanne had been abused by Alpha Anthony ever since she was a child. She devoted her entire life to surviving in his pack—until one day, she returned home to find an injured vampire lying in her house, his whole existence luring her in. Taking the risk of bringing him in, Joanne never expected Alpha Anthony to discover it the very next day and finally seize the chance to kill her. Just as Joanne was about to be executed, the vampire she had saved arrived, with his army. And Joanne realized that he was the Prince Alexander, heir to the vampire throne…..
BROKEN TRUST

BROKEN TRUST

4.5k Views · Ongoing · O.J Thewriter
She broke their marriage. He walked away.

Neither of them knew she was carrying his child.

Emily’s affair didn’t just end her marriage—it erased the life she thought was guaranteed. Ryan left without looking back, carrying his anger like armor and leaving Emily alone with regret she would never outrun. Three years later, fate drags them back into each other’s world, along with a little girl who has Ryan’s eyes and a truth that shatters everything he thought he knew.

Old wounds reopen, grief masquerades as rage, and love refuses to stay buried. As parenthood binds them together and the past demands accountability, Emily and Ryan must face the question neither of them is ready to answer: is broken trust the end of their story… or the beginning of a love forged through loss, forgiveness, and brutal honesty?
Soulbound Mark

Soulbound Mark

4k Views · Completed · ngocvynguyen985
Vampires are her worst fear, but what if one of them turns out to be her soulmate?
Elena is a witch who adores flowers and plants, possessing a gentle kind of magic that is tied to nature. She leads a quiet life with her family—until one day, the peace is shattered. After a ruthless vampire kills her parents to obtain their magic, she barely escapes and is forced to go into hiding.
From that moment on, she lives in constant fear and does all she can to avoid vampires, afraid that her past may catch up with her one day.
However, Elena can’t escape her fate, and it leads her straight into the arms of yet another vampire. Their encounter throws her life into disarray—not only is Ryder her enemy, but he is also her destined soulmate.
The Unwritten Princess

The Unwritten Princess

2k Views · Ongoing · Manda Grey
I was born the year the Rift opened. They said I would close it. They were wrong about so many things.

My name is Mia, and everything I touch is dying.

The flowers beneath my mother's window turned black overnight. The herbs I gathered at dawn rotted in my hands. When the court wizard finally told me the truth—that someone cursed me, that my presence would kill everyone I love—I realized the prophecy everyone believed was never meant to save the kingdom. It was meant to destroy me.

So I ran. Not to fulfill some destiny, but to survive it.

Now I'm traveling with a hunter who lost his companions to the same curse I carry, chasing fragments of a prophecy the Fae sing differently. An elf took a baby from the palace the night I was born. And somewhere between the lies I've been told and the truth I'm hunting, I'm starting to suspect: What if I'm not the princess from the prophecy at all?
Alpha Of Glass And Gold

Alpha Of Glass And Gold

1.5k Views · Ongoing · ruby martyr
He left Aurora Anderson with a ring that meant nothing and a promise that broke everything.
Four years later, Levi Kingston, the ruthless Alpha who traded his pack for power and built an empire in glass and gold, returns with a proposition that reopens every wound she buried.
A ninety-day marriage contract.
His terms: protect her twins from the enemies his rise created.
Her condition: never fall for him again.
She’s human, or at least that’s what she tells the world. He’s the heir to the city’s hidden packs, a man forged in dominance and secrets. Between them lies a history of rejection, desire, and a bond that refused to die even when they did.
In a world where loyalty is currency and love is leverage, Aurora must decide whether to guard her heart or the truth that could bring Levi Kingston’s entire empire to its knees. proposition that reopens every wound she buried.
Alpha, Billionaire, Strong FL, Fated Mates, Rejected Mates, Secret babies, Twins, A Marriage of Convenience,
To protect what’s mine

To protect what’s mine

520.2k Views · Completed · Winter Rowe
Amalie is more special than she ever thought possible. Why would the twenty-two-year-old think any different after she has been told she’s nothing for her whole life by her family? Adoptive mother of a three-year-old, Ama has been locked up by her family for the past seven years. But everything changes when her old friends, the Alpha twins, Markus and Calyx, take over the Moonstone pack. Finding out that the twins are her mates, she is a white wolf, and has a connection to the Moon Goddess, is just icing on the cake of her life is a huge mess. Ama just wants a normal life with her mates and protecting her pup, but life rarely gives us what we want. She is thrust into world that she no longer remembers and has forgotten her. Amalie is charged with protecting those closest to her. But she has her own past to overcome as she heals and attempts to move forward. Will she come out alive or lose herself along the way? After all, someone has to be pulling the strings, why not pull her along for the ride?
The Spy Who Left

The Spy Who Left

1.3k Views · Completed · Orion Vale
"She's naive. A pretty little socialite who got lucky marrying above her station."
"I still can't believe she actually did it. Aria Hart, filing for divorce. Who saw that coming?"
"How long do we think it'll take before she comes crawling back?" Another voice joins the conversation.
"Three days," Victoria declares. "Five at most. She has no money, no skills, no family. Where's she going to go?"
When Aria Chen divorced billionaire Leon Hart, New York's elite sneered, betting she'd crawl back within days. She never did.
Three years later, the world is rocked when Dr. Aria Vale, CEO of a revolutionary cybersecurity empire, steps into the spotlight. The mysterious genius who built a billion-dollar company from nothing is none other than Leon's discarded wife, the woman everyone thought was just a pretty ornament.
Now, every powerful man wants the queen Leon threw away a renowned scientist seeking partnership, a financial titan proposing an empire, and an actor offering devotion. Each sees the brilliance Leon ignored.
Then Leon discovers the truth: Aria's sacrifices, her secret double life, and the daughter she's been raising without him. For the first time, the man who once took her for granted must fight for her love. But can he compete with men who valued her from the beginning?
A story of love, betrayal, and power where the king must kneel before the queen who never needed saving.
From Substitute To Queen

From Substitute To Queen

1.5m Views · Completed · Hannah Moore
For three years, Sable loved Alpha Darrell with everything she had, spending her salary to support their household while being called an orphan and gold-digger. But just as Darrell was about to mark her as his Luna, his ex-girlfriend returned, texting: "I'm not wearing underwear. My plane lands soon—pick me up and fuck me immediately."

Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.

Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.

In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?

From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
A pack of their own

A pack of their own

2m Views · Completed · dragonsbain22
Being the middle Child ignored and neglected, rejected by family and injured, She receives her wolf early and realizes she is a new type of hybrid but doesn't know how to control her power, she leaves her pack with her best friend and grandmother to go to her grandfather's clan to learn what she is and how to handle her power and then with her fated mate, her best friend and her fated mate little brother and grandmother start their own pack.