SYSTEM ; Rise of the Pauper heir

Chapter ten

I could barely believe what I was seeing. The system was giving me another chance.

After weeks of waiting.

Days of crying and agony. My mother could barely keep us alive from the change she made from the pharmacy shop. I could hear her groans from sleepless night but now that the system is back, I know I had to let her know.

But then I needed to see what my first mission was going to be.

[ SYSTEM INITIALISATION COMPLETE ]

[ SYSTEM REWARD FOR REBOOTING; $20,000,000 ]

[ SYSTEM TASK : RECLAIM YOUR HOUSE ]

I looked at the holographic message and suddenly dropped the mop I was holding. " No way! This can't be real." I shouted with joy.

Fucking twenty million dollars!

Who the hell gives twenty million dollars for just some weird task?

[ SYSTEM VOICE; I DO ]

[ SYSTEM RULES; COMING RIGHT UP ]

My face went pale as I kept my eyes fixed on the screen before me.

For a few seconds, I forget where I was standing. I was supposed to be mopping the floor. But I was fixed to a spot, like I was in the system myself

"What rules?" I whispered again, my eyes wide as the holographic screen shimmered and began to scroll like a sacred scroll being unraveled.

[ SYSTEM RULES INITIATED ]

1. ALL ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES — Rewards will follow success, punishments will follow failure.

2. NO EXCESSIVE VIOLENCE — Unless authorized by the system.

3. DO NOT EXPOSE THE SYSTEM — Disclosure to anyone will result in a complete system shutdown.

4. COMPLETE YOUR MISSIONS — Failure to complete given tasks will result in penalties.

5. YOU MAY LAY LOW, BUT NOT STAGNATE

6. THE HEIR'S POWER IS AWAKENING — Unlock it. Use it. Command it.

[ ADDITIONAL ABILITIES UNLOCKED; DETAILS PENDING MISSION COMPLETION ]

My hands were trembling. Not from fear. From raw, unfiltered adrenaline. I felt like a man who’d been crawling through the mud and suddenly found himself standing in front of a golden throne.

The heir’s power? What the hell did that mean?

I snapped out of the trance and picked up my mop, remembering where I was—scrubbing the dirty halls of the elite school like some rejected janitor. Jeremiah made sure of that. Ever since he’d taken my phone and filed that lawsuit, my life had spiraled into hell.

But now, it was time to stop falling.

Now it was time to rise.

Time for some pay back.

******************************************************************

For the next few days, I laid low.

I watched. I listened. I studied their patterns.

Jeremiah was still the king of the court, strutting down the hallways with that smug smirk. Layla, she was enjoying playing the beautiful bride to the most brutal student in the campus.

And Cassie… she was quiet. Distant. Watching me from across the cafeteria, like she wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.

I didn’t approach her.

Not yet.

Let the mystery build. Let the whispers grow.

"I heard Pontius is homeless now."

"I saw him cleaning the toilets yesterday."

"Didn’t he try to scam Cassie with fake money?"

Let them talk.

Because when I return, I’m not returning to explain—I’m returning to own.

******************************************************************

I sat in the library, pretending to clean the tables while my eyes flicked over the computer screen. Public records, sale documents, property transfers…

Jeremiah’s father.

Just as I suspected.

The bastard bought the house for half its value just to flex on us. My mother cried for two nights when we handed over the keys.

Well guess what?

I just got twenty million dollars dropped on my lap, and I’m going to buy that house back—but not with a check.

With humiliation.

******************************************************************

It happened during the Friday school assembly. Everyone was gathered. Students, teachers, even the bored janitors who never really cared.

Layla was on stage giving one of her usual shallow speeches as the student council’s “Queen Bee.”

"—And let’s be honest," she said into the mic, "we don’t need people dragging this school’s image down. Some of us were born to shine. Others were born to sweep."

A wave of laughter erupted. I didn’t even flinch. I kept walking toward the stage with my head down… until I reached the front row.

Layla saw me, her smile widening.

"Oh look, our favorite school mascot has arrived—Pontius the Pauper," she sneered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone—my new phone. A special black device, sleek and custom-made. Courtesy of the system.

A holographic screen suddenly appeared in front of me, so real and sharp that the entire auditorium gasped.

"What the hell…?" someone muttered.

Layla took a step back. "Is this some kind of prank?"

I tapped the air and the system responded immediately.

[ TRANSFER CONFIRMED — $2,000,000 to Whitestone High Development Fund ]

[ NOTE FROM DONOR: From Pontius Greyson, rightful heir of the Greyson Estate. ]

The screen vanished. The silence was deafening.

Then, gasps.

"Greyson?"

"He’s the heir to the Greyson fortune?"

"Is he serious?"

"What the hell is happening?"

Layla’s mouth dropped open. She looked like she was choking on her own spit.

I looked straight at her. “You called me a pauper, right?”

She didn’t respond.

I took one step closer.

“Now bend your royal neck… and thank me for donating more money to this school in one second than your entire plastic council has in four years.”

The crowd erupted.

Phones came out. People screamed. Some teachers were already walking toward the stage.

Layla stumbled back, her face redder than Jeremiah’s basketball jersey. She tried to grab the mic again, but it didn’t matter.