Zero to Trillionaire: The Scholar’s God-Tier System

One Against Ten

The first guy reached me with a plastic cafeteria tray, swinging it like an axe. In my head, I could see the path of the tray before it even got close. I didn't even have to try. I just stepped an inch to the left, and the tray whistled past my chest, hitting the empty table with a loud crack.

Before he could pull back, I tapped him twice on the ribs. It wasn't a hard punch, but I hit the exact spot that makes your lungs forget how to breathe. He dropped the tray and fell to his knees, gasping for air like a fish out of water.

"One," I whispered.

Then, three more jumped at me at the same time. One tried to grab my waist, another swung a wild left hook, and the third tried to kick my legs out from under me.

I didn't stay still. If I stayed still, they would swarm me. I moved like a ghost. I stepped on the seat of my chair and jumped over the first guy’s head. While I was in the air, I kicked the second guy in the shoulder, spinning him around so he crashed into his own friend.

They both went down in a mess of tangled arms and legs.

"Two. Three. Four," I counted.

The cafeteria was a madhouse now. Students were standing on tables to get a better view. I could see Chloe in the crowd. Her face was pale, and her mouth was open. She looked like she didn't recognize me at all. I wasn't the quiet guy who let her walk all over him anymore. I was something else. Something dangerous.

"Get him! What is wrong with you people?!" Bryan was screaming from his table. He was throwing fits like a toddler, but he was too scared to move an inch closer himself.

The remaining six guys were hesitating. They saw their friends on the floor, groaning and clutching their stomachs. They realized that even though there were more of them, they couldn't even touch the edge of my jacket.

"He's just one guy!" Chad yelled, finally crawling up from the floor after I’d flicked him. "Don't be cowards! Grab the chairs!"

That was a mistake.

As soon as they picked up the heavy wooden chairs, they became slow. I didn't wait for them to attack this time. I went to them.

I moved through the group like a blur. To the people watching, it probably looked like I was teleporting. I ducked under a chair swing, grabbed the guy’s wrist, and forced him to drop the seat on his own toes. While he was screaming, I stepped on his back mid-fall using his collapsing body as a platform, and launched myself forward to reach the next guy.

I landed a palm strike on his chin, sending his head snapping back. He was out before he hit the ground.

Thump. Crash. Bang.

In less than two minutes, the cafeteria went from a riot to a graveyard. No one was cheering anymore. No one was filming. At some point… this stopped being entertainment. All ten of Bryan’s thugs were on the floor. Some were unconscious, some were crying, and Chad was back in the trash can I had shoved him toward earlier.

I stood in the middle of the mess, completely calm. I reached down and adjusted my collar. I looked at my sleeve—not a single drop of water or a speck of food had touched me.

[Ding! Mission Complete: One Against Ten.]

[Reward: Master-Level Stealth Skills. You can now move without making a sound and blend into any shadow.]

I felt a cold, tingly sensation go through my feet and hands. It was like I had become lighter, like the air itself was helping me move.

I turned my head and looked directly at Bryan.

Bryan’s face went from angry to white as a sheet of paper. He started shaking so hard his teeth were literally chattering. He tried to back away, but he tripped over his own chair and fell on his butt.

"Ethan... wait... we were just joking!" Bryan stammered, holding his hands up. "It was just a prank! We’re all friends here, right?"

I walked toward him. Every step I took made the students around us pull back in fear. I stopped right in front of him and looked down.

"Friends?" I asked. I leaned over, my face just inches from his. My Aura of the Sovereign was full blast now. Bryan looked like he was about to pee his pants. "You destroyed my life’s work. You tried to sue my mother while she was in a hospital bed. And now you’re sending ten guys to break my legs."

I reached out and grabbed a glass of orange juice from his table.

"Does this look like a joke to you?" I asked.

I slowly turned the glass over and poured the sticky juice right onto Bryan’s expensive $5,000 suit. He didn't even move. He was too terrified to breathe.

"Now we’re even for the water," I said, putting the empty glass back on the table.

I looked over at Chloe. She was standing there, looking at me with big, teary eyes. "Ethan... I’m so sorry. I didn't know Bryan would go this far. I was just confused... can we talk? Please?"

I felt a tiny bit of disgust in my chest. She didn't care about me when I was poor. She only cared now because I was strong.

"I don't talk to strangers," I said.

I turned around and walked out of the cafeteria. The silence followed me all the way to the doors. Nobody dared to say a word until the doors swung shut behind me.

As I walked down the quiet hallway, the System chimed again.

[Ding! New Mission: The Faculty Gala.]

[Context: The University is holding a high-end gala tonight for all the big donors and faculty. Professor Sarah will be there.]

[Objective: Attend the Gala and outshine everyone. You need a new look.]

[Warning: The Thorne Family will be watching the event.]

I smiled to myself. A gala? That meant I needed a suit. And not just a regular suit from a mall. I needed something that would make everyone in that room realize that the old Ethan Vance was dead and buried.

I pulled out my phone and looked at my bank balance.

$13,000,000.00

"Time to go shopping," I whispered.

I headed for the parking lot. My matte-black Ghost was waiting for me, looking like a predator among all the cheap student cars. I got in and the engine purred.

I didn't head for the student shops. I drove straight toward the city's Diamond District, where the stores didn't even have price tags in the windows because if you had to ask, you couldn't afford it.

I had a transformation to finish. And by tonight, the whole city would know my name.