I arrived in another world.

No system, no sword, no royal lineage. Just a little boy, abandoned in the mud in front of a ruined temple.

Seventeen years later, I'm still not a hero.But I'm alive, barely, and with a dream:To build a home for children like me. A place where orphans aren't forgotten. Where they eat warm meals, learn magic or farming, and perhaps not die before puberty.

After years of saving coins, begging from carpenters, and dodging slave traders, I finally opened my orphanage.

And then...

> DING!> "Celestial Orphanage System Activated!"> Mission: Turn every orphan into a hero, a legend, or someone their enemies will weep for in therapy.> Rewards: Power, skills, fame, and, occasionally, a divine coupon.

Apparently, every time one of my children learns to read, kills a demon rabbit, or stops licking enchanted rocks, I get a reward.

And it doesn't stop.

Healing spells? I've got them!

Martial arts techniques? Now I accidentally punch trees.

A celestial presence that makes kings sweat? Uh... I'm working on it.

I just wanted to be a caregiver.But the world is starting to whisper my name. Some call me the Martial Saint. Others, a menacing Demon above the Seven Heavens.

The kids?They call me "Boss Lin"---

Warning: This story is my first web novel project. The portrait is AI-generated and the text is AI-corrected for grammar. The main story is entirely written by me. English is not my native language. If you can give constructive criticism, I'm open to it.

Kumiko and Alena are two orphans living through a gruelling war. There is grinding poverty, constant bombings, and looming soldiers. Kumiko wants to keep his younger sister safe from the war around them. But will he sacrifice his sister's heart in order to do so?

This orphanage is not a sanctuary, it's not a refuge, it's not a home. It's a horrific place where the children are kept trapped and longing. Devon and Willow are two of many children, who are being devoured in the orphanage's jaws. And yet despite all the horror, they dare to hope.

Harmony Ametsenya is too young to face the cruelties of the city. At ten years old, she shouldn’t be hungry, she shouldn’t be cold, she shouldn’t be worried about where her next meal is coming from. But it doesn’t change the fact that she is.

Fourteen-year-old Msitu Ametsenya shouldn’t be either. But it doesn’t change the fact that she will keep Harmony safe at all costs. At all costs. No matter what.

Their lives are full of fear and pain work. Because in this city, nobody cares about two impoverished orphan children trying to stay alive. Nobody cares about the impoverished at all. The city is grey, made of metal and glass and concrete. The water is grey, full of pollution. The sky is grey, full of smog.

As Christmas comes around the corner, the first Christmas since their parents died, how will Msitu make it a time of joy and hope? Because after all, in a world run by greed and apathy, hope is everything.

———

This work is in the public domain and anyone can do anything they want with it.