The Underground - Year 834
"If you're not gonna pay, get out!"
A tubby, middle-aged man grabbed me by the scruff of my ragged clothes and tossed me out the door of a decrepit slum.
I landed with a thud on the cold stone floor, clutching my only possession, a pouch with a measly few coins.
Living in this world for eight years, I knew the day would come when I'd have to fend for myself.
Most kids in my position live on the streets here anyway.
After all, this is the world of AOT. I don't expect anything to get better.
Yes, I was reincarnated into Attack on Titan.
But what makes matters even worse is that I was born in the Underground.
A place with no sunlight, where thugs walk around casually and crime is rife.
At least I'm safe from the invasion in the year 845, right?
That's presuming I make it that far into the future.
People in the Underground are simply seen as a scourge.
A life so meaningless that if you somehow managed to make it to the surface, you wouldn't even be considered a citizen; a being who doesn't exist in the eyes of society.
Anyways, now that I'm officially homeless, I'm really starting to contemplate the predicament I've been transmigrated into.
"What are you staring at, kid?! Get out already!"
***
"My legs ache so much."
I've been walking for hours, navigating sketchy pillars and alleyways one after another.
Every time I enter a potential spot, it's either already occupied by children or controlled by the street thugs.
But at last, I've found a spot to sleep for the night.
It's a building in ruins, but at least there's no one else here.
"So I guess this suspicious-looking spot should do for now… AAH! What is that thing?!"
Squeak! Squeak!
A massive rat was scurrying around, baring its two front teeth at me.
"How is it so big?!"
Searching around in a panic, I picked up the first thing I could find on the ground.
Fortunately, a sharp pebble was lying around, so I threw it at the rat.
Thwack!
The stone hurtled into the rat's head. It let out a squeal, squirmed around in agony for a while, then shuddered before ceasing to move.
[Ding! First Blood Achievement Unlocked!
— Reward:
('Reckoning Online' System)]
{Activating Status Panel 0%…. 50%….. 100%!}
[+10 XP]
"!!! A System?!"
After eight grueling years in this dump, I actually got the coveted transmigrator cheat.
Without sparing a moment, I called out 'system' in my mind, and just like magic, a translucent blue panel gleamed in front of my eyes.
In addition to that, it wasn't just any generic status panel; it was one I am extremely familiar with from my previous life.
[Lucian Edelhart]
HP: 5/5
SP: 5/5
Stamina: 5/5
Class: Vagrant
Level 1 -> 2
Skills: (None)
XP: 10/50
Attribute Points:
Vigor: 1
Focus: 1
Endurance: 1
Strength: 1
Dexterity: 1
]
"This really is the same user interface from Reckoning Online!"
Reckoning Online, the game I played in my previous life.
I poured hours upon hours into grinding on Reckoning.
It was a cliché yet enticing open-world RPG, where you invaded dungeons, fought bosses, and leveled up your character.
And like many other online games, it included a competitive PVP scene. In fact, I even made it to the top one hundred players at one point.
But my glory was short-lived. The countless sleepless days and poor eating habits quickly accumulated.
My desire to maintain my position in the top one hundred on the leaderboard caused me to neglect my health.
Long consecutive hours of playing and suddenly standing up is not a good idea, apparently.
My body slammed into my desk and contorted in a pitiful way.
Paralyzed from the neck down, I died a slow death.
Sigh… Just remembering it makes me frustrated. I should've taken more breaks.
To make matters worse, my last words were really, "Gotta delete... search history."
After I spoke those sacred words, the next thing I remembered was waking up, staring at an unfamiliar woman with hands far smaller than I expected.
I tried to speak, but what came out were incoherent gargles.
My first thought was, 'Is this a dream?'
But reality settled in quickly, and I pieced together from the little I could gather as an infant about this world.
My mother told me random stories here and there about how I was in an underground slum. Above me were walls protecting humanity from the Titans.
Tales above ground of a Survey Corps that performed reconnaissance missions, returning with lost limbs; the royal family living in the city above; the fanatic church and their religion. All of these horror stories coalesced into one conclusion.
I reincarnated into none other than the wretched world of Attack on Titan.
Had I been born a nobleman in the inner walls, the shock would've been lessened.
But I was born as a peasant at the very bottom of the social ladder.
I'm merely an extra born to a single mother in the slums.
Shortly after my birth, my mother was too sick to work, so she used the little money she had to rent a cheap house in the slums from a sketchy man.
Sadly, after eight years, my mother in this world died from a work-related illness.
I locked myself in the house for a couple of weeks in grief, but with no rent money, the owner eventually decided to kick me out.
Looking on the bright side, I got a status panel now.
Currently, my class is Vagrant, which has no skills at all.
There's only one option for me to choose in terms of my class.
'Reckoning' had a complicated class system where the skills you chose dictated your class.
Characters start off as the Vagrant class, and as the player levels up, several pathways on the skill tree unlock.
For example, my main class in the game, 'Thief,' had the initial skills: [Quickstep], [Backstab], and [Conceal].
But in order to unlock skills in the first place, I need XP.
In the game, hostile monsters gave XP.
But this is no longer a game. There are no hostile monsters from 'Reckoning' roaming in this world.
But with the rat event, it seems the system registers any living being that poses a reasonable threat, like the rat, as a monster.
I wonder how much XP I could get from a Titan?
***
Clink!
A half-empty bottle dropped to the floor, removing me from my thoughts.
"W-What are you doing in my turf, you dirty little pest?" A drunkard thug barely slurred out.
'…so this is his spot.'
In order to survive situations like these, the most optimal solution is to be polite and leave as quickly as possible.
"Sorry, I'll leave right away. I just got kicked out of my home. I didn't know this was your place."
This should work, right?
Frowning, he began walking towards me with an unbalanced gait and a malicious grin.
"Haha, that's fine, but you think I can't hear your coins rattling in that little pouch of yours? I think I deserve a payment for you squatting in my turf."
"…"
He stretched out his hand, trying to grasp me by the collar.
Smack!
I slapped his hand away before he could grab me.
As expected, he didn't take that action very kindly. His face crumpled up, and he yelled with vitriol.
"Brat! Do you know who I am?!"
His hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a glistening object.
Sweat trickled down my face.
"Hey, look behind you!"
The idiot actually turned to where I pointed.
In that instant, I grabbed dust off the ground and launched it into his face, then swiftly darted off in the opposite direction into a road.
But suddenly, I stopped.
I bumped into someone, it seems.
My neck slowly cranked upwards, my eyes slowly tracing up the looming figure.
A tall man. He donned a long trench coat, a bowler hat, and had a long face with piercing eyes.
"What's going on? A little boy trying to fight a grown man?"
Can't you see me running away…
"Hey, you! Is that kid yours?! Hand him over."
The man's sharp gaze briefly glanced at me, then at the thug.
After a momentary pause, he muttered, "I knew this was a good place to find him some practice," whilst nudging a small figure beside him.
It was a short kid of a similar stature to me.
He was also grasping a knife.
Seriously, what's with you criminals?! Starting your kids so young!
Have I seen them before? These guys look awfully familiar…
The little kid stepped forward, lunging towards the drunken man.
Thwack!
He struck at his face. The sudden attack made him drop his knife, and a tooth was launched from his mouth.
"Gah! What are you doing, you brat?!" The man yelled as he clutched his mouth.
He retaliated with a sloppy punch at the kid.
Despite the size discrepancy, the kid handled him with ease, subduing him on the floor.
Damp thuds echoed as the kid punched the downed opponent.
A crowd quickly gathered at the commotion and began murmuring.
"Hey, isn't that the kid Kenny the Ripper is taking care of?"
…Wait, what?! Did I hear correctly? Kenny the Ripper?!
So that's Levi?!
It looks like he's already awakened his powers.
Should I try to get acquainted with Levi?
Is that really worth it? Everyone close to Levi is cursed and ends up dead, after all.
Yeah… I should probably get out of here.
The last thing I want is to get close to them at all.
Kenny Ackerman ends up working for the Reiss family, and Levi gets scouted by Erwin.
My goal is survival, not fighting Titans.
I'll leave that to Eren Jaeger.
Anyways, before that alcoholic interrupted me, I was in the midst of farming XP.
Focusing on leveling up enough to scare thugs and becoming rich is all I need.
And when the main story goes down, I'll be hiding somewhere, laughing to myself as the Rumbling goes down.
…
Two days later
[+10 XP]
[+10 XP]
[+10 XP]
[+10 XP]
"Finally… the last rat is dead."
[Level 2 Unlocked!
+1 Stat Point
+1 Skill
[Select one skill from the list below]
]
Two days of chasing and killing rats has gotten me completely tired and hungry.
But it was all worth it.
As expected, the same base skills choices as Reckoning.
I selected Quickstep and then put my one stat point into the Vigor attribute.
[Name: Lucian Edelhart]
HP: 10/10
SP: 5/5
Stamina: 4.2/5
Class: Vagrant
Level: 2
EXP: 0/100
Attribute Points:
Vigor: 2
Focus: 1
Endurance: 1
Strength: 1
Dexterity: 1
When I had pressed accept on the Vigor upgrade, a smooth, cooling sensation radiated around my body. My once frail arms slightly plumped up, my skin texture smoothed, and my hunger had been somewhat satiated for what felt like the first time in a very long time.
After leveling my Vigor, I selected the Quickstep skill.
In the game, Quickstep was extremely useful.
Allowing you to traverse the map with speed.
If I can utilize Quickstep correctly, snatching food from an unsuspecting vendor should be a breeze.
I called out 'Quickstep' in my mind, and I felt an almost instinctual-like ability imprinted into my muscles.
I took a deep breath and leaned down slightly.
Swish!
In a blur, my figure dashed forward, my feet skidded across the floor seamlessly as I delicately regained my balance.
"Woah… That was way better than I expected!"
Woosh!
Woosh!
Woosh!
I darted around, testing out my new skill.
"I was expecting for it to be fast, but not this fast. With this speed, I can easily snatch food without anyone noticing."
But suddenly, my mind became groggy, and my limbs drooped involuntarily.
"Huh… what happened? Why am I so tired?"
I checked my status panel and noticed my SP (Special Points) had dropped to zero.
"Is this what it feels like to be drained of SP? I can barely even move!"
In the game, SP was recovered by sleep or potions.
I guess I should hold off on doing anything until tomorrow, then.