Chương 5: Reward

As the rays of a particularly early dawn peered through the walls of the Shinganshina district, a certain sound echoed through the empty streets.

With the exception of that rhythmic sound, the surroundings were fairly quiet, for it was a bit early for the people to be awake.

Even then, there were always certain early birds, who simply enjoyed the fresh air of the morning or had to go to work. And, they were the only few who knew the true origin of that sound.

One such person was Mark Hussel, who was busy setting up shop by the entrance of the district. He sat in his chair, daydreaming, as if he were waiting for something.

Tap. Tap.

And, once he heard that sound today as well, he smiled and turned towards the dark streets.

At the right end of his view, he could see a silhouette of a person a fair distance away. As the shadow got nearer, sounds of huffing were added to the rhythmic tapping.

And finally, as the shadow was bathed by sunlight, it was revealed to be a young child, with clear grey eyes and dark black hair. Looking like a drenched cat, he made his way towards the shop and stopped to catch his breath as Mark called out to him.

"Oi, Karl! Why'dya stop? Keep at em' !" With a little encouragement, the panting child cursed under his breath as he, once again, began running.

Huff...! Huff...!

Looking at this young child working so hard, Mark couldn't help but smile. He reminisced his own youth, filled with joy and vigor.

Karl reminded him of his younger self, filled with a certain adventurous spirit that would someday freely soar the skies. And so, he just felt like supporting the boy in his journey.

'Just an Old man's whim...' he thought as his eyes followed the tired child.

Once again, the rhythmic running resumed along with Karl's daily torture session.

<<Karl POV>>

Torture! This is pure torture!

If I had a chance to go back and smack my two year old self in the back, I'd even add a few broken bones as free service!

Like, I knew it would be difficult, but this?! I had no f*cking idea!!!

<+>

[Quests ;]

[Training]

[Type: Daily]

[Summary: Push-Ups (40/40) , Sit-Ups (40/40) , Squats (40/40) , Running (3196/4000 m)]

[Progress: 94.975%]

[Rewards: 4 Gene Points]

[Penalty: Death(?)]

<+>

Considering the fact that I've just become a seven year old last month, with such a regimen, I would have already, straight up, died if not for my System. (Although I'm dying because of the System...)

Just look at the amount of exercise I've had to do! Just because I foolishly made a setting that, "For every year, increase the amount of training by base amount."

Meaning, for the first year i had 10 push ups and for the second i would have 20, so on and so forth.

Then, for the first few months, I simply stuck to the plan. It was quite difficult, but still doable considering my mentality as an 18 year old, who died a painful death.

But, one day, I unexpectedly lost track of time and was unable to complete my 1 km running.

To my surprise, I still got 3 Gene Points, due to partial completion of the quest. Honestly, it was quite stupid of me to not check if getting the partial rewards were available, but what's done is done.

Since then, I became increasingly lazy and, due to my constant muscle aches, I slowly started to skimp on my training. Sometimes skipping Sit Ups or running, I just let myself relax.

And finally, one day, I decided to take a week long break from training, you know, enjoy life a little bit, maybe sleep in the fields or play around that tree shown in the first episode of AoT.

Definitely one of the worst decisions of my new life.

And the result of that, you ask? I'm not sure if you've noticed, but look at the damned penalty. Death! F*cking Death!!

Well, not literal death, but that night, when I fell asleep without completing it, the skin on my arms peeled and healed faster than I could blink, again and again, causing me to jump off my bed and scream in literal agony, until my parents arrived.

Luckily, I was able to play it off as a nightmare and later, I got a warning from Isa as well.

[Host's primary command "I could die if i don't stick to this." has been activated. Host advised to fully complete given Quests from tomorrow without fail.]

'That wasn't a command! It was just a random monologue that I had for a second!' I tried to reason, but, that damn Isa wouldn't listen at all!

All of this suffering is just because of this f*cking A.I. ! And, whenever I asked to reduce the amount of training, i would get an answer like,

[Limits were set by Host's Self Improvement Plan.]

It just wouldn't budge! Like, I know I was the one who made the plan, then would it at least let me make an edit? No! And now, I have no choice but to suffer...

And so, with each passing year, the amount of training also kept increasing along with my mental fatigue. Somehow, I was able to use my [Mental Defense] skill to keep myself sane.

But still, this is just blatant abuse! I demand my rights!

And now, four years later, here I am, sweating like a donkey from head to toe, suffering from an unbearable amount of pain all over my body, yet still, having no other choice but to run.

As I ran increasingly further into the fields outside of Shiganshina, being certain that I was alone, I shouted at my System

"Just... How... Much... Longer...?!! Isa... You son of.... A bastard!!!"

[Custom A.I. was created by Host. Hence, you are the father.]

"Did... I... Stutter?!!!!"

[Host's self hate behavioral pattern being recorded to Database for further analysis.]

"F*CK!!" I screamed the loudest I could, venting all my frustrations.

[Answer to Host's question; Host will need to run to the Tree and circle around it twice. With that, host's regimen should be complete.]

Letting out my emotions gave me some relief as I worked hard to follow the instructions. A few minutes later, completing the damn [Training], i collapsed in the shade of the tree.

Huff...!! Huff...!!

"Isa... Activate the... [Mental Defense]... Now..." I said with deep breaths and a groggy mind. The amount of fatigue I had built up was too much to even think of anything else.

[Very Well.]

With that, the numbing pain coursing through my body was slowly being lessened, as I partially regained reason. Finally, I was able to think straight.

With my leftover energy, I was about to open the [Status Window], when I heard someone call for me.

"Big bro! Just what would it take for you to slow down?"

Turning towards that voice, I could see Eren running in my direction. I would have waved if I had the energy to do so and if I weren't panting like a junkie.

He seemed relatively fine as he quickly arrived and sat by me. After a few deep breaths, he turned turned to me and said,

"You look like you could use a bath." He said with an obvious sneer.

'Just where did he learn to make a face like that?' Was all that my tired mind could think.

"Will you just sit like this?"

I answered with a simple nod, consuming the last of my energy. Overwhelmed by fatigue, I found peace in the arms of Mother Nature.

Closing my eyes, I felt a calming breeze making it's way around my throbbing body, as if it were a soft blanket wrapping itself around me.

I could hear the leaves rustling as tiny rays of light made their way to my face, through the thick foliage. Enjoying the fairly peaceful atmosphere, I felt my mind drifting away.

Just like that, I fell asleep by the trunk of the tree.

...

"..ro! Big bro! Wake up!"

I slowly opened my eyes as Eren voice rang in my head. Leaning against the tree, i saw a child who looked like me.

"Eren?"

"Ya big bro you've been asleep for almost an hour. Mom wou...?" He suddenly stopped as he saw my face, looking quite confused.

"Why are you crying?"

"Huh?" I touched my cheeks as they felt wet. Quickly wiping them, I realized something.

'This is bad. This is really bad! What have I done?!'

There's no way, I coincidentally start crying after waking up at this exact spot! This is exactly what happened in the canon!

'Did I fail? Or maybe I died? Think. Think!!' Various emotions engulfed me as I tried to recollect any odd memories I had. There had to be something, right?!

For the first time since i was reborn, I felt fear and helplessness. This was definitely the worst day of my life...

I was so engrossed by my thoughts that I didn't realize one simple thing.

Looking at all the faces I made, Eren burst out laughing. I stared at him blankly until i realized that my "tears" were all over my face, pouring down from my hair to be specific. Well, looking at the bottle in Eren's hands, it wasn't hard to guess.

"That's what you get for eating my dessert! I'm gonna tell mom that you're a crybaby! Hehe!" He stuck out his tongue as he began running.

"Why you little...!!" I shouted as I chased after him. This damn kid just gave me a freaking existential crisis! Just wait till I eat all his snacks and...

And so, I began thinking of devious and terrifying plans to teach him a lesson. I'll make him pay for this disgrace!!!

Blood for the Blood God!!!