"First, I want to become stronger. Second, I want to save this village because I have spent my entire life here, among these people." she said, sweeping her gaze across the houses nearby where people could be seen hurriedly packing things while trying to stop their kids from crying.

"The third thing I want and this is what I want the most..." she continued, "I want to find my parents."

"Your parents?" I questioned.

"Mm." Luna nodded, "I’m not a native of this village. Well, many of the older people aren’t but that’s beside the point. So, when I was just a small kid, something happened in my family and my parents had to flee. Then... I found myself in this village."

"You know where you are from?" I asked, feeling bad for her.

"No." She shook her head, "I don’t even properly remember the faces of my parents."

As she said this, I saw that she appeared very lonely.

’No wonder she is always helping out people in the village. She doesn’t want to stay alone.’ I thought, feeling even more bad for her.

"I’m sure you’ll be able to find them." I said after a moment.

Ha!

Luna took a deep breath and put a smile on her face, her eyes shining with determination, "Of course I will be able to."

Saying this, she glanced at me and said, "On second thought, I don’t have many things to pack either. So, you don’t need to come help me."

I glanced around and thought about helping others, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle their sadness and grief, so I chose to return to my hut.

[Name: Eren Yadgril]

[Strength: 3.8]

[Agility: 2.7]

[Perception: 2.5]

[Ability: Predator’s Gaze (Authority Fragment, Stability: 12%)]

[SP: 596]

[Enhancement: Body Reinforcement (Temporary)] (New!)

[Shop→]

[Return Countdown: 03:11:37]

I had hoped the gift I received would be permanent, but it was not.

This, however, didn’t disappoint me because...

I opened the system shop with a thought and just as I had thought, there were two new entries there.

-[Body Reinforcement (Enhancement, Temporary) —50 SPs]

-[Permanent Body Reinforcement (Enhancement) — 200 SPs]

My eyes lit up.

I then scrolled down and tried to see if there were any more new items, but there were not.

I paused and thought, my expression calming down, ’It seems I can only awaken if the viewers give me a gift, even if temporary, that can allow me to sense mana.’

Sighing, I focused my gaze on the [Permanent Body Reinforcement] and [Piercing Strike], and got lost in thought.

I really wanted to buy the Piercing Strike because it was very powerful. If it was added to my arsenal, I would be able to kill the Iron Tier Beasts with ease.

However...

It was worth 500 SPs, but it wasn’t an issue since I had 596 SPs, more than enough to buy it. The issue was that it wasn’t an ability but a skill. This meant I might need to train in it before I would be able to use it.

But I couldn’t be sure about it and this was why I was hesitating.

After thinking for a few long moments, I finally decided against buying it for the time being and shifted my attention to the [Permanent Body Reinforcement].

It was also quite expensive and I didn’t know if the enhancement it would give me would be worth the SPs.

This time, I decided to gamble and clicked on it.

[Are you sure you want to purchase Permanent Body Reinforcement (Enhancement)?]

I clicked yes and 200 SPs were debited from the balance.

[You have successfully purchased 1 Permanent Body Reinforcement (Enhancement). Would you like to use it now or later?]

’Let’s use it now.’ I commanded.

[Warning: You might feel some pain. Please be prepared. The Permanent Body Reinforcement would begin in 3... 2...]

I quickly lay on the bed and clenched my jaws and fists and held my breath.

Arghh!

When the countdown struck zero, a piercing pain shot through me, causing my eyes to widen and my vision to blank out. At the same time, my entire body jolted as if I was being electrocuted.

Fortunately, it only lasted for a brief moment.

Ha! Ha! Ha!

I heaved deep breaths and tried to calm my racing heart. I then felt my body and the first thing I noticed was that I was covered in sweat. The second thing I noticed was...

’What the hell is this stench?’ I thought, holding my breath.

This smell was extremely bad as if it was coming from a rotting, dead fish. But I know it was not because apart from me, there was nothing in the hut that could produce a smell.

I sat up and immediately noticed that I wasn’t only covered in sweat, but also a slimy black goo.

’Body Reinforcement pushed these impurities out of me?’ I thought and jumped out of the bed.

Fortunately, there was no bedding on it and I wasn’t wearing a shirt since earlier otherwise both would have been ruined.

Unfortunately, though, my pants and underwear were now ruined and there wasn’t nearly enough water in the hut for me to take a bath.

My mind raced. I had to get rid of this filth as soon as possible if i didn’t want to smell the stench which I really didn’t.

Suddenly, my eyes shone and I looked at the floor.

A moment later, I had broken the wooden table and was using the sharp wooden stakes to dig the soil which I then rubbed on my face and entire upper body.

The soil mixed with the goo and when I scrubbed it off, most of the filth went with it.

Phew!

I could finally breathe normally. Still, I wasn’t completely clean yet, so I took off my pants and underwear and rubbed the soil all over. Some places made me wince.

"Big Brother Eren, are you done packing?" Suddenly someone knocked on the door and a slightly familiar young, female voice echoed from outside. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

’What timing!’ I suppressed a groan, then called out, "I’m almost done. Coming out in a few minutes."