Two hundred and thirty-eight days.
Eren crossed another line on the small calendar hidden beneath his bed.
Every morning, he erased another day.
Every evening, he reminded himself of a simple truth.
Time was his greatest enemy.
He couldn’t stop it.
He could only make better use of it.
A loud knock echoed through the house.
"Eren!"
Carla’s cheerful voice followed.
"A merchant caravan is in town today."
"Can you help me buy a few things?"
Eren opened the door.
"Of course."
She smiled warmly.
"I knew I could count on you."
The central market was far busier than usual.
Traveling merchants had arrived from nearby districts, bringing carts overflowing with goods.
Fresh fruit.
Preserved meat.
Leather.
Candles.
Seeds.
Medicine.
Children ran excitedly between the stalls while adults bargained over prices.
To everyone else, it was simply another market day.
To Eren...
It was an opportunity.
While Carla negotiated with one merchant, Eren quietly looked around.
If he was careful, he could purchase supplies for the warehouse without raising suspicion.
Not much.
Just a little at a time.
"Ding."
Side Mission
A Prepared Survivor
Objective:
Purchase useful supplies without attracting attention.
Reward:
1 Common Gacha Ticket
Simple enough.
Carla handed him a few coins.
"Eren, can you buy another bag of salt?"
"Alright."
As he walked through the market, an idea formed.
Instead of buying one large item...
He bought several inexpensive ones.
A small spool of fishing line.
A box of sewing needles.
A flint stone.
A length of sturdy rope.
A pouch of salt.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing expensive.
Things any household might reasonably purchase.
The shopkeeper smiled.
"Helping your parents?"
Eren nodded.
"My mother likes to stay prepared."
"Smart woman."
Very smart.
Even if she didn’t know it.
After returning home, Eren waited until sunset before slipping away to the warehouse.
He carefully organized the new supplies.
The fishing line was placed beside several hooks he had collected weeks earlier.
The needles joined the medical supplies.
The rope hung neatly on the wall.
Finally, he stored the salt in a sealed clay jar.
"Ding."
Mission Complete.
Reward Received.
Common Gacha Ticket ×1
Emergency Supplies Progress:
34%
Eren immediately used the ticket.
The familiar wheel spun slowly.
It stopped after only a few seconds.
Reward Obtained
Traveler’s Backpack.
Description:
A durable leather backpack with excellent storage capacity.
Eren smiled.
Perfect.
Another practical reward.
He transferred the emergency supplies into the new backpack.
If he ever needed to flee...
Everything essential could be carried at once.
The next morning, Grisha invited Eren to accompany him on another round of house visits.
Along the way, they passed the Garrison headquarters.
Several soldiers were practicing with ODM gear.
Hooks shot into the walls.
Gas burst from the cylinders.
The soldiers swung gracefully through the air.
Eren stopped walking.
His eyes followed every movement.
Every turn.
Every landing.
Every mistake.
Enhanced Memory absorbed it all.
Grisha noticed.
"You like watching them?"
"A little."
"They make it look easy."
Grisha chuckled.
"It isn’t."
"I’ve treated enough broken bones to know."
Eren smiled.
"I’ll remember that."
In truth...
He already had.
That afternoon, Hannes found him sitting near the wall.
"Thinking again?"
Eren laughed.
"Do I do that often?"
"Almost every time I see you."
Hannes sat beside him.
"You know..."
"When I first joined the Garrison, I wanted to be a hero."
"What changed?"
Hannes looked toward the massive wall.
"I realized..."
"...heroes aren’t fearless."
"They’re just people who keep moving even when they’re terrified."
Eren quietly listened.
The words settled deep in his heart.
Fear wasn’t weakness.
Giving up was.
That evening...
Mikasa arrived carrying a basket of apples.
"My aunt gave us too many."
"So..."
She awkwardly held it toward him.
"You can have some."
Eren accepted one with a smile.
"Thanks."
They sat beneath the large tree outside the Yeager house.
For a while...
Neither of them spoke.
Silence never felt uncomfortable with Mikasa.
Eventually, she broke it.
"You’ve been working very hard lately."
"I have?"
"You leave every evening."
Eren’s heart skipped.
Had she followed him?
"I like exploring."
She studied his face.
Then slowly nodded.
"...Just don’t go alone."
"I won’t."
It wasn’t exactly the truth.
But it wasn’t completely a lie either.
Late that night, Eren returned to the warehouse one final time before sleeping.
Everything looked orderly.
Food.
Medicine.
Blankets.
Tools.
Water.
The emergency backpack.
Enough supplies to give them a fighting chance.
He looked around with quiet satisfaction.
"Ding."
Emergency Supplies
Progress: 40%
New Bonus Objective:
Prepare an evacuation route.
Reward:
Rare Gacha Ticket ×1
Eren’s expression turned serious.
An evacuation route...
Of course.
Supplies meant nothing if they couldn’t escape safely.
He immediately pulled one of Armin’s hand-drawn maps from his pocket.
His finger traced the streets of Shiganshina.
The main road would become crowded.
The southern gate would be chaos.
Too dangerous.
He needed another path.
One only a few people knew.
As the moonlight illuminated the map, a memory surfaced from his previous life.
An old drainage tunnel.
Half-forgotten.
Rarely used.
If it still existed...
It might become the safest escape route in all of Shiganshina.
A slow smile spread across Eren’s face.
Tomorrow...
He would begin searching.