"Hey, you can't blame me for having a hard time believing it." John chuckled, "Even without my Awakened strength, I'm still quite strong. So are they. But you beat us all."
Dan and Miles nodded along, agreeing with him.
I just smiled in response.
"Alright. You rest up now. I will have someone bring some breakfast for you." said John while standing up. Dan and Miles followed.
"Yes, thank you." I nodded. I was indeed very hungry.
In fact, until late in the night, I had been waiting for someone to bring me food since I had requested the spearmen for it. Unfortunately, no one came. If I wasn't too exhausted, I doubt I would have been able to fall asleep.
"Mm." nodded John and the trio walked away. I stood up, dusted my tattered clothes off and returned to my hut.
Half an hour later…
Knock! Knock!
Someone knocked on the door.
When I opened it, my brows unconsciously lifted up because Luna was standing there, holding a wooden tray of food.
When she saw my expression, her lips curled up into a teasing smile, "Is it really so surprising that I brought your food?"
"I just hadn't expected to see you again so soon." I shook my head and moved to the side, "Wanna come in?"
Luna didn't mind and stepped in while chuckling, "What a liar. I bet you have been expecting to see me since last night."
I refrained from responding.
Putting the tray on the table, she sat on the bed like she owned the place, completely at ease, and said, "I try to help out around the village as much as I can. So, when John asked for someone to bring you food, I volunteered."
"Thanks." I said.
"Mm. By the way, I heard you beat three of them in a fight a while ago. That's impressive." said Luna in a praising tone.
For some reason, I didn't like it and said, "You didn't think I was strong enough to do that?"
Luna put on a thoughtful expression on her face, then said with a puzzled look on her face, "How do I put this… You are quite a contrary person.
The blood and tears on your clothes told me you had undergone a bitter battle with the beasts in the forest and managed to survive. This says you aren't an ordinary person. But then I look at you, and you… don't seem any different from ordinary people of cities."
Without saying anything in response, I sat on the bed beside her and took the food tray.
Removing the leafy cover, I saw some well cooked meat and a paste that seemed to be made from some vegetables or herbs.
"Want to join?" I asked her.
"No. I have already eaten." She shook her head, "Thanks for asking though."
I nodded, then picked up a piece of meat, dipped it in the soucy paste and took a bite out of it.
At first, it seemed a bit bland but as I chewed it, it became tastier.
"It's the meat of a beast that was about to become an Iron Tier Beast. Not only is it tasty, it is also very nutritious." Luna commented when she saw my eyes light up and me begining to devour the meat like a starved wolf.
"Iron Tier?" I asked, immediately interested.
I was aware that my cluelessness about this information, which for all I knew could be very common among the masses, might make Luna more suspicious of me and my origin and might even think I was trying to play with her, but I didn't care. Getting this information was more important.
"Let me guess, you don't even know about the Awakened either, right?" she asked, her lips curling up into a mocking sneer.
"No, I know about the Awakened." I nodded with utmost seriousness, "But I only know that there are people who are born with the ability to sense mana and can learn to harness it., thus becoming stronger."
Luna narrowed her eyes. She had just used her ability and found out he wasn't lying.
'How… interesting.' she mused, her eyes flickering. Then, she began speaking, "The Awakened are categorised in different tiers based on their strengths.
The tiers are from lowest to highest:
Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond Tier.
Similarly, the beasts can be categorized in these tiers and ordinarily, the Awakened and Beasts of the same tier possess similar battle power."
Pausing for a moment, she continued, "I'm not sure if I'm right, but it's rumoured that an Iron Tier Beast or Awakened can easily take on a group of dozen or more strong men. They have exceeded the human limits."
"What about the Bronze Tier and higher…?" Before I could finish my sentence, Luna cut me off, "I know nothing about them."
"You are a native of this village?" I asked, staring at her suspiciously.
"Hm? What made you think I was not? Because I didn't tell them about your lie?" Luan asked, raising her brows.
"That too, but the feeling you give me is different from the others in the village." I said.
"Heh. Buttering me up will get you nothing." Luna chuckled, then took the now-empty tray from me, stood up and walked out of the room.
I watched her leave in silence while thinking, 'Did I say something I shouldn't have?'
Soon, I shook my head and stopped thinking about it.
Then, I closed the door and lay on the bed. Because I had only slept for a few hours, I was still tired. That was why, not long after, my eyelids grew heavier.
I vaguely saw the system screen flickering into existence before me and on it was what seemed like a countdown.
I wanted to see it clearly, but I wasn't able to fight off the drowsiness and soon fell asleep.
…
"...Eren…"
I suddenly heard a familiar voice call out to me.
'Mom?' I thought before discarding it. How could my mom be in this world?
'I really miss her, dad, and those two annoying monkeys.' Images of my mother, father and my younger siblings flashed in my mind and the fact that I might never be able to see them again scared me.
With the system, I might be able to become the strongest person in this world and do whatever I wanted, but without my family there to accompany me, it would all feel… empty.
"...Eren. Wake up. You are going to be late for college."
Suddenly, the voice became extremely clear and I even felt someone shake my shoulder.
When I finally forced my eyes open, I was stunned because… I saw my mother standing there, shaking my shoulder, trying to wake me up.
I reached out my hand toward her face, "...Mom?"
I felt I was dreaming.
"You were using your phone until late at night, weren't you?" She caught my hand and scolded, "Snap out of it and quickly get ready. I don't want you to fail because of low attendance."