Funeral

The next day, I woke up quite late, mostly because I had an extra little session with a stupid f*cking grunt. Finishing my chores as fast as I could, I tagged along with Grisha and Eren as we left our usual visit to the Ackerman Household.

Of course, once we got there, it was absolute mayhem. Grisha dashed towards the barricades where the Ackermans were sleeping with a look of absolute despair.

Only after making sure that they were fine, we followed him into the house, discovering the corpse of Valir Ackerman. The grieving commenced as tears were shed by both of them, while I played along.

After a while, the Military Police were all over the place, trying to find any clues or evidence about what happened. Grisha accompanied them on their investigation as Eren and I watched over the sleeping victims.

Soon enough, Mikasa woke up and was interrogated, only after an thorough examination by Grisha. Obviously, she had no injuries, since I had already used a Health Potion on her.

As promised, Mikasa just gave a few vague details about the kidnappers and mentioned that she passed out and woke up here.

The police did find a lead, namely a trail of dried blood that stooped close to a burned down shack, with charred human remains. Due to their proximity and Mikasa's testimony, they assumed that the charred corpses were the left over remains of the assailants.

By then, Mrs. Ackerman had woken up, seated quietly like a broken doll. Although there were no traces of injuries except for the forehead, she refused to move or even talk as she blankly looked at the distant trees.

A period of mourning ensued as the widowed Mrs. Ackerman was deeply emotionally scared. Her husband's death had taken quite a toll on her psyche. On everyone's psyches.

We finally decided that the Ackermans would be staying with us, until we could find a suitable alternative housing. Carla offered to take care of Mikasa and Arran, also offering counsel to their mother.

Grisha took care of the funeral side of things as Eren and I worked towards making Mikasa feel comfortable. Unfortunately, her personality became gloomy and quiet, in contrast to the bright and cheery girl she was…

I did feel guilty about Uncle's death, but there was nothing I could do to change it now… I had done all that I could, proof being that her mother was still alive.

Drowning in self-pity could've eased my conscience, yet what good would that do? What could I gain from such pointless actions?

Nothing. Absolutely Nothing.

So, unironically, all I could do was accept it and keep moving forward, for the clouds of true despair had yet to cast their shadows on us…

With a lot of stuff happening in a single day, I took a walk to clear up my head. I also had to receive all my quest rewards, so there's that as well.

Anyway, with some free time on my hands, I examined the rewards and achievements I had received for my recent quests, for I had delayed the issue quite a bit.

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[Quest ;]

[Justice*]

[Type: Main-Sub]

[Summary: Avenge the death of Valir Ackerman and save his family.]

[Reward: 1000 Gene Points. Trust of the Ackermans.]

[Penalty: -500 Gene Points. Death of the Ackermans.]

[Progress: Ackermans saved (3/3), Kidnappers Killed (4/4)]

[Progress: 152%**]

[*This quest has been completed. Quest Rewards yet to be accepted.]

[**Quest Progress Rate: Outstanding]

<+>

As usual, I got bonus points for torturing the targets, which was lower than expected. Well, I did kill the other two in barely a single blow, so this was expected.

'Wait… Aren't I already OP?!' I chuckled at the thought, opening my Achievement tab.

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[Achievements ;]

[High Five]

[First Blood]

[Glory Kill]

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High Five was the achievement I got after reaching level 5. It's what unlocked the tab and the Skill Tab in my Shop window. Of course, there were only three skills I could buy, but I did get the Inspect skill from there, so that's a win!

'Isa can you show me my cumulative rewards or something?' I asked, a bit tired of navigating through the different windows.

[Very well.]

<+>

[Rewards ;]

[Justice:]

[1520 Gene Points.]

[First Blood:]

[3250 Gene Points. Silver Skill Ticket.]

[Glory Kill:]

[3250 Gene Points. Silver Stat Ticket.]

<+>

'Oh my! 3250 for a single achievement! That's quite generous, no?' I grinned at the thought, for this bounty just pulled me out of poverty.

Also, I remember putting these 'Special Ticket' rewards in back when I was still making my Custom System… Didn't think they'd be lumped over here though.

It's reasonable, I guess. They were just too broken feature to be given out for even Main Quests. Kinda regret doing that…

Just then, I was interrupted from my peaceful walk by Eren, who had found me on Carla's orders. Without even protesting, I returned home as I continued to do any little chores I was assigned.

The following week was quite hectic, as the funeral was finally held. It was a depressing event, with only the Yeagers and Ackermans in attendance.

With a proper burial near their own house, Valir Ackerman's corpse was laid to rest. Mrs. Ackerman broke down as everyone shed a few tears, only exception being Mikasa, Arran and I. Well, the youngest had no idea as to what was happening anyway…

After the funeral, Mikasa and her family began living close to us, just a few houses away. With a little financial support from Grisha and emotional support from the rest of us, the Ackermans tried recovering any sense of normalcy in their lives.

Mrs. Ackerman was able to find a local job with enough pay for an ordinary lifestyle as Mikasa tried to adapt to her new surroundings.

Of course, being the new kid, Mikasa's gloomy personality attracted the attention of certain unfortunate rascals from their neighborhood.

The local kids acted smart, only to be beaten down like wet rags. Therefore, Mikasa became the greatest object of fear for everyone while my legend faded into the background.

On that note, Talley and his gang had recovered somewhat, but they still had certain episodes, mainly while walking around through the streets. Maybe they saw something horrifying…? Who knows?!

Also, there were rumors about a killer on the loose after a thoroughly mutilated body was found. It was a gruesome murder, with the victim suffering a few arrows up his ass, gouged out eyes, dismembered limbs and a broken spine as the cause of death.

The victim was identified as a local thug, Mr. Ethel Kean, who seemed to be the first and only victim. The incident was swept under the rug due to lack of further evidence.

There was no way that such a gruesome incident would be connected to a nine year old child, right?

Anyway, I continued training with Eren and Armin as the years flew by. Armin was a bit shy around Mikasa at first, but he loosened by as they became good friends.

Mikasa did keep the black shawl with her, refusing to switch it for an actual red scarf. It seems the flag was firmly planted after all…

A lot of new Daily quests were added as well, ranging from Babysitting to Babysitting and also, Babysitting. Wait, did I mention Babysitting already, because it was so damn difficult?!

It did have abundant rewards, so I didn't complain much, even though it was the toughest job I did in both my lives…

Finally, after suffering through that damned Babysitting, I steeled my resolve for the canon would truly begin now…