Wall Rose was the second of humanity's three walls, and the southern Trost District was where Tang An was currently located.
"You mean it's been five years since Wall Maria was breached."
Inside a luxury store that stood out noticeably among the surrounding buildings, Tang An looked at the shop owner who was appraising a red and blue gemstone dagger.
He had just gathered quite a bit of information from this owner.
The outermost Wall Maria had been breached five years ago, and it was now the domain of the Pure Titans.
All Eldians were currently confined to Wall Rose and Wall Sina.
"No... strictly speaking, it's still three months shy of five years."
Holding a magnifying-glass-like instrument, the owner examined the dagger in his hands with undisguised fondness.
In particular, the two red and blue gemstones were as large as eyeballs, and the entire dagger was forged from solid gold.
Whether within Wall Rose or Wall Sina, his merchant guild ranked in the top ten, yet he had never laid eyes on such a treasure before.
Tang An frowned in thought. According to the original plotline, three months from now, the Colossal Titan would kick through Wall Rose, plunging the entire region into collapse.
Following that, Eren, the Child of Destiny, would awaken the Titan power, join the Survey Corps, and begin the campaign to retake Wall Rose.
This meant that the Armored Titan Reiner, the Colossal Titan Bertoldt, the Female Titan Annie, the Jaw Titan Ymir, and the Child of Destiny Eren--who possessed both the Attack Titan and the Founding Titan--were all still members of the Training Corps.
"Three months."
Tang An tapped a single finger against the counter, lost in thought.
"How much do you want to sell this dagger for?"
Greed filled the owner's eyes; he had to acquire this dagger by any means necessary.
"Arrange an independent residence with a courtyard for me--preferably somewhere secluded, right up against the wall--and make sure food is delivered to me on schedule every day. All I need is for you to get me enrolled in the Garrison Regiment when the time comes, roughly three months from now."
Tang An did not ask for money; he only wanted a place to stay.
And he intended to join the Garrison Regiment.
Within this enclosed world, there were four distinct military branches.
The first was the Training Corps, composed of fresh recruits who had not yet joined a regular branch, along with the instructors responsible for training them.
Upon graduation, recruits could choose to enter one of three branches: the Survey Corps, the Military Police Brigade, or the Garrison Regiment.
In other words, it was the recruit training battalion.
The second was the Survey Corps, whose members challenged the Titans' domain outside the walls with a resolve to face death, boasting the highest mortality rate. This was the branch the protagonist Eren would join.
The third was the Military Police Brigade, stationed near the king to maintain order among the populace. It offered high authority and safety, making it a branch many aspired to join.
The fourth was the Garrison Regiment, tasked with reinforcing the walls, defending individual cities, and patrolling the interior.
Tang An was deeply interested in this world's Vertical Maneuvering Equipment. Even if he mastered Shave and Moonwalk, this gear would save him a tremendous amount of physical stamina.
It also aligned perfectly with his upcoming plans.
"So you want to join the Garrison Regiment? I can arrange that for you, but this dagger of yours..."
"Is this enough?"
Tang An pulled out a single gold coin.
"No problem at all."
Holding his magnifying glass, the owner inspected the gold coin. The engravings upon it were unlike anything he had ever seen, completely different from the currency in circulation, and the metal alloy was entirely unique.
"Yatel, take this gentleman to the residence at House No. 36 by the wall."
The transaction proceeded smoothly. The owner harbored no malicious intentions and did not press Tang An about where these items had come from.
Tang An had actually been fully prepared to resort to violence.
It seemed that certain fictional tropes didn't always play out in reality.
"Please follow me."
Hearing the owner's call, an employee who had been sweeping the shop stepped forward and led Tang An out of the store.
After walking for nearly half an hour, Tang An followed the man named Yatel toward the outer wall, finally arriving at a two-story residence complete with a courtyard.
It was somewhat dilapidated, with overgrown weeds, clearly having been abandoned for quite some time.
Not far away flowed a river that resembled a moat.
Perhaps because it was situated so close to the city gate, very few people lived in this area; most residents here were at the very bottom of the social ladder.
After all, living closer to the city gate meant that the moment the Titans breached it, one would be the first to fall into their jaws.
This district must have been a slum.
Tang An surveyed the surroundings roughly. The city gate was off to the left, nearly a thousand meters away--neither too far nor too close.
If his memory served him correctly, that city gate would be kicked to pieces by the Colossal Titan in three months.
Three months should be enough time to successfully master Shave and Moonwalk.
Once those techniques were mastered, his personal safety would increase exponentially.
Given his current capabilities, he couldn't guarantee he could take down Captain Levi, so caution was still paramount.
Levi was a crucial supporting character, after all, and one of his intended targets.
"6:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 6:00 PM. We will send people to deliver your meals."
Accepting the keys handed over by Yatel, Tang An nodded.
After the man departed, Tang An selected a room on the second floor with a window that offered a direct view of the city gate.
The house had evidently been cleaned beforehand, and basic furniture was not lacking.
"Time to start training!"
With time running short, Tang An barely settled in before heading out to the rundown courtyard to begin his daily routine.
And just like that, a month passed.
Throughout this month, Tang An handled all his daily needs within the small house, with meals delivered three times a day.
However, the food in this world wasn't particularly appetizing, consisting mostly of sweet potato-based dough, which prompted Tang An to spend two additional gold coins to purchase some meat.
After all, he was undergoing high-intensity physical training every day, and meat allowed him to recover his strength rapidly.
"Slower than I expected!"
Soaked in sweat with his upper body bare, Tang An practiced Shave in the courtyard. A full month had gone by, and he still hadn't achieved a breakthrough.
Yet it wasn't without results; at the very least, Tang An could now kick off the air nine times in succession, and on lucky occasions, nine and a half times.
He just needed to cross that final half-step to master the technique.
Yet no breakthrough had come over the past few days.
Since Shave remained unmastered, Moonwalk naturally showed no progress.
His physique, however, had surpassed human limits.
He could now perform a continuous set of a thousand push-ups, sit-ups, and other core exercises.
He even had a six-pack.
At the same time, his cancer had flared up five times over the past month, each episode more agonizing than the last.
Stretching lazily to shake off the sour smell of sweat, Tang An jumped into the nearby river for a swim. Over the past month, he had also practiced Shave inside the water, and the training effects were remarkable.
"Tonight should be the dice roll for the first natural month."
Tang An was filled with anticipation, though a sense of nervousness accompanied it.
After all, he could draw something completely useless at any moment, and with bad luck, he might even incur a penalty.
After all, the previous natural month had landed him on extreme spicy laxatives.
Although they had served their purpose in the end, Tang An truly had no confidence in the system.
After finishing dinner, Tang An resumed his training, pushing right through until midnight.
"Let's begin!"
With the moon bright and the stars sparse, Tang An wrapped up his training, dragged his exhausted body to bed, pulled up the glowing interface, and stared at the monthly reward die.
The die spun and bounced before finally stopping on the number four. A fighter jet streaked across the vision, and the familiar light vanished!
"Two one-meter diamond-grade Nepali kukri knives."
"Description: Forged from diamond, hard and sharp, mesmerizing luster, a woman's best friend..."
"A second weapon."
He looked at the kukri knives in his hands, which were as transparent as diamonds, a full meter in length, and possessed considerable weight.
"Truly extravagant."
If his common sense held true, diamond was the raw form of carbon crystal, meaning these two Nepali kukris were literally forged from diamonds.
With wide bellies and forward-curving blades, they looked strikingly like a dog's hind leg.
They reflected a crystalline brilliance under the lamplight; under direct sunlight, they would undoubtedly sparkle with multicolored hues.
Diamonds were notoriously hard, and judging by the razor-sharp edge, slicing through fluttering hairs would be effortless.
Counting the Type 92 pistol, this was the second weapon Tang An had drawn.
However, the former was a firearm, while the latter was a close-combat weapon--and an excessively luxurious one at that.
Just these two one-meter-long Nepali kukris, leaving aside their thickness and width, would easily be worth hundreds of millions back in his past life.
Moreover, this weapon arrived just in time. One would have been enough, but getting two was critical!
Tang An looked thoughtfully at his useless gold-finger, unable to stop his mind from racing.
The bloodline of Ymir, the world of the Attack Titan--no matter how he looked at it, it was all too coincidental.
Especially this Ymir bloodline.
Could there actually be something wrong with this useless gold-finger?!