SOLO leveling: AOT origins

Promise

(Note: Don't play the song above until you're informed to do so. It's not able to play in the background while simultaneously reading the story on mobile so this will only work if you're on a PC or a device which can play audio from tabs which you're not using. I'll be asking you to play various soundtracks that I think are perfect for the scenes. When a reminder comes below, play the song in a new tab and use the other tab to read the story. Trust me, it will give you a better experience.)

"You all have trained well for five
years cadets! Some quit, but the rest of you pushed through! Most importantly, I want to announce the top ten! Take a look! These these are the top ten in your squad! " Shadis thundered, as everyone's attention was fixated on us.

I was in first place, and eren was in second. It felt amazing. In my world, I was made fun of, but right now, people actually look up to me.

Eren had become my best friend, no doubt. I kept thinking to myself that my best friend and I had secured the top two together. I couldn't have been happier.

Of course, it was very easy for me, but I felt extremely satisfied for transforming Eren into a much more admirable fighter than he already was.

Eren's eyes looked straight ahead, blazing with confidence. He was fired up.

"How does it feel Eren? " I asked him, looking straight ahead.

"I wish I got first place. " He said, with no change in expression.

"That's not gonna happen anytime soon. " I said.

After the grand reveal, we were all dismissed and told to have dinner. I came to know more about Armin, who was Eren's childhood friend.

"The reason I joined the survey corps was because I hated the unfairness of the government. They sent untrained people to fight titans. My grandfather was one of them. When asked why, the government kept holding on to the reason that they had to get more food from beyond the walls, to get rid of the famine within the walls. Almost everyone died, including my grandfather. " Armin said, depressed.

"Let me guess. " I said, getting Armin's attention. "The shitty plan the government actually had in mind was to thin out the number of people within the walls so that the famine dies out. Yeah...since they'll have lesser mouths to feed. Those fat bastards. "

Armin nodded, looking down. It was an uncomfortable topic for him, but he was the one who wanted to share his motivations. Also, it gave me more insight as to how screwed up the government was in this world.

"Of course...Those dumba*ses chose to send only the people who are the lowest part of society. The losers deeper within walls do nothing but grow fatter day by day. They don't realise that they're using human lives like cattle. " I scoffed.

"The world will be better off without them. " Eren said, munching on his food.

"Keep the talking for after you finish eating Eren. " Mikasa said, sternly.

"Okay. " Eren grumbled , as he continued to eat.

These two are pretty interesting.

"Oh, by the way. " I spoke, getting Mikasa's attention. "Has the pain resided? "

"Yeah, A few days ago. It's a little sore, but nothing I can't deal with. " She replied.

"That's... too bad. " I said, biting into my bread.

"Huh!? " Mikasa said, staring daggers.

"What's wrong? " I asked, lifting an eyebrow, as I continued to munch on my bread.