Reincarnated In Attack On Titan World As Nobody

In the following days, life in the training base settled into routine.

Those who had failed the coordination test were expelled—fifty-three recruits in total. The numbers were so high that Klaus, the instructor in charge, flew into a rage. He barked that this was the worst batch he had ever led and cursed the recruiters of those districts for sending in useless trash.

But whenever his gaze fell on Lock, the irritation melted away.

There is gain and loss.

Since the day he joined, Lock had seized every second to sharpen himself. He carried an intensity Klaus rarely saw—one that transformed annoyance into expectation. Even if the rest were mediocre, this boy alone was worth the batch.

Because sometimes, a single talent outweighed an entire squad.

Diligence sets a floor, but talent sets the ceiling. Work hard all you like—without talent, there's a wall you'll never cross. But a talented soldier who also works himself to the bone? That's someone destined to rise, unless death claims him first.

Lock was that kind of soldier.

In Klaus's eyes, the boy's potential equaled the strength of a hundred men. And that was a conservative estimate. After all, humanity's strongest—Captain Levi—was said to have the combat power of a full brigade. When Klaus compared the two, Lock did not fall short. Perhaps, in some ways, he even had an edge.

A rare smile tugged at Klaus's scarred face. Unfortunately, it looked more like a grimace, and the recruits nearby froze in dread.

The devil is planning something again, they thought nervously.

But before Klaus could say a word, movement at the edge of the square caught his eye. His smile vanished, replaced by a frown.

That familiar short figure, cold eyes sharp as blades—Levi.

Why was he here?

Levi approached, tossing a dry greeting:

"Instructor."

His voice carried no warmth, and his face betrayed no respect. But Klaus was used to that. Levi had once trained briefly in the corps—enough that Klaus could still call him a former student, in some sense.

"Hmph," Klaus grunted back. "What's with the Survey Corps? First, Erwin shows up, and now you. Why's everyone wandering here?"

Levi didn't bother with explanations. His gaze had already fixed on Lock, who was training alone at the far end of the grounds.

"I came to see the boy."

Klaus followed his line of sight.

"Why's he training alone?" Levi asked flatly.

"Because no one can keep up with him," Klaus answered. Then, with a hint of a smile: "Why don't you join him?"

Levi didn't hesitate. "Fine."

He turned and strode toward Lock.

Klaus didn't follow. He simply stood where he was, watching—watching his most promising recruit meet humanity's strongest soldier. Two talents, face to face. Levi might not have been his student, but Lock was. And he wanted to see how the boy would hold up.

Lock himself had no idea.

After dispatching his sparring partners with ease, he'd taken to training alone. It wasn't arrogance. It was a necessity. The gap between him and the others was too wide; fighting them provided nothing but wasted time. So he drilled his exercises quietly, sweat running down his brow, body moving with sharp efficiency.

Then, he sensed someone step into his space.

He turned—and froze.

"…Levi?"

For a heartbeat, surprise flickered in his eyes. But only for a heartbeat. He had already seen Erwin once before. So Levi's sudden appearance didn't rattle him much.

What unsettled him was the man's stare. Cold. Measuring. Unblinking.

No one liked being looked at that way.

But Lock didn't flinch. He met Levi's eyes head-on.

One second.

Two.

Three.

Ten full seconds passed before Levi finally blinked and broke the silence.

He tilted his head, voice as sharp as his gaze.

"You're really only fourteen?"

Lock said nothing at first. His lips pressed into a thin line. He didn't need to answer—the truth was written all over him.

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