Year 845—Shiganshina District. The Colossal Titan appeared.
A young Eren stared up at the massive face atop the wall, frozen in terror.
Meanwhile, a teenage Bertholdt, piloting the 60-meter Colossal Titan, slowly raised his right foot.
With a full-force kick, he slammed it into the "unbreakable" gate.
Bang!
A sharp, clear crack.
The invincible gate shattered like glass.
In an instant, the broken gate became a hail of massive stones. One flew straight toward Eren's house.
Everything unfolded exactly as scripted.
Hajime Isayama's "masterpiece" had begun.
Rein watched from the sidelines, witnessing this historic moment firsthand.
Then, amid the rising steam, the Colossal Titan—task complete—vanished under everyone's gaze.
At the gate, a gaping hole now linked outside to inside.
The breath of freedom beyond the walls wafted through the breach.
Suddenly, a hulking figure stepped up to the hole.
The first mindless Titan entered Wall Maria.
Then two, three—more followed, one after another, pouring through the passage.
Shiganshina District had officially fallen.
In the grove, Rein found himself walking forward without realizing it. By the time he noticed, he'd already stepped out of the trees.
"What the—?!" He jolted, trying to stop, but a force surged from his nape, spreading through every inch of his body.
It tingled, like electricity, buzzing his nerves, hijacking his control.
The Coordinate!
"Eren's using the Coordinate to summon all the mindless Titans inside!"
Rein snapped awake, but his body kept moving.
The Coordinate's power, channeled through the "paths," gripped every Pure Titan like a puppet master.
It turned every Titan in the world into its playthings.
Rein, hyperactive since childhood, hated being bound by rules. Now, a marionette on invisible strings, he felt sick.
"This damn cheat—it's disgusting, but it's strong. If I could snag it…"
He swallowed hard.
The wall loomed closer. He slipped through the hole, meaning his 83-day task was about to end.
After all that effort, it came easy.
[Task complete!]
The moment he crossed, the mission text in his mind flipped to done.
At the same time, new words flickered into view:
Task: Become an Intelligent Titan
Time Limit: 5 Years
Reward: None
Penalty: Death
"…" Rein wanted to curse.
This system was ruthless—no powers, no rewards, just death threats at every turn.
Pure exploitation.
"Screw this—I quit!"
Maybe it sensed it'd pushed too far. The system finally reacted.
[Bonus for early task completion: Resistance to Coordinate Power.]
Now that worked!
Rein felt his body loosen—the tingling current vanished. He was back in control.
"So finishing early gets rewards, huh?"
His interest in the tasks spiked. "Wonder what I'd get for nailing the next one ahead of time?"
He glanced at the new mission, frowning.
Becoming an intelligent Titan meant eating one of their holders—no easy feat.
One-on-one with an intelligent Titan? He'd get crushed.
The Nine Titans each had killer skills. Him—a measly Pure Titan, flesh and blood—would just get smashed.
"Why didn't this stupid task pop up yesterday?"
Yesterday, he'd had four juicy little Titans right in front of him!
They were rattled, broken—perfect chance to chow down on one.
Worst case, he could've stolen Ymir's Jaw Titan!
Rein slapped his thigh in frustration.
Missed it! Missed it!
Now, he didn't just need to finish—he needed to finish early, or no reward.
"Where do I find a soft target to eat?"
He scanned around. People fled, their eyes locked on him in terror.
Then it hit him. He spun toward the wall, grinning.
"Bertholdt!"
In the manga's final chapter, Eren directed the Titan that ate his mom to skip Bertholdt and head straight for his house—killing his mother.
One of the story's biggest flops!
Isayama serving up garbage!
But…
Rein swallowed again. "A scavenging shot—right here!"
Who'd have thought this system's dumb tasks all boiled down to scavenging?
Solid plan!
"Little Bertholdt! You're gonna get eaten eventually—why not let your big bro cash in?"
Free from the Coordinate's pull, Rein started hunting for Bertholdt near the breach.
Right now, Bertholdt had to be drained—resting on some rooftop, defenseless.
While hundreds of mindless Titans scoured the city, gorging themselves, the only "smart" Pure Titan—or tenth intelligent Titan—rummaged through the gate area for Bertholdt.
Too chaotic, though. He searched high and low—no sign of the kid.
The gate zone got hit first. Along the way, he saw severed limbs and carnage—pure hell.
Even braced for it, his stomach churned.
Still no Bertholdt.
He circled three times—nothing. Bertholdt wasn't here.
He'd been too slow crossing into Wall Maria. After dodging the mom-eating Titan, Bertholdt must've been whisked off by his crew.
But in Shiganshina, only three intelligent Titans were confirmed. Miss this chance to finish early, and it'd only get tougher.
"The inner gate!" A lightbulb flashed in his head.
845—after the Colossal Titan kicked down Shiganshina's gate, the Armored Titan showed up and smashed Wall Maria's inner gate.
"They've got to be near there!"
With his god's-eye view, Rein headed for the inner gate.
By now, plenty of time had passed since the breach. The mindless Titans' range had spread across the district.
Crowds surged toward the inner gate, but most would never escape this nightmare.
Time was too short for humans.
The Garrison's elite had scrambled into a defense line, clumsily using maneuver gear to clear Titans nearing the inner gate.
But a century of peace had gutted their combat skills and grit.
Facing collapse, their hands shook—they just ran.