Attack on Titan: The Strongest Newcomer

After the group dispersed, Ryo returned to his room by himself, waiting for Mikasa to come back. He had time now, and he figured it was a good opportunity to check his system rewards. He had been too busy before to pay attention to them.

Upgrading from a recruit to a private soldier had granted Ryo a *Private Soldier Gift Package*. The system had promised there would be a weapon inside, and Ryo was eager to see what it was.

For now, Ryo was using the standard weapon—the bladed knife with a replaceable blade. The knife was lightweight, easy to replace, and durable enough to cut through tough targets. It was a reliable weapon used by the three major corps, ideal for fighting titans.

However, there were clear downsides. The blade was thin yet hard, which made it prone to breaking. In battles against titans like the Female Titan, many soldiers, including Mikasa and Captain Levi, struggled because the opponent's hardened skin made their weapons ineffective. If Ryo were to face a titan with intelligence in the future, he knew he needed a stronger weapon.

That's where the weapon in the gift package came in—a glimmer of hope.

But before checking the weapon, Ryo decided to review his attributes and status. He had already killed 18 titans in the forest, as well as a few strange species and titans by the city wall. This brought his total experience points to about 2,400—2,200 from titans and 200 from strange species.

When Ryo upgraded from level 9 to level 10, the experience requirement was low, only about 200 experience points. With 2,400 points, he was ready to level up several times. So, Ryo eagerly opened the system, ready to click the upgrade button.

But something stopped him.

The experience bar was almost full—but not quite. It seemed to be stuck at just one-third of the way to the next level.

What was going on? Ryo frowned and checked the experience requirement for leveling up. From recruit to private, the experience needed was significantly higher. He needed to kill at least 40 titans to level up. That was a huge jump.

Ryo couldn't help but feel frustrated. It seemed that leveling up was going to be much harder from now on.

He quickly glanced at his attributes.

- **Strength:** 98 points

- **Stamina:** 102 points

- **Constitution:** 97 points

- **Agility:** 92 points

- **Spirit:** 90 points

It was clear that his stats had improved, generally by about 10 points across the board. Stamina had even surpassed 100 points.

Ryo had previously wondered if 100 was the upper limit for these attributes, but now he knew it wasn't the case. With these stats, he might even be stronger than a captain!

Before, Ryo had been unable to view Captain Erwin's favorability due to the difference in their attributes. But now, Ryo's stats were close enough to Erwin's level that he started thinking about how much experience the captain must have accumulated. If Ryo's system experience was tied to titan kills, then the captain's combat experience would be impressive indeed.

However, Ryo didn't have time to dwell on that. He had a more pressing matter to attend to—his new equipment!

The system had mentioned four pieces of equipment as part of the reward: *Private Armor*, *Private Helmet*, *Private Boots*, and *Private Gloves*. He had already equipped them, and during his previous battles, he had noticed their benefits. The private armor reduced the damage he took, absorbing most of the impact from an attack. Even if the armor couldn't fully withstand the force, it still helped protect him from fatal blows.

The boots helped Ryo maintain speed, agility, and balance despite his weight. As for the gloves, they were more than just protection—they boosted his strength significantly. While Ryo's strength stat was 98, he could strike with the equivalent of 120 points of strength, which was more than enough to challenge titans.

But the real prize was the weapon that caught his eye—the Miao Dao. It glowed with a faint blue light, a weapon unlike anything he had used before.

Ryo's heart raced as he reached for the blade. This weapon might be exactly what he needed to face even the most dangerous titans ahead.

(A/N: Please Checkout My Novel "The Rise of Third Rate Villain")