The Spider's First Leg

Spider Meiri Meribel. When she came to, Lee Hwaryeong was gripping her hand tightly. "Are you all right? That assignment wasn't supposed to be so violent, but the students got carried away. Normally it would have been..." Lee Hwaryeong was visibly anxious, worried that Meiri might lose interest in Mirinae Academy and leave. Meiri, oblivious to the professor's concerns, was thinking only of Lee Seokhyun.

'I've never met anyone like him.'

No one had ever treated her that way. No living thing had. She had always taken being loved for granted; in Sinmibi, no creature hated her. She had never harmed anyone, received affection and attention as naturally as breathing, and goodwill had always surrounded her like air. That was Meiri Meribel.

So she had never suspected Lee Seokhyun. She had joked that he seemed like a mastermind, but she had never truly believed it. Even when she sensed the energy of a mountain keeper from him, she had simply thought, "So that's the kind of person he is." That was why she had answered that she did not see him as a bad person.

But.

'How can someone hit a person they've just met... like that?'

She had been taught that hitting was something you did to someone you truly hated. It felt as if her common sense had shattered into pieces. What shocked her most was that he had driven his fist into her stomach without the slightest trace of negative emotion. He had used violence as if it were the most natural thing in the world, as if it were the obvious next step.

Was this what Lee Hwaryeong had meant when she said "Mirinae Academy has many unusual things"? 'Probably not, judging by this.' A single punch had knocked her out, and now the magic department's representative professor was fretting over her. Whatever "unusual experience" the professor had meant, it surely was not being tricked by a classmate and passing out.

'But who in their right mind would even think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of hitting me?'

Meiri looked at her reflection in the mirror behind Lee Hwaryeong and allowed herself the embarrassing but necessary thought. Whether in Sinmibi or during the academy entrance exam, she had heard "cute" so often it had become tiresome. People had said they wanted to hug her, to keep her in their pocket—every expression of affection had been showered on her without restraint. Yet this man had ignored all of that and punched her in the stomach the very first time they met. Was that even possible by any normal standard?

'A bad person.'

But precisely because of that, he was someone who piqued her interest. Only after finishing her thoughts did Meiri look straight at Lee Hwaryeong.

"I'm fine, Professor. You don't have to worry so much."

"R-really? I was worried because this might be the first time something like this has happened. If you're in any more pain or anything..."

"No, I'm really all right. Thank you for your concern."

Seeing Meiri bow her head in thanks, Lee Hwaryeong finally exhaled in relief.

'Maybe this incident will make her find Mirinae Academy more interesting?'

While Lee Hwaryeong spun happy little fantasies, Meiri's thoughts were fixed elsewhere.

'Lee Seokhyun... Next time we meet, I have a lot of questions for him.'

Her interest had locked onto Lee Seokhyun alone.

"This is insane. Absolutely insane."

Back in his dorm room after survival ended, Lee Seokhyun lay leisurely on his bed, unable to hide his delight at the rewards he was about to receive.

'First, the survival rewards.'

Being the type to eat the tastiest thing first, he checked the biggest reward immediately.

Bang-bang-bang! The colorful message and firework sound effects made it obvious just how massive the reward was.

'Nature's Mana is a bit disappointing, but the rest is ridiculous.'

Since he had almost no skills yet, raw stat increases were the best possible outcome. Mind and Body Training still had 40% left until Advanced, and he had gained a sub skill on top of that. These rewards would not change his situation overnight, but they were undeniably enormous.

'At this level, I'm probably on par with a low-class knight who doesn't use mana.'

Using mana would be a different story, but simply meeting the basic conditions was already a huge leap forward.

'Now let's check the next reward.'

Having received first place, it was time to check the system rewards.

The message was a completely different dark purple, carrying a thick, ominous atmosphere.

"...?"

Seokhyun read the reward over and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠over, wondering if this was a dream. He pinched his cheeks and slapped his face dozens of times before finally accepting that it was real.

"I'm already getting a title reward?"

Titles were hidden pieces given only to those who accomplished something beyond achievements, with conditions so obscure they were rarely known. Even after four years of playing Fade, he had never properly understood this deeply hidden system.

'This is ridiculous.'

The broken part of titles was that they could produce main-skill-level performance without any restrictions. 'And it's a growth-type.'

Titles came in several varieties, but the most broken were growth-types. As the user grew, the title grew with them, granting ever greater power. Receiving something like that as a reward left him completely stunned.

Chiiiiiik—

[Engraving process commencing.]

"Aaaaargh!"

Apparently displeased with his dumbfounded expression, [Spider] immediately began carving the mark into his hand. The sensation of a red-hot branding iron slowly scraping across the back of his hand was unbearable. Fearing he might faint, he removed his bandages and gloves and plunged his hand into cold water at the sink, but—

"Hngh... ugh...!"

The effect was negligible.

[Engraving complete.]

Shrrrk.

When the pain finally ended, Seokhyun looked down at his hand. When he folded his thumb and pressed his fingers together, the spider pattern that formed was distorted by old scars. The first leg was also engraved on his left index finger, equally obscured by wounds. An imprint on hands that had become hideous after missing the chance to treat them during his time in the Ant Cave. People usually got tattoos to cover scars, but this was worse than doing nothing.

Hands that had mined magic stones with nothing but bare fingers were stained a murky color, resembling a monster's. Those ugly, grotesque hands were like a curse declaring he could never escape his past.

'Even the temple couldn't heal them, so what can I do?'

Since he would keep them covered with bandages anyway, he decided it was not worth worrying about. Having checked all his rewards and taken a short rest, he left the dorm room. While every first-year student was resting after the first class, he needed to move his body and claim the basic training rewards.

'Now that I have the spider title, I should check how much the web's cutting power has increased.'

With that thought, he headed for the training grounds.

Inside the training grounds, students who continued training despite being given rest time had gathered.

'Looks good.'

Self-improvement was always a good thing. Just as he was about to claim a personal training area, voices called out.

"Lee Seokhyun, let's have a match."

"Commoner, I heard you're the final survivor. I challenge you to a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠duel—consider it an honor."

"Seokhyun! Fight me!"

"Me too! Me too!"

"Me too!"

Woo Dohyun, Velos, Mi Juran, and the students nearby all swarmed toward him at once. The moment it was revealed that he was the final survivor, he was suddenly receiving this enthusiastic attention. He had never imagined this, and there was an even bigger problem.

'I can't beat any of you one-on-one, you idiots.'

They seemed to think he was incredibly strong, but that was all a misunderstanding.

'This is bad.'

A very troublesome situation had unfolded. Deciding it was time to use the hidden trump card he had prepared for moments like this, he revealed it immediately.

"No thanks. You guys suck."

The moment his perfect 1-win, 0-draw, 0-loss record shone brilliantly.