Tap. Lightly pushing off the railing, I flew across and landed precisely on the rooftop of the building opposite.
'He's much faster than I thought.'
When I lifted my head, I could see the figure of the opponent fleeing across the night sky.
The energy I sensed was, at best, B-rank. I was currently using my Hidden Skill, putting me at S-rank status, so under normal circumstances, I should have caught up to him long ago.
Maintaining this distance despite that meant the opponent was probably ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) a Hunter with a skill related to movement speed.
'Well, that explains how he managed to find his way to the building.'
I drew a longsword from my inventory and kicked off the rooftop again. Whooosh — cutting through the wind, I leaped high and moved to another building.
Even if the opponent was fast, it wasn’t impossible to catch him if I focused and chased properly. As I increased my speed, the opponent, who kept glancing back while running ahead, also started running even harder.
Under the brilliant full moon, the rooftops of the shopping district were illuminated as the chase continued. Unlike me, who wasn’t struggling much, the opponent seemed exhausted; his ragged, panting breaths were loud and clear.
Even if his skill made him faster than me, a B-rank was still a B-rank. The stamina gap between B-rank and S-rank was enormous. In a prolonged chase, it was naturally the opponent who would be at a disadvantage.
I closed the distance quickly as the opponent’s speed visibly dropped due to exhaustion. I reached out my hand to grab the figure right in front of me—at that exact moment.
"...Huff, ugh!"
A murderous intent, felt from somewhere, made my skin crawl with chills. I hastily withdrew my outstretched hand and instinctively raised my sword to block.
Clang!
Something sharp collided with the sword’s sheath. Even though I blocked it, the hand gripping the sword tingled from the impact — meaning the force behind it was no joke.
Chchchchchch!
With the clanging of metal, something glowing silver moved like a snake. Only after it stopped atop a rooftop did I realize it was a white, shining chain.
"What the hell is this..."
The chain, seemingly born from thin air, moved freely as if it had a will of its own. At the end of it hung a sharp hook.
"You arrived earlier than expected."
"...!"
At that moment, a stranger’s voice came from behind me.
My attention was so focused on the chain that I flinched and quickly turned toward the source of the voice.
I saw a man sitting casually on the rooftop railing. His silver hair fluttered gently under the moonlight, and he wore a black mask that completely covered his face.
Even while sitting, he looked fairly well-built, and the energy I sensed from him was unmistakably that of an S-rank Hunter. On top of that, there was a spider emblem engraved into his mask.
'The note dropped in front of the door... and the mask the guy I chased was wearing had a spider symbol too.'
However, the man who had fled wore a white mask with a black spider, while the S-rank man in front of me wore a black mask with a white spider.
An S-rank. An air of confidence, as if he knew I'd come. A different mask from the previous one. Quickly piecing the situation together, I forced a smile and asked,
"Did you lure me all the way here on purpose?"
"Correct. You're not as stupid as I thought."
The man stepped down from the railing, tilting his head as he looked at me.
"Honestly, I didn’t expect you to fall for it this perfectly. You must have some deep ties with the guild named One."
So he already knew that place was the guild office I had established. No — he might even know about Cha Sahyeon and me.
But he wouldn’t know that I was Cha Seohu himself. The skill rank and body type difference was too great, and my face had changed slightly too. There’s no way he could recognize me.
'Is he connected to the research lab?'
My mind cooled sharply. Thank goodness I was wearing a mask. I asked, carefully controlling my voice to reveal no emotion.
"Why were you watching that place?"
"To find you, of course."
"Why me?"
"Hmm... where should I start. First of all, congratulations on taking the number one spot in the rankings."
Why the sudden mention of rankings? I narrowed my eyes, but the man, as if wondering why I was suspicious, continued casually.
"You first showed up during the ranking match with the Yesung Guildmaster, right? The S-rank Hunter 'Cover' who appeared out of nowhere. That’s you, isn’t it?"
"And if it is?"
"That’s why we came looking for you."
The man brushed his fingers along the mouthpiece of his black mask and continued.
"After you rose to rank one while masked, our situation got a little complicated."
"Our?"
"Yeah. 'Our.' The organization I belong to. Maybe you could call it an information syndicate... with a slight touch of illegality?"
An information syndicate? From guys this shady?
'Wait a second. Come to think of it, I remember hearing about a secret organization related to spiders.'
Seeing the spider emblem again triggered a memory. Back when I was with the Circle Guild before regression, I had overheard a snippet.
An underworld information network operating mainly out of China. Its name... was it Spiderweb?
They rarely revealed themselves and operated quietly. I hadn’t expected them to come looking for me.
"Because I appeared masked and took the top spot, there was a misunderstanding that I was affiliated with your group?"
"Exactly. Smarter than you look."
"Still, wouldn’t a regular member have been enough? Why send the leader personally?"
At my follow-up, the man paused briefly, showing a genuinely surprised reaction.
"You figured it out?"
"How could I not? You basically advertised it with that mask. Even a kindergartener could tell."
"Haha, fair enough. It’s a bit childish, isn’t it? I got lucky getting this position too, and once you’re in, it’s hard to refuse."
He laughed slyly. I twisted my lips behind my black mask in disdain. If you're going to lie, at least make it believable enough to fool someone.
"I haven’t even worn the mask since that day. Was it really necessary to come find me?"
I deliberately sneered to break his poker face, but the man answered in a relaxed tone.
"I got curious. About someone who suddenly appeared and took first place so easily. So could you spare me just a little time?"
"Hmm. Sorry, but I’m a little busy right now."
"I won’t take long."
He brushed off my refusal easily, lifting one hand.
Then, behind his back, ripples of white light formed in the air — and from them, silver chains shot out.
Chchchchchch!
From three different light ripples, chains sprang forth like snakes, aiming for me. I hastily drew my sword from its sheath and leaped away.
Clang!
The hook at the end of one chain struck the spot where I had just been standing, a sharp sound ringing out.
'I'm screwed.'
If I knew this was coming, I wouldn’t have followed him. I had planned to handle things quickly and return before Cha Sahyeon came out of the bath, but now things were messy.
Surely, the Seed's progress wouldn’t spike just because I left for a few minutes... right? I clicked my tongue in irritation.
'I just have to shake him off and get back as fast as possible.'
Twisting my body to dodge the second chain pursuing me, I locked my gaze on the man. Immediately, a new status window appeared before my eyes.
Age: ?? years old
Main Skill: Chain Summoning and Manipulation (S-rank)
Title: The Spider King
Attack Power: S-rank
Attack Speed: S-rank
Movement Speed: S-rank
Agility: S-rank
Special Notes ▼
└ A main character destined to prevent the Catastrophe.
'What? He's a main character too?'
In the shock of that revelation, I hesitated — and a flash of white light burst across my left shoulder, bringing a sharp pain.
"Ugh...!"
"If you stay so relaxed, you'll get seriously hurt."
The hook at the end of a chain had sliced deep into my shoulder. Feeling the wetness of blood soaking my clothes, I slashed at the third chain flying toward my forehead.
"Gee, thanks so much for the concern."
The chain, cut by my sword, dissolved into light and scattered. So the chains summoned through his skill disappear when attacked?
'And his name is hidden too. Why? Other people's info showed up even without knowing their names.'
Was it because he was a main character? Or because I couldn’t see his face?
The damn status window was so arbitrary. Seeing that stupid question mark again just made me even more pissed off.
"Shall we get a little more serious?"
The man’s soft voice barely finished before a fierce surge of energy exploded out.
Simultaneously, dozens of new white light ripples formed in midair, revealing more chains.
Chchchchchch!
Chchchchchch!
Dozens of chains shot out everywhere. They latched onto walls and nearby objects with their hooks, firmly securing themselves and slowly closing in around me.
Swallowing dryly, I glanced around. Surrounding me on all sides were countless white chains.
Yeah. This was just like... a spiderweb. A trap woven by a spider hunting its prey.
To this man, right now, I was nothing more than prey that had wandered straight into his web.

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