Elias Vale awoke suspended.
The hammock he had woven with Rapid Weave swayed gently between two silver-veined trunks, silk creaking faintly as dawn filtered through the canopy. For once, his back didn't scream when he shifted. His ribs still throbbed, but the steady pulse of the crystal shard in his palm soothed like a heartbeat that wasn't only his.
He blinked the sleep from his eyes. His first thought wasn't hunger, or pain, but the System's timer.
System Alert[Path Selection – LOCKED: THREADBEARER]
Timer Cleared.
Relief. The number was gone. He'd chosen. He wouldn't wake to find hours stolen from him again.
"Threadbearer," Elias whispered. "Guess that's who I am now."
Crafting the HuntBefore moving, he checked his salvaged materials.
Skitterwolf Hide: tough, flexible.
Thorned Brow Spikes: sharp enough to pierce stone bark.
Skitterwolf Fangs: curved, clean, carving quality.
The System chimed when he focused.
[Basic Crafting Unlocked]
Threadbearer Bonus: Silk durability increased in composite items.
Elias pulled hide strips across his lap, weaving silk stitches into seams. Hours passed, fingers bleeding but steady, until a crude chest wrap and bracers took shape. Light, ugly—but better than bare skin. He knotted spikes into a trio of throwing darts and slung them in a silk loop at his waist. The fangs he tied to his reinforced shard, teeth gleaming from its jagged edge.
He studied the mess he'd made and smiled faintly. "Not pretty… but I'll take it."
Training the PathWith gear secured, he moved to the trees.
Rapid Weave hummed beneath his fingers, silk spiraling out faster now, stronger. He layered nets in seconds instead of minutes. He cast anchors in pairs, flipping from trunk to trunk, his body snapping in arcs that felt more like flying than falling.
The Thread Map whispered invisible lines—arcs of possibility across branches, paths where momentum became weapon, where weakness became opening.
He tested Tether Pull on weighted stones, yanking them into trunks with bone-cracking force. He practiced Aerial Recovery, hurling himself from unsafe heights and righting mid-air, landing bruised but upright.
The System responded with cold approval.
[Skill Proficiency Increased: Rapid Weave Lv. 2 → Lv. 3]
Larger nets. Improved anchor tension.
[Skill Proficiency Increased: Tether Pull Lv. 2 → Lv. 3]
Reel speed and power increased.
Elias sagged against a trunk, panting. Sweat dripped down his chin. His body was battered, scarred, aching… but his movements were no longer clumsy. For the first time, he felt like he owned the air around him.
The Call BeyondAs he rested, Thread Sense pulsed again. Not small creatures. Not spiders. A rhythm that was too steady, too even.
It was there again—like before. A distant, artificial clatter. Not claws. Not hooves. Tools.
"People," Elias whispered.
The thought sent both relief and dread through his chest. If there were people, there might be shelter. Knowledge. Civilization. But if they weren't friendly…
He packed his crude gear, doused his fire, and cast a thread high into the trees. He swung silently in the direction of the rhythm, following faint pulses only Thread Sense could trace.
Hours passed, the forest blurring into endless silver trunks. The sound grew clearer—clinks, thuds, the low groan of something heavy turning.
He stopped on a branch, crouched low.
Through the foliage, Elias saw them.
Not beasts. Not spiders.
Walls.
Ruined stone walls half-swallowed by roots, their edges carved with faint glowing sigils. Within them moved shadows, not beasts but figures walking upright, carrying tools that rang like iron against stone.
His breath caught. Civilization. Proof.
But Thread Sense whispered a warning—these rhythms weren't steady like human footsteps alone. Something else paced within the ruins, heavier, hungrier.
The figures hadn't noticed it. Elias had.
And he was close enough that if he revealed himself now, both sides would see him.
His grip tightened on his shard.
System Alert[Quest Triggered: First Contact]
Approach the ruins. Intervene or observe. Survival not guaranteed.
Elias swallowed hard, eyes fixed on the ruins below.
He had chosen his path.
Now he had to see where it led.
[Status Screen – Elias Vale]Level: 4
Race: Human (??? – Synchronization 38%)
Path: Threadbearer
Condition: Wounded / Stable
Attributes:
Strength: 9
Agility: 12
Vitality: 6
Intelligence: 7
Perception: 9
Skills:
Basic Thread Projection Lv. 5
Wall Adhesion Lv. 2
Thread Sense Lv. 3
Web Weaving Lv. 2
Rapid Weave Lv. 3
Tether Pull Lv. 3
Aerial Recovery Lv. 1
Thread Map (Passive)
Titles:
[Survivor of the First Hunt]
Equipment:
Reinforced Carapace Shard (with Fangs)
Hide Bracers & Chest Wrap
Thorned Spike Darts (x3)
Hunter's Arachnid Core (Sealed)