Arachnophobia

Soren left the shop worried that the belly man would take the cool rock back. As he got further and further away from the market, the path opened more clearly. People dispersing into their worlds and thoughts.

Feeling someone looking at him, he turned around, trying to spot anyone. Not seeing anyone he shrugged it off and continued on his way.

As thirsty and hungry as he was, Soren knew trying anything right now would be suicide. While dying wouldn't be bad, that lady mentioned something about the front lines. The book still needed to be read, so he couldn't go looking to cause a scene. 

From what he had been hearing people say, there was important information in it. He couldn't allow himself to fall behind everyone else.

As the sun was setting, he noticed that the only people he saw were those who were training or hurrying off somewhere.

'Strange.'

Walking down the path, he started seeing the houses in the distance. He noticed one in particular that was different from the rest. He decided this would be the one to stay at.

Reaching the abandoned house, this one smaller than most of the other houses. He went in, to which he immediately stepped back out. 

'Why.. why is there a giant spider in there?'

"This is cursed," Soren complained. 'Can't there just not be a problem?'

Just before he was about to turn around and try a different house, someone pushed him inside. Then sealed the door with something that sounded like it came from a spray can. 

"You should have just stayed away from the shop. You got me in trouble and you're going to pay for it."

'Is that the man outside of the shop? Really?'

"What the hell," he said standing just three feet away from the spider, silently trying to pry the door open. The spider was four feet wide and three feet tall. It was one of them hairy spiders whose mouths disgusted those with weak stomachs. Its eyes were a deep shade of yellow and black, which seemed to crackle for an instant.

Through the small cracks in the door, sunlight was still shining through, albeit barely, and would soon disappear completely. 

Still standing face to face with abomination, Soren did what most people would. Try a tactical retreat. 

Ignoring the spider's eyes and what happened with the shop's advertiser.

He tried pleading, "Uhhhh, Hey, There's UH THERES A SPIDER HERE. OPEN THE DOOR." 

Only the sounds of the spider and his breathing could be heard.

'Did that bastard leave?'

Not caring why the human had entered its home, it dashed forward, opening its jaw. 

Coming to the understanding that no one would save him here. He decided to fight as best as he could. 

Considering he had never fought anyone before, humans or animals. This was not a fight he could escape alive from. 

Conviction filled Soren's heart anyway. He wanted to be strong, he wanted to take others' abilities and use them against them. He needed to, his parents wanted him to. The only one stopping him was him now. He had to become stronger. 

'What a fitting opponent,' Soren thought as he hopped to the side awkwardly. Half surprised at how easily he saw the spider's movements. 

'Am I, just better?'

The spider struck with one of its legs trying to pierce his chest. However, Soren backstepped, stepping just out of reach. 

At this point though his back was against the wooden wall. The room wasn't big to begin with, only being around a standard bedroom size from his childhood. 

The spider advanced again unperturbed by their failed attempts. This tiny human couldn't do anything. 

Only taking a single step forward the spider decided to use three of its eight legs this time. One aimed at his chest, one aimed to the right of him, and the last aimed to the left of him. 

This way he couldn't dodge left or right.

Seeing the situation worsen, Soren ducked and kicked off the wall, going right under and to the left of its middle leg. He was aiming to throw a punch at that leg's upper joint, near the main body.

While his face passed just an inch away from the hairy leg of the spider he thought, 'I can see the movements of the spider and react, this might just work.'

As he did that though, the spider lowered itself and moved its jaw to the right, Soren's arm was now heading straight for the spider's mouth. 

Once again noticing his actions be countered, he planted both legs on the ground and kicked off with as much momentum and strength as he could muster. Jumping right over the spider attempting to land behind it.

The spider having nearly 360-degree vision saw everything. With a crackle of lightning surrounding the eyes of the spider, and one of its legs, it kicked with the affected leg, with speed doubling that of what it was before.

Soren saw the leg coming but couldn't do anything in midair. The leg's speed was too fast, to the point where he wouldn't have been able to dodge fully anyway. All he could do was slightly tilt his torso, avoiding his heart being cut through. It instantly cut through his clothes, then skin, and finally pierced through his bone. 

He was just hanging from the leg by his leftover shoulder skin now.

For this one moment, he was paralyzed. There seemed to be a slight paralysis effect on the spider's affected leg. 

Soren's eyes became bloodshot, almost passing out from the pain. His experience with the pain in the past though came to his rescue, allowing him to continue normal thinking. 

'This, is not something I win, is it? And a slight paralysis effect?'

While still hanging from his shoulder which was slowly stripping the rest of the skin holding his arm there. He looked around, trying to find anything to help him.

'A holy sword would be nice right about now.'

He found no holy sword, but he did, however, find something that looked like a piece of wood on the floor. 

'A makeshift holy sword will work, I suppose.'

Coming up with a plan, his flesh finally ripped, dropping his entire left arm to the ground with a dull thud. At this moment the paralysis ended allowing his just-released body to crouch only partially, picking up his dropped arm.

Soren began sprinting to the stick while clutching his stump ineffectively. Blood still swarming its way past his hand and arm. 

The sparks of lightning surrounding the spider flashed around all its legs this time. Allowing it to run much quicker than it could ever normally. 

Even though the "holy sword" was only a few feet away, to begin with, the spider was just faster. 

'New plan, if I'm going to die here, I will at least make you suffer.'

Tucking his arm in his armpit, he took out the book he was given earlier. For how large it was, it was unusual how it stayed in his robe pocket throughout the fight.

Unraveling the string with one hand turned out to be a monstrous task though.

'Whatever hope this works.'

All of this happened within just a second or two. The spider caught up and was about to strike again when Soren turned around and threw his arm at the spider's eyes. 

Instead of unraveling the string, he decided to just roll the book itself.

If anyone were to see this they would think that his situation was odd. A man with a missing arm was rolling a book into something that looked like a rolled newspaper. An item their mothers used to beat them with when they were in trouble as kids.

His shoulder was bleeding unimpeded now, blood flowing faster than a deadly tide of the ocean.

The thrown arm of his wouldn't seriously affect it and would only buy a few moments but that was all he needed. 

He was starting to feel his strength slip and his body starting to numb itself. 

'Not right now, c'mon just hold on a little longer.'

Resolving himself to one last push, he used the final moment to jump at the spider's head with his one arm containing the rolled book. The book looked different now. It was rolled tightly like a skinny cylinder, creating a thinnish needle the width of a marker cap. 

With the spider's vision still blocked, Soren came crashing down with the book needle. The spider only saw him for a second before being impaled in one of its center eyes. It easily pierced its eye, but only went a little further, not enough to kill.

Using all the strength he had left, he pushed his palm against the backend of the book inside the spider's head as much as he could. As he pushed, the book needle went further and further into the monster's eye, eventually reaching into the brain. 

Usually, a book would not have such capabilities, but the paper used here was more reinforced. Still bendable and writable, just more deadly in the right hands.

The spider shuddered, its limbs spasming for a split moment.

Before the spider stopped moving, with one last thought, brought one of its legs and shot it into Soren's chest, piercing his right lung. 

He couldn't stop it from happening, so he just continued pushing the book with all his might. Soon the spider stopped struggling altogether.

As this happened a notification of the system popped up in front of his eyes.

[-Item Acquired: Shocking Speed-]

Soren's eyes struggled to remain open, the blood loss far faster than it would be normally, affecting him much sooner. When he tried to breathe, he began wheezing and coughing out blood. 

Completely ignoring the screen, he pulled the book out of the spider's skull and unwrapped it as fast as he could. Brain matter, goo, and blood slid off onto his lower body. This might've bothered him any other time, but he had a mission right now.

Blood was now on the floor, on his clothes, his chest, his mouth, and the spider's eye, only increasing in volume.

'Get information. I need it before… before the next world.' Soren thought slowly straining to keep his mind running. 

Opening the book he looked at the table of contents:

-Introduction

-Skultr Roles, pg. 5-

-Skultr Rules, pg. 15-

-Abilities, pg. 28-

-Eternal Fight, pg. 35-

-Currency / Strengthening, pg. 50-