"Ah! Number 406! Chairman!"
On the cliff edge, Menchi screamed, her face pale.
Despite their earlier conflict, she couldn't bear to watch a talent like Ryker plummet to his death. He had been too reckless, jumping without even waiting for the explanation about the updrafts.
Below, screams echoed from the abyss.
"Heeeeelp!"
Splat.
Several candidates who had blindly followed Ryker without understanding the mechanics hit the canyon floor. They were gone instantly.
Other candidates, smarter ones, had snagged the webs and were hanging precariously in the semi-darkness, waiting for the wind.
"Oh? He's fine," Netero said, cupping a hand to his ear. He listened for a second, then smiled. "The young man is having quite the time down there. Don't worry, Menchi."
Menchi exhaled, though her hands were still shaking.
Down below.
Far beneath the hanging candidates.
In the pitch-black depths where no light reached.
Ryker landed softly on a mountain of writhing, chittering shadows.
The Nest.
Here, the Spider-Eagles were fully grown. Some were two meters tall, their purple carapaces covered in razor-sharp spines. They hissed, hundreds of eyes glowing in the dark.
This was a nightmare for most.
For a fishmonger who had been killing things for ten years, it was just another day at the office.
"Time to test the new toy."
Ryker grinned.
[Nen Ability: Hundred-Blossom Blade Wheel]!
Schwing!
Twenty fillet knives materialized in the air around him.
When he first absorbed the trait, he hadn't unlocked his aura nodes. But the System was efficient. The moment the knowledge fused with his mind, his pores snapped open.
Aura.
Warm, vibrant life energy flooded his body.
He was officially a Nen User.
Conjuration: Active.
"Let's dance!"
Ryker became a whirlwind of steel. He charged into the colony like a demon god.
Hiss! Screech!
Limbs flew. Ichor sprayed.
The candidates hanging above shuddered as the sounds of a massacre drifted up from the deep.
[You have killed a Spider-Eagle. Plunder Successful.]
[Acquired: [Super Fertility] (Blue).]
[You have killed a Spider-Eagle. Plunder Successful.]
[Acquired: [Spider Sense] (Blue).]
[You have killed a Spider-Eagle. Plunder Successful.]
[Acquired: [Climbing] (Blue).]
[You have killed a Spider-Eagle. Plunder Successful.]
[Acquired: [Webbing] (Blue).]
The notifications chimed like a slot machine on overdrive.
Ryker didn't stop. He moved with the grace of a dancer and the brutality of a butcher.
Above, time was running out.
"Gon, we have to go. We're the last ones," Kurapika urged, hanging from a web.
"But Ryker isn't back!" Gon looked down into the darkness, worried.
"He went down on purpose," Killua said. "I can feel the air pressure changing. The updraft is weakening. If we don't go now, we'll be stuck."
"We can ask the Chairman for a rope once we're up," Leorio suggested.
"Okay... let's go!" Gon yelled into the abyss. "Ryker! Be careful! If you're not up in ten minutes, we're coming for you!"
They released their webs. The wind caught them, lifting them back to the surface.
On the cliff edge, most candidates had already returned, clutching their prizes.
Menchi checked her watch nervously.
"Chairman... it's 4:20. The last updraft cycle is in one minute. If he doesn't come up now..."
"Oh? The wind is dying? Interesting," Netero stroked his beard. "Without wind, climbing that wall is nearly impossible. But... that boy is different."
Silence fell over the crowd.
"I hope he stays down there," a candidate whispered. "If he comes back, we're all fighting for second place."
"Shh! If he hears you, you're dead."
"But he helped us with the pigs..."
"That was just to steal the kills! Wake up!"
One minute passed.
"The wind is gone," Menchi said, her voice tight. "Chairman, we need a rope. We have to go get him."
"Bias!" someone shouted. "If we fell, you wouldn't send a rope!"
"Shut up!" Menchi snapped. "If you could defeat an examiner, I'd worry about you too!"
Netero ignored the bickering. He tilted his head.
"He's here."
"What?" Menchi blinked.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
A rhythmic sound echoed from the cliff face. Fast. Heavy.
Then, a figure vaulted over the edge.
It was Ryker.
Covered in purple spider blood, he landed lightly in front of the group.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," he smiled, flashing perfectly white teeth.
The crowd gasped.
"How?! There was no wind!"
"Did he climb?!"
"Look at him... he's covered in blood. Did he massacre the nest?"
Ryker ignored the stares. He was in a fantastic mood.
He had cleared the nest—mostly. He left enough alive to ensure the species wouldn't go extinct (so he could farm them later). Sustainable hunting.
But the harvest?
Trait: [Super Fertility] (Gold)
Effect: Your reproductive potency is at human limits. Offspring have a near-100% survival rate and will inherit superior genetic traits.
Trait: [Spider Sense] (Purple)
Effect: You can sense vibrations and intent within a 50m radius.
Trait: [Reinforced Webbing] (Purple)
Effect: You can generate steel-strength webbing from your palms. (Spider-Man style).
Trait: [Spider Climbing] (Purple)
Effect: You can adhere to and traverse any surface, including ceilings.
I really am becoming Spider-Man, Ryker thought, suppressing a chuckle.
"Here's the egg," Ryker tossed a Spider-Eagle egg to Menchi. "And the spider legs."
Menchi caught them, stunned.
"You... you really are a monster."
"Thanks," Ryker winked. "Now, about that Crab Pilaf?"