Mastering the Ceiling

"Ninety-eight,"

"Ninety-nine,"

"And... hundred."

It had been two days since Arthur was born. On the third day, he finally managed to complete his goal of a hundred push-ups without stopping in the middle.

Suddenly, he collapsed on the ground after the hundredth push-up.

"Aaaa… Finally," he said after completing his goal, with a smile and a weak expression.

As he stood up on his feet, Arthur started jumping, making sure he could fully control his legs. After two days of training, Arthur finally managed to fully control his body. During these two days, he had also practiced his sub-skill, Spider Web, and now he could even walk on his spider web like other spiders. After practicing, both his hands and legs worked perfectly, giving Arthur full control over his body.

After understanding that he could control his body as he wanted, he looked at the straight pillar in front of him that connected the ground he was standing on to the dungeon ceiling. This pillar, which looked like a wall, was what Arthur used as a practice target to shoot his spider web.

"Now it's time to try my other sub-skill," Arthur said, knowing he was ready to practice his new skill.

"Spirit Ally, tell me how I can use my sub-skill that allows me to walk on straight walls and ceiling surfaces," Arthur quickly asked Spirit Ally with sparkling eyes, looking straight at the pillar as if he couldn't wait to walk on it.

"You can use your sub-skill that allows you to walk on walls and ceilings any way you want," Spirit Ally replied in the same manner Arthur had asked.

Hearing Spirit Ally's reply, Arthur felt like she was trolling him again. "No, she just answered the way I asked her. It's not her fault, right?" Arthur thought, realizing he had not asked clearly enough.

"Haha... Haha... Haaa..." Trying to convince himself that Spirit Ally had responded that way due to his poorly worded question, Arthur laughed awkwardly.

"I mean, when I ask you how to use magic, you explain it to me. So just like that, can you tell me how I can use my sub-skill that allows me to walk on straight walls and ceiling surfaces?" Arthur clarified this time.

"To use your sub-skill that allows you to walk on straight walls and ceilings, you need to use your micro-spike fingers hidden inside your hands and feet. Just like you feel the web inside your hands and control it, you can feel those micro-spikes inside your hands and feet too," Spirit Ally explained.

"So I have micro-spike fingers in these three fingers on both my legs and hands, huh?" Arthur asked while hovering his hand and examining his fingers, opening and closing them.

"Yes! You have micro-spike fingers in your hands and feet that are so small you can't see them with your normal eyes," Spirit Ally confirmed.

"Let's try then," Arthur thought, closing his eyes and focusing on the micro-fingers in his hands and feet. "Yes, I can feel them…" He sensed the micro-fingers inside. After concentrating, Arthur began controlling his micro-fingers at will, just like his spider web.

He walked toward the pillar in front of him and placed his hand on the straight surface of the pillar, which connected to the dungeon ceiling. Activating the micro-spike fingers in his hand, Arthur gripped the pillar surface.

Testing the strength of his grip, Arthur pushed himself away from the pillar and was shocked. Just like his spider web, the micro-finger grip was stronger than he had imagined, even without using his full strength.

Believing in his grasp, Arthur placed his foot on the pillar one by one and activated the micro-fingers inside his feet. Understanding their powerful grip, Arthur released his hand from the pillar. He was now standing on the vertical pillar surface using just his feet.

Slowly, Arthur began walking on the pillar, moving his legs one by one and gripping the surface with his micro-spike fingers. Step by step, Arthur reached the dungeon ceiling.

"Should I try walking on the ceiling too?" he wondered. Knowing his skill's power, Arthur decided to give it a try.

Before starting, he raised his hand and shot his web at the ceiling. The web attached perfectly. Raising his other hand, he shot another web at the pillar. With both webs supporting him, Arthur felt safe even if he lost his grip.

Arthur placed one leg on the ceiling and activated the micro-spikes. The grip was so strong he couldn't move his leg without releasing the grip. Seeing this, Arthur felt even more motivated. He attached his other leg one by one, standing upside down on the ceiling without any support.

"Ohh…" he reacted, looking down at the ground. He slowly released more web from one hand and began walking on the ceiling, moving his legs carefully. Confident in his skill, Arthur walked in various directions, supported by the webs attached to the ceiling and pillar.

Though Arthur could release webs, he couldn't yet pull them back into his hands, so he ensured only one side released at a time for safety.

After mastering his sub-skills, Arthur decided to detach the webs. Now, he stood on the dungeon ceiling without any support.

A beetle on the ground had been observing everything Arthur was doing, blending with the dungeon's dim light and becoming invisible to him.

He shot a web from his hand toward the ground and attached another end to the ceiling, creating a straight string. Though thin, the web string was strong enough to support Arthur's weight.

Placing his feet on the string, Arthur quickly climbed down, easily controlling his movement thanks to his web-practicing skills.

Arthur didn't know that he had directly landed in front of the beetle, which had been invisible, blending with the dungeon's light, and unable to catch his eyes.

"Finally, I'm ready. With just a bit more practice, I'll be fully prepared. I still have eight days left—I can do it. After that, I need to find water and food," Arthur said confidently.

"How about we work together?" the beetle suddenly spoke, watching Arthur.

Suddenly, hearing a voice, Arthur was shocked but quickly relaxed, thinking Spirit Ally was the one who had just spoken to him.

"What? Work with you? I thought we were already working together, right?" Arthur said, assuming it was Spirit Ally speaking.

Suddenly, the beetle in front of his eyes, previously invisible by blending with the light, became visible.