In a special region of the ‘Dark Forest’, a place avoided by most of the living… ran a woman in spider silk clothing. One which seemed to have had spun from the threads of a very dexterous arachnid. 

Her long flowing hair colour displayed similarities to the moonlight shining down from above. Countless pursuers chased her down relentlessly without pause. They were predators in this forest.

None of them seemed to fear the warnings of many travellers. Those foretold the death of anyone who trespassed on these lands. It was as if they didn't know their current distance to the underworld!

"Subject #A5689, give up the anomaly! We must crack the code to its existence! 'The Truth'... That child is the key to finding the truth!" A crazed expression appeared on the white coat biologist.

The man bravely leading the group of researchers.

They seemed to have strength that defied what common sense would normally dictate. The man then reached out his hand towards the woman and fired out a bolt of lightning in order to paralyse her.

This didn't seem to scare the moonlight-haired woman one bit though. Eight legs belonging to that of an arachnid grew out of her back — blocking the ‘Magic Skill’. In fact, she even subdued one of her pursuers by 'slapping' the magic right back!

Those spider legs from her back seemed shielded.

Extremely touch and magic resistant.

"Alchemist Sid, be careful! Do not harm her! You might hurt the child she carrying... Not even Doctor Frank will be able to forgive your sin. You cannot be hasty. If you cause the precious subject to experience a miscarriage, not even Gaia’s embrace will be able to save you!" One of the white-clothed men, behind the leading figure in front of them, spoke in anger.

The men felt like the precious clue they discovered would be damaged. It caused a feeling of danger well up in their leader's heart. However, he quickly put his hand down to calm his irrational subordinates.

"I just wanted the arachne to waste her strength and had no intention of actually bringing the subject harm. We'll pick up that guy we left behind later, alright?!" The man explained before speeding forth. 

His eyes never once left his prey whatsoever.

Even while being interrogated.

Not a single glance at those speaking to him.

They all knew now wasn't the time to argue...

Thus, they tried their best capture the Arachne woman. They needed it done before any complications were to occur. None of them wanted to experience the wrath of the leading researchers.

The surroundings were becoming more and more lifeless, yet they entered deep into the most dangerous ‘forbidden zone’ ever to be recorded; a place known to be owned by the most dangerous 'God', the Death Imperial... of the 'Dead Lands'.

It was only when they came across a multitude of bone-white skeletons piled along the ground… did the researchers pursuing the moonlight-haired woman finally start to lose their composure. It was a late reaction, but an understandable horror indeed.

The biologists stopped in place. Purple energy, one that seemed to have originated from the netherworld itself, expelled from the skeletons. They had merged together to form a massive skeletal figure of a giant!

"It's a ‘Giant Skeleton’! We can use this opportunity to capture her! Make preparations!" The leader charged out while a black magical energy focused into his palm. He was planning to ensnare her in shadows as soon as he got the opportunity.

However, things didn't go according to plan.

The arachne gritted her teeth in determination.

"For my child's future...!" She roared loudly and ignored the gigantic figure. One which had cast a great shadow that was looming over them. An ominous fire glinted in the gigantic skeleton's eyes...

The clunky figure lifted its enormous fist swiftly…

…a motion that contradicted its humongous size!

"Watch out!" The leader called out worriedly... not to his subordinates, but to the arachne. She hadn't slowed down her steps at all. The woman seemed suicidal in her actions. As if throwing away her life.

She braced herself while running into the giant skeleton's fist. It descended upon on her figure. The sound of a meteor crashing into soil could be heard loudly… along with the crackling sounds of the eight spider legs that grew out of the woman's back. 

The entirety of her back became covered in blood.

The spider legs shattered in order to take the blow...

The leader chasing her was lucky enough to dodge before the strike of the skeleton landed. However, he and the rest of the researchers finally lost sight of their target. She seemed nowhere to be found. 

It came to them as a shock, but they had no other choice other than to swallow their failure. They had no choice but to escape from the undead skeletal figure. It was currently attacking them relentlessly.

The arachne woman, on the other hand, didn't even seem to notice that she had finally lost her stubborn pursuers, and only stopped after she ran out of strength... Only her willpower pushed her forward.

In front of her: A rundown mansion in the distance. 

One that seemed haunted and gloomy...

The woman didn't have the time to read her surroundings before collapsing in pain. Her breathing had become ragged and those silk-woven clothes around her were damaged, but what was most eye catching of all was her back...!

The woman realised she wouldn't be able to witness her own child's birth while inching into death's embrace. Her ‘Body Enhancement’ was destroyed, and now her life force was slowly leaking away...

"What is your purpose for coming here?" An ominous looking man in expensive clothes, who seemed like a scholar belonging to the upper echelon of those who studied literature, suddenly appeared before her like an earthbound angel of death...

...only to ask this woman in confusion. 

The strange and mysterious scholar couldn't understand where she had come from. He had zero experience dealing with the living, and making a conversation was rare despite theoretical know-how.

The imperial looked like he’d never thought there would be someone who could willingly come all the way to his doorstep. An apologetic and somewhat pained look appeared in his eyes at that moment.

This was especially true after seeing the blood that was still constantly streaming down the arachne's back. He was speculating many things while taking the fickle undead in the distance into account.

"Save... my child..." Was the arachne’s last words. 

She held her enlarged stomach preciously. 

The scholarly man hurriedly caught the woman.

The light in her eyes finally vanished. 

It was impossible to say how strong her conviction was to run all the way to his residence in such a condition. A helpless yet resolved breath of air left the strange scholar's mouth. He found himself in a predicament he had never experienced before.

"Are there any women ghosts here?! This is an emergency situation!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, which caused the stagnant air around him to tremble. This was the first time in history that life would appear in a land of ghosts and undead.

The man helped the arachne woman give birth to the infant. That child would later on make his namewas known to many as 'Alex Stuman'. This was the beginning of everything, and also the start of Alex’s new life! His first ever encounter with 'death'...!

That was the story he told Arthur.

Again, for the millionth time...!

Alex seemed to enjoy talking about his past 

At least when it came to Arthur.

This was despite being secretive to others.

"And that is how I was born!" Alex, who was dragged to the nearby Boar's Bar, laughed; chugging down a cup of juice. He didn't lay a hand on alcohol. After all, the young scholar of magic believed he was too immature to drink such a beverage… given his age.

"Huh...?" Arthur didn’t understand the posture.

"Intoxication comes from the soul; not body."

"Stop changing the subject and get to the point. Is it true you're STILL unable to form your ‘Spirit Essence’?" Arthur, who stood beside him, didn't seem to have the same thoughts. He sipped on a glass of root-beer. Hmmm, did he remember 'that'?

Looks like Arthur's memory was coming back... 

…and no one found his current beverage to be odd.

Even if it had alcoholic contents mixed in. It was natural for someone of the age of fifteen to be considered an adult in this world. After all, their actions were something they had be responsible of by themselves once they grew to a certain point.

"Did you just ignore my epic backstory? Honestly, it IS the story my mother's ghost always told me." Alex was saying things that would shock a normal person to death, but Arthur was ignoring it as always.

"Don't act like this is something new. I've heard it many times before when we were young." Arthur did not falter, even though the others at the bar were dropping their drinks after hearing Alex’s story.

"You're such a boring guy... Can't you tell I don't want to talk about that illness of mine?" Alex did not humour him. He was acting like this on purpose. Not wanting his weakness to be exposed to the world.

"You said you'd tell me." Arthur put that forward.

"And you too said you'd speak about that G-"

"Tell me." Arthur put his foot down on the matter and wouldn't budge until his childhood friend told him everything. He was barely listening to anything that didn't have to do with Alex's old 'illness'.

The dude’s attitude was a little like this: ╭(╯^╰)╮

Puffing his chest out and with narrowed eyes filled with the determination to get him to talk. He’d even resort to fighting if that was needed. Beating the guy up so he didn’t avoid the topic was also an option.

"Hah... Fine... You know the identity of the man who raised me, right?" Alex frowned in displeasure, only to then decide to finally reveal the secret as to why he was unable to use 'Internal Energy' like others.

Mana, Qi… whatever this life force meant.

"A necromancer." Arthur heard that part already.

"Beep! Wrong answer! Idiot, didn't I already say that he was the Death Imperial? As in the ACTUAL 'Death God'?" These words were spoken after Alex created a sound barrier formation of wind runes.

He didn't want anyone else to find out.

That he was raised by the greatest psychopomp.

A being all life feared...

On an instinctual level.

"..." Arthur looked at Alex in disbelief.

He made a great and bold statement.

"It's true. Don't you dare doubt me." Alex quipped.

"Okay, okay... Let me get this straight: Your mother was an arachne, your father was most likely a human, and the person who raised you was the God of Death himself...? Then why are you ill?" Arthur had to stress that this was a ‘god’ they talked of.

Alex started to monologue:

"Necron, the man who raised me, told me that it probably has to do with the damage my soul somehow sustained before birth. I'm surprised you didn't realise despite how obvious it was earlier.”

“It might have been due to being born in a place that reeked of death, or it could have been because of the injury my mother sustained before she gave birth to me. Either one or the other. That was all it was.”

“Whatever the case might be, I have realised many things after studying magic. I'm also pretty sure the reason behind my lack of mana… was due to being the 'Anomaly'. The one those creeps trying to capture my birth mother were talking about."

Alex spoke without much emotions. It was almost as if the person who died back then wasn't his blood-related mother, but an acquaintance he felt only pity towards. This 'disconnection' lingered on his face.

This made Arthur unable to understand what he was feeling after mentioning his biological mother... To Alex, he already had a mother he accepted in his past life already. Though that woman was distant to the point of never coming to visit him in the entirety of his previous life, she was still the person he deeply considered to be his mother. Even to this day. 

Apex didn't know if these feelings he had were right or not. There was confusion in his mind for years about it. This was likely since he'd felt like a passerby on Gaia after having been born once again...

Life came and went, that was only destiny, and that was also why he felt no hatred towards the assailants who nearly captured his mother in the past. As now he was more concerned about the 'Classless'.

It was a strange feeling of disconnection no one naturally born on Gaia would be able to comprehend.... unless they had similar circumstances to him. It was really understandable.

He hadn't even bothered explaining that he was a mysterious 'otherworlder' to his best friend... since being an anomaly itself was something hard for anyone to accept without seeing proof.

How was Alex an anomaly? It had to be said that under normal circumstances, Beasts and Humans were unable to have children no matter how much they loved each other. Even the ‘Classless Beasts’ wouldn't be able to die while having no 'Class'.

This wasn't specific to beasts and humans... Even dwarves and elves were unable to give birth to so-called 'half-breeds' with the bloodline of two races on Gaia. It wasn't a tradition but a law of the world that drew a clear line between all humanoid races.

Alex was an exception, however. 

He'd not only gained the innate ‘Bloodline Inheritance’ of a ‘Rare Species’, but was also capable of having a  ‘Class’. This on top of having the Dark Attribute as his 'foundation'. You could even call it the best of both worlds if he didn't have an illness.

It restricted his potential in such a crucial way.

This was how Alex was literally a 'weaver' of magic...!

"...I don't think that's the case though." Arthur, on the other hand, seemed to disagree with his friend’s opinion. He shook his head firmly. A glint of interest finally appeared in Alex's eyes as lifted his head.

"Oh~? And why do you think that?" Alex leaned in.

"Because I've met another 'Anomaly'." Arthur said this without caring about Alex’s reaction. This answer struck a chord in the young man's heart. He rose up from his seat to look at his brawny friend with glowing eyes. His high frame was a little scary...

Although it was true Arthur had expected such a big reaction, he didn't think he'd feel so much pressure just from being stared at. Especially by his old childhood friend in such an abrupt fashion.

“Why did you forget to mention this before?!” It was the thought Arthur had in response. It was at that point that Alex remembered how he reset Arthur's memory and calmed a little. He accepted that it might have been a little bit his own fault.

"Believe me, I'm not messing with you. Aren't you curious about how I gained more power than a normal sword warrior? Did you think I DIDN'T find someone who could help me reach past my limits?”

Arthur held his head high, then continued:

“Actually, back then... you were wrong about my strength. I don't have seven usable magic slots, but two magic slots and five 'refills'. The current ‘Body Slots’ you talked about are currently useless to me."

"But I clearly saw the existence of five other Attributes within you." Alex sat back down after thinking about it a little longer than earlier. From what he had personally seen, wouldn't it be normal to think his artificial magic slots could be used? 

Though it also made Alex remember that if that was the case, then he wouldn't have been so easily captured by the crown prince. The ‘Lightning Attribute’ of one of his artificial magic slots had an anti-magic property that negated others, after all.

"Those are attributes I forced into my body through well... What a certain crazy girl told me was a so-called 'Body Refinement' technique." Arthur seemed to remember the companion he had made back then.

"You mean like a wuxia?" Alex raised a brow.

"What's that?" It was an unfamiliar word.

"...Nothing. What I mean is: You let yourself be struck by genuine lightning to gain the ‘Lightning Attribute’?"

"Looks like your fame as a scholar of magic isn't for show! That's right! It was training for survival! I also let the ‘Water Attribute’ refine my blood by meditating under a waterfall for a few days without rest, the ‘Fire Attribute’ seep into my muscles by surviving in a volcano, the ‘Wind Attribute’ temper my bones by staying in the eye of a strong storm until it stopped, and felt the pulse of the ‘Earth Attribute’ sink into my skin by meditating underground for a few months without food or sunlight." Arthur spoke proudly about his horrific experiences… as if they weren't as bad as he let on.

He sounded so unusually dramatical and unlike his normal self. Alex was sure he was trying to cover up the bad time he had back then. What kind of conviction did it take to do those crazy things?!

Even Alex's face couldn't help but change. Hearing what his friend had gone through over the time they were apart weighed heavily... Alex never understood what motivated his friend to the degree he would essentially torture himself just to gain power. 

He was unaware that this was just Arthur's nature.

The one so self-motivated he harmed his body...

Especially how Arthur was secretly like that even at a young age. The simpleton of a youth just didn't like bragging.., Others might have taken what the brawny youth said as a joke. However, Alex was the only one who truly believed each and every word of it… but also made a few connections to why his friend's conviction was so strong to other matters.

That 'matter' being the hatred he previously showed for the radiant sword Mirror Cult. They were a group of 'wolves in sheep clothing'. Alex was starting to feel more sure that his understanding of Arthur went up.

Alex was now more curious than ever about that cruel 'Anomaly' like himself. One who would give his friend such a painful ‘Body Refinement technique’ to train with. Who was this second naturally-born-half-breed? She seemed to be a researcher like him.

Was this girl too a ‘Magic Prodigy’?

"Take me to her. I want to meet this 'Anomaly'. You should've told me about this person before!"

"Sorry, bro! I forgot...! Let's go meet her!"