Little Spider

Knock, knock!

The sound of knocking echoed through the room, drawing the gaze of everyone in the classroom toward the door.

A somewhat bedraggled white teenager stood at the entrance, holding a skateboard in one hand and a camera in the other, looking sheepishly at the middle-aged male teacher on the podium.

"Peter, you're late again!"

The middle-aged teacher cast a sidelong glance at the boy, set his neatly organized lesson plan on the podium, and said in a calm, unimpressed tone, "And I believe I told you not to bring that skateboard into the classroom."

"Sorry, Mr. Pierce. I missed the bus. I'll put it in my locker as soon as class is over."

The white youth kept his head down, offering a sincere apology and repeating his regrets. Only after being lectured by Pierce for a few more moments did he look as if he'd been granted amnesty, scurrying back to his seat—which happened to be the empty one to the left of Lee Stein.

The main character had arrived.

Lee Stein cast a glance at the boy beside him.

Peter Parker, the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man of New York.

Judging by that down-and-out expression on his face, the plot clearly hadn't started yet. Right now, Peter Parker was nothing more than a total failure, a background character in class who went completely unnoticed.

Lee Stein casually cast the player's innate Scout skill, and the result was exactly as he had expected.

Name: Peter Parker

Strength: 5

Constitution: 8

Intelligence: 4

Spirit: 9

Perception attribute insufficient, unable to obtain further information.

These stats were absolute trash. His strength wasn't even as high as his own; in terms of combat power, he was probably only worth 5 geese. His intelligence was the only thing slightly higher, and that was only thanks to his parents' genetic legacy.

But then again, there's no point in comparing yourself to others—the guy was a second-generation science prodigy whose path had already been paved by his father.

As long as he got bitten by one of those genetically modified spiders at Oscorp, specifically engineered with Parker family DNA, all his stats—save for intelligence—would easily soar past forty.

"Who are you?"

Peter Parker felt a bit uneasy under Lee Stein's gaze and asked.

"Lee Stein, the new transfer student."

Lee Stein offered an apologetic smile and extended his hand to introduce himself.

"Oh, oh, nice to meet you. I'm Peter, Peter Parker!"

Peter Parker clearly wasn't very good at socializing; he shook hands hurriedly, wearing an awkward grin.

"Nice to meet you, Peter!"

Lee Stein didn't rush to build a friendship. He chatted for a few sentences, and once Pierce finished organizing his notes and announced the start of class, he sat up straight and focused.

[Notification: You have triggered a Daily Quest—Study.]

[Daily Quest—Study]:

Quest Brief: As a high school student, studying is the top priority in your current life. Please listen attentively for the duration of the scheduled class.

Quest Reward: General EXP +50/per session.

Just as Pierce announced the start of class, a quest notification popped up before Lee Stein's eyes.

However, Lee Stein only gave it a cursory glance and didn't pay it much mind.

Daily quests were issued based on the initial template. The student template's daily quests were relatively simple to complete; you basically just had to sit in the classroom to secure the reward, though the experience gained was correspondingly low.

High school in New York was much like university in China. The required courses were limited to English, Mathematics, Science, and Sociology, with only three or four classes a day. Each class was like a Blue Fox battery—one session was stronger than six—so once those four classes were done, the day was essentially over.

By that calculation, the daily quest only yielded 200 General EXP per day, which added up to less than a single attendance mission for the soldier template.

The upside, however, was that it was safe. After all, there was no such thing as respawning in this game; once you died, you had to start over from the beginning.

Time slipped away slowly as he focused on the lecture...

This was a science class, teaching only basic physics and chemistry knowledge, which, in truth, had little value for Lee Stein.

After all, his level of education was quite high both before and after his transmigration. Especially in this world, where highly advanced technology had led to more in-depth scientific education, these basics were already deeply ingrained in his mind.

Nevertheless, Lee Stein still listened very carefully. Good study habits were cultivated, and the greatest change brought about by the full-immersion virtual mode was that all knowledge transformed from rigid data on a panel into tangible, practical understanding.

This was why he chose the path of technology. Other powers required waiting for the achievement exchange system to open in the late game before they could be brought out of the game, but knowledge could never be lost from one's mind. Whatever he could achieve inside the game, he could achieve outside of it as well.

This game world, a fusion of various American comic book movies, was filled with black technology. But even if one obtained these technical documents, one first needed a solid enough foundation to actually understand them. Therefore, even if he had to force himself, Lee Stein had to make studying a habit.

[System Prompt: Daily Quest—Learning completed. Accumulated three class sessions, gained 150 General Experience points.]

[System Prompt: Through Pierce's instruction, you have gained Targeted Experience (Biochemistry Knowledge) +20, Targeted Experience (Physics Knowledge) +30. You have unlocked Knowledge: Biochemistry Knowledge; Knowledge: Physics Knowledge.]

[System Prompt: Through Pavala's instruction, you have gained Targeted Experience (Linguistics Knowledge) +35. You have unlocked Knowledge: Linguistics Knowledge.]

[System Prompt: Through..., you have gained Targeted Experience (Mathematics Knowledge) +30. You have unlocked Knowledge: Mathematics Knowledge.]

--Knowledge Panel--

Biochemistry Knowledge LV0: (20/100)

Physics Knowledge LV0: (30/100)

Linguistics Knowledge LV0: (35/100)

Mathematics Knowledge LV0: (30/100)

A whole day passed, and Li Si, who had been hopelessly immersed in his studies, only regained his senses when school ended, at which point he began reviewing the game system's notification logs.

There were only three classes today; 150 General Experience points and the four unlocked fields of knowledge were his total gains for the day.

Knowledge acts as a passive attribute that influences the outcomes of certain skills and quests. For instance, applying to certain companies may have knowledge requirements. Furthermore, the R&D skill inherent to the Scientist template relies on checks against various fields of knowledge to synthesize blueprints and research results.

Of course, this is only the effect under normal circumstances. After enabling Full-Dive Virtual Mode, everything leans closer to reality, and many system functions have been reduced or altered.

In Full-Dive Virtual Mode, knowledge is more of a manifestation of learning aptitude. For example, Biochemistry Knowledge enhances Li Si's ability to learn and research biology, chemistry, medicine, and related subjects; reaching LV1 would likely provide an increase of about ten percent.

This effect is somewhat similar to allocating points into the Intelligence attribute, but it is more targeted. While the Intelligence attribute provides a fundamental boost to brain function, this acts more like a specific percentage-based amplification.