Chapter 1: Dante Arashi
My name is Dante Arashi, a man of Japanese–American descent who chose a quiet life in a small village on the outskirts of Shizuoka Prefecture. The village was surrounded by bamboo groves and ancient pine trees that always seemed to whisper whenever the night wind passed through them.
One night, when the silence felt heavier than usual, I walked alone along the narrow path leading into the forest. The sky was dark and starless, with only the faint glow of the moon slipping through the gaps between the branches.
The damp air bit into my skin, carrying the scent of wet earth and slowly decaying leaves. Every step I took on the dry twigs sounded unnaturally loud, as if even nature itself was holding its breath.
I did not really know why I had wandered so far out at such an hour. Perhaps my head was simply too full of thoughts I could not quiet—unfinished work, a loneliness that gnawed at me, and a hollow feeling that came without any clear reason.
That night, I only wanted to escape from everything, to drown myself in the dark, cold stillness of the forest. Yet somehow, the atmosphere felt… different. Too quiet. Too still. As if I were being watched by something unseen.
As I stepped beneath the ancient trees, a large spider suddenly leapt down from a low branch and bit the back of my right hand. I froze, staring at the small red mark on my skin as its edges slowly began to darken.
The pain was nothing like an ordinary bite—heat surged swiftly into my veins, spreading like burning embers from within. I let out a faint groan, my breath catching as my body began to tremble.
Within seconds, the heat turned into a throbbing pressure inside my head. The world around me started to spin. My vision blurred, as if a thick fog were settling over my eyes.
I tried to step back, but my knees gave way, and my entire body collapsed onto the wet leaves. The last sound I heard was the chirping of crickets, slowly fading as my consciousness was swallowed by darkness.
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I had no idea how long I had been unconscious, but when I finally woke up, the world around me felt strange. I stared at the pale white ceiling above me, then at the clean, light-cream walls. Thin curtains swayed gently in the breeze, diffusing the soft light of the morning sun that filtered in through the window.
The sharp, sterile scent of the room immediately told me—I was not in a hospital, or anything like one. Yet something felt wrong. This room was unfamiliar… and at the same time, strangely as if I had seen it before. The sensation made my chest tighten.
I tried to sit up, but a sudden, piercing pain shot through my head like a blade of ice. I clutched my head with both hands, biting my lip as heat filled my eyes.
Then something even stranger happened—fragments of unfamiliar images flashed through my mind. Faces I did not recognize, voices speaking in English that sounded distant, and memories of places I had never been.
None of them were mine, yet somehow, those memories were trying to merge with my own. I let out a muffled cry, my body shaking violently, as if my brain were being forced to contain two lives at once.
When everything finally settled and my awareness slowly returned, I realized something that instantly sent a chill through my blood. A small mirror beside the bed reflected a face that… was not mine.
The man’s jawline was slightly different, his eyes were deeper, and his black hair was streaked with strands of white that stood out clearly. I stared at the reflection without blinking, my heart pounding wildly. Slowly, I began to understand what had happened. I… was no longer in my old body.
I had transmigrated.
This body belonged to someone else, yet strangely—the name attached to it was the same as mine: Dante Arashi. The difference was that this man lived in America. In a simple house in the heart of a large city, a place that felt foreign, yet filled with advanced technology.
My thoughts spun rapidly, trying to make sense of the impossible thing that had just happened. But before I could even process it all, my eyes caught something on the television screen in the room.
A large logo reading Stark Industries filled the morning news, followed by a report about a new energy experiment being conducted by Oscorp Industries, and not long after that, the name Hammer Industries appeared as well.
I froze.
Those names… they were only supposed to exist in movies and comics. In a fictional world.
A small laugh slipped from my lips—hysterical, laced with panic. “Damn it… this is insane… don’t tell me I—”
I looked around, half-expecting this to be a dream.
And then, at that very moment, a mechanical voice suddenly echoed directly inside my head.
[Spider-Man System Activated. Beginning initialization process.]
I fell completely silent, my body stiffening.
“W—what is this?” My voice came out hoarse, barely audible. My eyes darted around, as if trying to find the source of the voice, but there was no one. Just me, and the electronic echo reverberating inside my mind.
[Synchronization complete. Welcome, Master.]
I stood there, rooted in place.
“This… this is like the systems in web novels…” I muttered softly, caught between awe and fear. The voice was smooth, yet carried an authoritative tone, like a highly advanced digital assistant—but it felt… alive. I could feel its vibrations inside my head, as if the system were truly connected to my brain.
“No way…” I took a long breath, trying to steady myself. My heart was pounding wildly, my body chilled even as sweat began to trickle from my temples. I pressed my fingers to my forehead, forcing myself to think rationally, rejecting the insane logic flooding my mind.
I stared at my hands, which now felt slightly different—more muscular, veins standing out, yet still flexible. My heartbeat quickened.
“Alright, then… was it you who brought me to this world, System?” I asked quietly, my voice almost swallowed by the heavy silence. “And… where exactly is this? I mean… how did I end up here? Is all of this because I was bitten by that spider, and then suddenly pulled into this world and—somehow—given a system?”
There was no answer. Only a suffocating stillness, as if the room itself were holding its breath.
“… System!” I called again, my voice rising, trying to force a response.
“Hello, System?”
“Hey?”
“Yo?”
Damn it! I thought, my heart beating faster.
“Spider-Man System?”
Then I saw a line of blue text flickering in the air.
[Spider-Man System: Status. Mission. ???. ???. ???…]
I let out a long breath, frustration beginning to creep into my chest.
“Alright, it seems you’re not exactly a very responsive system… haaah,” I muttered, my voice rough from holding in the tension.
I leaned my body against the cold wall, my skin sticky with a thin layer of sweat, and began to think hard. “Let’s put this in order… That night, while I was walking in the forest, a spider bit me. I passed out. And when I woke up… I was here—in the Marvel world, maybe?”
I rubbed my chin, my fingers brushing against skin that still felt tight. My gaze went blank, fixed on the cream-colored wall in front of me as if searching for answers there. “But which Marvel? Is this the MCU…? Tony Stark in this world is clearly different. According to the memories of this body’s owner, Captain America isn’t Steve Rogers… it’s Captain Carter. My God… was I dragged into the What If universe?”
I stared up at the ceiling of the room, every detail standing out sharply in my vision—the small cracks in the paint, the faintly flickering light—but my thoughts were still spiraling out of control. “No… please don’t let that be the case.”
With a trace of hesitation, I tried calling the system again. “Alright… display my status.”
[Spider-Man System]
[Name: Dante Arashi]
[Earth: 76]
[Strength: E+]
[Speed: E+]
[Endurance: E+]
[Agility: E++]
[Reflexes: E++]
[Intelligence: E]
[Skills: Bio-Electrostatic Adhesion: 0 (0/10). Organic Webbing: 0 (0/10). Spider-Sense: 0 (0/10). Accelerated Healing Factor: 0 (0/10). Enhanced Immunity: 0 (0/10). Superhuman Balance: 0 (0/10).]
I stared at the transparent blue screen that had appeared in the air, its faint glow reflecting on my retinas, making my eyes sting slightly.