While talking, Ethan and Gwen quickly arrived at the classroom, took their seats one after the other, stopped chatting, and started class.
Not long into the lesson, Ethan suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over him—like a mix between a hangover, a high fever, and a roller coaster drop all at once.
The whole world was spinning.
The intense discomfort made it impossible for Ethan to focus, so he spent the entire morning slumped over his desk.
Gwen didn't say anything about it.
Listening in class—or sleeping—was a student's personal freedom. That was just part of the culture.
However, not everyone saw it that way.
Thompson, still bitter about the embarrassment from that morning, waited until Gwen had left the classroom. Then, he stormed over and reached out to slap the back of Ethan's head.
"I held back for Gwen this morning. You think I'd really just let you off, motherf—?"
Thompson didn't hold back this time. He was determined to teach Ethan a lesson, to remind him—and everyone else—who really ran this class. No, this entire school.
As he swung his hand down, a smirk appeared on Thompson's face.
In his head, he could already see it: Ethan collapsing to the floor, dazed and humiliated.
Smack!
A sharp sound echoed—but the expected impact never came.
Instead, pain shot through Thompson's wrist, as if it had been caught in a steel trap.
"Ah!"
The pain didn't make Thompson retreat—it only fueled his rage.
And when he looked up and saw that the hand gripping his wrist belonged to Ethan, his fury exploded.
"You little—!"
With his other hand, Thompson clenched a fist and swung it toward Ethan's head.
But just then—his vision blurred.
And the next thing he felt was a crushing force slamming into his chest.
Thud!
Thompson went flying backward across the classroom.
"What the hell… just happened?"
Thompson was utterly confused, and by the time he hit the ground and passed out, he still had no idea what had happened.
Everything had happened so fast that the nearby classmates were just as stunned.
All they saw was Thompson walk over, swing his arm—
—and then get thrown backward by some invisible force.
Was he faking it?
As for Ethan, he stretched his neck and stood up from his seat.
To everyone else, it looked like he had just spent the whole morning sleeping.
No one realized that, during that time, his body had undergone a dramatic transformation.
The spider that had appeared while he was taking a photo of Gwen—it really was the radioactive spider.
Now, his vision was no longer near-sighted.
His hearing had become razor sharp.
His muscles had developed, and his entire body was brimming with strength.
He'd even gained that legendary Spider-Sense—the instinct to detect danger before it happens.
Earlier, he had stayed down at his desk to recover from the exhaustion that came with the sudden transformation.
But when Thompson approached to strike, that instinct had kicked in.
That's how he managed to grab Thompson's wrist—and knock him flying with a single punch.
To everyone watching, it looked like something out of a fantasy.
But to Ethan's newly enhanced body, it felt as natural as breathing.
And speaking of breathing—Ethan suddenly realized he was starving.
Without even sparing a glance at Thompson on the floor, he turned and casually walked toward the cafeteria.
The transformation had drained his energy.
Right now, he felt like he could eat an entire cow.
As soon as Ethan left, the once-silent classroom burst into chatter.
"What just happened?"
"How did Flash get thrown? Did Ye Su hit him?"
"I didn't see anything. It looked like Flash just flew backward on his own."
"Flash, wake up!"
Under the pats from his lackeys, Thompson slowly came to.
"Flash, what happened? Did Ethan throw you? Did he use some kind of martial arts?
How do you feel? Do you feel nauseous? Anything hurt? Should we go to the nurse's office?"
"Get lost!"
Thompson rubbed his chest, stood up, and looked around angrily.
"Where's Ethan?"
Someone next to him raised a hand.
"He looked a bit pale; maybe he went to the nurse's office?"
Seeing Thompson head out, a few of his lackeys quickly followed.
"Flash, should we go mess with him? It was just an accident earlier, but if we all go at him together, we can definitely make him eat dirt!"
"Yeah, Flash, the nurse's office isn't that big. We can corner him in there, give him a beating,
and who cares about his so-called martial arts? We'll beat him so bad, even his mom won't recognize him."
"By then, we'll—"
"Enough!" Thompson shouted, cutting off his lackey's suggestion.
Although Thompson wasn't entirely sure what had happened earlier, there was definitely
something unusual about that kid. Even with the three of them going in together, he didn't feel confident.
So, he decided to let it go for now.
"I'm hungry. Let's go to the cafeteria."
In their little group, Thompson's word was law, so his lackeys fell silent, trailing behind him toward the cafeteria.
"Fine, we'll let him off for now, but sooner or later, he'll pay for his arrogance."
"Don't worry, Flash, there'll be a chance..."
As they chatted, they soon arrived at the cafeteria. The moment they walked in,
Thompson spotted Ethan sitting a short distance away, holding a tray of burgers and devouring them like he hadn't eaten in days.
"Wait... wasn't he supposed to be in the nurse's office?" Thompson asked instinctively,
a hint of unease crossing his face as if reminded of some unknown fear.
Suddenly, he didn't feel so hungry anymore.
But one of his lackeys pointed to a girl walking by with a tray, moving with an exaggerated strut as she prepared to pass by Ethan.
"Look, Flash, it's MJ!"
"MJ's looking fine today, Flash. You're one lucky guy!" another lackey couldn't help but praise.
The girl they called MJ had a slightly large face and looked average overall,
but her figure was anything but. Especially with her confident walk, she radiated a captivating energy that caught everyone's attention.
Thompson's face lit up with a sly smile, as though he was recalling something pleasant.
These high school students knew a lot, had plenty of practice,
so "happiness" wasn't just a fantasy—it was something very real.
As Thompson and his friends watched, MJ, in her confident strut, reached Ethan's table.
Suddenly, she stepped on a puddle, lost her balance, and fell backward.
For most guys, watching a beautiful girl stumble might be amusing—
but if it was your girlfriend, and something… unintended got exposed, it could be a real mess.
But Thompson was too far away to do anything. He could only watch helplessly.
At that moment, Ethan, who had been sitting and eating, somehow stood up—
—and caught MJ around the waist with one arm, steadying her mid-fall,
while his other hand reached out and deftly caught the food flying off her tray like he was performing a juggling act.
The onlookers were all stunned, but MJ, the person involved, was even more shocked—
she was so surprised, her legs nearly gave out.