Revenge? Click didn’t have time for it. The spider most certainly wanted to take part in it, but with almost the entire tribe dead and their home now a smoldering ruin, Click had slightly more pressing matters to attend to. Such as not starving to death, or finding safety from whatever monsters also survived the adventurers’ wrath. Even the [Spider Army Commander] was smart enough to not weigh their feelings above not dying.
A day had passed, and the arachnid survivors of the Dungeon massacre set themselves up on the ceiling of the cavern. With almost all of the bats also killed off, there was plenty of free real-estate available, but there was one small problem.
Where are all the flies?! Click shouted to themselves in frustration. The nascent mega-web the spider sat in, besides the few other spiders who called it home, was almost completely white. A [Bruiser Spider] trundled over to a black speck and stuck their mandibles into it. They didn’t even bother to chew the morsel as they tossed it into their mouth and swallowed it whole. It looked unsatisfied.
Click relaxed their legs and began to curl up, the Spider equivalent of a sigh. We don’t have any choice then. Time for a hunting trip.
The others could feel the shift in their leader and immediately brightened up.
Don’t get your hopes up, I’m not bringing a crowd down just to get us all killed again. Click called forth their Skill, [Command Subordinates] and pointed out several of the smallest spiders, mostly [Shadow Spiders] and [Webslinger Spiders], with a single [Bruiser Spider] to carry back their food.
The others looked back at their leader with disappointment, but they didn’t do much.
[Command Subordinates]. Wait here, don’t pick any fights, and we’ll bring you back plenty to eat.
That made the others light up.
Click and the rest of the chosen party then departed the web, slowly crawling down the side of the cave until they made it behind several rocks. There were no webs to make their descent any easier, as any new ones would have alerted the intruders.
The [Spider Army Commander] wasn’t scared that the others would pick a fight with them either. After the disaster that was yesterday, a blanket of melancholy fell upon all of the spiders, even the less intelligent ones. It was as if a brand new instinct grabbed at them, one that rather than grabbing their reins, simply pervaded every aspect of their existence like a choking miasma.
When the call of the Raid came today, still with fifty or so notifications, the spiders weren’t as excited to jump into action. It made wrangling them easier, and Click was confident that their Skill would keep them under control for an extended period of time. But the lead spider felt this was too good to be true, and there was more to it.
Click put the feeling beside and began to make their way between rocks and stalagmites alongside their stealthy brethren, careful to avoid the wandering gazes of any intruders. All the while, the spiders took the opportunity to grab at any flies they passed by. With the death of so many monsters, there were bound to be plenty of the insects flying around soon enough, but everyone needed to eat now.
“So what happened to those three from yesterday?” asked a passing adventurer. Her eyes drooped as her head turned on a slow swivel. “We’re taking their job after all, I’d like to know why.”
“I overheard one of the villagers this morning,” began another adventurer. His gaze was more sharp as his eyes darted all around the cave, yet still missing Click. “The venom was pretty bad, so they’re still recovering. They’ll probably be bedridden for another month unless they find a really good healer.”
“Are there even any healers out here? Maybe a herbalist or something, but I doubt they’d be as good.”
“It’s not like they could afford it anyway, especially since they gave that Dungeon Ossium or whatever up to that family.” His lips curled up into a sneer.
“Yeah, really dumb move,” the other adventurer scoffed.
Click didn’t know what the two were talking about, but something about their tone rubbed them the wrong way. It was careless, irreverent, and just downright annoying. Like the intruders that attacked the spiders’ home yesterday. The spider didn’t want to spend more time around them and continued past. If Click didn’t, they would’ve attacked.
Eventually, the hunting party reached the edge of the cave, and the corridor that led to some new, unknown place. Many of the intruders were going there, and for all Click knew, there would be new food down there. Bigger, juicier, and more experience-producing. The intruders had dragged out the monsters they’d killed out of the cavern and done who knew what, so that was one would-be easy meal off the menu. The next best hope of a big and easy meal was down there.
The spider shook their head. Of course, that was all speculation, and wasn’t likely true. But with everything that had happened, the [Spider Army Commander] was beginning to feel like there wasn’t as much to lose. While melancholy ruled most of their mind, curiosity was able to take control of what was left and guided Click past the trap and down into the second floor of the Dungeon.
It was… pretty much the same. The same rocks, in both color and size, the same scattering of stalagmites, and…
“Hwoooreee!!!” came a screech from the distance.
Click and the other spiders ran to the nearest wall and began to climb until they were perched halfway to the ceiling.
Below them, a group of strange creatures that looked similar to the predators, howled as they charged at four intruders. The creatures walked with four legs and were covered in a thick, matted fur, yet they had snouts that tapered off into a flat nose with two holes, with a pair of sharp tusks that came up to either side of the protruding structure.
[Observation] Click called out the Skill in their head.
Dungeon Boar (Level 10)
Name: N/A
Soul Link: Rockfort Hamlet Dungeon Core Ṁ̶̡̄̒͜o̷͚͍̊͒̃̓̿ǰ̵̧̢̭̫̪a̷͇̋̿̿̽͘ ̵̨̛̥͎͉́̋̈͘D̵̝̭͇̓̎̅ȋ̷̯͔̤̑͋̑t̴̛͉͈̟̽̑͑h̸̪̲̩̗̀̉̃͝͠ä̵͕̼̠́̊̓̕b̴̗͕̏͊̂̓̚ä̷̡̰̱͕̒̌̋
Classes: N/A
Type
Prerequisite
Species
Juvenile Dungeon Boar
Statistic
Amount
Health Points
35
Body
25
Intellect
11
Soul
15
Skill Name
Level
Description
Running Charge
9
Increase speed when moving in a straight, unobstructed line
Scent Tracking
23
Track a target by its scent over great distances and amongst other scents.
Iron Fangs
15
Teeth are reinforced to be harder and sharper. Can regrow chipped or damaged teeth.
Click saw that it was an adult version of its evolution chain, at least according to the evolutionary structure that the other monsters followed, and even recognized two out of those three Skills. [Scent Tracking] was interesting, but it likely didn’t have much use beyond finding prey.
“Come on, right over here!” came a shout from where the [Dungeon Boar] was facing.
Click and the porcine monster both looked towards its source and saw an adventurer taunting the boar on. It didn’t give a second thought before running at him.
“Too slow!” the intruder shouted before quickly juking to the side. “Try again!”
The monster took the challenge and ran once more, only for the adventurer to jump out of the way.
What’s this idiot doing? If this intruder is as strong as the ones from yesterday, he should be able to kill the [Dungeon Boar] easily. Click stared on with a frustrated expression as the man continued to jump and dive out of the way of the monster’s useless attacks.
Frustration soon turned to disappointment at both of the parties, and finally rage as the adventurer’s taunts had a second-hand effect. Just stab that idiot with your tusks already!
Click had to control themselves from jumping down into the battle and biting the intruder or having the other spiders weave a web to trip him up. The [Spider Army Commander] wasn’t foolish enough to pull off a suicide attack or get the adventurers’ attention, but they had to exert more self-control than usual to stop themselves.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Wait a minute… [Observation]
Click focused the Skill on the intruder and was greeted with a slightly different menu than expected.
Skill Name
Level
Description
Dodge
16
Avoid enemy attacks with a swift movement at the last moment.
Sneak
14
Shadows and obstacles better conceal sight and sound from others.
Shadow Travel
12
Move much more quickly while concealed in darkness or shadow.
Critical Strike
3
When the enemy is unaware, deal additional damage to weak points.
The adventurer quickly looked at a ring on their hand before focusing back on the battle before them.
Only a Skill list? And the way they looked at their ring right as I used the Skill… maybe it’s supposed to warn about or stop [Observation]? Maybe it stops me from getting their attributes, but they’re not actively disallowing me from reading them, so I’m still able to get their Skills? Makes sense, these fools only know how to swing their weapons around and pick fights, they probably don’t have a brain!
Click clamped down on their thoughts, forcing their rage under control once more. It was the third time that happened today. And it wasn’t as if it was some sort of [Taunt] Skill, the [Spider Army Commander]’s anger was caused by their own sensibilities.
As much as Click wanted to seek vengeance, and knowing that even trying was to invite death, the spider just hated that they had to keep looking at these horrible intruders. And their brand new idiocy didn’t help either.
“And there we go, level ups all over!” the adventurer cheered.
Click didn’t know what they said, but could understand the joy in their voice. Either that, or it was some sort of battle cry. [Observation].
Skill Name
Level
Description
Dodge
17
Avoid enemy attacks with a swift movement at the last moment.
Sneak
14
Shadows and obstacles better conceal sight and sound from others.
Shadow Travel
13
Move much more quickly while concealed in darkness or shadow.
Critical Strike
3
When the enemy is unaware, deal additional damage to weak points.
[Dodge] and [Shadow Travel], huh? They went up. Maybe that was what the intruder was trying to do, after all?
“Hey Felix, want to finish this up?” came a higher pitched voice from further into the cave. “I’ve got my own Skills I want to level.”
“Yeah, sure!” the dodging adventurer answered. “Hey everyone, guide your boars to the center!”
A few more squeals could be heard from just a bit further in the cave, and a few more lithely dressed adventurers with their own [Dungeon Boar] escorts ran towards a central point. The boars, hot on their trails, continued their charge until they were all within a few feet of each other.
At first, Click was sure the intruders were trying to guide the monsters into impaling each other with their tusks, but the beasts proved too smart for that, and slowed to a trot as they got close. But before any of the [Dungeon Boars] could break out of their little group in another charge, the adventurers disappeared.
The monsters looked around in confusion before sticking their noses up into the air and sniffing around.
Crack
A small, clear colored and hollow vessel containing a brown-colored liquid sailed through the air from the hands of another adventurer and shattered as it hit the floor. The liquid inside spilled forth, and as soon as the [Dungeon Boars] took their next whiff, they froze.
“Hwoooreee!!!” they all screamed as they began to charge in whichever direction.
The air from the site of the attack wafted over and Click could smell something terrible in it. The boars down on the ground could too, apparently, and it was much worse for them for some reason…
It’s [Scent Tracking]! Click shouted to themselves in surprise. Those intruders used it against them as a weapon!
The [Dungeon Boars] began to run around in circles, heedless of their surroundings or each other, and certainly not of the adventurers who jumped out and began to attack.
A series of quick stabs at vital spots put the creatures down quickly and the intruders began to cheer.
“And there’s another level up for [Critical Strike]! Can’t believe I only got it yesterday too!”
The intruders patted themselves on the back a little bit more before heading further into the cavern. With the way clear, Click and the other spiders descended from their spots on the wall and ran over to the slain [Dungeon Boars] to feast.
As the [Spider Army Commander] finally filled their stomach and eased the worst of their anger, their old rage was slowly replaced with something brand new.
How did they do that?! Click excitedly thought to themselves. Those intruders had a plan laid out and executed it perfectly! None of them seemed to be using [Command Subordinates], since they were acting all the same the entire time, it’s as if they were instructed well before they entered the dungeon.
What Click felt was akin to curiosity, but there was more to it. Excitement, joy, and wonder filled their mind as they continued to think about the strange intruders.
Those strange noises they were making, maybe they had meaning in them with how complex they were? Could they have used it to communicate?
Another bite, another bit of rage subsided, and another thought.
And that stink! What was that item that was holding it? I’ve never seen anything like it, did they make it? I doubt they have the natural biology to do it, like we do for webs, so maybe they found it lying around? No, it was too precise. Just like our webs, they must have made it somehow. But did one of them make it? Spiders have hunters and web weavers, maybe they have members who only craft things for their hunters? But how did they make it, I can’t even begin to imagine how!
Thoughts and ideas continued to flood Click’s mind, and the feeling of awe for these strange intruders began to rise. If Click could harness that power, then the spider tribe would be unstoppable! Almost all of the anger from before had evaporated, or rather transformed into a desire to learn. Learn their strength and apply it, so that they may never harm Click or the tribe again.
[Prerequisites acquired for Evolution]
[Evolution acquired for Class]
[Error: Class incompatible with Monster]
[Error: Monster incompatible w̴̡̡̙̱̝͈̻͖̲̱̗̞̱̩̪̜̻͚̰̳̮̔́͘̕͜͠į̶̢̡̢̛̟̠̼͖͖̯͇̮̥̪̮̙̲̱̜̩̰̬͔̯̪͙͎̱͍͓̙͔͍̩̖̹̰͇̼̩̯͉͎͒̀̓͗̓͒͒̎̕ͅͅţ̷̢͈̱͕͉͎͚̜̘̱͉̻̩͎̘͓̙̮̘̦͍̰̪̰̪̩̯͚͙̙͙̮͚̞͉̺͇̗̜͕̟̙̈͗̂͂̀́̊̒̐͘̚͝h̵̡̢̢̨̧̨̡̢̧̬̤͓͚̝̮̫͓̦̗̳̫̲̭̩̘̹̭̦̘̭̪͔̜̟͓̤̪̭͖̼̜͕͈̠̻̞̬̹̎̚ͅ Class]
[Error Monster incompatible with Monster]
[Error: Soul Link incompatible with S̵̡̝̖̬͔̤̪̜̝̳͔̮̭̫͖̰̝͎̩̺̱̀̐͑̃̈́̋̍̌̓̊͊͛̉͗̌͗͂̏͛̎̃̎̌̑̓̇͘̚̕͘͝͝͠͝͠͠͝͝ͅơ̵̡̡̧͈̙͉͔̥̭͔̪̤̣̹͕͕̻̲̙̥̯̮̺̙͈̻̱̞̪͍̣̟̻̩̳̬̤̺̟̦̝̫̮͉̭̣̟͑̒̈́̆̈̈́̎̑́͛̒͛̕̚͜͜͝͠ͅū̶̹͍͔̥̮̜̘̪̳̮̊̔̿̎́̄̋̓̽̈́̑̈̃͐̇̕̕͘̚͜͠͝l̵̡̛͙̩̣̤̖̻͎͍̥̺͓̫̥̜̤͕͚̦̞͓̭͈̇̒̑͐̓̐̀̓͐͋́̿̓̇̿̅͋̊̀͐̕͝͠͠ͅ]
Ȩ̵̨̧̢̢̟̪̻̬̝̩̙̭̠͚̫̖͚̟̩̦̹͉̫̰̙͇̼͎̪̣̼̪̟̠̲̬̝͍͎̫̼̬͕͂̆̈́͐͛͛̓̌̊̔͋̋̑̂̇̆̉̅̉̕̚͘͜͜r̵̡̗̙̣͔̬͍̳̯̝̦̙̼̣̦̩̊̌̒̎̌̂̈͒̀̓̈̿̾̀̔̚͜ͅr̷̨̢̡̡̧̨̢̡̨̛̛̫̯̹̬̫͇̲̦̯̫͚̬̭͔͓̤̣͕̝̱̯̙̻̘̟̭͙̽̋͊́̊͌̒̽̍̔̓́̅͐̄̈̉̂̓̀͑̓̏̄̉̋́̚͘͘͘͜͜͠͠ͅŏ̴̢̨̖͓͓̹̜͓̟̙̃́̔̽͐̔̉̾̋̐͋̄̑̾͂̏͘͜͝ŗ̷̗̤͉̞͍̲̟͔̬̩͕̥̇͑̃̔͐͒̚
…
…
Click was beginning to feel dizzy, and had to stop themselves from vomiting their meal.
…
[Prerequisite Achieved! Unlocked Class: Anthropologist]
[Skill Obtained: Decipher Language]
That… was weird.
Click didn’t know what happened, but felt something strange happen within them. After having filled themselves on [Dungeon Boar], the spider instructed the [Spider Bruiser] to carry over some leftovers back to the other survivors.
Thankfully, they didn’t encounter any of the intruders along the way, and were able to easily avoid the two who were guarding the first floor with minimal effort.
“Man, I wish we could find some good treasure up here. Do you think there are any other corpses around?” asked one of the guards.
The other one looked over to their partner and glared at them. “Don’t even think about it, Brimir will turn your head into a smear on the wall before you even get halfway through my hit points.”
“Woah, I wasn’t thinking anything!”
“Sure you weren’t. And even if you did, you’d have to wait like a year before my bones would transform.”
Click scoffed again as they passed the two by. If those idiots actually do try to kill each other, then it would make my life easier. Maybe I should do something to tempt them along?
The [Spider Army Commander] stopped in place and opened their eyes wide. Wait, how did I know they were talking about killing each other?
[Skill level up! Decipher Language (2)]
[Class level up! Anthropologist (2)]
So the brand new Skill already had some use! Click was happy for that as well, but they still didn’t understand what this “Class” was. Asking the System didn’t give any more information on it either, so the spider was still in the dark.
Whatever, it didn’t get in the way of their ability to lead the spiders and survive, so the spider wasn’t put off by it.
Soon enough, Click was back in their makeshift web and called forth their Skill to alert the others still stationed there.
[Command Subordinates]. Food is here, come eat!
The lead spider waited for several seconds, but nobody came to meet them. The other spiders looked around in confusion before deciding to follow Click’s command and dig into the food they brought back.
Click quickly commanded them to stop and wait for the others, which they hesitantly followed, but even after another minute nobody appeared.
What’s going on, where is everyone? Click began to explore the mega web in impatience and soon found the answer.
In a dark corner of the web, a small basket was woven together that held the corpses of the remaining spiders. And among them was a pile of eggs. The same kind of eggs that Click and the other spiders first hatched out of.
They mated! I told them to stay here and not pick a fight, so they decided to mate and lay eggs instead! I can’t say I blame them, but WHY ARE THEY ALL DEAD?!
The concept of mating existed within Click’s mind, in which they could pair up with any other [Dungeon Spider] variant. The process was supposed to feel good, and produced eggs that would hatch into new baby spiders, but it didn’t say anything about dying!
But in hindsight, that made sense. If that instinct did come with such a warning, then it would conflict with their need for survival, and they would never make new spiders. But why did they choose now to do it, instead of any other time?
Click figured it out in an instant. It’s because the entire tribe’s almost dead. It must be a new instinct! Everyone’s been feeling weird recently. But after seeing these eggs, I’m starting to feel a little bit better. A little happy. This tribe isn’t dead, and we’ll rise back!
The cloud of melancholy began to lift from Click, as well as the others. But with this newfound hope, old habits and instincts returned.
The other spiders immediately jumped or ran out of the web, making a bee-line for the two intruders patrolling the cavern floor.
No! [Command Subordinates]! Get back here, you idiots!