The spider wasn't a complex creature. It ate, slept, served its mistress, and killed those that threatened the brood and its kin. Just like any other spider.

It was a simple yet fulfilling life.

Then its mistress died. She was challenged, declared war! ...and she lost. Now the brood served an oppressor, a false queen.

It hated the fact.

Fleeing was its only option. It didn't feel bad about it, though. It had a task to fulfill! It was special; Chosen by the late mistress herself!

"Protect this egg, little one. Protect it with your life. If I fall in battle, follow my descendant and keep her safe. I won't let my brood fall to the wrong hands."

That was the final order it received from its mistress. Her last wish. That egg housed a new Brood-Mother, the future of the brood! And the spider was ready to sacrifice itself for her if needed.

It didn't understand the passage of time well, as it could see neither the sun nor the moon. It spent its entire life in this cave system, after all. It did know, however, that it had to fill its belly twice since receiving the prestigious task.

Soon.

Its new mistress would hatch very soon.

Now the spider scuttled through tight, maze-like passages in search of food. It was rather hungry, but it wouldn't let itself be consumed by it. One had to be patient to become a good hunter, and regardless, the spider was still far from turning feral.

It soon spotted a bunch of napping Cave Bats in one of the side-caverns. Nasty critters, but the spider clicked its mandibles with joy nonetheless. They might be dangerous in groups, but the spider was higher on the food chain, after all. The bats were easy prey to the arachnoid hunter.

The spider crept closer to the unsuspecting beasts. It avoided making noise as much as possible, carefully stepping through the labyrinth of pebbles and gravel. Not an easy task, but the spider was experienced. When it was close enough, the arachnoid curved its abdomen over its head and pointed the spinnerets on the tip towards the sleeping animals, taking aim, lining up the distance and angle.

The following shot didn't make much noise either.

The unlucky bat fell to the ground with a loud *thud*, shrieking in surprise and fear. When his comrades saw the culprit, they scattered towards the tunnels leading further inside the cave system. Their brother was already gone. Nobody messed with Ardent Orbweavers and lived to screech the tale.

The bat thrashed and flailed on the floor, trying to free himself from the webbings binding his wings, but it was for naught; Poor bastard just wasn't powerful enough.

The victor approached its quarry at a leisurely pace, victory already secured. It observed its prey, enjoying the way it struggled. When it had enough, it sunk its poisonous fangs into the creature, silencing it for good.

Then it screeched in victory. A dreadful, ear-piercing scream.

Now was time to feast!

Unlike other spiders, Ardent Orbweavers didn't liquefy their prey. What they liked the most was meat, no matter the source. They used their mandibles and the sharpened tips of their feet to cut the flesh apart and then consumed the smaller portions separately.

Bugs weren't high on their list of favorite foods.

Most insects were either too little to provide enough nutrients or way too big; Getting through the carapace of Warrior Ants wasn't worth the time it would take. Not to mention the danger of hunting such a foe. Even though Cave Bats weren't the tastiest of meals, they at least provided a quick snack to the eight-legged hunter.

Then, just as it was concluding its meal, it felt a familiar tug at the back of its consciousness. A tug that was lost since its mistress fell in battle.

Finally! Such a delightful feeling! It reveled in the sensation of belonging, welcoming the existence of a higher mind guiding it. Then it remembered its task. It had to protect the new Brood-Mother, and they were separated now. She might be in danger.

The spider knew about the bear carcass its late mistress left for her daughter. It was forbidden from touching it, as every newborn needed enough food to get through their first hunger lest they turn feral.

Nonetheless, the spider still needed to get to its new mistress as soon as possible. It couldn't leave her unguarded, in danger of being found by the false queen.

So it ran. It ran with confidence. It had someone to protect again, someone to serve.

And this time, it wouldn't fail.

<--->

My conversation with Helix served as a wake-up call. I still didn't know where I actually was or what to do next. Hell, I was yet to grasp the knowledge of walking!

Step by step Elion, walking first. You can figure out the rest later.

It took me a while until I finally learned how to hold my balance properly. Stupid legs had two knees each! I could stand now without falling, at least, but when I tried taking a step, I lost control and fell on my backside yet again.

"To hell with this!"

I pondered just dragging myself on the ground with the use of my front legs, but eventually decided against it. That wouldn't benefit me in the long run, and it would look dumb anyway.

Fuck spider anatomy! Should have paid more attention during biology lessons...

Still, I had no time to complain. Practice makes perfect, after all. Each time I fell, I remembered what I did wrong and tried again. And again. Soon, after about half an hour, I could finally take my first shaky steps without falling. Running was still beyond me. Nevertheless, I was quite happy with my progress.

Then I heard it. The sound of tiny legs tapping on the stone ground coming from a shaft close to egg I 'hatched' out off. I started panicking again for the second time today.

I'm not ready to confront anything yet! What happens when I die? NPCs don't respawn!

I had to hide, but when I looked around, I couldn't see a single good hiding spot.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Curse this body! Why does it have to be this huge?

And so I moved as far away from the opening as I could. Dying again wasn't part of my plans.

At least I can put some space between me and the creature!

I put my abdomen against the wall and waited. The thing that crawled out of the opening looked utterly terrifying. The eight-legged creature still had blood dripping down its mandibles for fuck sake! And yet... I felt a strange kinship with the arachnoid monster.

It didn't approach, just... stayed near the entrance and observed me with its numerous eyes. I noted it had the same coloring as I did, but was only half my size.

Seconds felt like minutes as we scrutinized each other, unmoving, silent except for the sound of bloody droplets tapping the ground.

I felt it then. It beckoned me, tugged at my consciousness. It wanted to be let inside.

Such a pleasant feeling...

I couldn't explain it, but I just knew it was coming from the spider in front of me.

Something primal inside me wanted me to accept. It kept assuring me that it was the natural thing to do.

And yet I felt wary of it. It wasn't natural, as my senses kept telling me. It was an alien feeling, something I haven't encountered in my entire life. I didn't trust it.

The spider tilted its head a bit. It looked like it didn't comprehend what I was so indecisive about. A strange combination of cute and horrifying.

I eventually decided to heed my instincts and embraced the beckoning. Something nestled into a small, metaphorical compartment at the back of my mind. It pulsated with life separate from my own, yet interwoven with mine to the very core.

You unlocked a new skill! Dominate - beginner 1 Cost: Nothing Number of targets: 1 Willing or otherwise, you managed to [Dominate] a living creature of your own race! As a [Brood-Lord], you're now able to add other members of your species to your brood. The chance of success depends on the willingness and level of the target, plus your skill level. The effect of [Dominate] can only be broken by the death of the caster or by another possessor of the [Dominate] skill. Higher levels increase the number of targets.

I stared at the window in disbelief.

I 'dominated' that spider?! And it just let me?

There was one more thing I had to do. I immediately opened the description of my class.

Class: Brood-Lord Prerequisites: Inborn A male variant of the [Brood-Queen] class. Exclusive to arachnoid species, these semi-humanoid creatures possess the ability to dominate and control weaker members of their species, adding them to their brood. Only the [Brood-Mother] and the [Brood-Queen] class can give birth to Brood-Lords. Brood-Lords can't lay eggs, unlike their female variant, but they gain a more effective [Dominate] skill. Brood-Lords are immune to mind-altering effects and skills.

…

You're kidding, right?

That sounds like an amazing class!

I closed the description window and glanced at the spider. It was doing some kind of a victory dance? Intimidation technique? It raised its front legs and used the rest to skip from left to right in place, letting out an almost silent hiss. I really couldn't tell.

It looked intimidating to me.

Contrary to what I saw, I sensed positive energy radiating from the little space the spider occupied in the back of my consciousness. So maybe it really was just a messed up way of celebrating something?

Spiders are creepy...

Then again, I also belong to that group now.

Strangely, it didn't feel violating having another being inside my brain.

"Hey... Spider? Can you come closer?"

It stopped with its gimmick and scuttled towards me at a quick pace. At first, I was spooked a little, but when it stopped just a meter in front of me without attacking, I relaxed my posture.

I decided to experiment with my newfound power.

"Jump!"

The spider did a little hop.

"Ok, what about..."

I lowered my body to pick a fairly large rock from the ground, weighing it in my hand.

Good enough.

I threw it across the cavern.

"Fetch!"

The spider spun around and darted after the projectile faster than I thought possible. It returned shortly after, holding the rock awkwardly between its mandibles.

"Good boy!"

I tapped the head of my minion with my front leg clumsily, not wanting to touch it with my own hands just yet. It looked quite pleased with itself.

What do you know? Spiders can look smug. But just how strong is this little devil?

I remembered I had an inspect skill from when I looked over my status screen. Already possessing the knowledge on how to use it, I focused on the spider and thought.

Inspect!

Name: Ardent Orbweaver Level: 7 Traits: Arachnoid, Monster, Brood (Elion, worker)

Well, level 7 isn't really that high, but it's still better than my measly level 1. The difference of sixty attribute points is nothing to scoff at, to say the least. And it's a worker spider? Do different kinds exist?

It was the same species I was, and yet there were considerable differences between us.

Questions for another day.

All in all, I was quite happy with my new servant. Even if it wasn't exactly pleasing to the eye.

"I should probably name you something, right?"

The creature stayed silent, still holding on to the stone I tossed across the cavern.

"…you can drop that already."

Not much intelligence, but at least it listens to the point. Now for the name…

I didn't want to just call it 'hey you' or 'hey spider', but I was terrible at naming stuff.

What about… Scuttler? Sounds dumb. Maybe Webster? Itsy Bitsy?

"Fuck it, from now on you're Timothy. In honor of my dog from home. You kinda act like him anyway."

I just hope you don't molt as much hair as he did… Do spiders even lose hair?

"So, where did you come from buddy?"

I asked my new companion. He looked at me quizzically, then moved towards the tunnel he came out off earlier.

"Sure, lead the way… somewhere safe, ok?"

Timothy didn't respond, so I could only hope he wasn't guiding me to my certain death.

<--->

Brood-Mother Nal'Shar laid in her personal chamber, surrounded by her elite guard. She was wounded and resting.

The battle with a rival Brood-Mother took its toll on Nal'Shar and her brood. Crimson Widows hated Ardent Orbweavers with passion, so the conflict was unavoidable.

She won, but at a great cost. As a result, she was forced to dominate the few enemy troops that survived, instead of slaughtering them. Too many of her children died that day, and a new generation was yet to hatch. She needed to fill the hole in her ranks somehow, and this was the only solution she could think of.

It was a poor solution, but she didn't have a choice.

If she left herself open to attacks, others would take the chance to end her right here, right now, while she was vulnerable. There were always territory disputes, even among the Crimson Widows.

Nal'Shar could feel the Orbweavers resisting her domination. They were subjected against their will. It was a given they would fight the connection with a foreign entity.

And yet, Nal'Shar believed she could control them. She was sure that this was the last surviving Brood-Mother of the Ardent Orbweavers, and so she didn't need to fear an uprising.

If only she realized just how wrong she was.