“Attention to all townsfolk:

  With the first sign of spring, the bears of the nearby forest have begun to wake from their winter slumber. They may still be in a state of torpor, but that is not to say that they are docile. The long cold months have eaten away at their internal fat reserves, and they have awakened hungry, thus will be wandering the forest in search of food. While they wander, these creatures are to be considered a threat. They WILL eat you.

  Until the bears of the forest fully awake and satiate themselves, no individual is allowed to wander into the forest on their own, no matter how armed and armored they may be. Groups at least three members strong are allowed, as long as they are properly equipped to fight a bear.

  Due to their half-awake state, the bears cannot fully think and properly consider the best course of action in a fight. They will charge at the nearest or most recent threat, but change course if a new and more immediate target presents itself.

  Groups are advised to form a very wide circle around the bear and take turns attacking it with ranged weaponry. This should confuse the bear enough that it will not be able to select a target to attack. Iron nets are also recommended to hold an already wounded bear, though only two people here actually own one. And they already know how to handle a bear. If possible, please take one of them with you.”

  -Notice posted to the Rockfort Hamlet town center’s message board. Underneath the official looking document is a request for bear meat from a local farmer.

---

  Spiders ran about in absolute pandemonium. A ghastly set of fangs dove into the scrambling throng to make a meal out of whoever it could catch. And throughout it all, none of the overwhelmed arachnids seemed to realize that the safety of home was only a short distance away, not that it would have fit all of them in their enlarged non-baby forms.

  There was only one thing that could be done.

  [Command Subordinates]! Click called forth the Skill in their head. It was the first time they’d used an “active” ability, but doing so was as instinctual as breathing.

  Of the spiders clamoring around in the chaos of the predator’s sudden appearance, three of them quickly became rapt with attention.

  Wait, only three? The [Spider Commander] clicked their mandibles once. But it was a start.

  The three spiders they took control of were behind the quadrupedal attacker and out of its focus. Not having many options, Click commanded the trio to bite at the creature’s back-left leg with their venomous mandibles.

  Of course the venom didn’t kill the attacker, or even wound it for that matter. But it distracted it, enough so that the predator turned its head away from the spiders it was about to eat and towards the three that were trying to eat it instead. A quick kick threw them off and bought the spiders several seconds.

  Click realized that the three spiders thrown off were much too far away now to get back into the fight, especially without getting eaten now that they’d made an enemy out of the predator. So they decided to try again.

  [Command Subordinates]

  [Skill level up! Command Subordinates (2)]

  This time, four spiders in the middle of the throng came to attention. Click directed them to spin their webs around the predator’s other back paw in an attempt to trip it up.

  While the creature was taking count of the damage from the first attack by licking its left leg, the four spiders made their way to the large right leg and began to wrap their webbing around the paw. Some went around its shin like a rope, while others were matted into its fur, but all of them were anchored to the ground or other rocky features.

  The predator finally noticed what was going on and kicked its back right leg. The spiders were thrown off, but even worse, the webbing came loose without any kind of effort! Some of it stayed on, however, and the creature bit at it to get it out of its fur. Another few seconds were gained.

  So webs can work against it, but they’re not strong enough. Click regarded a small insect flying by, and then the predator in the distance. Maybe the web just needs to be big enough? But there’s not enough time to spin one up that’s big enough.

  Click’s mandibles opened in a smile as they looked down at where they were sitting, but then caught sight of some of the insects stuck on the massive web. The spider was overcome by a sudden wave of emotions and tried to find some sort of balance between them. Was the Click going to sacrifice their biggest source of food, or let this predator continue its wanton destruction?

  Instincts clashed, and emotions conflicted. The need for food stood tall, but the drive to live loomed taller. This predator was a threat to not just Click, but the whole spider tribe. The [Spider Commander] didn’t care too much for the others, especially with how they’d treated them so far, but both Click and the other spiders were still part of the same tribe. And that meant Click could control them with their Skill to make life easier. Click couldn’t just toss all of that away!

  At least, that was how the [Spider Commander] rationalized the instinct to protect and fight for the others.

  Now that Click knew what they needed to do, they had to figure out how to actually do it. The webbing attack brought up the idea that something big enough would be able to harm the predator, but Click wanted to confirm it.

  [Command Subordinates]

  [Command Subordinates]

  [Command Subordinates]

  [Skill level up! Command Subordinates (3)]

  The [Spider Commander] called forth the Skill three times in quick succession, and was even awarded a level up for the efforts. Each time, a small group of spiders stopped running and came to attention, and Click was able to tell which ones through instinct alone. The miniscule squadrons were immediately dispatched to the back left feet of the predator and instructed to bite down as hard as they could.

  The creature yowled as it quickly took a step forwards to avoid the dozen or so spiders crowding around its irritated leg. Thick, matted fur protected it from most of the bites, but enough was pulled out of the way, or outright pulled out, that at least one spider was able to have their fangs make contact with flesh.

  Click began to scurry out of the massive web and make their way to the safety of their white pillared home. It was still in full view of the attack and provided the perfect base of operations for directing the others. Once the [Spider Commander] was in the clear, they repeated the same process.

  [Command Subordinates]

  [Command Subordinates]

  [Command Subordinates]

  This time, fifteen spiders ran up to the webbed-up back leg and bit down hard. Another scream and another jump forward, this time slightly towards the right.

  Another repeat performance, and the predator was right next to the webbing.

  [Skill level up! Command Subordinates (4)]

  But Click hadn’t entirely focused on just moving the creature where they wanted it. The [Spider Commander] commanded another group of spiders to tie the webs together more tightly and even cut some of them down. As it was, the mega web was spread out thinly enough that if the predator were to jump through it, it might just break through and leave a giant hole instead of getting caught.

  So the small group of spiders worked together to cut the web loose at the ends and fold it in on itself until it was at least three times as thick. With a little bit of additional reinforcement, the final net was done.

  [Skill level up! Command Subordinates (5)]

  Click just needed everything in the right place. With a few more calls to [Command Subordinates], they were.

  And… now! Cut and drop! Click screamed the instructions in their head alongside the Skill’s activation, and the other spiders followed through perfectly.

  [Skill level up! Command Subordinates (6)]

  The net fell right where the predator was, and fully enveloped the massive creature, binding its legs together as the entire monster went tumbling to the ground in one final yelp.

  Click jumped up and down in excitement, and ran over to inspect what was now their prey. The [Spider Commander] opened their mandibles in a facsimile of a smile, and the other spiders followed along, even them realizing what just happened.

  But what happened next made Click feel something brand new; self-loathing.

  The predator pulled at the webbing several times, and after one particularly forceful tug, managed to break free. It let out an angry scream and began to stomp at the spiders around it, no longer interested in sating its belly. It just wanted to sate its rage.

  Several flying paws missed Click by mere inches, and the spider tried to withdraw whoever it could to their home as a last-ditch effort to save the tribe, but their Skill wasn’t working properly.

  [Command Subordinates]

  Only a single spider came to attention, rather than the nine or so that Click expected.

  [Command Subordinates]

  [Command Subordinates]

  Nothing. None of the other spiders even bothered to look at Click.

  What’s happening?! Is it stress from the attack? Or maybe I exhausted myself? I don’t feel tired, but the Skill might run on something that I can’t see or feel, and it’s currently petered out.

  Click let their mandibles fall, and turned around to escape back to their home. The rest of the web spiders might’ve been done for, but at least the [Spider Commander] could save themselves. Even if they wanted to try and pull some of their brethren along with them to safety. It hurt.

  But before Click could move any more than an inch, something stopped them.

  A loud yowl from the predator rang out, not one of rage, but of pain. Click faced the creature again and saw an incomparable sight. A massive spider, larger than all of the other ones there, was on the predator’s back and biting down with enormous fangs that dripped with toxic neon blue.

  Several other spiders, also juveniles but different from the ones previously getting eaten, jumped up alongside it and bit down onto the predator, making it reel back even more. Within moments, it was quickly overpowered and fell back down to the ground. The bites didn’t stop, and the pitiful thing soon stopped screaming, and then moving. It was dead.

  The rest of the spiders began to cheer as the largest of the group jumped down and made their way towards Click.

  What was that? The [Spider Commander] thought frantically. Then they remembered that they had another Skill from their most recent transformation.

  [Observation]

  [System Query: Observation]

  [Listing Results (1/1): Class Overview]

  WHAT?!

  Click was without words, and not just because he didn’t know any.

  57 Body?! This was a god amongst spiders, the absolute apex of physical ability among us! Almost all of its Skills are ridiculously high-leveled, and Command Subordinates? That jerk stole my Skill!

  Well, they probably hadn’t, but Click had found an evolutionary branch that offered it, and took it against everything their instincts told them. It was their gift! But what kind of evolutions did it have to go through to get something like that?

  The massive spider walked over and stopped right before Click. The two looked each other in the eyes, and the [Spider Commander] could feel a sense of familiarity.

  The other spider shoved them out of the way and slowly walked over to their home with a large group of smaller spiders on its tail. All to fawn over their savior, no doubt.

  Click remembered where they’d met. That was the physically gifted spider that stole their food earlier by jumping and grabbing flies out of the air like nobody’s business, and had done so to what Click was chasing earlier before the [Spider Commander] switched to spinning webs. And now that jerk was apparently in charge…