Go.

  It wasn’t an instruction Click had given, but all of the spiders followed it with just as much veracity as they would show for one given through [Command Subordinates]. No hunter of the tribe was immune to it. Not even Click.

  The spiders all rushed towards the source of the loud noise, following a vertical sliver of light coming from that direction that guided their way. Nothing other than raw desire filled their minds; they were slaves to their instincts.

  Other creatures joined them on the way. A weird species of sturdy-looking insect was first, their stubby legs doing well to carry them despite the weight of the thick, chitinous shells on their back. Click had seen them around, but never bothered trying to eat them, as they were more armor than actual meat. With how small and slow they were, it was better to chase a fly than to herd a group of these creatures into a web.

  But curiosity got the better of Click at that moment and they called forth their Skill.

  [Observation]

  [System Query: Observation]

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

Juvenile Armored Beetle (Level 4)	Name: N/A
Soul Link: Rockfort Hamlet Dungeon Core Ṁ̶̡̄̒͜o̷͚͍̊͒̃̓̿ǰ̵̧̢̭̫̪a̷͇̋̿̿̽͘ ̵̨̛̥͎͉́̋̈͘D̵̝̭͇̓̎̅ȋ̷̯͔̤̑͋̑t̴̛͉͈̟̽̑͑h̸̪̲̩̗̀̉̃͝͠ä̵͕̼̠́̊̓̕b̴̗͕̏͊̂̓̚ä̷̡̰̱͕̒̌̋	Classes: N/A

Type	Prerequisite
Species	Baby Armored Beetle

Statistic	Amount
Health Points	5
Body	3
Intellect	1
Soul	1

Skill Name	Level	Description
Deflection	4	Angle equipped armor to deflect an incoming attack
Running Charge	9	Increase speed when moving in a straight, unobstructed line

  Apparently they had access to the System as well. Not every creature Click used the [Observation] Skill on did, evidenced by whether such a pop up would appear, but it was mostly the smaller and weaker creatures that didn’t have that strange power. The fact that these useless beetles did came as a surprise.

  After several more minutes of running, the [Spider Commander] came upon the next species, a strange flying insect. No, those weren’t insects. There wasn’t a single bit of chitin on them. Their wings were made of stretched leather and they were covered in fur, similar to the predators. And just like the predators, these creatures were much larger than the spiders, and could have easily fit one of them into their mouths.

  And yet, Click had not seen a single one all their life. The winged creatures swooped down from high above the cave, where no bioluminescent mushrooms grew, and were thus shrouded in total mystery. Click hoped that the mystery wouldn’t be one for much longer.

  [Observation]

  [System Query: Observation]

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

Juvenile Dungeon Bat (Level 7)	Name: N/A
Soul Link: Rockfort Hamlet Dungeon Core Ṁ̶̡̄̒͜o̷͚͍̊͒̃̓̿ǰ̵̧̢̭̫̪a̷͇̋̿̿̽͘ ̵̨̛̥͎͉́̋̈͘D̵̝̭͇̓̎̅ȋ̷̯͔̤̑͋̑t̴̛͉͈̟̽̑͑h̸̪̲̩̗̀̉̃͝͠ä̵͕̼̠́̊̓̕b̴̗͕̏͊̂̓̚ä̷̡̰̱͕̒̌̋	Classes: N/A

Type	Prerequisite
Species	Baby Dungeon Bat

Statistic	Amount
Health Points	17
Body	10
Intellect	14
Soul	8

Skill Name	Level	Description
Echolocation	11	Map out surroundings using sound. Can make out fine details and textures.
Sonic Screech	7	Stun weak creatures or distract larger ones with a powerful sound
Farming	2	Assists in growing food

  Wait, growing food? Click was confused, all of the food the spiders had ever eaten was hunted. Never “grown.” Though if the spiders themselves grew, it made sense that the smaller prey insects could also grow. It made sense. In fact, it sounded like a good idea to try in the future, if their brethren didn’t just eat them all the first chance they got.

  The bat immediately swooped down close to the ground and stuck their fangs into a nearby mushroom with a thud.

  Click figured they got distracted by the source of light and flew into it without realizing that it was a solid, if soft, object.

  The winged creature pulled its face out of the body with a chunk of fungus between its teeth, and began to chew.

  The [Spider Commander] slowed down enough to keep looking at it, and lowered their mandibles as the bat kept chewing, and eventually swallowing.

  The mushrooms are edible?! Instinct never directed Click or their brethren to consume the glowing fungus, rather pointing them to make a meal out of all of the tiny, wriggling insects that made their home in the sprawling cave.

  For a moment, curiosity gripped Click harder than their latest instinct, and the spider slightly diverted their path to jump and take a chunk out of a nearby mushroom. They began to chew it while continuing forward at a more sedate pace, trying to focus on its flavor rather than the gripping need to keep moving forward.

  They made it to three chews before spitting the thing out. Out of the five or so things Click had ever eaten in their life, that mushroom was by far the worst of them! Click didn’t need variety in their diet to have a refined palette, thank you very much.

  Curiosity sated, the [Spider Commander] continued at the same bull rush as the others. But that didn’t last long.

  The third species joining them finally showed themselves, running alongside each other in a manic sprint Click had never seen from them before. Because Click had seen them before. Predators.

  The overpowering instinct Click felt, for the second time, was challenged But this time it was by a rival instinct. And the internal desire for survival utterly overrode the external call to run.

  Click snapped out of whatever spell they were under, and stopped in their tracks before jumping behind a rock for cover.

  None of the predators noticed the spider, or at least none of them cared.

  The [Spider Commander] peeked over their barrier and saw many members of their tribe running alongside the enemy, and yet none of them were being squashed beneath the creatures’ feet or scooped up into their mouths. Click didn’t give what was happening a second thought and immediately called upon their Skill.

  [Command Subordinates] [Command Subordinates] [Command Subordinates]! Get out of there!!!

  [Skill level up! Command Subordinates (18)]

  The fifty or so spiders closest to the predators were immediately gripped by Click’s authority and jumped out of their original path, dodging beetles and swooping bats as they made their way behind anything that would conceal them.

  The predators and other creatures continued forward undeterred, most of them not even giving notice to the erratic arthropods.

  Click took a deep breath and tried to relax, taking solace in how the predators had continued to ignore them. It gave the [Spider Commander] a chance to properly consider what had happened. A powerful instinct had gripped Click and the other spiders, and made them run towards the loud noise with utter abandon, likely along with every other combat-oriented creature in the cave. Including the predators, who were uncharacteristically ignoring the other spiders as the spiders were ignoring them.

  The [Spider Commander] merely had to remember what the furred creatures did to the tribe to snap out of the strange pull and flee, but something kept the others from remembering. Click frowned. The other spiders were creatures of pure instinct, after all, and a strong enough influence would apparently override any others.

  Just then, the pull from [Command Subordinates] began to fade, and immediately as it did, the spiders under its control began to charge towards the noise once more.

  What?! There was still plenty of time left! Click screamed internally as the others quickly caught up to the predators. The [Spider Commander] charged just behind them, but ever cognizant of any threats while doing so. Something was terribly wrong, and Click was going to get to the bottom of things.

  The traveling congregation eventually arrived at the source of the sound. Click climbed on top of a stalagmite some distance away from it and looked on with trepidation. This was a part of the cave the spider had never explored before. It was essentially on the other side of the spiders’ white pillared home, and not even the [Alpha Hunter] in all of its cocky bravery ever looked for trouble out here.

  A giant slab of silvery-gray material stood tall, taller than any boulder or rocky structure in the entire cave, and perfectly covered an opening with a bright light behind it. Well, almost all of it. It was creaked open just a bit, allowing a sliver of light to shine through. It illuminated the cave far more brightly than any bioluminescent mushroom had, to the point of hurting the eyes of many of the creatures and making them take a step back.

  But they didn’t need to fully adjust to the light, as the slab began to move and covered the gap. It let out a terribly loud noise, the same as what had gotten everyones’ attention in the first place. Once it ended, there was only one sound left.

  “Squeak!” A creature covered in fur, yet less than a quarter of the size of the predators, jerked its head around the cave, trying to take in all of the monsters that had come to greet it.

  This is what we were all called here for? This… what even is it? [Observation]

Squirrel

  The lone cell appeared in Click’s vision. It felt weird to look at it, all of that fancy bordering for such a mundane sounding name. But with everything going on, paranoia was rich in Click’s mind. Too many strange things were happening, and this was one of them. This wasn’t something that could be so easily dismissed.

  [Dungeon Raid! Kill the intruder!] The notification flashed past Click’s eyes, and from the looks of it, the spider wasn’t the only one. Every single monster gathered there reacted to the flashing words.

  They all took the notification as gospel, glaring at the intruder and baring their fangs. Or flat incisors, in the case of the armored beetles. The squirrel didn’t think twice before turning around, and that was when everyone struck.

  The predators jumped, the bats swooped, and the beetles charged. And the spiders…

  [Command Subordinates]! Click began to scream to themselves over and over again.

  Strike last!

  [Skill level up! Command Subordinates (19)]

  That was the only instruction the [Spider Commander] had time to hand out before moving onto to the next batch of their brethren. Stop would have also been quick, but by telling the others how to fight, they were at least more likely to follow it even after the active effect wore off. And if this “Squirrel” was a true danger, then the other spiders would have a chance to get away rather than die with the others.

  The monsters of the cave landed on the intruder in a flurry of fangs and claws while almost every single spider stayed in the back. Of those that did join in, they were quickly torn to shreds in the ensuing fight… by the other monsters.

  The squirrel was too. Its death must have been instantaneous, much to its supposed mercy.

  It didn’t take long before the monsters realized that they’d already won the fight and jumped out of the brawl. But something shifted in the air. The creatures stared at each other, first with confusion, and then with anger. And finally, a sudden and terrible realization hit Click. These were all natural enemies, predators and prey, and they were all gathered together for the first time.

  Click readied their Skills again in an attempt to save their tribe. Instinctually, they could vaguely tell that [Command Subordinates] had a decent amount of charge left, despite it having been used on almost the entire tribe. Click was never able to do so earlier, but the ability must have come from an earlier level up, even if it was just a vague understanding.

  The [Spider Commander] had several theories as to why they had so much charge left, first being that because of how simple the instruction Click gave was, the other being because of how little that command actually influenced them; the spiders were already going to attack, Click just made them do it a little later.

  However, the lead spider didn’t have to do a thing.

  [Dungeon Raid repelled! Assigning rewards…]

  [Participation: +50 experience]

  [Leadership: +100 experience]

  [Level up!]

  [Skill usage bonus experience…]

  [Skill level up! Command Subordinates (20)]

  [Skill Perk unlocked for Command Subordinates!]

  Click felt dazed as the notifications flew past their vision. Trying to follow along left them exhausted, and apparently they weren’t the only one. The other creatures of the dungeon began to reel back, and rather than trying to take out any confusion or frustration it might have brought them, the monsters all turned around and began to head back to their homes.

  Even the [Spider Commander] felt the same urge, and began to lead their troops to their white pillared haven. On the way, Click used [Observation] on some of the other spiders, and Click couldn’t help but open their mandibles in a facsimile of a smile at the gains they’d made. They’d all gone up at least a level, especially the ones who’d actually jumped into combat with the others. Those had gone up several! And best of all, none of the spiders looked agitated like they had before! Even the ones who hadn’t gotten in on the action were relaxed.

  Whatever this “Dungeon Raid” was, it didn’t look like it was as bad as Click’s instincts made it out to be. If anything, it was an easy source of experience and enjoyment for everyone! And if the intruders they faced were just like that squirrel, then the tribe would become unstoppable in no time! For once in Click’s life, things were looking good.

---

  “From the Office of His Royal Majesty, Sovereign of the Shostran Kingdom:

  To the fair citizens of the Rockfort hamlet:

  We are writing to inform you of the possible activation of a Dungeon located near your settlement. The mage’s consortium has detected an increase in magical activity within your region, and they believe the Dungeon to be its source.

  It is still within its early stages of its activation, akin to a bear just waking from its winter slumber, thus the Dungeon poses little in terms of active danger to the hamlet. But that is not to say it is entirely benign.

  We advise all residents and livestock to keep away from the Dungeon’s entrance, which should be marked in your town records. While the monsters within the Dungeon may not be able to wander out and attack, the door is very likely to be open and anyone unarmed would most likely perish once inside.

  To prevent the Dungeon from waking any further and becoming a greater danger, several teams of adventurers have been deployed on behalf of the Adventurer’s Guild, and have been instructed to delve into its depths in order to damage and drain it of resources. We advise you not to pay them for this service, as they will be compensated for any expenses directly from the Kingdom’s coffers.

  Expect their arrival within a fortnight, and in the meantime, please prepare to host two to three-score able-bodied men and women.”