The mechanics by which Dungeon Raids operate is still quite a mystery, but through careful observation of their behavior, we can come to many insightful conclusions.

  It starts with the dungeon entering its active state. Each dungeon follows a sort of cycle, where it switches between active and inactive. When inactive, the door that guards entry stays shut, and not even the greatest force of strength or magic can open it. When active, the door simply acts as any other unlocked door. Entrance and egress from the dungeon proper is trivial.

  During these active states, it is as if the Dungeon itself welcomes intruders, using promises of treasure and combat experience to lure in adventurers and those that seek their fortunes. And despite the fact the Dungeon is capable of maintaining a sheer inviolable barrier, people still enter, looking for a fight. Why? The answer is simple; habit. Dungeons have always been fair, always following the same overall pattern in their structure and offering the same sort of rewards, what reason is there for anyone to get suddenly suspicious for no reason?

  Beyond the activity of the Dungeon at large, interesting behavior can be seen from the monsters that dwell within. The dungeon is an ecosystem, with System-blessed monsters living alongside weaker creatures, usually in a predator-prey relationship. That is not to say that only weaker creatures are prey, some monsters happen to be prey as well. Monsters fight and eat each other, growing stronger and evolving as their weaker members perish.

  Much of this activity is theorized to happen during the Dungeon’s inactive period, giving a chance for the monsters to increase in population and strength in relative safety, all in order to pose a proper threat for adventurers in the future.

  The biggest conclusion that can be reached from this information is that Dungeons are attuned to cycles of nature as any other living being is. As plants shed their leaves and bears enter hibernation during the winter, so too do Dungeons during their inactive period, biding their strength for brighter times. And as plants bear fruit to tempt all manner of creatures, so too do Dungeons open their doors and tempt adventurers with treasure.

  However, that treasure does not lead to the birth of new dungeons, wherever they may land, so what could be their true purpose? Not all plants produce fruit solely for that reason. Take hemlock for example, the wicked poison in its berries tricks many creatures into succumbing and dying at the plant’s feet. Their decomposing bodies settle into the soil at its base and feed its roots.

  The treasure is a poisoned promise, and always brings death to the dungeon, either to its inhabitants or the adventurers reaching for it. Perhaps the dungeon itself is a living creature that feeds on blood, and this just happens to be the best way to achieve it?

  -Estran Leabrar, Discredited Scholar of the Shostran Royal Palace

---

  [Command Subordinates]! Hold your position!

  Click and the many monsters of the cave faced down the latest of the many intruders they’d been pitted against these past two weeks. Just about every single one of them tended to be small, and not surprisingly, incredibly weak. There happened to be a few more sizable ones, but they had fallen just as quickly as that first squirrel.

  The [Spider Commander] did find one similarity between them, however, and that was that none of them registered with the System. Levels, Skills, Attributes; all of them were missing. The only other creatures with such a lack of mystic ability in the cavern were the smallest of worms and flies the spider tribe hunted. It was a universal marker for weakness.

  Or so everyone thought.

  [Observation]

Bear

  That was what the System replied with. No System, no problem, right?

  So why was that thing over twice the size of the largest [Dungeon Hound]?

  [Observation]

  [System Query: Observation]

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

Alpha Dungeon Hound (Level 15)	Name: N/A
Soul Link: Rockfort Hamlet Dungeon Core Ṁ̶̡̄̒͜o̷͚͍̊͒̃̓̿ǰ̵̧̢̭̫̪a̷͇̋̿̿̽͘ ̵̨̛̥͎͉́̋̈͘D̵̝̭͇̓̎̅ȋ̷̯͔̤̑͋̑t̴̛͉͈̟̽̑͑h̸̪̲̩̗̀̉̃͝͠ä̵͕̼̠́̊̓̕b̴̗͕̏͊̂̓̚ä̷̡̰̱͕̒̌̋	Classes: N/A

Type	Prerequisite
Species	Dungeon Hound
Skill: Pack Tactics	> 15

Statistic	Amount
Health Points	190
Body	77
Intellect	28
Soul	42

Skill Name	Level	Description
Iron Fangs	15	Teeth are reinforced to be harder and sharper. Bites do not heal as easily.
Pack Tactics	27	Instinctively understand the desires of the rest of the pack and share complex information with them. See through the eyes of pack members.
Prey Detection	17	Instinctually sense the location of prey, and its movements. Understand what the target prey is feeling.
Observation	7	Obtain System information about a target.

  The [Alpha Dungeon Hound] looked at the so-called bear with a relaxed posture, but its eyes were sharp.

  But as Click looked into those red orbs, the spider could see that it wasn’t because of any kind of fear or concern at the unknown creature. The predator was simply looking through System menus. With its high-leveled Skills and their numerous additional perks, the hound was probably overwhelmed with information, and it all likely said the same thing.

  Observation definitely would’ve returned no System information. Prey Detection likely returned the obvious, that the bear was feeling sleepy.

  The intruder let out a yawn, despite the careful look it gave all of the gathered monsters.

  But despite being fed all sorts of obvious facts by the System, the [Alpha Dungeon Hound] was seemingly missing one crucial detail.

  The bear was bigger than anything else. Underneath that fur, muscles rippled as the beast stretched.

  And the leader hound relaxed its gaze.

  Click flexed their mandibles in the spider equivalent of a scoff. The moniker of [Alpha] really suited the predators’ leader, it was just as stupid as the [Alpha Hunter]. Especially because it sent its own packmates to attack the bear first.

  All drowsiness left the eyes of the beast in an instant, and it raised its front left paw to attack. A single swipe sent three running predators flying back. When they landed, they struggled to get back up. A large, red puddle was beginning to form beneath the group, and terrible cracking sounds could be heard as they rose to their feet.

  The [Alpha Dungeon Hound] panicked, but rather than brashly throwing more warm bodies at the bear, it sent several predators to flank the beast.

  Click felt a little disappointed. While the foreign, yet incredibly powerful, instinct told them to be happy for having powerful teammates in this battle, the [Spider Commander] knew that they would be enemies again soon after. But in the meantime, better partners meant a faster fight, and that meant faster experience before the next inevitable raid.

  As the predators took their position behind the bear, the beetles that just arrived began their charge. The armored insects’ much smaller size didn’t let them do anything as crazy as topple the intruder, but their sharpened horns forced it to jump out of the way.

  That was the opening the predators were looking for, and took the opportunity to jump into the fray. While the bear tried to address every incoming attack with a single motion, a pair of swooping bats going for its eyes threw it even further off balance, making its strike go wide.

  [Iron Fangs] activated and three pairs of yellow-stained teeth cleaved through flesh until being stopped by blackened gums. The [Dungeon Hounds] began to shake their muzzles in an attempt to rend flesh, but their Skill began to wear off. While they weren’t able to do anything as drastic as tear the bear’s arm off, each of their jitters was able to draw blood.

  The beast roared with all its might. The sound echoed off the cavern walls and into the sensitive ears of half the species present. Bats and predators reeled back, while the ones still hooked onto the bears’ arm loosened their grip, never having heard such an ear-shattering sound before.

  That was all the opportunity the bear needed, and it slammed its arm into the ground. The hounds attached to it finally let go. But the bear wasn’t done yet, and it followed up by slashing the trio’s necks with its other paw. They didn’t even let out a whimper after the attack, only blood.

  But some of that blood that began to pool behind it was its own.

  The rest of the monsters saw their opportunity this time, and all charged at the bear in unison.

  The beast rose up on its hind legs and began to swat at the bats, stomp at the beetles, and bite at the hounds that came after it.

  All the while, Click held their own troops in reserve. Watching. Waiting. The battle began in earnest.

  [Command Subordinates]. Wait.

  A [Dungeon Hound] tore at the bear’s back leg.

  [Command Subordinates]. Do not engage.

  Several bats dropped some kind of an acidic liquid that managed to fall right into the bear’s eyes, blinding it.

  [Command Subordinates]. Reposition yourselves to a rock that’s closer by, but stay hidden!

  Several beetles rushed at both of the intruder’s feet at once, and pushed it onto its back.

  [Command Subordinates]. Now! Charge in and bite!

  A surge of spiders came flooding at the bear, running past the other monsters that were on top of it, and biting and piercing its weakened body. Envenomed fangs too small to be stopped by the thick fur pierced through the supple skin and tainted the blood underneath. Every spider managed to get a bite in, and even Click somehow got a hit in, albeit from a thrown pebble.

  While every creature was biting and clawing, a pair of web spiders that were dragged along carried a web towards the downed bear, and draped it over its side. It would do nothing to the massive beast, but that wasn’t what was important. The fact it was woven by every single web spider back home was.

  The attacks continued, and soon enough, the beast succumbed to the onslaught and lay dead on the cavern floor. A wave of euphoria flushed through everyone present and they quickly began to head back to their homes, none the wiser of the now enemies beside them. The predators however decided to drag the corpse of the intruder along with them, likely to make it a meal that would feed them all for days. Nobody else objected.

  [Dungeon Raid repelled! Assigning rewards…]

  [Participation: +50 experience]

  [Leadership: +100 experience]

  [Assistance: +500 experience]

  [Level up!]

  Everything was the same from the first completed raid, except for the presence of the [Assistance] bonus. Apparently, merely leading troops into battle didn’t count for much, and Click was given the same amount of experience no matter what they fought, be it a harmless squirrel to this monstrous bear. Doing damage to the enemy on the other hand…

  And all I had to do was toss a pebble at it! I must have dealt less than a single hit point of damage and I still get so much experience! The [Spider Commander] couldn’t help but feel smug. This way, they were able to get the most experience. But that experience wouldn’t do well with just them and the hunter spiders. The useless web that was thrown on the bear earlier would’ve counted towards the web spiders’ participation in the fight as well, and would’ve granted them much of the same experience. They would need it, since they were apparently the only exception to the raid’s call to action.

  No matter, Click knew that they kept the actual troops fed, and was grateful they could let the others concentrate on fighting and gaining experience. A mutual trade. Food for experience, and a much better rate than killing flies that landed on the webs.

  The [Spider Commander] began to walk back home too when they noticed one of their troops begin to transform. While Click expected it to turn into a bigger version of its current self, a [Dungeon Hunter Spider], it instead turned into something… different. It was much too big.

  [Observation] What did my spider just evolve into?

  [System Query: Observation]

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

Dungeon Bruiser Spider (Level 1)	Name: N/A
Soul Link: Rockfort Hamlet Dungeon Core Ṁ̶̡̄̒͜o̷͚͍̊͒̃̓̿ǰ̵̧̢̭̫̪a̷͇̋̿̿̽͘ ̵̨̛̥͎͉́̋̈͘D̵̝̭͇̓̎̅ȋ̷̯͔̤̑͋̑t̴̛͉͈̟̽̑͑h̸̪̲̩̗̀̉̃͝͠ä̵͕̼̠́̊̓̕b̴̗͕̏͊̂̓̚ä̷̡̰̱͕̒̌̋	Classes: N/A

Type	Prerequisite
Species	Hunter Spider

Attribute	Base	Per Level
Health Points	35	7
Body	20	5
Intellect	5	2
Soul	8	3

Skill Name	Description
Venom Gland	Secrete a toxic substance from your mandibles that can harm lesser creatures.
Silk Spinning	Secrete a sticky string that can ensnare weaker creatures.
Prey Detection	Instinctually sense the location of prey, and its movements.
Iron Carapace	Exoskeleton is reinforced to be harder and more durable.
Become Stone	Temporarily become petrified to negate non-physical damage.

  A [Dungeon Spider Bruiser]? It’s strong! Nowhere near as powerful as the [Alpha Hunter] but I’ll gladly take someone who can take a hit.

  Several of the other spiders began to transform too, many of them also enlarging into the form of the bruiser. But many wasn’t all. Most of the other hunter spiders became larger as well, but looked nothing like the bruisers. Rather, they were simply a slightly bigger version of their old selves.

  [Observation]

  [System Query: Observation]

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

Adult Dungeon Spider (Level 1)	Name: N/A
Soul Link: Rockfort Hamlet Dungeon Core Ṁ̶̡̄̒͜o̷͚͍̊͒̃̓̿ǰ̵̧̢̭̫̪a̷͇̋̿̿̽͘ ̵̨̛̥͎͉́̋̈͘D̵̝̭͇̓̎̅ȋ̷̯͔̤̑͋̑t̴̛͉͈̟̽̑͑h̸̪̲̩̗̀̉̃͝͠ä̵͕̼̠́̊̓̕b̴̗͕̏͊̂̓̚ä̷̡̰̱͕̒̌̋	Classes: N/A

Type	Prerequisite
Species	Dungeon Hunter Spider

Attribute	Base	Per Level
Health Points	25	4
Body	18	4
Intellect	5	2
Soul	7	3

Skill Name	Description
Venom Gland	Secrete a toxic substance from your mandibles that can harm lesser creatures.
Silk Spinning	Secrete a sticky string that can ensnare weaker creatures.
Prey Detection	Instinctually sense the location of prey, and its movements.

  What was that?! Click couldn’t help but think. It’s the same exact thing! The attributes are a little bigger than they were previously, but still… it’s the exact same thing!

  Click felt a small pang of guilt go through them. Here they were, judging their brethren for their lackluster evolution when the change from [Juvenile Commander] to the matured variant was just the same.

  Well, hopefully things are a little juicier next time.

  Click was ready to head back when they saw that the string of evolutions wasn’t complete. The [Ambush Trapper Spiders] made up a very small minority of the arachnid forces, yet they too were transforming at a similar, if not greater, rate.

  These spiders evolved into two different variants, each similar in their lithe builds compared to the hunters and their evolutions, but quite different from each other in every other way.

  The first variant had a light red shade over their otherwise neutral brown thorax and head. Their abdomen, however, was tinted blue and differently shaped, looking as if additional hydraulic muscles were lining the length of the structure.

  [Observation]

  [System Query: Observation]

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

Dungeon Web Slinger Spider (Level 1)	Name: N/A
Soul Link: Rockfort Hamlet Dungeon Core Ṁ̶̡̄̒͜o̷͚͍̊͒̃̓̿ǰ̵̧̢̭̫̪a̷͇̋̿̿̽͘ ̵̨̛̥͎͉́̋̈͘D̵̝̭͇̓̎̅ȋ̷̯͔̤̑͋̑t̴̛͉͈̟̽̑͑h̸̪̲̩̗̀̉̃͝͠ä̵͕̼̠́̊̓̕b̴̗͕̏͊̂̓̚ä̷̡̰̱͕̒̌̋	Classes: N/A

Type	Prerequisite
Species	Ambush Trapper Spider
Skill: Silk Spinning	> Level 20
Skill: Web Launcher	> Level 15

Attribute	Base	Per Level
Health Points	20	5
Body	15	4
Intellect	7	4
Soul	8	3

Skill Name	Description
Venom Gland	Secrete a toxic substance from your mandibles that can harm lesser creatures.
Silk Spinning	Secrete a sticky string that can ensnare weaker creatures.
Prey Detection	Instinctually sense the location of prey, and its movements.
Excretion Launcher	Any excreted bodily substance can be ejected at high velocity.
3D Move Sense	Instinctually understand where a moving object will go in 3D space.

  And so many new Skills! It looks even better at catching things in its thrown webs! But where did [Web Launch] go?

  Click was curious, if not a little confused, but then reread the description for [Excretion Launcher]. [Web Launcher] and [Excretion Launcher] were essentially the same thing, but the words “any excreted bodily substance” and “high velocity” set it apart. Perhaps it was an upgraded version of Web Launch, and the weaker redundant Skill was removed? It would be terrible if the old Skill was strengthened to an incredibly high degree, only for all of that progress to be lost.

  Thankfully, it wasn’t in this case, or in any of the other cases of spiders evolving into [Web Slingers].

  The other evolution Click observed was also interesting. Rather than red and blue, these spiders began to turn gray. They weren’t too happy with the creak of the open door either, and ran away from the sliver of light into the shadows. They seemed to practically dissolve in the additional darkness.

  [Observation]

  [System Query: Observation]

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

Type	Prerequisite
Species	Ambush Trapper Spider
Skill: Venom Gland	> Level 20
Skill: Web Launch	> Level 10

Attribute	Base	Per Level
Health Points	15	4
Body	15	5
Intellect	8	3
Soul	7	4

Skill Name	Description
Venom Gland	Secrete a toxic substance from your mandibles that can harm lesser creatures.
Silk Spinning	Secrete a sticky string that can ensnare weaker creatures.
Web Launch	Hold and throw your webbing.
Prey Detection	Instinctually sense the location of prey, and its movements.
Sneak	Shadows and obstacles better conceal from others.
Shadow Travel	Move more quickly while concealed in darkness or shadow.

  Click was at a loss for words, and not because they didn’t have any words. They weren’t shocked speechless like with the [Alpha Hunter], but rather, the [Spider Commander] was locked in serious thought.

  The new Skills looked very interesting, but were completely different from how a spider normally operated. Sneak, Shadow Travel? It wasn’t quite something Click had worked with before, but the spider was able to quickly wrap their head around what this new evolution could do.

  Ambushes. But from the shadows, and even better than before.

  Seeing that the rest of the group had finished their evolutions, Click dragged everyone back home, still awash in the post-raid euphoria. As they arrived back, Click could see some of the web spiders had also changed. The [Spider Commander] raised their mandibles in a facsimile of a smile as they realized their plan of making them “participate” paid off.

  Hold on, is that… [Observation]

  [System Query: Observation]

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

Dungeon Web Slinger Spider (Level 1)	Name: N/A
Soul Link: Rockfort Hamlet Dungeon Core Ṁ̶̡̄̒͜o̷͚͍̊͒̃̓̿ǰ̵̧̢̭̫̪a̷͇̋̿̿̽͘ ̵̨̛̥͎͉́̋̈͘D̵̝̭͇̓̎̅ȋ̷̯͔̤̑͋̑t̴̛͉͈̟̽̑͑h̸̪̲̩̗̀̉̃͝͠ä̵͕̼̠́̊̓̕b̴̗͕̏͊̂̓̚ä̷̡̰̱͕̒̌̋	Classes: N/A

Type	Prerequisite
Species	Adult Dungeon Web Spider
Skill: Silk Spinning	> Level 30

Attribute	Base	Per Level
Health Points	20	5
Body	15	4
Intellect	7	4
Soul	8	3

Skill Name	Description
Venom Gland	Secrete a toxic substance from your mandibles that can harm lesser creatures.
Silk Spinning	Secrete a sticky string that can ensnare weaker creatures.
Prey Detection	Instinctually sense the location of prey, and its movements.
Excretion Launcher	Any excreted bodily substance can be ejected at high velocity.
3D Move Sense	Instinctually understand where a moving object will go in 3D space.

  But how?! It’s the same exact evolution, but with a slightly different prerequisite! Click thought long and hard for a few moments before coming to a conclusion. Perhaps the evolution branches can converge? I was given the choice to become a specialized hunter or web spider twice, after all.

  The newly minted [Web Slinger] shifted in its net and waved at the approaching group. A fly passed the spider by and it idly threw a web that caught and reeled it in. After eating it, the [Web Slinger] sat down and looked out to the cave in contentment.

  It looks like evolution doesn’t define a spiders’ instinct, then. That’s still definitely a web spider, through and through!

  Click was about to retire for the day and get themselves a nice feast from the web, when the large door at the end of the cave began to creak again.

  What, so soon?

  [Dungeon Raid! Kill the intruder!]

  The notification flashed across the [Spider Commander]’s vision, and with it came the feeling of urgency. But the euphoria from the previous raid was still swimming in its head, and the two feelings clashed. Click began to feel a little dizzy, and tried to right themself with a quick meal.

  [Experience +3]

  [Level up!]

  [Level requirement achieved for evolution]

  [Choices available: Dungeon Spider Army Commander, Dungeon Spider Mimicry Commander, Alpha Dungeon Spider Commander]

  [Please select a choice-]

  The notifications did well to make Click feel a little better, but didn’t offset the dizziness. Something was very wrong about this situation, the [Spider Commander] knew it, and didn’t want to make a bad choice yet.

  Wait, let me see what’s raiding us first!

  [Please select a choice-]

  At least let me… [Command Subordina-

  [Please select a choice-] The System notification interrupted the Skill.

  I have a really bad feeling about this…

  “Hey, anyone in here?” came a shout from the back of the cavern.

  “Shut up, idiot! Do you want them to hear us?” replied another voice.

  “Calm down, this dungeon raid is going to be a cinch!” said the first. “Besides, we want to get their attention!”