“Welcome to your first magic class, kids. I don’t know why they put me in charge of you all just because I’m one of the most experienced battle wizards at the academy, like they think that’s supposed to make me better at teaching, but I didn’t really have a say in things. So apparently, here I am.

Now, you might all think that throwing around magic is as simple as gathering mana in your hand and pointing your finger at whoever or whatever you want dead. Well, you’d be partly right. But what about everything that happens in between? That’s what this class is supposed to teach you.

So what makes the difference between throwing a fireball versus a lightning bolt? What tells the mana the elemental form it should take before it kills someone? The obvious answer is you do. Well, your body does, at least.

An experienced mage can do this with their mind, but as for all of you just starting out, the general shape of your body will determine it. Huh, question? No, your mana won’t turn into force just because of your muscles. And neither will that student’s turn into cake because they’re fat. Woah, woah! If you want to start a fight, do it outside or in the dueling grounds! I swear I’ll polymorph you into toads if you try anything in here. And I’m not even an expert at it, so you might just turn into a blob of flesh instead! Alright, everyone settled? Alright, let me continue.

So where was I? Oh yeah, the body sets the mana type. There are some magical tests to see what your natural affinity is, whether it be fire, thunder, ice, or a more esoteric element. Sadly, this class will mostly be focusing on element-agnostic practices on the basics of channeling mana, but your element will make a big difference in how your body handles even that.

You might all be magic users in the making, but none of your magic will be the same, and neither will your development be either. Remember that.”

-Excerpt of the first tutelage a mage of the Shostran Magical Academy is likely to receive

In the face of the [Dungeon Hound] Army, and especially their Alpha leader, the spiders were powerless. A minefield of traps, a small squad of veterans, and the metal lasso trick were utterly impotent in the face of a single [Alpha Dungeon Hound], who through sheer brute strength and attributes barreled through all of them.

Death had reached their door.

And now, with every little trick and advantage the [Spider Army Commander] brought to bear against their overwhelming foe, a new and unexpected miracle had introduced itself.

That miracle stood in the web fortress’ alcove and let a line of sparks travel between its two outstretched arms. The spider who had been doused with the blue liquid pointed both arms towards Howl and a bolt of yellow electricity zig-zagged through the air onto the metallic wire still tied between the [Alpha]’s leg.

He let out another yip which quickly cut off as his jaw and the rest of his body locked up.

That’s four damage. Click noted after doing a quick bit of math. They were getting better at working with numbers. Not much with how long it takes to fire, but it kept him and an entire row of [Dungeon Hounds] still. How much damage can those predators still deal, and can we kill them before it becomes too much?

Cra-

The electricity in the spider’s arms went out. It lowered them and began to shift its gaze between each one while staring in confusion.

It was too good to be true, wasn’t it? thought Click.

Howl let out another sharp bark and the hounds behind him began to ready themselves for another charge.

Fwooooh

The charge once more abated, as the swift movements turned into a slow, shivering crawl.

Every eye once more turned to look at the source of this new noise, and they all met another spider. Another one doused in the mystery drink.

Its carapace began to turn a shade of light blue, like that of a frozen lake, not that anyone present had ever seen one before. The air it breathed out was misty with condensate, and the floor beneath the spider began to freeze.

If not bodies of water or ice, all those present more than understood the concept of cold. Of frigidness, the great stopper of all. After all, what better way to know a body was dead than to check if it had gone cold?

The spider opened its mandibles and another wave of cold came out of its mouth, spreading across the hounds and making the smaller ones forget the battle for a moment to huddle together for warmth.

Alright, more damage! Just keep it up and-

The ice crystals in the spider’s breath began to abate, until they were simply exhaling normal air.

I was asking for too much, wasn’t I?

Bored the Alpha, standing between the [Dungeon Hound] army and the web fortress, clicked their mandibles together in exasperation. They took a step forward and stumbled, but quickly caught themselves before getting back into place.

He’s taken damage from the fight. The [Alpha Dungeon Hound] is weak, but can the veterans really finish him off? The fate of the entire tribe is what’s at stake here, and even if we do beat the Alpha, can we really scare off the other hounds?

While Click’s attention shifted between the battlefield below and their own thoughts, one more spider walked to the front of the alcove and looked down upon the [Dungeon Hound] army. Rather than lift its legs or open its mouth to let out some sort of elemental blast, it simply thought.

And its own emotions became manifest.

The air suddenly became heavy, forcing every living creature to look upon the lone spider. Most of its brethren only twitched slightly while Click was otherwise unaffected, but the hounds, the real targets, began to quake.

“Run, run! Flee or die!”

Click didn’t hear the words, nor did [Decipher Language] activate to understand them. Their very meaning simply appeared in the [Spider Army Commander]’s head. After all, nobody spoke.

“Death awaits you all!” The lone spider felt the sentiment, simply thought the words towards the [Dungeon Hounds] and they understood. Everyone understood. The spiders knew this louder second sentence was not aimed at them and only cowered before the words.

The lesser hounds screamed and ran.

We have a chance! Click exclaimed. [Command Subordinates]! Bored, veterans, attack that [Alpha] while the effect of that attack is still going!

The veteran spiders sprang into action and charged at Howl, who used all of his strength to keep standing. He didn’t even bother to open his mouth to scream or bite when the arachnids charged into him and began to bite.

But not all good things last, and as his health began to dip, he opened his mouth. Razor sharp teeth took on a metallic sheen and were ready to chomp down on the largest spider in front of him.

Bored saw the jaws begin to close around his face, and every spider around knew the same thing. This was it. A Body attribute of 127, a direct attack to the most vulnerable spot.

Click hesitated. He was ready for the largest of the spiders to take the hit, take the fall, to rid the rest of the tribe of their greatest threat. But something within them said otherwise. It said that it wasn’t worth it. The [Spider Army Commander] began to crunch the numbers in their head to the best of their abilities in the fraction of a second they had left, but it wasn’t enough time to come up with a concrete answer on whether the exchange was worth it. But it didn’t matter to the strange feeling. Even though Click didn’t understand it said that such a trade would never be worth it.

A screaming yip went out from behind the battlefield.

Howl didn’t even hesitate to turn around and run towards the sound before his teeth could cut into Bored.

The [Alpha Dungeon Spider] stood there, eyes still wide and staring ahead as the would-be bringer of its death ran towards the minefield and jumped in the way of another trap to protect one of its brethren.

And as the lead hound turned around and took in the bloody chaos of the battlefield it had created, it saw the damage it had wreaked. Dead spiders, each a mote of vengeance achieved. But for every several, there lay a body of a [Dungeon Hound]. His own side’s sacrifices in the pan-species war. And he realized that for today, it was enough.

“Run away, follow me!” barked Howl.

Before Click could give the order to follow, because the hound leader was in an even more vulnerable state now, the predators made their way out of the fortress’ grounds.

There was one straggler, a regular [Dungeon Hound] who got hit with another whipcord trap and collapsed, allowing a swarm of [Juvenile Dungeon Spiders] to swarm and finish it off in an instant.

It had one health left. Too bad it didn’t howl and bring the Alpha back here. Or maybe that was for the best?

Click didn’t understand the strange feeling, let alone what good it was. Bored was valuable, but safety was even more. It was more important than anything.

But for now, Click still had Bored. And the [Spider Army Commander] appreciated it.

[Command Subordinates]. Hey, drag that [Dungeon Hound] over here! Bored gets the first bite!

The [Alpha Adult Dungeon Spider] looked at its leader and lifted its mandibles into a smile.