“Many creation stories have passed through the lips and into the ears of the members of the Seven Noble Races. Of them, many describe the System and how it was granted as a tool to us in order to fight back against the terrible monsters who made their home in the world. Monsters who themselves wielded magic, and their own version of the System.

What we Noble Races have is well known already; Classes. Work and effort put into a career or fighting style awards a basic Class associated with it. With enough experience points via utilizing the Class, the Class gains levels and eventually transforms into an even more powerful variant.

Monsters, on the other hand, are limited by their species and what their System chooses to offer them. They only gain experience and levels by killing, and enough levels allow them to ‘evolve’, or transform into stronger variants of themselves. But that is not to say that their restrictions leave them limited.

Monsters can have some of the widest evolutionary branches, with the limits of what they can achieve being often far greater than any Noble Race’s possible Class progression. A humble [Dungeon Spider] for instance can become a large bruiser, capable of taking hundreds of stops that would kill any lesser variant, or transform into a lithe yet agile shadow capable of sneaking into an adventurers’ camp and killing them one by one without anyone noticing.

But at the end of the day, monsters are still limited to dealing death. There are no evolutions for them that enrich their species or their environment. Even the more specialized and obtuse evolutions only help other monsters deal more death.

This is why the Seven Noble Races are different. Our System allows us to better ourselves and those around us. They offer what puts us apart from monsters; civilization.”

-Yester Flestin, Scholar of the Shostran Royal Palace, successor of Estran Leabrar

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[Class level up! Anthropologist (5)]

[Class Skill Obtained: Child Rearing]

[C̷̬̰̬̥̒͒͝͠ḽ̴͙̠͙̈̃̓̕a̷̱̪͍̗̓̒͜s̷̠̼̤͑̂̿̔̈ͅs̸̩̭͉̻͌̔͋̕̚ ̸̖̯͍͆͛̄͌L̸͎̲̩͋̎͗͆̽ȇ̷͔̋̄̍͝ṿ̸̹͇͕͂̇̕ę̴̟̤̣͈̓l̸̹̮͐̆̋͘ requirement achieved for evolution]

Click was confused. This wasn’t something that they ever expected to happen. The [Spider Army Commander] knew that enough level ups would grant a brand new evolution, it had happened plenty of times to them and the other spiders. But an evolution triggered by leveling up in their Class? Something that they likely weren’t even supposed to have to begin with?

It was a very strange thing, but Click wasn’t about to refuse a gift like that.

Show me the options!

[Choices Available: Baby Arachne, Baby Jorogumo, Dungeon Spider Army General, Dungeon Spider Shadow Commander]

Huh? What are those first two? Click mused to themself. I get the idea behind the last two, a stronger and a sneakier version of my current class respectively, at least from what it feels like. But what do each of them do?

[System query received, producing result…]

[Listing result (1/4): Advanced Class Attributes]

Baby Arachne

Type	Prerequisite
Species	Any Spider
Intelligence	> 70
Proof of Sapience	Class Level 5

Attribute	Base	Per Level
Health Points	35	9
Body	25	7
Intellect	23	6
Soul	20	7

Skill Name	Description
Humanoid Form	Body automatically takes on humanoid form; level up by desiring humanity and higher levels allow greater similarities to humans.

Click jumped back when they read the Class description. The first thing the spider noticed were the attributes, and the numbers attached.

They were big.

Bigger than what any evolution Click had ever seen before offered. It was…

Human Form? What’s that?

One thing Click appreciated about the System was that when they asked for information beyond mere words, it delivered. Because how could words describe what a Human was? And what was a humanoid form, which would somehow become more humanoid as time went on?

The System revealed all of this knowledge unto Click.

And Click…

Oh, those invaders from before? Those were humans?

Click saw their form within their mind’s eye, and understood exactly what they were.

Absolutely not! I swore to myself that I wouldn’t turn into one of those weird bipedal abominations, I’m staying as a spider. I’ll be keeping my eight legs, thank you very much! But it’s a Skill, I could simply choose not to use it…

But something about how the Skill was displayed made Click hesitate a second time in a row, this time away from choosing it. The Skill felt… bold. It was a passive Skill, something that simply existed in the background rather than actively summoned. But at the same time, it was reminiscent of [Silk Spinning] or [Venom Gland]. They weren’t Skills that granted a wholly new ability, but they modified and empowered something the Spiders could already do. [Humanoid Form] was both of these things, and thus stood boldly. It was something that could not be turned off. It would be Click.

Click simmered for a second, but then hesitated for a third time.

Maybe the [Humanoid Form] isn’t as bad as being a full human? What is that like?

A second bit of knowledge came fourth. That of what “humanoid form” referred to.

Wow, it’s as big as Bored! Well it should be with how big the attribute level up increases are. Well, it has eight legs too, but what happened to the thorax?! It’s… long. Like the human “torso”, and those two things coming out of it. What are they… arms? Ugh, no! Keep me a spider, I’m absolutely not choosing that! Next!

The System obliged.

[Listing result (2/4): Advanced Class Attributes]

Baby Jorogumo

Type	Prerequisite
Species	Any Spider
Intelligence	> 100
Proof of Sapience	Class Level 5

Attribute	Base	Per Level
Health Points	35	8
Body	22	6
Intellect	25	7
Soul	21	7

Skill Name	Description
Humanoid Form	Body automatically takes on humanoid form; level up by desiring humanity and higher levels allow greater similarities to humans.
Illusory Form	Select body parts can be made to appear differently to observers.
Seduction	Appeal to a target’s sexual desires to command them.

Huh, it’s already shaping up to be better than [Baby Arachne], with the Attributes being about the same, and it even has more Skills! But it still has Human Form… maybe one of the Skills can do something to change that? [Illusory Form] looks just like it could help, but it only changes appearance to others. It won’t actually make me a spider again.

Click thought for a few seconds before another idea sprang into their head.

Maybe if I level the Skill high enough, I’ll get a perk that will let me change how I see myself? Or better yet, it might actually let me change my form!

Click’s mandibles rose for a moment before drooping again.

But how long will it take to level it up that much? And I am NOT going to be stuck in some weirdo form for that long! But what’s that third Skill? Some kind of other control ability? Is it better than Command Subordinates or work well alongside it? Hold on, what does “sexual desire” mean?

Click’s eyes went wide in horror as the System told them.

Wait, it means a desire to mate?! But that’ll get me killed! Absolutely not! First it wants to give me a weird and dumb body, and now it wants me to kill myself?! Forget it, next option! If I don’t get anything good, I’m willing to never use the System again, so you’d better not screw me over with these options…

Click didn’t realize they were holding their breath as the next option came in.

[Listing result (3/4): Advanced Class Attributes]

Dungeon Spider Army General

Type	Prerequisite
Species	Any Spider
Intelligence	> 60

Attribute	Base	Per Level
Health Points	25	3
Body	8	2
Intellect	20	6
Soul	9	5

Skill Name	Description
Empower Troops	Temporarily add a portion of an attribute to the target.

This… this was better. This was safe, something known, and had Click eyeing it with a smile.

It doesn’t have that strange “sapience” requirement like those other two evolutions. And even better, I get to keep my spider body instead of that weird human one! And [Empower Troops]? Now that’s a Skill I could’ve used a long time ago! My attributes aren’t that high, especially compared to someone like Bored’s, but the small boost in Strength I could give to a younger spider might make it twice as strong! Or it might give a veteran a little extra push to blindside a foe with unexpected power. Either way, I think I’ll take it… but let me see the last option before I actually decide.

[Listing result (4/4): Advanced Class Attributes]

Dungeon Spider Shadow Commander

Type	Prerequisite
Species	Any Spider
Intelligence	> 50

Attribute	Base	Per Level
Health Points	25	3
Body	8	2
Intellect	20	6
Soul	9	5

Skill Name	Description
Camouflage	Change color to match with the surroundings.
Hidden Travel	Move more quickly while unnoticed.

So another safe choice, then. And it even has two new Skills to boot! The attributes are the exact same, so it’s a question of which set of Skills are better.

Click took a moment to settle down to think. It was easy to do within the secluded inner sanctum of the web fortress. The space was eerily silent, with only the occasional squelches of shaking eggs to break up the monotony.

The little orbs, the yet unborn spiders and future troops, were utterly defenseless. If a predator was somehow able to sneak through all of the fortress’ defenses and squeeze into the small chamber protected by the nigh unbreakable metallic silk, only Click would be present to fight it.

It wasn’t a good feeling, but the [Spider Army Commander] shook it off. It was just an intrusive thought. A very ugly one, yet not very realistic. Still…

Click got up and walked back out to the alcove and looked down at the spiders hard at work. All of them were bigger than their leader. The tiny, diminutive boss whose only responsibility was telling them what to do.

The [Spider Army Commander] sneered, or at least waved their mandibles in an equivalent gesture. They were the only one qualified to lead, and felt no shame in taking up that position. But where did that sudden thought come from? And what was that emotion that appeared alongside it?

It could have been a number of sources that birthed it, be it the stress of having a new enemy so quickly, or residual pain from having their home stolen and tribe almost entirely eradicated those few weeks ago. Click hadn’t had a quiet moment in a long time, so previously unknown traumas suddenly manifesting wasn’t out of the question.

And what was that emotion? Fear? Shame? Envy?

But one possibility burned itself within Click’s mind. And it all had to do with one creature.

Howl.

He was everything Click wasn’t. He was strong, he was fearless, he was… caring?

Click regarded the many [Dungeon Hound] corpses that littered the fortress. He was foolhardy, and self-sacrificing to the point where he was ready to die for the very hounds who died in droves for him. The [Spider Army Commander] was happy to be different from that contradictory mess! And yet…

The spider knew what they felt. Envy. And they hated it.

I at least know what I want. I want to live, I want to be. I lead my tribe so that I may survive, and their own survival contributes to that goal.

Click’s eyes locked on Bored and several of the other veterans. The lead spider’s mandibles twitched for a moment before they forced down the sensation and quickly looked away.

…Especially their survival. I need them just as they need me.

The [Spider Army Commander] climbed back into the alcove with the eggs.

And as much as having enough personal strength to compete with the others sounds nice, I’m not surviving for their sakes, or even yours. Click thought to themself while looking at the eggs. So I’m not giving up being a spider. You’ll just have to live with it, but don’t worry, I’ll still help you and everyone else do just that with [Empower Troops].

[Evolution choice selected: Dungeon Spider Army General]