Level Up The Colony

Name: Timothy Walter [Evolution Unavailable]

Title: Goblin Slayer, Mount, A Hardworking Man

Trait: Hybrid (Unstable) 2%

Level: 34

HP: 7,900

MP: 200

Fatigue: 40

Strength: 60

Stamina: 100

Agility: 75

Intelligence: 100

Perception: 75

Free Stat Points: 0

[Skills]

King <Unknown> – Lv. Max

Dash – Lv. 2

Pheromones <Passive> – Lv. 4

Armament <Enhanced> – Lv. 1

Tenacity <Passive> – Lv. 1

Colony Genesis <Active> – Lv. 2

Force <Passive> – Lv. 1

Mana Control <Passive> – Lv. 1

Escape <Passive> – Lv. 1

[Colony] <6>

Black Widow Arachnid (Arachnephora Nyx'Thelan) - [Symbiotic bond]

Silverback Termite (Gray) – Lv. 34 [Evolving]

Silverback Termite (Rex) – Lv. 7

Silverback Termite (Vox) – Lv. 7

Silverback Termite (Pax) – Lv. 7

Silverback Termite (Lux) – Lv. 7

...

There, under the colony tab, he finally found her name. He was wondering where she'd appear, but it seemed she was still going to be classified as part of his colony, somehow.

He prompted the thought of displaying her stats.

[Accessing Companion Status...]

[Warning]

[Restricted Bond Active]

[Note: Viewing the target's status will grant them mirrored insight into your own]

[Proceed?]

[Yes / No]

Timothy slowed his pace.

The warning gave him pause.

She'll be able to see my stats too? he thought.

If there was another person with a system, he wondered if it'd be a bane or a boon

He glanced ahead at the spider, still leading without a word. Her eight legs moved with an eerie silence

He exhaled quietly and made his decision.

Fine.

Let's level the field a little.

[Confirmation Registered]

[Status Exchange Initiated]

[Displaying Companion Overview…]

...

[Status: Arachnephora Nyx'Thelan] Young Black Widow

Rank: C+

Role: Incubation Partner/Territorial Hunter/Symbiotic bond.

Strength: 70

Durability: 60

Agility: 80

Intelligence: 65

Perception: 75

Willpower: 80

[Skills]

Web Sling <Active> - Lv. 3

Regeneration Molt <Passive> - Lv. 2

Gastric acid Spray <Active> - Lv. 2

Pheromones discharge <Passive> - Lv.1

Venomous bite <Active> - Lv. 2

Mimicra <Active> - Lv. 1

...

Her stats were, in a word, puzzling.

Expressive yet limited offering answers and more questions in the same breath.

Timothy stared at the floating interface, frowning slightly.

A part of him wanted to probe deeper, ask her for clarity, but he wasn't willing to burn valuable materials just to satisfy idle curiosity.

Still, the similarities between her stats and his own were undeniable, and the implications kept piling up in his mind.

Annoyingly so.

The system wasn't as interactive as he'd hoped, and now that he had a selective companion a label that meant she could technically communicate, it came with conditions.

Two, to be exact.

First, she was talkative, a trait that drained energy from the bond, and energy was something Timothy desperately needed for more important tasks, specifically grooming the evolving termite.

Unless he had fresh monster remains to exchange, she would remain silent by default.

Second, there was... a certain femininity to her presence.

Not just in posture or behavior, but in the overwhelming air of smugness and playful dominance she carried.

It reminded him of his younger sister only in reverse.

He used to tease and torment her growing up, but now, standing beside this spider, he felt like the victim of a karmic joke.

Maybe he owed his sister an apology.

Still, he wasn't against asking questions.

Just... only the ones he found truly relevant.

One thing that was immediately obvious from the stat comparison, she was physically stronger and faster than him.

Her strength and agility scores outpaced his own by a margin that didn't sit well in his stomach.

Then there were the unfamiliar stats, Durability, and Willpower.

Timothy squinted at them.

Durability, he guessed, was something like stamina.

That would explain her constant need to feed, her body didn't conserve energy well in prolonged engagements.

Unlike him, she lacked his passive boosts from system titles.

But Willpower? That one threw him off entirely.

What even is willpower in stat form? He thought.

Mental resilience? A metaphysical attribute? Something akin to mana resistance? He didn't know.

All his understanding came from fiction, games, books, and anime.

None of it could help him decode how this world interpreted such an abstract concept.

And then there was her carapace.

It wasn't a stat and just his stray thought but regardless...

The exoskeleton didn't seem to match up with her listed stats.

It was tougher, far tougher than her strength alone should allow.

Something didn't add up.

He could ask her directly, but it wasn't the right question not yet again

Instead, his attention was drawn to a particular skill.

[Mimicra (Active) – Lv. 1]

Allows the user to alter their physical form to mirror known biological patterns.

...

Simple.

Too simple.

He'd been expecting something flashier, something with the weight of a signature or ultimate skill.

But this was likely what allowed her to shift her size and form at will.

He scanned the rest of her skills:

[Web Sling (Active) – Lv. 3]

Shoot and manipulate silk lines for movement or entrapment.

[Regeneration Molt (Passive) – Lv. 2]

Rapidly repair damaged body parts and sustain minor wounds.

[Venomous Bite (Active) – Lv. 2]

Deliver paralyzing venom through the mandibular strike.

[Pheromone Discharge (Passive) – Lv. 1]

Emit chemical signals that lure mating companions.

[Gastric Acid Spray (Active) – Lv. 2]

Project corrosive fluid in a targeted cone.

...

Timothy's eye twitched.

Pheromones...?

And then it hit him...Hard.

His brain connected the dots with the speed of regret.

He almost facepalmed...no, he did.

Of course.

She's a spider.

Spiders aren't solitary in this world, she's not just some mindless beast.

Pheromones, social behavior... Damn it, Timothy.

He felt like crawling into a hole.

He was the one who walked in when he caught a whiff of ...ugh

Up ahead, the spider moved gracefully, her legs adjusting effortlessly to the terrain.

Two of her six eyes flicked back toward him, watching and somewhat Knowing.

She sped up, not out of fear, but as if amused by his realization.

He sighed and pulled himself out of his mental spiral.

With a flick of thought, he dismissed the machete, letting it vanish back into his inventory.

The others were still walking behind him, and it wasn't until that moment that he remembered the dagger, Nonso's dagger.

Timothy drew it from his inventory casually and walked over.

No need to hide anything now.

If they hadn't figured it out from the disappearing monster corpses, then subtlety was a lost cause.

These weren't just teammates.

They were bound by mutual secrecy.

After all, this team wasn't supposed to exist.

He handed the dagger over.

"Thanks. It was helpful," he said honestly.

Nonso accepted the weapon without expression.

His gaze lingered, analyzing.

He'd seen Timothy fight, seen how the dagger was used.

Not with precision.

Not like an assassin.

More like a tool than a weapon.

Its poison hadn't even activated properly.

"You've got an odd choice of weapon," Nonso said, his tone flat but curious, as though unsure if he should be asking.

"I don't have one," Timothy replied casually.

"I just use what gets the job done."

Nonso raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Explains a lot," Miebaka chimed in from behind.

"Huh?" Timothy turned, brow raised.

"He means your fighting style," Helen added, smirking from the side.

"It's... well, prude."

Timothy narrowed his eyes, uncertain whether to be insulted or impressed by the choice of word.

Timothy turned toward Helen.

"Obviously. It's not like most of us expected to awaken and started training with sharp objects beforehand," he said.

All eyes immediately shifted to him, and in that moment, he realized just how much of a bubble he'd been living in.

"Well, not everyone has that kind of privilege," Helen responded with a slightly teasing, boyish tone.

"That's why people take self-defense classes."

"I didn't exactly have the leverage," Timothy replied, a bit defensive.

"You mean you couldn't afford it, or you were afraid of getting hurt?" Helen asked, hitting a little too close to home.

Timothy hesitated, he honestly didn't have a good answer.

Everyone in the group probably knew more about his background than he did about theirs.

After all, he was the newest addition.

"High schools offered SE classes," Nonso cut in, trying to toss Timothy a lifeline.

"SE classes?" Timothy blinked, confused.

"I went to high school, but I don't recall anything like that."

"Survival Education," Nonso clarified.

"They swapped it in for PE classes. Not mandatory, but it's been around for a few years now."

"Which schools offered it?" Timothy asked, careful not to sound too prying.

"Mostly private schools and chapel-run institutions. It only started about five years ago," Nonso explained, choosing his words cautiously.

"I see…" Timothy murmured.

It was only now, walking in silence, that he fully realized how little formal training he had.

No self-defense classes.

No survival education.

No college background.

He'd always brushed it off, but this time, it stung.

Maybe it was time to pick up a few stances or techniques.

To smooth over the awkward mood, he tried to pivot the conversation.

"Anyway… the T'Challa's Tooth is surprisingly useful. Got it as a reward after killing a panther," he said casually, summoning the machete into his hand.

With a smooth swing, the blade caught the light, showcasing its fine, curved edges.