Shin would be the first to admit that he was a drastically different person from his not-so-distant days as a mongrel. His thinking was much more advanced. His conception of the world itself was vastly expanded. Something was on the top shelf? Boom, he could handle that noise.

But despite all of that, despite all of his and his pack’s advancements and refinements, he had to confess that there was something deeply satisfying about finally marking the source of all of their hopes and fears as forever theirs. It was primal, intense. It felt good.

It also made the whole place smell like piss. And as the entire pack was discovering, they were just a bit too domesticated now to be fully down for that. So when someone suggested letting the place air out a touch, no one had any objections.

Besides. There was plenty of trash lying around that needed seeing to.

Shin had briefly considered letting the fallen guards fade away naturally. With dignity. The Oaken Elves had also been less than worthy foes, after all, but the kobolds had still seen fit to treat their remains respectfully. It was the high-minded thing to do.

But then he remembered the display of stuffed mongrels. Remembered the dull horror of their glass eyes. And his heart was hardened. Shit wasn’t left out to further offend the senses with its filth. Shit got buried.

So into a hole the guards would go. Shin had no idea if that actually cut them out of the life stream, or if it was just a hollow gesture of spite. But it felt right. God knew there were worse reasons to start a tradition.

By the time the mass grave had been dug and the humans disposed of, the sun had begun to set and the outpost’s odor wasn’t quite so pungent. Time to make things official. The entire pack formed an excited circle in the open grounds of the conquered fort, tails wagging as they stared up at the screen that still floated high above them.

Conquest Complete! (Raze/Claim?)

Shin nodded to Momo, after a moment to collect herself the little cleric threw out her arms to signal for all the kobolds to answer as one.

"CLAIM!"

LA:35l-J claim activated processing valid host found valid score found executing claim

The world outside the high walls and splintered gate of the outpost fell away in great slats, like tiles being peeled away from reality itself to spin off into a vast nothingness. All that was left was the outpost, and the pack.

Supu, one of the Bruisers, snuck a quick glance at what lay beyond the new boundaries of existence. He whipped himself forward just as quickly, making every effort to not look beyond the outpost walls again. “Is this, um, what’s supposed to happen?”

Shin didn’t really have an answer. “Maybe?” He couldn’t resist taking a peek himself. It was…difficult to describe. Simultaneously entrancing and unbearable. It was like staring into the endless possibilities of all things, of everything terrible and beautiful that could ever be. At the same time, the sight gave Shin the distinct impression of flipping over some monstrous insect and gazing upon the revolting chaos that writhed below, like the careless fumblings of some insane godhead.

Very quickly, Shin decided he didn’t want to look outside either. “Maybe let’s just pick up the pace a bit, yeah?”

Stepping forward into the circle, Momo peered thoughtfully at the updated screen that hung there. “What’s this, then? We need to ‘define our Tribe’?”

It was true, the prompt had changed.

‘Kobold Tribe’: Level One, Undefined. Define Tribe?

Well, Shin figured that at least the first step was straightforward. “Define Tribe.”

The pack ooh-ed and aah-ed as the prompt zoomed out, ‘Kobold Tribe’ now forming the center of a vast decision tree. The scope of it was overwhelming, implying the existence of possibilities that couldn’t be reached in generations of trying. But for the moment, the chart was grayed out. ‘Kobold Tribe’ pulsed with an insistent light, and demanded that a single choice be made immediately.

Shin shuddered as raw concepts flooded his brain. Savage might, animalistic cunning. Fire and blood and bone and gold. So much power, but not wholly their own. Never only their own. If the pack was willing to sacrifice some vital piece of themselves, willing to truly become Monsters…the plight of their forebears would never come to pass again.

And then, another path: Independent. But fragile. Terribly fragile. And...that was it. How curious. It was clear to Shin which path the System considered the correct one. The images had been clear about the costs of becoming Monsters, no question, but had also been effusive about the rewards. By contrast, little more than the risks for going down the so-called ‘Citizen’ path were presented. Just the risks, and the fact that they would be Independent.

Or as Shin translated it, the fact that they would be Free.

There was no discussion, not even any words spoken. It seemed as if the System was directly polling the pack members’ minds on this preeminent question. ‘Kobold Tribe’ simply stopped pulsing, and the first two paths opened up.

Shin cracked open an eye, glancing around at his packmates. “You all saw that too, right?” Nods in response. “Was anyone tempted by Monster?”

He didn’t see a single nod as Shita spoke up. “We know a bad deal when we smell it,” she grumbled, rubbing in annoyance at her long nose. “Our lives’ve always been fragile, an’ we still made it this far. Right?”

There were nods all around as Dyu gave a start. “Uh? Status!” He squinted at his own screen, his ears popping up fully alert. “Hey, my class changed! I mean, I’ve got one now?”

Mummering in curiosity, the rest of the pack brought their sheets up as well. Shin didn’t notice any change to his, still a Schemer through and through. But Shita and Kaiteki also seemed to have changed from simply being ‘Kobolds’ to becoming ‘Villagers’.

“Is there anything more?” Momo asked, tilting her head in interest, “Or does it just say ‘Villagers’.”

“Um, one sec.” Shita tapped something on her screen, eyes widening as she began to flip through what appeared to be a long list of options. “I have another pick to make? Like ‘Farmer’ and ‘Craftsperson’ and such?”

It made sense, considering the choice they just made. Monsters didn’t need someone to grow their food, or weave their clothes, or make their tools. But Citizens of a village did.

Shita tapped something, then frowned. “Oh. I can’t make a pick until we finish the Tribe choices.”

“Right, of course.” Shin addressed the rest of the pack. “Should we keep going, then?”

The next choice was less demanding than the first, to Shin’s relief. Not quite as casual as the sort of choice that he made off of his Status Screen, but significantly more so than the full sensory hard sell they’d just been through. It seemed that the information was still transmitted in ways beyond words, though.

The right path filled Shin’s mind with visions of a tribe on the move, a tribe that sought its future wherever they could find it: Marauders, or perhaps traders, or even traveling entertainers. The territory they had claimed would always be an important hub for them, but less of a home and more of a place for resupply and outfitting. The staging ground for a lifetime of roaming. The system didn’t attach a title of its own, actually, so ‘Roaming’ seemed as good a fit as any.

The left path, conversely, put as much focus on the tribe’s new territory as the tribe itself. From their new bastion, they might be warlike conquerors or peaceful sages. A secretive sect or a warm, inviting community. The former outpost was their foundation, and from it they would try to build something even grander. ‘Builders’.

A long moment passed, the pack waiting silently in increasingly awkward silence. Shin cracked open an eye, only to find the rest of the kobolds all doing the same. He coughed in slight embarrassment; it seemed as if they had to actually talk this one out. “So, thoughts? Neither seems intrinsically bad.”

Momo hummed thoughtfully. “True, but context matters. If we were Roamers, our future would depend on the quality of our neighbors. Right?”

“So, the Oaken Elves.” Gero scoffed. “A real bunch of sweethearts.”

“Weak ones, if that idiot you three captured is any indication.” Higen distractedly scratched at his back with the tip of one of his knives. “Neighbors like that? We could vanish into their own forests. Strike as we pleased.”

He wasn’t entirely wrong. Gero certainly looked intrigued. Shin had a few thoughts, though. “The Oaken Elves are a soft target, but what about whoever’s next? It’s a massive Kingdom after them, and I don’t imagine we’d have an easy time there.”

Higen gestured expansively with his knife. “We could just keep juicing the Elves. It’s like a crab: you snap off the claws, throw it back, wait for them to regrow and then snap’m off again. Just eat off them forever.”

Shin had never seen a crab, but he knew exactly what Higen was saying. “It’s not a bad plan, but would you really be happy doing that forever?”

Some of the other pack members had thoughts of their own. “We almost died taking the outpost, though,” Hanbun pointed out. “Shouldn’t we try to put down roots here?”

“Putting down roots can be a risk.” Gero offered. “Our enemies know where to find us. They can pin us down.”

“Um, which enemies, exactly?” Hanbun raised her hands questioningly. “Our zone only has one exit and entrance; it’s not as if we’re surrounded on all sides. Our only neighbors are these Oaken Elves that everyone seems to agree are weaklings. Are we worried about them pinning us down?”

Shin hadn’t fully considered that. But didn’t she have a fantastic point? And moreso, wasn’t this actually a very exciting opportunity? “She’s absolutely right. It might not last forever, but right now? This zone is maybe the most defensible position we could have ever wished for. If we take the time to build ourselves up here, we won’t have to worry about the strength of our neighbors. By the time they reach us, it’s our strength they will need to worry about.”

Gero thought about it for a long moment, then nodded in agreement. Higen merely shrugged, but that was the closest he’d ever come to conceding a point. With the debate seemingly running dry, Momo decided it was time to take a vote. “All in favor of Builders?”

The bulk of the pack’s hands went up instantly, the remaining few following after a bit of thought. Higen was the last to give a careless little flip of his hand, making the decision unanimous. The path leading left on the decision tree lit up, and they had one more choice left to make.

Shin waited for the visions to come again, but they never did. Instead, two words appeared bluntly in his mind.

RECLUSIVE

WELCOMING

…Hm. No more hints than that. Something about this choice tugged at Shin, worried at his instincts. It was clear that the System was hiding the full impact of this choice from them, and that could only mean that it was the most significant decision they would have to make.

They were going anywhere until they made it, though. So no reason to wait. “I guess that’s all we get. Thoughts?”

“Reclusive.”

Higen made his opinion clear so immediately that Shin couldn’t help being a bit taken aback. “Really? Why?”

“Seriously?” He gave Shin a look of disbelief. “We shared this zone with another group, and they spent their free time murdering us. The only reason we’re here now, making these choices, is because we killed all of them. I really need more of an argument than that?”

It annoyed Shin to admit it twice in such a short period of time, but Higen had a point. Put the outpost guards and the Oaken Elves together, and the fledgling pack was precisely zero for two on the Friendly Neighbors count. If Reclusive meant keeping and seeing to their own? Maybe they’d survive when they inevitably went zero for three.

Before Shin could grudgingly support Higen, however, Shibou spoke up. “I, um, think we should go Welcoming.”

Higen rolled his eyes. “Why.”

The big Brute flattened his ears, unused to trying to defend himself with his words. “Because it…sounds nicer? I guess?”

“It sounds nicer. You guess.” Higen shook his head in annoyance. “That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. When you became a kobold, did your brains accidentally stay mongrel?”

Shibou’s mouth hung open, unable to marshal any further words against the verbal assault. But he didn’t need to, as one of the other kobolds immediately threw her arms around him. “Hey, don’t be mean to Shibou!” Karikari insisted, glaring at Higen. “We have to be good to each other!”

“Yeah!” Choro joined in, his bent tail held high. “Besides, I don’t think I like all this talk about more killing and, and snapping off claws or whatever. Is that really who we’re going to be?”

The rest of the pack grew more animated, chattering with agreement as Hanbun raised her voice. “We got rid of the guards because they were bad. We can’t turn around and be just as bad as them now.”

Higen growled, stepping forward to defend himself against his increasingly riled packmates. “We don’t have to be like them, but we can’t just be–!”

He cut off as Momo interrupted him, her normally sweet voice dripping with authority. “I vote for Welcoming.”

The rest of the kobolds immediately threw up their hands, calling out their support for Welcoming as well. Higen shook his head, clearly annoyed but unwilling to further defend his position. There wasn’t really anything else to add, was there? The path leading towards Welcoming lit up, and then the decision tree vanished.

Finalize Tribe?

“Finalize Tribe!”

Choose Territory Name (Input/Randomize)

Okay. This was something Shin had actually put some thought into. “You know, this whole time we've been fighting for our home, right? So why don’t we just call it that? Home?”

The pack was quiet, for a time. And Gero coughed. “That’s…really corny.”

Then the floodgates opened.

“Seems a bit obvious?”

"Pretty bland, I think."

“I don’t, um…”

“Is ‘banal’ the right word?”

“I don’t like it!”

“Really dumb.”

“Seriously, Shin?”

Right. Well. The, uh, court of public opinion has spoken, apparently. Shin cleared his throat, attempting to salvage a bit of dignity. “So then, um. Randomize?”

“Randomize!”

LA:35l-J defined searching database appropriating culture executing village design

The outpost began to spin as the tiles that made up reality flew back into place, more and more of the world sprouting anew around them. They spun so fast that Shin found his vision blurring, everything around him reduced to a smeared blur.

And then it stopped, the world snapping back into focus around them. The kobolds found themselves deposited neatly outside of the former outpost, still stunned by their sudden return to existence. Shin’s eyes were still bleary, but his imagination was absolutely on fire. The zone of their birth was finally theirs, and he simply could not wait to explore what new excitements it had to offer.

Now. What was the deal with this giant prompt obscuring the whole outpost?

SHINKI ITTEN VILLAGE PATCHING (0 OF 100)

Hm. Right.

Anticlimactic.