The rustling I heard at the campsite wasn't due to the wind.

My fire had died down significantly, but it was still burning. The smoke and fire rose straight up the sky, so I knew the sound wasn't from the wind. Also, I heard the sounds of multiple shuffles coming from around the area where I had my pack. It was an odd sound, though, because the sounds of sharp clicks were mixed with the shuffling.

As quietly as possible, I grabbed my spear, which rested right next to me. I rose to a crouch to keep a low silhouette. I wanted to see what I was dealing with before I made any drastic decisions.

The chances were good that it was just a normal animal. If it was, I would be able to stand up and make noise to scare it away. If it was an animal bigger than me, the chances were decent that it, too, would flee. If it turned out to be a monster, then I was about to be in trouble.

I crept around the fire's edge and knew immediately that I was about to be in trouble. I saw a creature that nearly made me scream and run in fright. I probably would have it if I wasn't cornered due to where I set up camp.

At first glance, I thought the creature I saw shuffling around my pack was a spider. That alone nearly caused me to lose my calm. I could see its giant thorax gleaming in the firelight as it was turned away from me. Then its legs skittered around, making the soft clicking sounds that woke me.

Seeing the other half of its body was what forced me to clench my muscles and really crave the ability to run and hide. Where the head should have been was what looked like a small man's torso. Its skin was the color of lightly tanned leather. Well-defined muscles protruded all over its small body, and the firelight gleamed off its bald skull just as it had done with its thorax.

As the creature's lower body pivoted to the side and its upper body raised up, its full height was higher than my crouched position.

At that moment, my DTA program fed me the creature's information.

-Brownie Spider: A bastard species created by the union of the Brownie Fey race with that of the monstrous spider. These creatures have a high intelligence for monsters. Their lower, arachnid half is covered in thick chitin resistant to slashing but vulnerable on the joints. The upper humanoid portion is weaker against slashing and piercing attacks but tougher against blunt force. For additional information, search the local CoreLink cluster server.

Class: Scout

Attack: Mystic Realm 2 – Racial Average

Defense: Natural Realm 5 – Racial Average

I noticed that the creature's attack parameter was in the Mystic Realm and mine was an unknown number in the Natural Realm. That meant I would have to just not get hit by it. Its defense was lower, so I decided to attack first and not give it a chance to retaliate. I gripped the shaft of the spear tightly and was about to spring forward, but at the last moment, I remembered that I didn't change my robot to Symbiotic mode. I wasn't yet used to it.

"Symbiotic Mode," I whispered. All the air was sucked out of my goggles with a hiss, and it was at that moment I knew I had messed up.

The Brownie Spider whipped its head in my direction at the sound of my goggles adjusting, and my previous advantage was lost. Its gleaming lower body spun in the low light, making the clicking noises of its spider-like appendages louder than before. One of its arms raised into the air and clutched in its hand was a previously unseen stone club.

The creature yelled in a high-pitched screech. Its mouth was wide with saliva stretching between multiple rows of pointed teeth. Its eyes were a dark black. Even though it didn't register at the time, I was relieved that the eye's blackness was the extent of its spider-like qualities.

A red box appeared around the monster, and a high-pitched whistle rose to a buzz as the red box outlined the creature. The brownie spider rushed at me. I nearly slipped from my spot as fear made it hard to control my limbs. A loud, incessant buzz knocked me from my stupor.

Its movement was so fast I could only roll out of the way at the last moment as the gray club fell down in an attempt to see my brain on the outside of my body. The ground seemed to shake from the missed blow, but I thought that might just be my imagination. It was hard to tell as the incessant buzzing was again blaring in my head.

The buzzing wasn't alone either. It was accompanied by a large red triangle flashing on the right side of my vision toward the Brownie Spider. I didn't know if that meant I was in danger of being struck or if it was just indicating that something dangerous was in that direction. Either way, I decided to move.

I rolled forward to get some distance, and just to be sure, I rolled again. After my second roll, I spun around and jumped back. The stone club narrowly missed taking my face off.

Stolen novel; please report.

I instinctively struck out with my spear in retaliation. The monster wasn't expecting the attack, and it was wide open. My spear strike was off, and it went to the Brownie Spider's left.

I pulled my spear back before the spider could pick its club off the ground. As it started to skitter forward, I slashed at it in a wide arc from right to left. The Brownie Spider was easily able to stop its momentum and move back.

I was expecting to hit my target that time, so I put all my strength into the swing. The Brownie Spider probably thought I would be off balance, and it started to skitter in range. I wasn't without talent, though.

I continued to spin, trying to angle the backside of my spear so it would hit the diminutive creature. My positioning was good because my weapon shook after the impact of my spear strike. A loud ring sounded in the area from the strike. As I continued my spin to face the monster, I expected it to be unconscious and on the ground.

I was sure I would have been laid out on the ground if I had been struck in the head with a metal pole. It seemed that the brownie spider was made of tougher material. My attack had staggered it back a couple of paces, but it was far from being unconscious on the ground. Blood trickled from its mouth while it shook its head. It was good to know that I had done some damage.

While shaking its head, my DTA program lit up with multiple green dots at different points around the Brownie-Spider's body. I didn't let my opening go to waste. I moved forward to strike at the monster and end the fight.

I tried my best, but I was still too slow. The creature managed to move through the pain. As I thrust my spear toward its head, it managed to get the large stone club in the way. To my eternal horror, the blade of my spear broke.

When the stone and my steel spear collided, a large crack formed down the center of my blade. To make matters worse, I didn't want to stop my planned attack. It was a series of strikes against the creature, and each attack was blocked by the Brownie-Spider. Every time the spear and club collided, a blade piece broke away.

When I finally jumped back after my flurry of strikes, I was dismayed to see that it was only half the size it was previously. The only good news was that there was still a point at the end of the spear. It may have been jagged and broken, but if I could manage to hit the spider creature, it would still pierce it. At least, that's what I thought. I couldn't be sure how hard its chitin-covered body was. I would have to continue sticking it in the humanoid top half.

I was breathing hard from my attacks, and the Brownie-Spider used that to push forward and up. It leaped in the air, its body reaching higher than my head. Its club was raised high over its head in preparation to come down in a devastating smash.

I was glad that, while the creature did seem to possess some intelligence, it wasn't that smart overall. If it was, it wouldn't have tried an attack that it had already done while simultaneously leaving itself wide open. I would have loved to take advantage of its exposed underbelly, but to do so would have left me open for its overhead smash.

I ducked and rolled under the creature and its attack. Quickly spinning as I recovered, I swung my spear at its closest leg. The sound of wood breaking crackled in the area, and the Brownie-Spider yowled in pain. Its appendage inverted on itself, turning upward. It was a combination of my attack and its attempt to keep the limb out of the way.

My attack was a small victory since the monster still had seven more spider legs and two humanoid arms, but it was a win nonetheless. I could tell that it was in severe pain, and I hoped that the pain would drive it to make more mistakes. Unfortunately, the damage it took seemed to have the opposite effect.

Instead of rushing toward another attack, the aberration kept its distance and was cautious. I tried to move closer and get in range for a thrust of my spear, but it kept moving back or to the side. After a couple of failed attempts at stabbing the thing, it must have gathered its courage up a little more as it started to move faster.

The Brownie-Spider kept trying to quickly shuffle to either side of me to open space for an attack. I didn't let it get the chance, though. I made sure that I kept my eyes on it and my spear between us. I still had the advantage and didn't want to lose it.

We continued the back and forth, with my attempting to stab it and it trying to flank me until we were both tired of the dance. I was breathing hard, and the monster was clearly hurt. I could see its chest heaving.

The monster must have seen the same thing as me; it started to look around and slowly back away from the area we were fighting. I didn't want to follow it, but I also didn't want to let it get away and then come back later. As it moved back, I slowly moved forward to stay within range.

Our fight had started in the limited space between two giant natural monoliths. It slowly moved down the hill a little. Then the Brownie-Spider chose to try and flee. It edged its way to the side of one of the monoliths.

Neither it nor I took our eyes off the other as it made its way around, and I followed. It would occasionally feign an attack, which caused me to pause in defense. It would then skitter quickly away, trying to put some extra distance between us.

On one attempt, it must have felt that it had enough distance.

It jumped forward, and I jumped back in preparation. Instead of moving backward as quickly as it could, it turned to run. I knew my chance when I saw it. I rushed forward and swung my spear back in preparation. I was aiming for another leg, hoping to hobble and finish it without worry.

Just before I was in range, the alarm in my goggles started blaring, and a large red triangle flashed on the left of my vision. I arrested my momentum, and loose gravel caused my feet to slide under me. My arm shot down on instinct, and my body pivoted slightly as I fell. As my hand hit the ground, a searing pain erupted from the top of my opposite arm.

I looked at the source of pain and saw a long gash along my arm, just below the shoulder. Sticking out of the ground just a foot away was a spike of what looked like bone. My DTA program continued to blare at me in a warning. I finally turned to look and saw another Brownie-Spider perched on the rocks in the direction I was attacked.

I thought I had the advantage, but it was an ambush.

The Brownie-Spider to my left had what looked like a tiny, primitive bow. It was less of a bow and more of a contraption that it used to hurl small spears. It was quickly securing another miniature spear to ready another volley. I didn't have time to worry about that since the first Brownie-Spider was skittering toward me with bloodlust plastered over its face.