After a short jog, I reach the edge of a large clearing. Through the underbrush, I can make out sheer cliffs and the mountain I’ve been following extending into the sky. Finally! I’ve been going to this mountain for weeks! And now I’m finally here! But…The cliffs are a sand red reminiscent of the cave I was born in… except way, way taller. They also emit some kind of aura, a feeling of danger. This thing is even larger than I thought! And that strange aura… Where is it coming from? I step into range of it, subsequently leaving the underbrush, and the aura changes almost instantly. It goes from a calm, albeit vigilant, examination of its surroundings to frantic desperation. Woah! What’s with that sudden change?


    I’m distracted by the sound of cracking stone. Looking up the red cliffs, I see small rocks rolling down and falling towards the ground. Strangely, even when they look like they should stop, they keep rolling and congregate into some barebones shape. Some kind of creature?.Once the entire skeleton is complete, all the dust in the area begins shifting and swirling. It flows towards the strangely shaped skeleton and fills out the shape. In the wave of dust, I spot a flash of glowing green light. Before I can even fully register that it’s there, it’s gone.


    Now that the shape is filled out, it looks like… A spider?! The rocks look like armor plating, acting as the exoskeleton, while the dust looks like it’s supposed to be the flesh. The swirling patterns and constant movement belie its true nature, however.


    What is this thing? It doesn’t look friendly, so I’ll probably have to fight it… but how?


    I’m broken out of my thoughts by a sudden flash of green light coming from the spider. When I refocus on it, I see that its previously hollow eye sockets now have small green flames in them. The flames swirl around in the socket before condensing into what resembles a pupil, one for each of its eight eyes. All eight of them narrow in on me.


    Oh no. The spider charges towards me. I throw out an instinctual Slash to dissuade it from such an approach, but it dodges and keeps on charging. I jump to the left, narrowly avoiding the creature’s lunge. I launch another Slash at the spider, hitting it a mere second before it dodges. To my dismay, the attack barely puts a notch in the thing’s earthen carapace. What the heck is this thing made of?! Even these trees take more damage from Slash! And they’re crazy tough!


    I start moving away from the spider, putting distance between us to deny it a free attack. The spider is completely still, except for its eyes, which follow me. Why isn’t it moving? I run backwards for a couple more seconds before stopping and using Flora Camouflage three consecutive times. Just to be safe.


    The spider’s eyes swirl in its sockets, looking in eight different directions at once. It shouldn’t be able to see me like this. My confidence in my camouflage takes a hit when the flames in the spider’s eyes shrink for a second and turn an ocean blue. I feel like I’ve seen eyes that color before…


    The spider’s eyes expand back to their original size and lock onto me. It knows where I am! Danger Sense gives a warning and I dash to the right. As I move I cancel Flora Camouflage, since there is no point in keeping it active.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Danger Sense warns me again. I leap to the left, almost fully dodging the now-charging spider. However, I do brush against the creature, which puts a crack in my scales, even if it’s only a slight one. OW! What the heck?! Why is it so strong?!


    I run backwards, keeping an eye on it while putting some distance between us. This thing needs to die now. But how? If I drop my guard and it hits a more important part of my body, it’s game over. This thing has an insanely durable carapace and I don’t think I have anything more powerful than Slash… besides maybe Plant Control?


    The spider launches itself towards me again. Luckily, the space I put between us lets me fully dodge it this time. It comes to a stop behind me and stands completely still. This is my chance!


    I use Plant Control to scout out if there is anything I can use to try and damage the spider. The array of options unfolds before me and I quickly notice a small bush right beneath the spider. Perfect! I take control of it. All of its leaves slough off and the branches bend and coil around each other before finally meeting at a sharpened and reinforced tip. Woah… That looks dangerous. For the spider, at least. I push the wooden spike upwards and into the thorax of the spider. The roots strain as they shove the spike up and straight through the membrane surrounding the parts of the spider not covered in its rocky armor. The spike goes through with barely any resistance.


    The spider stumbles, trying to push itself off of the spike. I untwirl the very ends of the vines and shape them like hooks. It feels strange, like bending one’s fingers backwards except without the pain. The hooks latch onto the spider’s dust-flesh and tear it apart further. How is it not dead yet? If this doesn’t kill it, what am I supposed to do? Oh, I know!


    I cancel Plant Control and the snapping of the bush echoes throughout the clearing. [Plant Control]. The skill activates once more and I search for another good plant near the spider. A needle-thin root of a nearby tree lays just beneath the surface, and just beneath the spider. I hope it doesn’t break… Selecting the root, I launch it through the ground and curl it around the spider’s head.


    The creature is still stunned from the damage the deformed bush caused. Now I just have to… The root tightens and crushes the creature’s head like a grape. Woah! That’s way stronger than I thought it was! The spider’s earthy body falls into a haphazard pile. The sand quickly blows away while the rocks stand, marking the spot as the location of the creature’s death. Sitting at the very top of the pile of rocks is a small green stone that is shining enticingly. How did that get there? The notifications of level-ups come knocking, interrupting my thoughts on the strange jewel.


    Defeated [Lesser Earth Elemental - Level 14]. Experience is awarded for defeating an enemy.


    1 skill level gained. Advanced [Passive - Danger Sense] to level 3.


    1 skill level gained. Advanced [Plant Control - Minor] to level 5.


    1 skill level gained. Advanced [Flora Camouflage] to level 2.


    1 skill level gained. Advanced [Slash] to level 4.


    2 levels gained. Level advanced from 10 → 12.


    Woah… That’s a lot of notifications… How many levels did I gain from that? One, two, three… four skill levels and two main levels?! That’s crazy! Even the fox didn’t give this much! My eyes turn to the shining green stone lying on the ground. And I still don’t even know what this thing is! What does it even do? The instinct that stayed mostly silent throughout the battle flares up, demanding that I eat the stone. Almost unconsciously, my claws begin to extend towards it.