The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Planet Eleron)

(Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

The sun was brightly shining as if welcoming the students in the arena to a fresh start and a bright new day.

The second stage of the battle ranking exam was now mostly finished, and there were only two biomes left.

Principal Malik lazily relaxed and chatted with the other professors on the raised platform as they stared at the students below.

Cleo, Qiana and around fifteen other students were standing on a boat that was gently rocking from side to side.

The boat sat in the middle of an artificial ocean with realistic waves and endless water that stretched out to the horizon.

Roughly five kilometers away from their location was an archipelago of islands each with a different environment.

Some had volcanoes that grumbled and rumbled as hot lava flowed down from their open mouths.

Others had vast dense forests with mysterious shadowy figures moving just out of sight of the students.

There were grasslands, deserts and even swamps!

This arena was truly a mesh of the other biomes and hence that was the reason why its difficulty rating fluctuated greatly.

[Now Selecting Stage: Island]

[Players: 17]

[Difficulty: Very Easy to Insane]

Each student received a map on their wrist communicators with the danger rating of each island in the archipelago.

Points were allocated according to the difficulty of the island chosen and the performance of the students once they landed on its shores.

There was a hidden objective on each island that could only be cleared by a single student, so teamwork was not encouraged.

In fact, this biome would probably be the most competitive so far since students had to race against each other in order to secure the objective.

However, they were still forbidden from attacking each other so fighting between the students was pretty unlikely.

Cleo considered each choice carefully before deciding on a tiny island towards the northeastern side of the chain.

Its danger rating was 'Medium'.

Cleo planned to gradually explore the more difficult sections, but it was important to secure points first and foremost.

The princess gently massaged her temples and a sweet smile flashed across her face when she recalled Sophie's passionate kiss of good luck.

In fact, her lips still felt as though they were tingling slightly.

Cleo knew that without her mech she would be at a significant disadvantage, but she was not helpless.

Mental force was a mysterious power, and few could effectively mount a defense against an attack that struck the mind.

Cleo closed her eyes and extended her senses outwards.

She could feel the mental force in her mind manifest as fragile threads that wrapped around her body.

She could manipulate those threads to enter the minds of the numerous psyches surrounding her body but held herself back.

Attacks on other students were forbidden and Cleo did not intend to break the rules.

"What island did you pick?" a soft voice asked calmly.

Qiana walked over and adjusted her glasses as she played with a blade in her right palm.

"I was thinking of this one…" Cleo replied gently as she pointed to a certain island.

Qiana hummed softly and the blade in her hand moved faster and faster until it was as though the weapon was dancing at her fingertips.

"It's a shame that this biome does not allow us to team up," Qiana noted as she let out a heavy sigh of disappointment.

"Yeah… but don't worry… I'm sure that we will both pass," Cleo replied confidently as she placed her arm around Qiana's shoulders.

The girls chatted for a few minutes until Qiana waved goodbye and headed for the opposite side of the boat.

The boat briefly trembled, and an electromagnetic pulse was emitted from the metallic transmitter attached to the mast.

Numerous smaller ships emerged from the ocean and headed for the boat.

Each contained automatic navigation systems so the students only had to input their desired location and the boat would transport them.

Cleo waved at Qiana and gave her a thumbs up before confidently jumping off the boat and landing on the nearest ship.

The students from the elite class were the first to react since they realised that gaining a head start would provide a huge advantage.

Cleo quickly inputted the coordinates for the island that she had chosen, and the ship set off at a brisk pace.

She turned around and saw other students quickly jump down from the boat as well but not everyone was as fortunate as she was to land smoothly.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

Several bodies fell into the water and one particularly unlucky student banged his head against the side of the ship as he landed.

Cleo couldn't see which ship Qiana had jumped on but assumed her friend was already on her way to whichever island she had selected.

The princess closed her eyes and waited patiently as the ship continued its journey in a northeastern direction.

It was honestly quite the pleasant experience.

The ship was outfitted with a single wooden bench with a comfortable mattress placed on top of it.

Cleo was even tempted to take a nap. Clearly the instructors had kept the students' comfort in mind when designing their sea faring vessels.

The journey to the island was relatively smooth since no hidden sea monsters or deadly leviathans emerged from the calm ocean.

Clearly the only challenge would be the island itself.

There was a faint humming sound and Cleo opened her eyes as she heard some noises in the distance.

She turned around and saw four other boats heading in the same direction as her. They were a fair distance away, but a frown appeared on Cleo's face.

She didn't know that the island she had chosen was such a popular choice…

Cleo played with her fingers as a fierce competitive spirit burned inside her. Sophie had wowed and impressed everyone with her skills, and she could not fall behind.

This time the princess was determined to reach number one and let the whole university know what a power couple they were.