The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Planet Eleron)

(Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

Cleo emerged from the bushes and slowly approached the creatures with her rifle pointed directly at them.

The tiny figure kneeled down and gripped his left leg in pain since Cleo's shot had directly struck him.

"Wretched foe you have shot my friend!" the other creature yelled as he saw Cleo approach from the distance.

He hopped up and down in rage and the words that flowed out of his mouth were all in rhyme.

"You better watch out because violence will be your end!"

"Those who face our tribe better hide… because they have all died!"

"Your foolish actions… you have no idea what you've done…"

"On this island we are the number one!"

The creature tore off his brown cloak to reveal a diminutive body that was covered by a heavy suit of medieval armour.

The armour was a bright white colour and there was a symbol of a volcano painted in the center of the breastplate.

"You cowardly foe… you better beware. It is time for a duel, so you best be prepared!" the creature roared in fury.

He unsheathed his dagger and ran at Cleo with fury burning in his eyes. He did not get far before Cleo fire a shot at his leg.

Bang!

The creature crashed to the ground and cried out in pain. Cleo narrowed her eyes as she observed a metallic endoskeleton beneath the torn off flesh.

The creature opened his mouth once more but this time instead of rhymes what came out was… a bit more colourful.

"Holy fucking shit! You shot off my fucking leg! You coward! Don't you know that a duel is meant to be done with swords?!" the creature hollered in anger.

"Fuck! Do you know how long it takes to mend an injury like this? Are you going to provide me with any compensation?"

"My life insurance is going to go up for sure! Do you think that I can afford increased premiums in this economy?!"

Tears ran down the creature's eyes as it rolled on the ground and sobbed with its entire frame shaking uncontrollably.

Cleo lowered her plasma rifle and the creature's demeaner instantly changed. The crying noises immediately stopped, and he flung several metalloid discs at the princess.

Cleo jumped backwards just as the discs landed on the ground in front of her.

BOOM!

An enormous explosion erupted from the discs that sent rocks and dirty flying into the air. Cleo covered her face and narrowly avoided a chunk of rock that was shot in her direction.

Oh, that clever little….

Cleo waited for the dust to clear before finishing off both of the creatures with two quick shots from her rifle.

She had a serious look on her face as she stared at the enormous crater created from the explosion.

The creatures themselves may not be a threat but it was clear that they had both cunning and possession of dangerous weapons.

It was quite the combination.

This challenge was already far trickier than Cleo had initially anticipated and the fact that the enemies on the island were machines meant that she was faced with a handicap.

None of her mental abilities would work on them and she was not allowed to attack the other students.

Cleo slowly walked towards the spot where a hole had opened up in the ground and reached into her storage bag.

She pulled out three explosive devices and set them an equal distance apart.

She played with the trigger device in her left hand and moved to a safe distance away.

"Three… two… one…" Cleo silently muttered as she pressed the red button on the trigger.

BOOM!

The enormous hole reappeared once more and this time dozens if not hundreds of the brown cloaked figures rushed outside.

They got into a straight-line formation and stared at Cleo with bemused expressions.

Cleo readied her plasma rifle and prepared for the upcoming fight when someone walked out of the hole.

She was a female android with long silvery hair and a slender physique.

She wore a simple grass skirt and a pair of oversized black sunglasses that loosely hung on her face.

"Did my daddy send you to find me?" the android asked sweetly.

"Yes… he told me… to rescue you…" Cleo replied hesitantly as she clearly realised that the situation was a bit different than what she initially anticipated.

The android man's daughter did not look like a prisoner and in fact she appeared to be quite friendly with the N'grean tribe.

"Urgh! I told him not to send anymore bounty hunters after me!" the female android stomped her feet in rage.

"He never listens! I told him that I don't want to take over the family business… I want to be a queen and rule over my people!"

"Do you know what it feels like to become a ruler?"

"No… not really," Cleo spoke after thinking for a moment.

She was princess but she was only one of thousands of heirs to the throne, so it was not like she had any significant chance to become the next successor.

"To be a queen is to hold life and death in the palm of your hand… for the decisions you make to affect the livelihoods of all the subjects you control…" the female android whispered darkly.

"That power… it is addicting… one cannot help but desire more… tell me… do you want to become my subject as well?"

Buzz! Buzz!

Cleo's wrist communicator vibrated twice, and a few new messages appeared in her inbox.

A knowing smile flashed across the female android's face as she watched the princess read the messages.

[Hidden Objective Found!]

[A New Choice Is Offered!]

[Pledge Allegiance To The Queen]

[Difficulty: Easy]

This stage was truly unique, and Cleo did not expect that the hidden objective could change depending on the actions of the NPCs.

The difficulty of this new mission was only easy so the points granted would be considerably less than what the android man had offered.

And there was an even more important reason why Cleo was hesitant to follow the android queen's wishes.

"I'm sorry but I take my loyalty very seriously so I cannot pledge myself to someone who I don't know," Cleo politely refused.

There was a brief moment of silence as the android queen stared at her with a cold glint in her robotic eyes.

"Very well then…" she hoarsely growled with a slight tremor in her voice.

Buzz! Buzz!

Cleo glanced down at her wrist communicator and her expression instantly changed as she read the messages.

[Hidden Objective Found!]

[Survive The Wrath Of The Queen]

[Difficulty: Hard]