The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Planet Eleron)

(Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Loud explosions erupted nearby but Cleo refused to look behind her since she knew that her enemies were closing in.

There was a reason why this new quest was classified as 'hard'.

Cleo could not count the number of times that she had narrowly escaped from the N'grean tribe who were now hunting her down like she was prey.

The princess jumped forward just as a metalloid disc landed where she had been running just a moment ago.

BOOM!

A fiery explosion erupted from the disc and Cleo felt a wave of heat slam against her back.

Her body flew forward under the impact of the explosion, and she slammed against a nearby tree.

Cleo groaned in pain as she heard a cracking sound. One of her ribs had either broken or been significantly damaged.

She fumbled around in her storage bag and pulled out a syringe that was filled with a greenish liquid.

Cleo injected the healing serum into her body and bit her hand to prevent herself from screaming as her ribs gradually shifted back into place.

She could hear the sounds of footsteps. The android queen was not happy that she had declined her offer to become her subject.

But Cleo was never going to kneel.

A cold glint flashed across the princess' eyes as she picked up her plasma rifle and aimed it at the direction of the sound.

She was unable to use any mental techniques on the N'grean tribe since they were machines, but she was not powerless.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, so Cleo did something that was quite unthinkable…

She closed her eyes.

Cleo's world turned completely black but there was not a trace of panic on her face.

She focused on her breathing and extended the mental threads inside her mind outwards.

Cleo manipulated her mental force and soon a map appeared in her mind of the surrounding area, this map included seven suspiciously quiet spots that were slowly moving towards her.

The princess adjusted her plasma rifle while her eyes were still closed and trusted her body to respond to the mental images flowing into her mind.

She carefully lined up her weapon and placed her finger on the trigger.

The world was completely silent as if all the sounds had disappeared.

In that moment Cleo only focused on the shots that she needed to make. Everything else was merely a distraction.

"Not yet… not yet… one… one more… moment…" Cleo muttered quietly to herself as she remained frozen in place.

The leading figure stepped on a twig only a few hundred meters away and that was the signal that Cleo had been waiting for.

Bang!

Cleo pressed the trigger repeatedly and seven shots were fired off at her pursuers. Each shot landed in the center of their skulls with pinpoint accuracy.

The princess mercilessly executed every single one of the android queen's subjects and a quiet smile flashed across her face.

Cleo opened her eyes and resumed her journey to the beach. Her current objective was merely to survive so escaping from the island should fulfil that condition.

She walked through the dense jungle while keeping a careful eye on her surroundings for any hidden threats.

The dense vines wrapped around the trees slowly moved as Cleo approached and some of the braver ones even attempted to strike at her body.

Cleo easily dodged to the left and avoided the vines.

These vines were a bit strange… they were a greenish colour and somehow possessed tiny mouths filled with razor sharp teeth.

She had been walking through the jungle for several minutes and aside from the occasional vine attack, the journey had been relatively uneventful.

This lull in action did not relax Cleo's vigilance but instead made her even more wary.

There was no way that a 'hard' difficulty rated quest would not have more challenges ahead.

Still as the minutes passed… Cleo still saw nothing out of the ordinary as if this jungle was merely a picturesque and natural place.

Even the vines no longer bothered her as she walked past them.

Eventually the beach came within view on the horizon and Cleo could not resist moving forward a bit faster.

BOOM!

The princess quickly halted as the area in front of her erupted suddenly and a large clump of dirt flew into the air.

Cleo watched in shock as a hole opened up in the ground and dozens of cloaked figures emerged from the hole and formed a neat line formation.

"Stop right there! Don't attempt to escape your fate!" the creature in the front yelled confidentially as he pulled out a short sword.

"Today will be your death date!

"You have made our queen unhappy for your actions are a disgrace!" another chimed in with a sneer on his face.

"Now we will show you the fury of our race!"

Cleo quickly reacted and moved back to create some distance between herself and the cloaked figures.

She pointed her plasma rifle at the N'grean tribesmen and fired off a round of shots at their location.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

One of the creatures stepped forward and shouted incomprehensible words in a language that she could not understand.

He raised up his right hand and a glowing shield appeared on his wrist. This shield suddenly extended and created a large barrier.

Cleo's shots landed in the barrier and were quietly absorbed.

The creatures grinned triumphantly at her with smug expressions on their faces.

"Silly human. Our queen has gifted us with the means to defend," the shield bearer yelled pridefully.

"You do not want to face us in an honest duel…. then prepare to meet your end!"

Cleo was irritated by the constant rhyming but that wasn't her biggest concern at the moment.

How was it possible that the android queen had made countermeasures so quickly?

If she possessed that shield the entire time, then why wait to use it now?

Something wasn't adding up…

Boom! Boom! Boom!

From behind the relative safety of the barrier, the creatures kept lobbing their explosive devices at the princess who was forced to dodge awkwardly to avoid them.

Cleo scowled fiercely as she shot a hateful look at the figures in brown cloaks who were hiding like rats behind a shield.

No… now was not the time to let her emotions get the best of her…

Cleo's mind quickly raced as she thought about possible countermeasures and plans to deal with this unexpected danger.

She had to make a decision quickly because Cleo had the sneaking suspicion that the longer, she waited… the more disadvantageous the situation would become.

Wait… that was it!

A sudden plan flashed across her mind and for the first time since the exam had begun, a genuine smile spread across the princess' lips.