The spider shrieked. It rose one of his legs, preparing for an attack. Alex swam immediately to the other side. "Call someone to help! Now!" Alex cried, running away from the other side so that the others may escape and call for help.
"What about you?" Ivan shouted, nervous of Alex's situation.
"Don't mind me, I can buy time." Alex said, ensuring everyone that he would be safe until they get here. But he only though of that. there's no guarantee that he would still be alive because this monster is definitely agile and big, with its eight legs it can outrun him for seconds. "Run! Now!" He cried. He looked at the monster who was still on the other side of the river, hesitant to cross it.
I hope it just stays there. Alex hoped. Suddenly the enormous spider monster jumped towards the other side and went directly to Alex who came running immediately after witnessing it.
Alex ran fast and saw the syringe just beside his clothes. He thought of using it but without the other's consent, he may be put in a very difficult situation. Hoping everyone could understand, although hesitant, he dived towards it and injected it in his left shoulder as the monster still keeps on pursuing him.
He felt the strange pain inside his body. His insides were screaming in agony as the strange chemical from the turtle monster spread rapidly inside his veins.
But there's no time to be dramatic, I have to fend this monster off if I can kill it then it's better.
Alex slowly transformed into a reptile – turtle. His white skin was replaced with brown scales and his once nude body was armored with silver breastplate, his hands and his feet all covered with silver-colored armor plates. His face remained, only brownish spots emerged and his nose form of what looked like a beak.
As the spider monster rose two of his legs trying to torn Alex's body into two, Alex turned the soil into a muddy pit where the monster was sucked deep leaving his head and little pincers on the surface.
Alex, tilted his neck from side to side. "Now." Alex said calmly. The rose his hand mid-air and a silver bludgeon materialized, "Who's the monster now?" he then swung his weapon, hitting the helpless spider monster, trapped in a pit. The spider monster's head broke into pieces as its purple blood splattered into the place.
Alex sighed as he squatted beside the river where he looked at the sky. "I did it, I acquired a power." He whispered to himself.
He felt a rushing sound of footsteps coming from the sides and he saw Jimmy and Ivan catching their breath and saw Kent and Gloyd coming from above. Gloyd's wings were enormous that it sways the trees and disturbs the water as it flaps. "Are you okay, Alex?! Where's the monster?!" Kent exclaimed, worried of his classmate. "I think we weren't needed anymore. Too bad, I could have shown everyone how powerful I became. Lol." Gloyd joked, as he saw the broken pieces of the monster';s head on the ground.
"So, you finally used it, huh?" Kent said, reaching Alex's hand by extending hers since Alex was squatting on the ground.
Alex extended his arms too, and stood up. "Yeah. I'm sorry. I might be selfish but I was on a tough spot." Alex said, his voice was full of sadness.
Kent laughed, "Don't worry, it's ought to be yours in the first place. When you were gone, we already decided where to give the turtle monster's ability, and it's to be yours." Kent said happily.
Dumbfounded, Alex stuttered, "W—Why?" Kent patted his shoulders, "Because you need it most. You're preparing for a mission, right? A mission to find Rabi once again? You need something that can protect yourself. And since we already have another power to acquire, it's no big deal." Kent smiled happily. "Now can you –" Kent gestured Alex to put the buried body of the monster back to the surface again.
Alex nodded and used his newly acquired skill to push the body upwards. Everybody saw the gigantic black spider in their eyes. "Told you it was big." Ivan said.
Kent approached the corpse of the monster slowly and checked for what they expected to be there, another syringe. The expectations were met when they found a black one right behind its butt. Kent immediately grabbed it and ordered everyone to gather around inside the hive.
"I'll follow after you." Alex said calmly. Kent immediately flew away from Alex and Gloyd flew after. Alex covered his eyes as Gloyd flapped his enormous wings because dirt was pushed along with it, scattering in the air. The splashing footsteps because of the wetlands grew silent as the others went back to the hive as Kent ordered, leaving Alex the only one in the river.
Alex looked at himself in the river. The crystal-clear waters were perfect for a mirage of oneself. Alex moved his body in any angle, while he continues to look at his reflection. "I've really become the turtle monster. However, a little more different. That monster wore tattered clothes but I wore a silver-plated armor. I also don't have a cabin that that turtle used to protect with his life, for the fact that it's its secret for its impenetrable defense. I still have much to do about this, I need to discover more of this power as I continue to find Rabi. Alex flooded himself with series of thoughts and possibilities.
Alex buried the remains of the monster's corpse deep in the ground before he turned himself back into his human form. He immediately washed himself once more in the river to remove the stains of the scattered blood on his body. He then grabbed his old worn out clothes and wore them once more and walked back towards the hive.
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Noises were hear echoing inside the hive as everyone crowded inside, preparing for another meeting. Kent stood in front of everyone, accompanied by two of her guard bees on both of her sides. A really majestic presence for a queen to have, Alex thought as he walked slowly to the center and sat on a vacant chair beside Christian.
Christian smiled at him and he smiled back, then their gazes went back directly to their class mayor who gathered them around for a meeting.
"A monster appeared in the middle of Alex's and Jimmy's bathing session. Thankfully, Alex was able to carry with him the syringe that came from the turtle monster who we defeated and successfully acquired its power. However, I didn't know why the bees I sent weren't able to deliver their message to me if the monster weren't too far from our vicinity." Kent explained.
"Ivan where, did you find the monster?" Kent asked Ivan, who were the first one who found the monster. Ivan stood up, "I was wandering around beyond where the river is after I bathed. However, I saw the bees you sent, scattered everywhere, dead. Some are trapped in a web. That's why, I looked to check why and found the monster inside a burrow covered with grasses. I thought it's just a common small spider and not something enormous." Ivan shared.
"I see, thank you for that." Kent said.
"The spider's eyesight is really good, maybe that's why the bees, although small, were no match for it." Ivan added.
Alex thought of it, too. The spiders solely rely on their webs for hunting, if an insect touches it, it sends a vibration to the waiting spider and that's where the spider moves towards their prey where they feast it.
"Then the bees must have died before they could even send me back a message. Did you see anything that the spider monster did? Any unique traits?" Kent asked.
"I didn't." Ivan said.
"What about you, Alex?" Kent said.
Alex moved his head from side to side. Kent sighed, "Then we have no choice but to choose the next who will acquire this power and see what it can do. I think there are more than just threads to this one." Kent said.
"Wait." Ivan interrupted, he then stood up. "Spider means web and web means thread and thread means clothes! We will no longer have to deal with this tattered jeans and polos!" Ivan shouted, he tore his polo up, revealing his upper body. Everybody laughed, but elated of the sudden turning point of their discussion.
Ivan's right, if we have the thread from the spider, we can weave different clothes. We just have to find a suitable person for it. Alex thought.
Kent smiled, "Well, you're actually right. Then who might be the rightful owner of this power? Do we know?"
Everybody stopped talking and looked at the one person who indulged herself in sewing clothes in the past world with her little sewing machine, Belle.
Belle looked at everyone, "Wait, me?!" she exclaimed. "I think we all settled our votes on one person, Belle. Would you mind?" Kent said, smiling.
"Well." Belle sounded hesitant and awkward. The he took a deep breath and accepted the opportunity she was given. "I'd be happy to." Belle said.
Kent did not waste time, and injected the syringe in Belle's body. Belle let out an excruciating expression as she felt the painful sensation running all over her body. Alex knew the feeling and he knew it hurt. Everybody looked at Belle as if they also felt what she felt. It did not take long when Belle started to transform. She grew four spider-like limbs behind her back and her original limbs – the arms and her legs looked exactly the same as what the other looked like that grew on her back, giving her a total of eight looking-alike legs. Her head was covered with a black shell that looked like a helmet, her eyes turned red and her mouth grew a little pincer.
Everyone was awestruck of Belle's transformation. It doesn't seem scary since additional legs were also found on Kent's transformation, only that Belle's color were that of a villain with its black and red combination.
Kent approached Belle slowly, "Are you okay? How do you feel?"
Belle blinked her eyes hard, "I was in pain earlier. But now I don't feel bad, my senses were heightened – I feel powerful."
"Can you show your skills?" Kent said, waiting for an extraordinary skill to show.
Everyone looked carefully as Belle rose all of her limbs in front of her and emitted a white thread that formed into a fine clothe in the end. Everyone jumped happily. They can finally change clothes after a long time.
Kent patted Belle's back, "You did well." Kent smiled and Belle smiled back.
Kent decided to end the meeting after that and decided to rest. Everybody went to Belle to make something for them that they want to wear comfortably. Everybody was happy as they wear new clothes made from spider's silk. With Belle's skill, it was easy to visualize and produce the shirts, pants and even dresses to all of them. However, these are all white in color since the threads are originally colored in white. Nevertheless, they are now in possession of a power that can help them dress themselves comfortably in this new life.