The night sky was breathtaking. A vast canvas of twinkling stars blanketed the heavens, more vivid than anything one could see outside the movies. Everyone on the island paused their tasks, captivated by the cosmic spectacle—everyone except Cj. He sat beneath the vibrant, multi-colored leaves of an ancient tree, claiming his assigned spot with a yawn.
"Whoever got this location better stay away," he muttered, his voice heavy with sleep.
Two hours later, Cj lay dozing under the tree, his dreams a hazy replay of days spent under Professor Jupiter's cruel tutelage. The harsh punishments, the endless memorization of books, and the dark basement for even the slightest errors—it was a waking nightmare he'd escaped, only to relive it in his subconscious.
The sound of approaching footsteps cut through his dream like a blade. A peculiar, mechanical noise followed.
Weeeeeep!
Weeeeeep!
The noise made Cj wake up rather quickly. He saw a man trying to sneak up on him from behind. Cj left his backpack under the tree then stood up waiting for the man to get closer. The two locked eyes with each other not uttering a single word. What was about to happen was clear as day. Only one person can remain at their assigned spot, not two. "This guy is huge. He better has a gift or else he's going to get stomped" thought Cj to himself. As the man walked up to Cj he made a disturbing sound.
Weeeeeeeeeyyuuup!
"That's the sound of something mechanical moving. I know it all too well" Cj concluded instantly.
"I've seen your type before. You're a robot, hmm or maybe you're a cyborg." said Cj confidently. The way he moves, the sound he makes, his staggering silence despite being caught by Cj's vision. He is indeed not human. Back in the private room, Miya asked "Who's the one that hired this thing? Are robots even allowed?"
Some other members were confused as well. It's the first time they have ever witnessed a robot in the Dragon Hunt. A woman named Aoi pointed at the screen proudly. She has short brown hair, brown eyes, wore a black dress, and was exactly five feet tall. "He is a cyborg, not a robot. He used to be human but Professor Jupiter saved him by giving him mechanical parts to function. His name is Olga" said the woman.
"Oh, I almost forgot the Professor was into making world threats. He should be here right now to brag" said Ronald. The woman agreed "Yes, he should be here to witness his creation at work. I'll be sure to show him some love if Olga wins"
Cj still felt sleepy so he had no choice but to go inside his backpack and take a dose of re-energizer to stay awake. He hates having to take these because it robs him of the beauty that is called sleep. "My name is Cj Coley. Shove your silence up your ass and say something" said Cj pissed that he had to take the re-energizer.
"I am Olga" the Cyborg replied. Olga continued to walk up to Cj slowly.
"How long are you going to take to get over here? What a useless piece of junk you are" said Cj provokingly. Olga kept the slow pace he had with a smirk on his face. Without warning, Olga took the skies and started flying towards Cj.
"Why didn't he do this earlier?" Cj wondered.
Olga slammed his right foot down Cj's shoulder then kneed him in the face. His body was made of metal so both hits severely injured Cj. Cj's hands were badly wounded and his forehead got busted. It was bleeding rapidly. Olga was moving at a slow rate the whole time just too surprised Cj by boosting up in the air and flying. Cj didn't have time to react so he suffered the consequences.
Olga stayed in the air waiting to see how Cj will respond. "Cj, you are severely wounded. Will you continue?" Olga asked patiently. Cj didn't answer the question because he was busy thinking. "This guy switches from a slow tempo to a quick one in an instance. He's a cyborg for sure. Most robots are too slow to pull off what I just witnessed in real life. If I remember correctly the Professor turned forty people into Cyborgs. I need confirmation if he's one of the forty before I proceed" sighed Cj.
"Olga! Who is responsible for how you are now?" asked Cj curiously.
"Will you continue yes or no?" Olga answered the question with another question.
"That confirms it. The Professor's creation never speaks his name to strangers" said Cj strongly. Olga's patience ran out so he flew down at CJ to give him another kick. Cj started running for his life. He tried his best to run away from Olga but he was too fast to gain distance from him. Just as when Olga was about to hold on to Cj's head. Cj ducked and grabbed Olga's left hand.
SLAM!
Olga was slammed to the ground cracking his face. A large crack appeared on his forehead down to his left cheek. Olga flew up looking as if nothing happened. He felt no pain so he continued to fight Cj relentlessly. Staying in the air he kicked and punched Cj continuously until he couldn't lift a finger.
EEEESSH! EEEESSH!
Cj couldn't block a single one of Olga's attacks. They were quick and heavy at the same time. Olga elbowed Cj in the eye then kicked him up slightly in the air. Before Cj could process what was happening he started feeling a barrage of punches to the chest.
BLOW! BLOW! BLOW!
BLOW! BLOW! BLOW!
Olga clocked at sixty punches in ten seconds. He threw the unconscious Cj to the floor and wondered what he should do next. "I defeated the man who got assigned the same location as me. I pass" he said to himself. A nearby drone flew closer to Olga and revealed that it had a speaker on it as well as a camera. A voice suddenly came from the drone giving Olga some advice.
"Olga you have defeated Cj but that doesn't mean anything. If he regains consciousness he might attack you and ruin your chances to advance. Kill him" said Aoi.
"Wait that's against the rule, isn't it. We're already breaking rules on the first day. Aoi is giving Olga outside help" complained Miya. "That's not cool Aoi. You know the protocol. We're gonna have to disqualify you and your participant" said Ronald.
King Almon intervened by saying "Nonsense! She didn't say anything that the Cyborg didn't already know. It's the first time I saw a Cyborg. I can tell it hasn't shown us its full potential. Flight isn't enough". Miya and Ronald disagreed but Almon's words were too heavy for them alone to fight back. The other member of the Golden Circle didn't say anything because they were also interested by the cyborg Professor Jupiter created. "Their entertainment is more important than the rules. Don't forget," said Ronald.
Olga went on the ground then walked up to Cj. "Cj Coley is as good as dead"
He raised his left hand and short needles popped out from the tip of his fingers. Olga swung his hand in Cj's neck. The needles pierced his skin and green liquid from Olga's fingers started covering the needles. The green liquid entered Cj's body and quickly started circulating from his head to toe.
"Poison Act 1. Perish" said Olga with a straight face. Seconds after Olga injected poison into Cj's body his skin started to lose its moist. The skin color started to look pale and dry. In the private room, Miya asked Aoi. "What did your little Cyborg do?" "That's his specialty. He has three different poisons. Each of them is deadly. Olga is different from the other Cyborgs created by the Professor. The others can shoot bullets, lasers, cause explosives and so much more but Olga was too merciful compared to the rest. He doesn't like killing. That's why he only uses close combat and poison. The poison will kill him in the next hour. What will you do Miya? It's your call to disqualify him" said Aoi. Miya looked at Cj worriedly. She never thought that CJ would be handled like this.
"Your confidence was all talk. You've got to be joking Cj" thought Miya. She gave up on him way too early in the search and now he's at his destination. He made it before the other person did. Miya pulled her hair harshly and decided to leave Cj be. "Poison is a joke to Cj" said Miya.
"A joke?"
They all looked back on the screen where they saw Cj getting up despite being poisoned. It took all of his energy to stand so he fell down again coughing blood. "Yeah, my insides have seen better days. At least now I know who you are. OLGA Product 337. Your abilities are unique. The more you punch or kick the harder it gets. You have three different types of poison. You can fly 180 kilometers per hour and have average intellect. You refuse to bluntly kill someone no matter who they are. Would you like me to continue?" Cj asked provokingly.
For the first time, Olga seemed shocked. His eyes widened and began to twitch. "Who are you!? How do you know that!?" he shouted. Cj crawled towards his backpack but was stopped by Olga. He stomped on Cj's back and asked once again "How did you know?"
"I was forced to memorize every piece of junk The Professor created. That should answer your question fine. I knew the Professor" replied Cj. Olga took his foot off of Cj and injected him with more green liquid. "Your Act 1 poison is not good enough to kill me. In fact, it's the reason why I'm awake right now. I felt that something didn't feel right so I opened my eyes. I have good immunity to poison. Maybe if you try your act 2 poison things will be different" said Cj.
Olga nodded and kicked Cj in the chin causing him to bite his tongue harshly.
"AAAAH! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" screamed Cj.
Olga lift Cj off the ground and said "You're not getting anywhere near your backpack. Since you know so much about me you probably have antidotes to my poison" Cj grinned in response. "Surrender," said Olga seriously. Cj avoided eye contact with Olga and stared at his bag.
"If only I could get my backpack," said Cj softly. Cj didn't say surrender so Olga initiated Act 2 Poison. Without warning, Olga jumped and stomped on the ground as hard as he could. A strong vibration occurred on the ground not enough to be an earthquake but enough to be noticed by Cj and Olga. "Act 2 Poison works with the ground if I recall. Anyone who touches the ground barefooted will be poisoned from the feet up to the head. It's more dangerous than Act 1 because it deals with nerves. Your body will function slowly and there are times you'll begin to hallucinate. It will feel like living torture" said Cj looking at his feet.
Olga forcibly took off Cj's shoes and socks. "There have been others who could somehow manage Act 1 but never Act 2," said Olga confidently. He threw Cj's pair of shoes far away. Cj felt a chill running across his body for a split second. He went inside his pocket and took out a purple bottle.
"Aaaafftteeer aaalll tthaaat puuuuncching, thiiiiis thiiiing iiiss stiiiiill intaaact" said Cj. His body started to move slower and slower by the second. He opened the bottle cap and that's when Olga kicked the bottle out of his hand. "I knew you would have one near you," said Olga. Olga went and emptied Cj's bag. He crushed and destroyed everything that was inside before they complicated things later.
"Aaallriight, yoouu've beat meeee. I aaaaamm noooot goooiiingg tooo suurrrreeenndeer. I daaare yooouu tooo kill mee" said Cj holding his head. The two poisons really started to affect Cj's whole body. His breathing became so slow and hard it was as if he wasn't breathing at all. The pain he felt in his insides suddenly disappeared. That was not a good sign. Olga sat under a tree unaffected by his poison and waited patiently for Cj to die.
"I had this won from the start," said Olga.
Aoi celebrated that her candidate was the first to accomplish his mission. "I had no doubt in my mind. Close combat Olga had the advantage, he can fly, and he has the deadliest poisons that you can't escape from. He's solid all-around" said Aoi.
Olga gazed up at the beautiful stars. The night sky was such a beautiful sight. It washed away all the bitter feelings Olga had about killing a young man. "The stars, wonder how many are there?" Olga wondered. They all shined brightly. Before Cj met his end he said a few words.
"Ooooolllgaaaa, yoooouuu arrent smaarrt aat all. Loook around you" said Cj strongly.
Olga noticed the change in Cj's words. He began talking smoothly again at the last part. He turned his attention to Cj and saw him gobbling down a small purple bottle. "Poor Olga. If your personality was different I probably wouldn't have stood a chance not hahahaha. You're doomed" laughed Cj. He threw the empty bottle at Olga.
"How did you get that bottle? I destroyed everything in your bag" said Olga furiously.
"I wouldn't tell you that even if you paid me bucket brain. Time to stand up" said Cj. He stood up on his feet belching as nothing happened. Act 2 Poison suddenly stopped working on Cj after he took the purple bottle. Olga was deeply confused by how Cj pulled this off. "There shouldn't be any antidote that can neutralize my Act 2 poison and even if there is how you did open the bottle so fast. Your brain should have been processing things slow" argued Olga. Cj ignored what he had to say and clapped his hands.
"You are far too dangerous. Act 3 Poison is a nuisance so I'll take you out before then" said Cj. Cj's skin still looked pale and his hair stood. Olga boosted up into the air and looked around closely. He saw bottles and food surrounding the tree with different color leaves. The items were all hidden by rocks and grass. "The jerk already laid out a number of his items before I arrived. I assumed that everything he needed was in his backpack. Big mistake" thought Olga.
Olga also noticed that the bottles weren't covered. Some of them are spilled because of the vibration Olga made before. "I won't use Act 3 Poison. I'll beat him senseless instead" said Olga. He flew down to Cj and started pummelling him to the ground. Cj wasn't fully cured of Act 2 Poison. His body moved normally but he could tell his thinking and decision-making were dull. Olga elbowed Cj then head-butted him. Cj already had a busted forehead so blood dripped rapidly.
Olga didn't stop for a moment to give Cj a break. He kept on hitting Cj all over his body until he couldn't move. After sixty punches Olga felt like that was enough. Cj stood back up without saying a word. "My punches get stronger every time I hit you. I don't understand why you're still standing up" said Olga.
"Sorry. It's my fault"
"My fault for making you think you and I are on different leagues. Not once have I thought I was going to lose to you" said Cj seriously.
"You're bluffing. You can't beat me at close range. You can't even best me long range either. The only reason why you're still alive is because of how merciful I am" said Olga.
"As I said I am sorry. I don't know why I gave you the impression that I was weaker. I guess I just didn't want to show the full extent of my gift yet. I am the worst enemy for any close combat fighter" sighed Cj. Olga doesn't have a scratch on him apart from the crack on his face. Cj on the other hand has swollen hands, swollen face, a busted forehead, and internal organs damaged.
The drones near Cj and Olga flew in closer to get a closer view. "I remembered when Cj and I were on my private jet. He turned my disciple's gun into dust. I completely forgot he had that gift. Does this mean he has two gifts?" Miya wondered. Olga saw the fearless look on Cj and became agitated. Olga knows he has the upper hand. He hasn't even used his best and most lethal move yet.
The two charged at each other. Cj planned for this to be his final confrontation with Olga.
"Goodbye," said Cj.
SPLASH!
The moment Cj touched Olga the fight was over. The tall Cyborg that was just before Cj was no more. He disappeared in the blink of an eye. Skeleton bones, blood, fuel, iron ore, gems, green liquid, the brain, and visible gases that were about to evaporate. Olga's whole body got deconstructed with just a single touch.
Cj walked up to his backpack upsettingly. His binoculars were broken along with everything close to it. The Golden Circle was watching through the drones and they were shocked. Everyone was speechless including Miya. That sight gave Miya a clear picture of Cj's gift. She suddenly became glad she picked Cj.
"His eyes can see things and people in a broken-down state and he can deconstruct whatever he touches. I now know for sure why he wants the potion" said Miya surprised. Aoi fainted at the sight of her prized possession being turned to rubble. "That man is crazy. He reminds me of someone" said King Almon.
"Observe and learn as much as you can from your opponent. Try to experience what they can do before retaliating is what the Professor would say if he was here" said Ronald. "He should have come" sighed Gordon.
And like that CJ was set to pass the first round as long as he's under the tree with different color leaves tomorrow noon. Cj wished he could resume his nap but unless he wants to die he'll have to treat his wounds. "That guy Oden. Once I heal up I'll go see what he's up to" said Cj.
"Oww, my hands are killing me"
A drone flew towards Cj and stated "Cj Coley, You have completed both requirements of this round. Finding your assigned location and beating your adversary makes you eligible to be in the second round. CONGRATULATIONS!"