Zeus, who was sitting on the cliff about 100 meters high, looked down at the group near the two tents and spoke loudly:
(Zeus): Attention, get ready... everyone must line up immediately, come on quickly. If anyone is late, I will throw them off the mountain. I'm not joking here.
(Khaled): You crazy bastard!?
(Zeus, smiling): By the way, Mr. Khaled, if you're truly a man, come and hit me. I challenge you, you fake fighter.
"" I can't take this anymore "" Khaled thought angrily and activated his suit, throwing himself toward the cliff wall. With a few jumps boosted by his level-three suit, he quickly climbed to the top.
He found Zeus standing at a distance and rushed toward him. Zeus began to run, entering rock crevices and many twists.
Khaled couldn't catch him, but he could clearly see he was getting closer, minute after minute.
Or maybe that's exactly what Zeus wanted him to think.
Then Zeus suddenly turned right after half an hour, and when Khaled reached the turn, he was shocked to find Zeus gone—despite the sensors confirming he had no combat suit. He hadn't disappeared; he just wasn't there anymore. The passage led to a long slit with no other turns.
Zeus watched Khaled from a high vantage point, his chains slowly retracting silently after having been used just a moment ago.
Zeus left, while Khaled remained frozen in place.
Until he realized after five minutes… he had no idea where the hell he was!!
Meanwhile, Zeus had already returned quickly, thanks to his knowledge of the path and his grapples that significantly increased his speed.
The kids were still standing as he left them! They hadn't even lined up!! Should I teach them a lesson?
Zeus launched himself powerfully from the top of the cliff, intentionally causing a sand cloud explosion to scare the kids a bit and grab their attention.
(Zeus): You, and you, and you over there, and you too—those I pointed at, stand aside. The rest of you will go straight to training since you followed my order and lined up. Today's training will be simple: I want you to climb this cliff twenty times—up and down.
(Amjad calmly): Where's Khaled?
_ I left him lost behind the mountain. I'll bring him back after training, don't worry. Mr. Amjad, sorry for the inconvenience, I need your help here. Can you please watch over the children climbing the cliff? Just help anyone if they fall or something.
Zeus wanted to ask Zahraa to record the students' performance and rank the fastest ones, but he noticed she was avoiding him. Her eyes, the only visible part through her face covering, clearly expressed anger.
Zeus decided to stay silent at this sight and launched a drone camera from a gear box behind the tent that contained some basic tools he had brought temporarily.
The drone would film the kids, and AI would gather stats for Zeus to review later.
Zeus looked at the six punished kids standing at attention before him and asked with a sharp look:
(Zeus): Each one of you must use your bracelet and write why you're being punished.
The kids were silent, and Zeus realized they didn't have bracelets.
"" I forgot that these regions aren't very advanced in terms of technology "" Zeus thought and decided to go with another method.
_ Just speak, one by one. Let's start with the oldest. Also, say your name, village, and age before answering.
_ My name is Rashid, sir, from Sahba village, and I'm 13 years old.
"" You're the only one I can easily identify. All men in that village are muscle-bound! "" Zeus thought as the boy continued:
_ I'm being punished because I was fighting with Satam.
(Zeus): Next.
_ My name is Satam, I'm 12, from Sadeem village. I'm being punished because you're a bastard who likes to torture the weak.
"" What did this little bastard just say!!? "" Zeus took a moment to process the surprising words, then smiled evilly the next moment.
(Zeus): Next.
_ I'm called Rafaf, nine… no ten, from Sadeem village. I don't know why I'm punished.
(Zeus): "I don't know" isn't an acceptable answer. Think of something.
The girl hesitated and spoke in an unsure tone:
_ Is it because I was drawing on the ground?
(Zeus): Next.
Before the next kid spoke, Satam whispered happily to his new friend Rashid:
_ Looks like our master is just a coward, as I suspected.
A grapple shot from Zeus's hand, wrapped the child, and flung him off the high cliff hundreds of meters down.
Everyone heard the child's screams. Moments later, one of the unpunished kids realized something was wrong.
The boy's voice was still audible, like he was falling—but not falling. In reality, Zeus had suspended him on a small tree branch jutting from the rocks, and the branch was swaying while the kid feared it might break.
The girl who realized this was named Nora (10 years old) from Sadeem village.
(Zeus calmly): Next.
The kids swallowed nervously, unsure who was to speak next, until Zeus pointed at one.
_ I'm, I'm Qusai, sir, 8 years old, from Asfar village—I mean Yellow Stone, Yellow Stone village.
He paused briefly before remembering to finish his answer:
_ I'm punished because, because I looked inside the equipment box behind the tent. I know my curiosity causes problems, sorry sir.
(Zeus): Next.
_ Tala.
(Zeus): How old are you, little one?
The girl raised seven fingers, and Zeus smiled warmly for the first time.
(Zeus): What are you hiding behind your back?
The girl hesitated, tapped her foot nervously, and looked at the ground before pulling a flower from behind her back and extending her hand toward Zeus.
Zeus took the flower, sniffed it slightly, then spoke gently and warmly:
_ You're not punished. You may go.
The girl ran off quickly, and suddenly Zeus felt an itch in his nose.
It started mild, then got worse. He noticed the last girl left to introduce herself was trying hard not to laugh, and he also noticed Amjad looking at him with a sarcastic smile.
Zeus held the flower near his slightly damaged helmet to scan it using its built-in sensors. He indeed discovered that a harmful substance had been added to the flower—not harmful by nature, but...
Specifically, the substance was derived from desert snake venom, mixed with a sulfuric compound that allowed it to spread through the air like perfume.
Zeus looked at the last girl and spoke with an evil grin:
(Zeus): Next.
"" Get me out of here, you damn bastard, save me!!! "" Everyone heard the screams of the boy hanging from the tree and ignored him.
_ My name is Raneem, I'm 10.
(Zeus): You're seven. One more lie and I'll throw you where that idiot is.
The girl laughed nervously and spoke softly:
_ I'm seven, from Scorpion village. I'm punished because I was playing with the snake among the kids.
Zeus returned his helmet to the compressed space after completing the air purification and gas detox systems, and he began taking his time to think about how he would deal with these kids.