The Spider Queen

(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

(Hydrean Forest- Private Lake)

"Wow! As you can see Qiana the heiress of House Abazin has defeated the number ten ranked student!"

One of the commentators nearly jumped out of her seat in excitement as yet another candidate from Zrudread University had exceeded expectations.

Sophie leaned against a nearby tree and watched the screen of her wrist communicator. She was currently streaming the Inter University tournament.

There was a part of her that didn't want to watch but an even larger part wanted to cheer for her friends.

On the screen she could see a slender dark-skinned girl slumped on the ground with her head removed from the rest of her body.

Dark shadows swirled beneath her feet and an inky black darkness had filled the arena where they were fighting.

Qiana stood at the edge of the darkness and calmly tucked her knife back into her storage ring without any reaction to what she had just done.

She merely turned around and walked out of the arena.

Seconds later bluish runes glowed brightly on the ground and the head of the dead student flew up in the air and reattached itself to the body.

Sophie sent a few messages of congratulations to her good friend and then quickly checked the rankings.

It was now the quarter finals and all of her friends had managed to pass the initial rounds of the final stage.

So far Qiana had defeated her opponent in the shortest amount of time and Cleo was a close second.

Astrid for some reason had decided to try out new spells during her match so she had taken the longest time to win out of the three.

Still Sophie knew that her mage friend was probably the strongest after her. At least in a fair fight…

The hybrid girl powered off her wrist communicator and looked upwards at the blue sky.

She saw tiny flying insects soaring through the air while a bird-like animal chased them with its mouth open.

She felt the grass beneath her feet and the clear waters of the lake nearby beckoned her to jump inside.

Her dad owned a piece of land in the Hydrean Forest, and it was the perfect place to escape to since she wanted some time to herself.

She needed to take a break from the stress and responsibilities of being the next head of House Peterlor.

It was driving her mad.

Every time she closed her eyes to sleep she would dream about the endless stacks of paperwork and smiling nobles leering at her with mocking eyes.

Sophie let out a heavy sigh and slowly got up from the ground. She approached the lake and dipped her fingers lightly in the water.

And if that wasn't enough… the message that she got from her butler yesterday was completely unexpected.

Turns out she had an uncle.

Her grandfather's wife had a son using his genetic material and of course he was never revealed when her father was alive.

Lady Beterica of House Serpentinesa…

Sophie had heard that name before when her father talked about the history of their house but she never expected to actually meet her.

Lady Beterica had never returned to planet Gaia since… well… since her children died during the succession ceremony.

Sophie felt complicated about the whole matter. It would be impolite to refuse them but at the same time…

Her father had killed Lady Beterica's only son and her daughter had also been killed during the ceremony.

Sophie was not naïve enough to think that all was forgiven and forgotten.

Lady Beterica was going to arrive at the succession ceremony with a purpose. Sophie would need to stop whatever schemes that she had planned.

No… this is your break… relax… relax…

Don't think about work.

The hybrid girl removed her hands from the lake's surface and then without hesitation she took a few steps backwards and cannonballed inside.

SPLASH!

A large wave of water rose up in the air and showered the nearby grass in a heavy drizzle of rain.

Sophie's tossed her head out of the water and planted her blade-like appendages in the ground for a better grip.

The shock of cold water helped to clear her mind. Sophie stretched out her arms and cracked her knuckles.

There was no use worrying about what had not happened yet.

All she could do was be prepared for any possible situation during the succession ceremony.

The hybrid girl dove down beneath the water's surface and swam a few laps around the edge of the lake.

The lake was not particularly big with a circumference of around two kilometres but it was enough for a decent workout.

Sophie swam through the water and looked down at the lake's floor using her enhanced vision.

She could see little animals scurrying along the sandy bottom of the lake and bright green plants swaying gently from side to side.

There was an entire underwater world to explore in these depths.

Sophie hovered over a bright red shell and waited patiently to see if something would emerge from the shell.

Two minutes passed quite uneventfully but Sophie did not lose her focus. Eventually her hard work paid off and the shell shifted slightly to the right.

At first the hybrid girl thought that it was the work of a current but then she saw a large appendage emerge from beneath the shell.

The appendage was a long purple fleshy tube whose end included a mouth filled with blunt teeth.

The creature inside the shell dragged its body over to a nearby rock and began to eat at the green algae-like plants growing on its surface.

Was the sight of the creature munching on the plants worth the ten-minute wait?

Not really…

But it didn't matter.

This break was for Sophie to have fun and waste time. It was a way for her to forget the troubles that surrounded her in the real world.

The hybrid girl lingered for a few more moments and then swam towards another end of the lake hoping to see a few more animals.

Sophie played around in the water for several hours until the sun slowly began to sink towards the horizon and warm orange rays of light fell down on the forest.

Sophie emerged from the lake and pulled a large fluffy white towel from her storage bag to wipe off her body.

She hummed softly under her breath as she used the towel to dry off her hair and the water that was dripping down her legs.

A hovercar had been parked at the edge of the clearing and its doors were wide open and welcoming.

Sophie powered on her wrist communicator and checked the time.

She still had one more hour to go before she was expected to head back to the underground city.

How to spend the remaining time?

Sophie ran her fingers through her hair as she thought about what to do. She shrugged her shoulders and decided to go for the most obvious option.

She carefully placed the large towel on the ground and then sat down in a cross- legged position.

She didn't really feel the urge to cultivate so Sophie decided to check her wrist communicator for any news on the Virtual Net.