The Spider Queen

The air was buzzing with excitement and hundreds of examiners rushed back and forth from the various stations throughout the room.

Large holographic screens floated in the air and each screen displayed different information.

Some screens were livestreaming the events happening in the first stage of the exam while others displayed the faces and information of some of the candidates.

Head Examiner Madison Burke leaned back against her chair and casually flicked through the pop up screens on her metalloid tablet.

She paused for a moment as three faces came into view.

[Third Place- Team]

[Sophie Peterlor- Passed]

[Cleo Sisrelis- Passed]

[Rachel- Passed]

An impressive feat.

This year was especially competitive and the time that those three young women took to complete the first stage would have been enough to secure a first place finish in previous years.

Still… finishing the stage was not the only basis for awarding points.

Sophie Peterlor was the only candidate so far who had managed to defeat one of the guardians in combat so she had been awarded bonus marks.

Examiner Madison had reviewed the footage of the fight herself and she was very impressed by what she saw.

It was a remarkable feat.

The guardians behind the three doors in the temple were not meant to be defeated by the candidates.

Instead they were supposed to be insurmountable obstacles that would force the students to use their wits and cunning to find ways to escape from the room.

The Inter-University tournament did not only test strength alone but also the sharpness of the mind and combat ability.

A person with a high cultivation level and no decent fighting experience was essentially worthless in the eyes of the Imperial Army.

But clearly Sophie Peterlor was not one of those individuals.

Her personal strength, leadership skills and quick decision making were impossible not to admire.

The apple did not fall far from the tree.

Madison smiled as she remembered the arrogant young boy who swaggered into her classroom all those years ago.

Sophie was just like her father in more ways than one.

The head examiner pressed her finger against the side of her tablet and a green light scanned her digit several times.

She verified the exam results and then sent them forward to her supervisor.

The rest of the candidates were still completing the first stage but it was unlikely that anyone would score more points than the hybrid girl.

Madison chuckled lightly when she pictured the shockwaves that this would send all across the Virtual Net and high society.

People expected the daughter of Duke Peterlor to be strong but strong enough to beat pure blood human nobles?

That was something inconceivable to the aristocrats who believed in human supremacy ideals.

The head instructor could not help but look forward to seeing what surprises Sophie would have in store for the rest of the tournament.

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(Mariena Hotel- Beachfront Property)

"This is the life," Sophie let out a small sigh of relief as she sipped from the glass goblet in her hand.

The sweet taste of fruit wine slid down her throat and caused her chest to burn for a brief moment before the sensation disappeared.

"Hey babe… can I rub your back?" Cleo asked gently as she slid her hand playfully down Sophie\'s hips.

"Sure," Sophie eagerly replied as she turned her body around and waited for her girlfriend\'s soft hands to work their magic.

It was a bit difficult to get a massage when you had four blade-like appendages jutting out from your back but somehow Cleo managed to make it work.

The princess squirted the contents of a bottle of lotion onto her hand and then proceeded to carefully spread the liquid across Sophie\'s flesh.

The hybrid girl\'s lips curved upwards as she listened to the sounds of waves crashing in the distance.

Two hours had gone by since they had passed the first stage.

It hadn\'t taken long for the boat to bring them back to Jasimin Island so with the sun still shining brightly in the sky, Sophie decided to have a beach date with her girlfriend.

Fortunately it did not seem like the other competitors had arrived back to the hotel yet so the beach was basically empty.

"What did you think of the first stage?" Sophie asked curiously as she stretched out her arms and let out a small yawn.

"Definitely…" Cleo\'s voice trailed off as she tried to find the right words to describe how she was feeling.

"Unique. I mean I expected it to go like previous years where students were randomly selected to battle each other and the top students would face off in the grand finals."

"Looks like they plan to do it differently this year. I can\'t tell if that\'s a good or a bad thing yet."

"I agree… it would be much easier if I just had to beat up whoever was standing opposite to me in the arena," Sophie joked lightly as she turned around and pulled Cleo in for a warm hug.

Feeling the princess\' soft flesh against her body brought a smile to Sophie\'s lips.

The two girls fell into a comfortable silence as the salty ocean breeze brushed against their bodies.

"You did look very brave when you flung us on your shoulders," Cleo teased mischievously as she rubbed small circles into Sophie\'s upper chest.

"Anything for my princess," Sophie replied calmly.

"Want to take a dip in the water?"

"Nah… not yet… I just want to relax a bit more," Cleo yawned sleepily as she felt a wave of exhaustion hit her all at once.

Sophie reached for the metal rod planted next to their shared beach chair and pressed a button on its side.

A large umbrella came out of the tip of the rod and soon both girls were covered by a comfortable shade.

Cleo murmured a word of thanks and then her eyes slowly closed. Sophie leaned back against the chair and stared off into the distance.

The first stage of the tournament was over.

Just two more to go.

Although she had managed to complete the stage without much difficulty… Sophie could not help but feel a bit worried.

Getting a pain attack during a critical moment of a fight… she did not even want to imagine such a possibility.

Why couldn\'t she just transition to the void stage in a straightforward way? Sigh… life was never simple with her.

Sophie\'s golden eyes darkened and her vision rapidly enhanced. She observed tiny boats in the distance heading in the direction of the hotel.

Hmm… looks like other candidates had just finished the first stage as well.