The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Planet Eleron)

(Training Field No.12- Special Arena)

"Wow! You were like… super scary!" Celestia gleefully yelled as she circled around Sophie's head before landing on her shoulder.

The other students in the poison cultivation class were subtly keeping their distance away from the hybrid girl but the energetic Servie didn't seem to notice the strange atmosphere.

"When you crushed that guy's head! It was like… POP!" Celestia cackled merrily as she powered on her communicator device.

She began to show Sophie the different videos and pictures that she had taken of the first round.

Celestia had already posted these clips on the university's open forum, and they were going viral with thousands of comments below the videos.

Sophie glanced at the comments and was surprised to find that many of them were quite positive especially the ones written by the Mendolesa students.

Strength and battle prowess were integral parts of the Mendolesa culture, so Sophie's strength had won her the admiration of many.

Of course, not everyone was thrilled with her performance and certain comments mentioned her violent display in a negative light.

"What group are you in?" Sophie asked curiously.

"Oh… group three… I'm not too worried though…" Celestia lazily replied as her wings gently flapped up and down.

"I brewed a fresh batch of poisons and…. just keep this between us but I recently learned a super ultra powerful technique!"

The Servie girl attempted to lower her voice to appear mysterious but everyone in the immediate vicinity could hear her prideful boasts.

Sophie chuckled lightly and listened as her friend continued to brag about her dangerous new techniques and skills.

Celestia might appear to be a bit of an airhead but there was a reason why she was a member of the elite class.

Despite her harmless appearance, Sophie knew that her friend had the skills to back up her bold claims.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

A piercing alarm blared out which echoed around the arena. The holographic screen briefly disappeared and then reappeared with new lines of floating text.

[ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS IN GROUP TWO!]

[The Battle Ranking Exam Will Begin Shortly… Five minutes…]

Sophie leaned back against the bench and stared at the field below. A few students from her class got up and made their way to the arena.

Celestia jumped up from her shoulder and landed on the top of her head for a better view of the forest below.

The buzz and excitement in the air was palpable since the students had just witnessed such a shocking sight in the previous round.

Everyone was eagerly waiting to see if any other students would have stand out performances in the upcoming round.

[Four minutes… three minutes… two minutes…]

Sophie's wrist communicator buzzed twice, and she saw a message from Qiana appear in the group chat.

Qiana: [Alright it's my turn now…]

Sophie: [Good luck! You can do it!]

Cleo: [Watch out for any sneak attacks or surprise ambushes.]

Astrid: [Wooo! GO QIANA! GO! GO! GO!]

Sophie's golden eyes darkened, and she could clearly see a black-haired girl melting into the crowd and heading towards the arena.

Qiana wore a simple greyish cloak that concealed most of her slender physique and her unremarkable appearance made her seem just like an ordinary passerby.

Perhaps the only unique aspect of her outfit was the heavy frame glasses that she wore on her face.

There was no reason for a cultivator in the qi tide stage to wear glasses and yet Qiana stubbornly continued to wear the same pair.

As for the reason why… well she had never mentioned it and Sophie had been too lazy to bring it up.

Qiana entered the forest and walked towards the inner regions before the exam had officially begun.

[Thirty seconds… twenty seconds… ten… nine...]

[Start!]

Sophie's golden eyes were tracking Qiana's movements but then something unexpected happened.

Dark shadows surged around Qiana's body from the surrounding darkness, and she vanished from Sophie's sight.

What? My vision is supposed to be perfect…

Sophie channeled her qi into her eyes which began to shine with a golden luster.

Her vision was enhanced several times over and yet she still could not find Qiana.

"Hmm…. What a strange technique…" Sophie muttered as she continued to look for her friend without much success.

Fighting had already broken out between the students in the arena but unlike the group with Sophie, there was no one who was taking the lead.

Instead, it appeared as though students were grouping up with those that they were familiar with and generally avoiding confrontation.

Qiana seemed to have completely disappeared since she did not participate in any of the initial fights or show a trace of her current location.

[Remaining Students… 86… 85…]

[Leaderboard: Jason Mercury- 2 eliminations]

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A team of five students were currently roaming the outskirts of the arena hoping to bump into any stragglers or isolated targets.

"Damn it! There are still eighty-five students left," Tia growled fiercely as she slammed her claws against a nearby tree.

"Should we start picking off the weaker ones?" a hoarse voice suggested.

It belonged to the Quafes boy who lazily leaned against a nearby rock while picking his teeth with a twig.

His appearance would change ever so slightly as he shifted between various ethnicities out of sheer boredom.

"Stay alert… would you rather have that monster from last round in our group?" Jason snarled as he cautiously glanced around.

He was at the back of the group, and it was his responsibility to detect any enemies coming from the rear.

Jason was a sword cultivator whose spiritual senses were far beyond his peers. In fact, it was more akin to a kind of foresight.

"Sophie Peterlor? Listen… I could beat her with one hand," Tia scoffed as she puffed out her chest.

"Oh, you're just talking a load of shi…" Jason's voice suddenly trailed off as if he had just gotten cut off by something...

Or someone.

The other members of the group turned around curiously and immediately froze in place.

Jason had disappeared.

Tia sniffed the air twice using her enhanced sense of smell but could not detect a trace of Jason's body odour.

"What? Jason this isn't funny bro… come out…" the Quafes boy laughed as he assumed that this was some kind of joke.

"Tia… can you believe this… Tia?"

The Quafes boy looked around in shock as he discovered that his other companions had also vanished without a trace.

The forest was now completely silent.

It was as though he was trapped in a different world.

He could not hear the sounds of the crowd and even the fighting coming from the distance seemed muffled and distorted.

The Quafes boy failed to notice that the shadows behind him seemed to twist and contort eerily as if they were alive.

A slender hand emerged from the darkness and grabbed the back of the Quafes boy's collar before pulling him inside the shadows.

He did not even have any time to scream before a blade sliced his inner core and destroyed his vital organ.

[Remaining Students… 80… 79…]

[Leaderboard: Qiana Abazin- 5 Eliminations]