The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Planet Eleron)

(The Jolly Claw's Bar and Restaurant)

"Bring another drink!" Sophie yelled happily as she slammed an empty glass against the wooden table.

The bar waitress walked over with a large pitcher of yellowish-green liquid which she delicately poured into the glass.

"Thank you!" Sophie smiled sweetly at the waitress before turning her attention back to her friends.

Qiana and Astrid were currently leaning on each other's shoulders while taking small sips from their glasses while Cleo was yawning sleepily.

"Shall we have a toast?" Sophie raised up her drink and spoke with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Sure!" Astrid replied in excitement as her paw curled up against her glass.

She followed Sophie's movements and also held up her drink.

Qiana and Cleo were infected by the jovial atmosphere and exchanged looks of resignation before following Astrid's lead.

"To passing the second round! Congratulations everyone!" Sophie cheered happily as she toasted to their victories.

Only two hundred students passed the second round, and those students would be members of the elite class for second year.

The final round of the battle ranking exam was merely to determine the individual ranking of the elite class students.

Principal Malik also informed them that the top students would be selected to represent Zrudread University at the inter-University fighting tournament.

It did sound like an exciting prospect.

Sophie couldn't wait to see Rachel again and it would be fun to compete against her university.

"Did they release any details about the third round?" Qiana asked softly as she gently held and played with Astrid's right paw.

"Well… there are a few rumors flying across the university forums, but no one seems to know for sure," Cleo replied as she opened up her wrist communicator and started browsing.

"It's probably just going to be a fight to see who is strongest or something like that?" Astrid suggested as she beckoned for the waitress to refill her glass.

"Not necessarily… I mean there were a few previous years where the students did not have to compete directly against each other," Cleo replied with furrowed brows.

"Babe… don't wrinkle your gorgeous face," Sophie pouted in mock anger as she lightly brushed her fingers against Cleo's forehead.

She leaned in closer in planted a soft kiss on her girlfriend's cheeks that lingered for a bit longer than necessary.

There would be a short five-day rest period before the third round started so Sophie was looking forward to returning to their mansion tonight.

Cleo sensed her girlfriend's excited mood through the bond and shot her warning look to behave in public.

Sophie grinned teasingly and one of her hands dropped below the table to play with Cleo's soft legs.

She didn't dare go further but enjoyed seeing the faint reddish blush appear on the princess' beautiful face.

"I still can't believe that you completed an 'Insane' difficulty quest," Cleo brushed away Sophie's naughty hand and turned her attention to Qiana.

"It was a bit of a miscalculation on my part," Qiana freely admitted as she stared off into the distance.

"How was I supposed to know that accepting a request to retrieve a lost treasure and then taking it for myself would unlock that hidden quest!"

"The original goal was simply to find the treasure and then describe it to the people on the island! They never said that I couldn't take it!"

Loud laughter erupted from their table as Sophie pulled up the video clips of Qiana desperately running around the island while a pack of hyena-like monsters chased her down.

Still, it was impressive that she managed to use her darkness ability to isolate them in small groups and slowly take them out.

"Every time I see your ability… it gets even scarier," Sophie confessed as pretended to be absolutely terrified.

"Oh please… I don't want to hear that from a girl whose venom killed a monster that was the size of a skyscraper," Qiana fired back with a light smile.

"Fair enough," Sophie conceded the battle of words and took another sip.

The sweet aftertaste of her drink lingered in her mouth as she swallowed the wine.

The mixture that she was currently drinking was called 'Liquid Luck' and it was blend made from fruit wine and certain spices found on a planet in the outer regions.

It was quite expensive, but Sophie decided to treat her friends since she was in a celebratory mood.

Her months of hard work had finally paid off.

She had spent hours upon hours every day desperately studying and practising her cultivation techniques in order to stay in the same year group as her friends.

And she had done it.

Sophie opened up her communicator and sent a quick message to Dr. Reynolds to thank him for his support.

She didn't receive a reply, but it was probably around midnight in his time zone, so it made sense that he was asleep or resting.

Oh wait… she had almost forgotten!

Sophie: [Dad! I passed the second round! I'm still in the elite class!]

Dad: [Sweetheart that's amazing! The gifts that I sent you should arrive tomorrow so pick them up whenever you are free.]

Sophie: [Gifts? But dad I only got the results a few hours ago…]

Dad: [I always had faith in my little girl!]

Duke Peterlor's proud words made Sophie's heart feel warm. She repeatedly thanked her father and talked for a few more minutes before hanging up.

What Sophie didn't know was that the principal was constantly sending her father updates about her current situation, so he actually found out before her that she had passed the second round.

"Do you all have any plans for the summer?" Astrid asked casually.

Qiana let out a heavy sigh and then replied with a small trace of irritation hidden in her usually calm gaze,

"I will be working with my uncle to manage a small lunar colony… it's part of my training to take over as the next heir to House Abazin."

"Nothing like spending a few months in some backwater region of space with no amenities or decent living arrangements…"

"Sounds pretty rough," Sophie joined in the conversation with an expression of sympathy on her face.

"Now I feel bad to mention that Cleo and I will be spending a few weeks sight seeing across the Sirius Star System in an all-inclusive trip…"

"We are?" Cleo replied in shock.

"Fuck… it was meant to be a surprise… err… pretend that you didn't hear," Sophie hurriedly spoke as she rested a hand on her forehead.

Cleo giggled at her silly girlfriend and leaned in to press her lips against Sophie's. The pair seemed to be lost in their own small world.

"Thank you," Cleo hoarsely whispered as she looked at Sophie with deep affection in her eyes.