The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Floren Sector)

(Planet Corpeola- Capitol City Underground Sewers)

Drip… drip… drip…

Drip… drip… drip…

Drip… drip… drip…

Sophie groggily opened her eyes and slowly shifted her body. She could hear the sound of what she hoped was water falling from the ceiling.

Unfortunately, she was wrong and the murky liquid coating the exterior of her battlesuit, and helmet was brown and sludge-like.

It did not take a genius to know what it was.

Gross…

The hybrid girl sat up and looked around her nearby surroundings.

Part of the large underground space had now been buried under rocks while the other half had begun to flood.

She had been lying in a pool of filthy water and ooze. Sophie winced as she felt a sharp pain all over her body.

It felt as though she had just been run over by a truck.

It hurt to even move and every step that she took sent fiery bursts of pain throughout her body.

What time was it?

Sophie powered on her wrist communicator and checked the date and time. Her eyes widened with shock when she saw dozens if not hundreds of missed messages and calls.

Wait… how long was I unconscious?

The date on her wrist communicator was a solid two weeks after she had first arrived on this planet which meant that she had been asleep for around fourteen days.

Sophie quickly reached into her storage bag and pulled out several large nutrient vials which she then gulped down without hesitation by opening a flap in her helmet.

No wonder in addition to the pain… she also felt a hollow feeling in her stomach.

The hybrid girl cracked her knuckles absentmindedly and then looked at all the messages in her inbox.

The bond between herself and Cleo would have let her girlfriend know that she was safe and in good health but…

It was clear from the messages that her girlfriend was going frantic after not hearing from her for several days.

There were also a few messages from her friends, a couple questions from her professors wondering when she would be back on the campus and…

An urgent message from her dad?

Sophie wanted to immediately call Cleo but tapped the message from her dad first since it appeared to be urgent.

These messages were sent only a few days ago.

Father: [Hi princess… I heard from Cleo how the hunter goddess is making you go on yet another of her missions…]

Father: [Truthfully, I am not happy but… I am familiar with vessels and know that what you have entered is a contract with an otherworldly entity]

Father: [Those kinds of contracts do not end well if they are broken… trust me I have seen many such cases firsthand.]

Father: [Anyways when you do see these messages, I just have to let you know that the ceremony for the selection of the new leader of the human side of the Federation has begun.]

Father: [The ritualistic tournament itself will be at the end of the year but I will be busy for the next few months making a few alliances and checking in on our enemies.]

Sophie read the rest of her dad's messages and quickly typed out a reply. It was big news that the next leader of the Imperial Family would be selected soon.

Honestly there was a part of her that wanted Cleo to be the next empress but obviously her girlfriend was far too young.

Plus, Sophie was more concerned with keeping her safe and the dirty world of politics was not an ideal place to accomplish that goal.

Speaking of which…

Ring! Ring!

Sophie wrist communicator vibrated slightly as she called her girlfriend in the murky darkness of the sewers.

A holographic projection floated above her wrist communicator that captures the details of her body and some of the nearby surroundings.

Ring! Ring!

Sophie did not have to wait long until the call was accepted and a beautiful young woman with heavy dark circles under her eyes appeared on the other side of the screen.

"Sophie?" Cleo asked with a bit of hesitancy in her voice. She saw a dark figure covered in what appeared to be a brownish sludge.

"Babe!" Sophie exclaimed happily as she waved at her girlfriend.

"Sorry I didn't reply to your messages… when I finished the hunter goddess' task, I fell unconscious and I just woke up."

"Oh, thank god… you're okay," Cleo let out a secret breath of relief as she stared at her lover who waved cheerfully.

Yes, it was true that she would be able to sense if anything happened to her girlfriend, but it was still worrying not to hear from her for several weeks.

"Are you injured?" Cleo asked with concern evident in her tone.

"Nope! Everything regenerated just fine… although to be honest with you… I really want to take a nice long shower after this…" Sophie muttered quietly.

"I'm pretty sure that my sense of smell has just been utterly destroyed."

Cleo could not help but laugh at her girlfriend's attempt at a joke and the pair spent the next few minutes chatting until the princess urged Sophie to get out of the sewers as soon as possible.

Sophie ended to call with a final goodbye and then stretched out her arms lazily.

She replied to the rest of the messages, but it appeared as though no one else was online.

Okay… now to get out of this shithole.

Getting out of the sewers was a relatively straightforward task as all Sophie had to do was choose a direction and then keep walking straight forward.

Planet Corpeola was not really known for having proper sanitation and she had read that the sewage all flowed out into the nearby ocean.

Without even being properly treated… yuck.

Sophie hummed softly to herself as she walked through an endless labyrinth of side passageways and tunnels that made up the sewer complex.

The only sounds other than her voice and the splashing of the river were the squeals of the furry animals as the scurried through the darkness.

As Sophie walked through the sewers, her movements slowed down as she quickly realised something.

How come she had not gotten rewarded?

No new abilities? No boost in cultivation?

"Hunter goddess… I fulfilled my end of the deal…" Sophie whispered quietly as she stared upwards at the ceiling.

"Where is my reward?"

There was a brief silence as Sophie waited to hear the familiar voice echoing through her mind usually with a cold tone.

Nothing.

Even as the silence stretched out… it was like the hunter goddess could not hear her words.

Sophie frowned slightly but continued on her journey out of the sewers.

She really hoped that she hadn't gotten ripped off.

The deal was simple. Accomplish whatever tasks the goddess required her to fulfil and then get a cultivation boost.

It was not selfish to want a reward especially after risking your life and Sophie had not forgotten just how close she came to death.

If the black flame surrounding the skeleton mage's right hand had made contact with her body, then…

Sophie did not even want to think about that morbid possibility.

Four hours passed by uneventfully until Sophie eventually saw the tunnel widen and a faint bright light could be seen in the distance.

She could not resist the urge and quickly activated her movement technique. Sophie's body blurred and then vanished from the spot as she rushed forward.

Freedom!

She had survived!