The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Planet Eleron)

(Elite Student Housing Complex- Private Training Field No.23)

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Sophie's figure blurred and vanished from the spot as she ducked and weaved through an endless barrage of plasma fire.

Both of her eyes were now completely crimson, and Sophie could feel the bloodlust in her body slowly begin to rise.

Instead of suppressing the feeling, Sophie took in a few deep breaths and allowed the urges to flow through her body.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as her vision shifted into a world of orangish-red colour.

Sophie clutched a whip tightly in her right hand as she began to channel her qi in a certain pattern.

Asura Whip Art- Form Seven

Hellfire Rain!

Sophie stretched back her arm and lashed out her whip with as much force as she could muster.

Illusory shadowy flames surrounded the body of her weapon and the temperature inside the training field rose up to an unbearable level.

The whip slammed into the body of the enormous mechanical android in the center of the field and easily tore through its metalloid exterior.

The robot android stumbled backwards but that split second of weakness was enough for Sophie to finish the fight.

Cloud Treading Dragon!

Sophie appeared in the air above the robot and punched out using her left hand in one simple motion.

A shockwave erupted from the tip of her fist and the powerful blow shattered the core of the robot instantly.

The hybrid girl gracefully landed on the ground and her eyes slowly returned to their normal golden hue.

A floating holographic screen was projected against a wall in the back of the room. Sophie's results from her training session were clearly displayed on the projection.

[Stage Seven Cleared… Calculating Time…]

[One minute fifteen seconds…]

"Not bad… not bad at all…" Sophie muttered quietly as she rubbed her chin.

She walked over to the console device in the center of the training room and adjusted some of the settings to raise the difficulty.

Two more days remained until the start of the battle ranking exam, so Sophie wanted to do some last-minute sparring sessions.

Tomorrow she would spend the day with Cleo, Astrid and Qiana since they all made plans to go visit the beach for a day of relaxation.

Sophie placed the whip back in her storage ring and took out several vials that contained a deep greenish liquid.

This was the poison that she had decided to use for the exam. It was called 'The Old Soldier's Sorrow'.

"Activate the next stage please," Sophie politely called out to the AI unit that was monitoring the training room.

[Stage Eight Will Now Begin…Three… Two… One…]

[Good Luck!]

A gigantic pit opened up in the far-left corner of the training field and a shadowy figure leapt out of the hole.

The creature's appearance vaguely resembled that of a powerful bull, and it had five horns on the top of its head.

If Sophie had to roughly guess its size, then she would assume that it was around thirty feet in length.

Its fur was a dark black colour with streaks of bright red that seemed out of place and yet harmonious at the same time.

Sophie flung one of the vials at the bull-like monster, but the creature opened its mouth and a wave of fire poured out.

The hybrid girl created some distance between herself and the flames that were beginning to spread across the training field.

The creature stared disdainfully at Sophie as it made no attempt to get closer and instead turned its immediate surroundings into a sea of hellfire.

A sadistic smile flashed across Sophie's face as her hands began to make a series of gestures and the qi in her body started to circulate in a certain pattern.

Poison Cultivation Art- The Sleeping Dragon!

The vial of toxins on the ground shuddered as the greenish liquid suddenly burst out of the container.

This liquid rapidly turned into a gas that formed the shape of a large imposing dragon that towered over the creature.

The bull-like monster wasn't sure what was happening, but its sense of danger made it attempt to turn around and run back to the pit.

It would never get the chance to escape.

Sophie slammed her fist in a downwards motion and the floating cloud of poison followed her movements exactly.

The poison dragon swallowed the bull-like monster and then disappeared leaving behind a very confused creature.

Huh? It was alright?

The monster cautiously took a step forward and a steady flow of blood began to pour out of its orifices.

Sophie casually uncorked another one of the vials and downed the contents in one smooth gulp.

Her venom glands swelled, and Sophie's fangs increased by at least two inches as she let the poison flow into her glans.

The monster was on the floor groaning in pain, but Sophie was not going to show it any mercy.

Chomp!

Sophie's incisors easily penetrated the flesh of the weakened monster and delivered a fatal dose of lethal venom.

The light in the monster's eyes gradually disappeared and two robots rushed into the training room to dispose of its corpse.

The holographic projection changed once more to display Sophie's latest results on its translucent surface.

[Stage Eight Cleared… Calculating Time…]

[One minute forty-five seconds…]

Sophie decided to take a break, so she sat down on the ground and powered on her communicator to send a few messages to Cleo.

She planned on going back to their mansion in about two hours from now to pick up Moon for his own training session.

That lazy frostwing bat needed to get some training done so that he wouldn't be rusty by the time the battle ranking exam started.

Sophie: [Hey babe! I'm come over to pick up Moon in like two hours from now…]

Cleo: [Sure that's no problem… I'll be out for a bit this afternoon since Instructor Barrett wants to talk to me and the rest of the class.]

Sophie: [Oh? What for?]

Cleo: [Well… basically I think that Drew is going to drop out which means that there will be only two of us in the entire class…]