The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Planet Eleron)

(Elite Student Housing Complex- Mansion 456Y)

Warm orange rays of sunlight crept in through the open window and illuminated a large bedroom on the second floor of the mansion.

Sophie sat on her bed and played with the metallic cube in her hand lazily. She pulled out a nutrient vial from her pocket and downed the contents in one gulp.

Nutrient vials were not particularly pleasant to consume but Sophie had long gotten used to their taste.

Well… she would have to since her Arachnais physiology demanded a constant intake of nutrients despite the fact that she was cultivator in the qi tide stage.

"Should I open you now… or later…" Sophie quietly muttered to herself as she touched the side of the cube.

She wanted to save opening her gift until Cleo got home from her training session, but it was impossible to resist the curiosity burning in her heart.

The hybrid girl's thoughts were interrupted by a large furry creature that burst into her private bedroom without knocking.

Squeak! Squeak!

(Mommy! Mommy! Can you turn on my show?)

Moon happily flew around the room and knocked several items off Sophie's desk onto the floor.

Fortunately, Sophie had gotten used to her mischievous combat beast so there was nothing valuable placed on her desk.

"Sure… what do you want to watch?" Sophie asked gently as she got up from the mattress and walked over to her desk to pick up the items that fell on the floor.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

(I want to see Punisherman Fights The Bad Guys!)

"The kids show?" Sophie asked while trying her best not to let Moon know that she was fighting the urge to laugh.

Moon nodded his furry little head seriously, so Sophie had no choice but to turn on her wrist communicator and connect it to the monitor in the living room.

She tapped a few buttons, and one could hear the sound of people fighting coming from downstairs.

Moon quickly stretched out his wings and flew towards the direction of the sound with a happy expression on his face.

Sophie let out a light sigh and shook her head.

What was she going to do with such a childish combat pet?

Well… Moon had grown on her so maybe he wasn't so bad…

Or perhaps that was the Stockholm Syndrome kicking in.

Sophie jumped back on her bed and sank into the memory foam mattress that perfectly adjusted itself to fit her unique physique.

The hybrid girl stared at the ceiling and thought about the upcoming final round. No details had been given yet, but it was only a few days away.

That meant that either the professors were going to keep it as a surprise for the day itself or reveal the details so close to the competition that no one would be able to prepare properly.

Sophie narrowed her golden eyes as she thought about the previous battle ranking exams that were on the virtual Net.

Last year the final round involved a competition that was similar to 'capture the flag'.

It was a team-based competition and students were able to pick and choose their teammates.

The year before was the complete opposite with a tournament bracket that pitted students against each other until only one was crowned as the victor.

It was quite the range so Sophie really didn't know what to expect but she hoped that it would involve teams.

Teaming up with her friends would make the final round a lot easier and it would be a fun experience for them all.

Sophie played with the cube in her right palm and accidentally pressed the small button on the underside as her fingers touched its metallic surface.

A green beam of light swept Sophie's body multiple times to confirm her identity and then the cube emitted a loud hissing noise.

Sophie placed down the device and watched in amazement as its walls opened up to reveal the contents hidden inside.

The first gift appeared to be some kind of neural implant with a sleek silvery design that was around the size of a coin.

Next to the implant was a vial of a pinkish-grey substance that bubbled furiously.

Sophie hesitantly picked up both gifts with a confused expression on her face. There was no letter or explanation for what either of these things were.

She only knew that one was a neural implant because there was a small spike on its underside where the device would attach to the user's head.

The vial on the other hand was a complete mystery.

Sophie didn't know if it was poison, the latest genetic serum or perhaps something else…

The hybrid girl furrowed her brows as she lifted up the vial to the light and saw that the colour was gradually changing from a pinkish grey to a much darker hue.

Had she missed something in her dad's note?

Sophie picked up the sheet of paper that was attached to the metallic cube and read the words carefully to see if there was any more information.

She reread the letter's contents three times but did not discover anything new.

The only thing that her father had said was that the true value of the gift would be revealed once the button had been pressed.

So logically that meant that these two items were extremely valuable.

Sophie placed the vial on the bedstand next to the mattress and bravely placed the neural implant next to her forehead.

The neural implant vibrated slightly, and the spike burrowed itself into Sophie's skin. The hybrid girl closed her eyes and her vision faded away into darkness.

Sophie opened her eyes and found herself standing in what appeared to be an endless white void with no one in sight.

A floating holographic screen appeared in front of her, and lines of text soon filled the screen.

[Welcome New User…]

[Accessing Memory Bank…]

[Please Make A Selection….]

Hundreds of options were placed in front of Sophie who decided to randomly press the one that was closest to her.

[Selection Chosen- Transferring Memory… 2%... 3%...]

[Memory Transfer Complete!]

The white void suddenly changed, and Sophie found herself standing in the middle of a starship that was in what appeared to be an active war zone.

"Reroute all available power to the weapons systems and fire on my command," a smooth masculine voice came from Sophie's mouth.

Sophie looked down and saw that her body had now been transformed into a handsome young man.

She was unable to control her body and the experience was like being a passenger in someone else's mind.

Sophie could not see the young man's face since she had a first-person perspective but there was something oddly familiar about him…

The young man was a skilful commander and his orders throughout the fight were made considering the ever-changing situation in mind.

Sophie watched in amazement as her new body led his men to a complete victory by pulling off a series of manoeuvres that could only be described as calculated recklessness.

"Nice work!" an elderly man walked up to Sophie and patted her on the shoulder.

He appeared to be in his late sixties, but the powerful aura hidden behind his benign appearance hinted that he was much older.

"Nonsense… it was everyone's hard work… and well… I suppose I can take some credit for my brilliance," arrogant words came out of Sophie's mouth.

"Truly those insectoid fools never stood a chance… humanity will crush them underfoot and reign supreme over the stars!"

Whoever she was possessing appeared to hold his own abilities in high regard as he strutted around the command deck with a prideful grin on his face.

He powered on his communicator and turned on the video chat to call one of his superiors to report the result of the battle.

Sophie glanced at his image on the screen and realised why she thought that this man seemed so eerily familiar.

Dad?!