The Spider Queen

Chapter 199: Poison Cultivator Midterm

(Zrudread University)

(St. John’s Science Center- Lab Room 302)

Sophie yawned sleepily as she walked into the classroom. 

Several of her fellow students were already sitting down while others were still putting on their lab coats and googles. 

Safety was a huge concern when dealing with potentially life threating substances so Professor Macabre had spent two lectures drilling the various precautions into their heads.

Sophie thought that it was actually pretty similar to Sui Meng’s memories of attending chemistry classes back in high school.

Of course, those poor kids back in the ancient Earth era were taught scientific theories that were incredibly bare bones. 

The lab was also equipped with a shower room to wash off any chemical spills as well as an antidote cupboard that housed the neutralising agents to all the toxins used in the lab.

And as a final resort, every student was informed of the procedure to follow should immediate medical attention be needed.

The poison cultivator examination would take around three hours to finish but it really depended on what toxin each person was assigned to use.

Sophie nodded slightly at the two familiar faces at the back of the classroom as she headed for the coat hanger.

Celestia was her Servie friend from the training camp days who loved nothing more than to gossip and spread drama.

How she managed to earn a spot in the elite class was a mystery Sophie could never hope to solve.

Rafessa was a hybrid boy with two bone-like wings jutting out from his back. 

He looked down and blushed slightly as he saw Sophie’s nod.

Sophie picked up her white lab coat and slipped it on with relative ease as the material was made of a memory foam that could warp and contort slightly to fit the shape of her body.

There was an empty workstation right next to Celestia so Sophie strolled over so she could chat for a bit before the professor arrived.

Celestia was currently browsing through a few open tabs on her communicator device. 

Sophie initially thought that her friend was doing some last-minute cramming, but every window had a picture of the latest virtual idol.

Celestia was certainly very pretty with the elven-like characteristics of the Servie race very prominently displayed in her facial features.

Her wings were translucent and glowed slightly under the sunlight. 

Celestia had deep purplish black eyes and pointed ears that curved slightly to the right.

Surprisingly, her pale blue skin fit perfectly with her image.

Servies were not particularly tall so she was only around one foot or twelve inches in height.

“Well look who finally showed up!”

“Professor Macabre was such a bitch after her favourite student was gone,” Celestia scowled and feigned anger as she teased Sophie.

“Sorry I just came back from a bounty hunter mission that took a couple of weeks,” Sophie grinned and displayed her fangs.

Celestia fluttered her wings in excitement and then leaned in closer to whisper,

“You need to tell me all the details.”

“I’ll give you a rundown next class,” Sophie glanced at the clock on the wall and realised that the exam was starting soon.

“Lame,” Celestia pouted and resumed flicking through the various images of virtual idols.

With the advanced AI and virtual reality technology, there was basically no way for real people to compete in the entertainment industry.

Entertainment companies were now heavily invested in the tech sector as each competed fiercely with the next to bring out new innovations.

Well, that sort of stuff wasn’t really Sophie’s cup of tea. 

Following and praising every single move of your favourite celebrity just sounded exhausting. 

Tick! Tock!

Tick! Tock!

The clock struck twice and Professor Macabre strolled into the room with a twisted sneer. 

Her brown, wavy hair was not properly brushed and the vicious scar splitting her face in half seemed to be more pronounced.

The professor was holding a plain black briefcase that jingled slightly as she entered through the doorway.

Professor Macabre usually looked quite tired but today the bags under her eyes were especially heavy.

“Alright sit down and let’s get this over with,” Professor Macabre spoke softly as she opened up the briefcase.

Vials upon vials of different coloured liquids could be seen inside. 

Some were fizzling while others were calm. 

Sophie narrowed her golden eyes to get a closer look, but it proved to be useless as she did not recognise the colour of any poisons she knew.

Professor Macabre waited until all students were at their workstations before calling out the names of the exam candidates.

“Wanda Francis!”

A short haired girl approached Professor Macabre and received a vial with an orange liquid that violently shifted around the container.

“Nathan Boyd!”

A Mendolesa male stepped forward some trepidation and was given a circular vial with a deep blue jelly inside.

Nathan was considering whether to ask if he could get another toxin instead, but the stern look in Professor Macabre’s eyes caused the words of complaint to die down in his throat. 

“Sophie Peterlor!”

Sophie walked up to her teacher and received a vial of reddish-brown liquid that bubbled occasionally.

The vial was only about the size of her thumb and yet the tiny goosebumps appearing on the sides of her arms were clearly a warning sign that whatever toxin was inside…

Was dangerous.

“I had to change your exam toxin at the last minute since you broke into the qi tide stage,” Professor Macabre explained as she saw Sophie’s hesitancy.

“This will make the exam significantly harder for you than for the other students, but I will also be quite lenient in the marking, so you don’t need to worry.”

Was it perhaps unfair to give Sophie a tougher exam? 

Yeah.

But life wasn’t fair and Professor Macabre held her favourite first year student to a much higher standard than the rest of the class.

“I understand miss,” Sophie nodded and returned to her workstation with eyes sparkling with newfound determination.

It was time to show off her skills.