The Spider Queen

(Planet Caorn- Elysium Archipelago)

(Unnamed Island)

\'My love! I cannot live without you! - the crown prince cried out. He reached for the cold faced man whose back was turned.

The emperor could not believe what his eyes were seeing. The crown prince… his favourite son had an affair with his internal minister?!

Shocked gasps erupted from the nobles watching on the sidelines but the crown prince didn\'t care about their reactions.\'

He grabbed Tang Jin by the shoulder and forced him to turn around. He stared into those dark black eyes that were like a bottomless abyss.

My love I…\'

Qiana turned the page and blushed furiously as the crown prince passionately declared his love for the internal minister and promised to make him his consort.

She was currently in one of the many side rooms connected to the grand arena where the finalists would face each another in a series of one-on-one duels to determine the eventual winner.

There was a flat screen monitor in the corner of the room that displayed live video feed from the arena.

And of course the candidates could watch the matches on their wrist communicators through the Virtual Net as well.

Qiana glanced up at the screen and saw a girl with brightly coloured green hair facing off against a Mendolesa warrior holding a battle axe.

She watched for a few more seconds and then her attention drifted back to the book in her hands.

While some would rest or meditate, Qiana had decided to relax by doing some light reading in order to clear her mind.

The title of the book in her hand was \'The Forbidden Imperial Romance\'. A boys love classic if she did say so herself.

She had read it dozens of times before but every time she would still get lost in the addicting world that the author had created.

Qiana turned another page and the blush on her face deepened. There was a time skip between the chapters and it was now nighttime.

The crown prince was sitting down on his bed wearing a large robe with a conspicuous hole in a certain area.

The minister approached him and…

"Okay… maybe I\'ll read this later tonight," Qiana muttered quietly to herself as she fanned her cheeks in embarrassment.

Buzz! Buzz!

Her wrist communicator vibrated slightly and she saw an incoming message appear in her inbox from a very special person.

Astrid: [Hi! Hi! I just received some weird news…]

Qiana: [What\'s wrong?]

Astrid: [Well the guy I\'m supposed to fight… the representative from Mer University is running a little bit late]

Astrid: [Just got an announcement that my match is going to be pushed back to accommodate him]

Qiana: [That\'s odd… and the tournament officials approved this lateness? I wonder what happened to him…]

Astrid: [Not sure… but that means you\'re probably next! Best of luck Qiana! I\'m rooting for you!]

Astrid: [WOO!!! ;D]

A brief smile flashed across Qiana\'s face as she saw her girlfriend\'s kind words.

Dating Astrid was an unexpected development and yet… it was the best part of her university life so far.

Qiana\'s fingers tapped against the screen of her wrist communicator as she chatted with Astrid for a few more minutes.

On the monitor the green haired girl crashed to the sandy floor bloody and bruised as the victorious Mendolesa warrior raised up his battle axe and roared.

Qiana\'s fingers paused as she saw the result of the match. That meant only one thing… it was her turn now.

Sure enough the doors to her room automatically slid open to reveal a long and narrow corridor which led directly to the arena.

She powered off her wrist communicator and then took in a deep breath. Qiana lightly touched the pair of daggers attached to her hip and could feel herself calm down.

This was just another target to kill.

Nothing more… nothing less.

The young woman steeled herself and then walked out of the room. Her footsteps were slow, steady, and assured.

She wandered through the narrow corridor for what seemed like over fifteen minutes until finally she saw the exit where light was shinning through the open door.

Qiana passed through the door and found herself standing at the edge of a large field that mimicked a desert-like environment combined with a marshland.

The ground was mainly composed of loose white sand particles that shifted slightly with every step that she took.

There were large green plants scattered across the field whose sturdy trunks were covered in thick needle-like spines.

And the detail that drew Qiana\'s attention immediately were the numerous pools of water buried under a thin layer of topsoil.

She could see something moving under those dark pools and whatever it was…. it did not look particularly friendly.

A holographic projection floated high above the field and a large line of text appeared on the screen.

[Introducing Candidate No. 014- Qiana Abazin!]

A resounding roar and scattered applause erupted from the students sitting down in the stands around the arena.

There was golden barrier that separated the crowd from the field both for their safety and to prevent any acts of interference.

Qiana\'s fingers wrapped around the hilt of her daggers and she slowly withdrew her blades from their sheath.

The sharpened edges of her knives gleamed under the harsh sunlight.

Qiana adjusted her stance and waited patiently for her opponent to pass through the door located on the opposite side of the field.

She did not have to wait for long.

A handsome man in his early twenties wearing a long black military-like uniform walked through the door with confidence oozing off his body.

His short blonde hair was impeccably styled so that not a single strand of hair was out of place.

He possessed deep blue eyes, high cheekbones and a jawline that was sharp enough to cut glass.

[Introducing Candidate No. 001- Ryan Wilhelm!]

The cheers this time were even louder than what they had been for Qiana. The nobles of Atlas University got up on their feet and loudly clapped for their representative.

Ryan ran his fingers through his short hair and shot a winning smile at the crowd. He raised up his right hand and waved elegantly at his supporters.

This was the feeling.

He was invincible! He was powerful!

The crowd was cheering his name! This is how things should be!

Now that the hybrid bitch was gone… the winner of this tournament would be him. Ryan slowly lowered his hand and then touched the hilt of his sword.

Who was his opponent again?

He glanced at the figure standing on the other side of the field and saw an unremarkable girl wearing a pair of thick heavy glasses.

Ahh yes… a coward from Zrudread University who had only gotten this far due to cheap tricks.

The lines of text on the holographic screen changed and soon a countdown timer begun to play.

[Ten seconds… nine seconds… eight seconds…]

Qiana adjusted her glasses and the shadows beneath her feet wriggles and squirmed slightly in excitement.

[Four seconds… three seconds… two seconds…]

Ryan yawned sleepily with a bored expression on his handsome face.

[One second… BATTLE BEGIN!]