The Spider Queen

(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

(Peterlor Estate- Private Study Office)

Sophie nervously paced back and forth as she took an occasional glance at the black screen on the desk.

She was expecting a call at any minute now from Professor Macabre.

The new semester would not start until next week but since she was a special case, the poison cultivation professor wanted to have an introductory session.

This private study room was on the first floor of the mansion and was basically identical in layout to her father's office space.

Rows upon rows of books set on a bookshelf while a roaring fireplace crackled away in the corner of the room.

There were a few paintings of flowers and plants hung up on the walls and the floor was covered by a thick furry carpet that was soft to touch.

Sophie opened her wrist communicator to check her appearance one more time. She wore a dark blue flannel shirt and black dress pants.

Fortunately, her hair was not messy and flowed gently down her shoulders. Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves.

Just relax… in… and… out…

In… and… out… in… and… out…

Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

A harsh ringing noise interrupted her meditative state and Sophie saw an icon flashing in the middle of the screen that indicated that a call was incoming.

She quickly walked over to the desk and sat down on the chair. Sophie adjusted her posture by raising up her shoulders before gently tapping the [Accept] button.

The darkness on the screen was replaced by the footage of a woman sitting down in what appeared to be the middle of a whitish-grey laboratory.

Professor Macabre was a human woman with brown, wavy hair that hung over a sharp angular face with prominent cheekbones.

She had lidded blue eyes with dark circles under them that made her seem exhausted. A small but vicious scar ran across from one side of her face to the other.

This scar made her more resemble a mercenary rather than the typical image of an intellectual scientist.

"Hello professor," Sophie politely spoke as she placed her arms on the table and tried to portray a confident image.

"Miss Peterlor it is a pleasure to see you in good health," Professor Macabre smiled as she talked to her favorite first year student.

Gradually Sophie's nerves faded away as her teacher began to make small talk about the latest happenings in the university.

Professor Macabre may have the appearance of a fierce woman but beneath her no-nonsense attitude was someone who deeply cared about her students.

Perhaps it was due to the small number of cultivators in the poison department but there was a level of personal intimacy between herself and most of her students.

Finally, the topic of the conversation turned to the new semester and Professor Macabre pulled out a tablet from her storage ring.

She opened up a few files and then sent them to Sophie's wrist communicator via the virtual net connection.

Professor Macabre lazily tapped the top of the table in front of her and then opened her mouth to explain how the semester would go.

"Now normally we would not allow online learning and instead recommend that you take a year off and join the incoming freshmen class," Professor Macabre spoke calmly.

"However, I was able to convince the administrators to give you a chance."

"I know your capabilities and I believe that with hard work and discipline… you should be able to catch up on the work that you missed last semester."

"It will be difficult, but I am prepared to help you as much as possible so that you may succeed. I expect you to retake the number one position once you return to the campus."

Professor Macabre knew more than anyone else that her protégé had a talent for the art of poison cultivation.

That potential was not even considering her rare biological physiology that rendered her immune to most toxins.

"Have you checked the files that I have just sent?" Professor Macabre asked. Sophie hurriedly tapped her wrist communicator and opened up her inbox.

She saw an unopened message from the professor and opened the files. There were several documents inside.

"I have included the blueprints for the laboratory that needs to be built as well as a list of reagents and chemicals that we will be using throughout the semester," Professor Macabre explained.

"Some of these chemicals are quite toxic so in those special cases I would recommend that you seek the assistance of Katarina to watch over your experiments."

"The rest of the files include my lesson plans, some notes and other information that you will be tested on in quizzes and midterms."

Sophie took a closer look at the information inside the files and was blown away by just how in depth and detailed everything was.

It was clear that her professor had spent a great deal of time and effort to provide her with all the resources that she needed to succeed.

"Thank you, professor!" Sophie spoke gratefully.  She truly was thankful for everything that her professor had done.

A small smile flashed across Professor Macabre's face before she returned to the matter at hand.

"Don't thank me yet… I have sent the schedule so you should take a look and familiarize yourself with the details," Professor Macabre clarified sternly.

"You will have to attend three lecture classes and one laboratory session per week."

"In addition, I will be regularly assigning homework and other assignments that will have to be completed on time."

"There is much work to be done so you and I will be seeing each other quite regularly over the next few months. I also expect that you will not be neglecting your combat training."

Sophie nodded seriously but inwardly could not help but feel a bit overwhelmed. It was not hard to predict that she would be incredibly busy in the future.

Her schedule was already full, and she had not even talked to the combat beast lecturer yet!

Fortunately, that class did not have many theory lectures so maybe most of the work would involve strengthening the blood bond connection between herself and Moon.

Although Sophie had heard of secret qi techniques that would enhance your combat beast's abilities so maybe she would have to learn those as well.

But that was a matter for another day.

Sophie straightened out her back and listened carefully as Professor Macabre went over some additional information about her classes.

Having to worry about coursework and tests….

It was a sign that her life was slowly going back to normal.