The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Planet Eleron)

(Zrudread University Main Campus- Private Training Centre)

Sophie made a few shadow punches using the heavy gauntlets and enjoyed the weight of the weapons.

Still… she could not shake the feeling that this weapon was not suited for her. What was the issue?

The hybrid girl mused thoughtfully as she unleashed another punch and pictured fighting an imaginary opponent.

Wait… it was the range.

Sophie stopped moving as she contemplated a very important detail that she had missed.

The bladed appendages on her back had a far greater reach than her arms and the sharpened barbs at their ends were capable of piercing through the defenses of even god stage cultivators.

Sophie placed the gauntlets back on the rack and instead decided to try out the bow and quiver of arrows.

The bow lying down on the rack was a dark grey colour that seemed to absorb the light that fell on its body.

She did not recognise the material that was used to build the bow, but its metallic surface was very cold to the touch.

Hmm… Sophie knew that there were cultivation techniques specifically for bows, but she was far more comfortable using a plasma rifle.

All she needed to do was aim and pull the trigger.

Of course, the disadvantage was that it was impossible to channel qi into plasma so rifles only worked against low level cultivators in the qi body to early stages of the qi tide stage.

Sophie ran her fingers along the surface of the bow and then reached for the quiver.

The arrows inside the quiver were relatively simple with a wooden shaft and a sharpened edge made from a metallic substance.

Moon perked up as he saw the arrows and excitedly flapped his wings to get Sophie's attention.

Squeak! Squeak!

(Mommy… can I try something?)

"Sure… just don't make a mess…" Sophie hesitantly replied.

Moon squealed with joy as he jumped from Sophie's head and landed on the ground near the quiver.

The frostwing bat tilted his head playfully as he observed the arrows and then picked up one using his little sharp fangs.

The temperature soon plummeted rapidly, and a cold ball of chill formed on the tip of the arrow.

Moon scrunched up his face in concentration as he transferred the icy energy inside his body to the arrow's tip.

He sat down on the ground with a heavy thump when the process was completed. Sophie picked up the enhanced arrow and felt her fingers go numb.

Frost was already beginning to form on the surface of her skin, but she continued to hold the weapon to look at the changes that Moon had made.

A blue icy aura was present on the arrow's tip and Sophie was suddenly struck with an urge to shoot it.

She looked down at her furry companion and saw that he was looking at her with a pleading expression on his adorable face.

Alright… clearly the urge to shoot the arrow came from the bond that linked the two of them together.

Sophie walked towards the center of the field and placed the arrow on the bowstring. She drew back the string on the bow and then aimed the arrow at a nearby target.

The hybrid girl took a few deep breaths and then unleashed the arrow which flew through the air and…

Completely missed the target by several meters.

The arrow continued forward until it eventually landed on the ground behind the target. A large patch of ice appeared where the arrow had fallen in the dirt.

It would have been an impressive sight to see the target encased in ice, but Sophie's archery skills were… a little bit rusty to say the least.

"Have you picked your new weapon?" Professor Macabre asked as she wandered over and took a glance at the ice on the ground.

"Yes… I think that the bow might be the best option so I can handle long range combat," Sophie replied seriously.

"That is a good option. Well in that case I will mentor you on how to combine poison cultivation techniques with skills used with the bow," Professor Macabre replied calmly.

She stretched out her hand and Sophie handed over the bow.

The professor took out a small vial from her storage bag that was filled with a yellowish-green liquid.

Professor Macabre grabbed one of the arrows in the quiver and then tipped its edge in the vial of poison.

She drew back the bowstring and Sophie felt a power surging in the professor's arm.

The hybrid girl's danger sense rang out rapidly as if telling her to flee immediately from the scene before it was too late.

The professor let go of the bowstring and the arrow shot forward and was accompanied by thousands of illusory arrows that looked exactly the same as the original.

The scarred woman's lips curved gently upwards as the poison on the tip of the arrow turned into a faint mist that formed the shape of an enormous dragon.

The dragon roared loudly and the aura and pressure surrounding its body caused cracks to appear on the training center's grounds.

The poison dragon smashed into the target which was then immediately obliterated into thousands of pieces.

"Hmm… I may have gone slightly overboard," Professor Macabre thoughtfully mused as she rubbed her chin.

"Alright well that's enough demonstrating for today. What I want you to do now is practice your aim without using any cultivation techniques."

"Once you can hit at least eight bullseyes out of every ten shots then send me a message and we will move on to the next stage of your training."

Sophie nodded and thanked the professor for her help. Professor Macabre merely smiled as she waved at her favourite student and then walked away.

The hybrid girl stared at the destroyed target and felt a familiar surge of excitement. The power and strength of her teacher had left quite the impression.

In fact, one of her golden eyes was already beginning to turn crimson as she imagined facing down her professor in a fight.

"Calm down… calm down…" Sophie quietly whispered to herself as she took several deep breaths and then gently exhaled.

She picked up the bow and arrows and then headed for the practice range in the corner of the training center.

The targets here were placed at regular intervals apart from each other. Two hundred metres… four hundred metres… six hundred meters… all the way to one thousand metres.

Okay… she would start simple first and then work her way up. Sophie aimed at the two hundred metre target and then fired an arrow.

The arrow flew through the air and landed right on the target's outer surface. Sophie let out a light sigh and then reached for another arrow in the quiver.

There was no cheat ability or magic secret to immediately improving her skills. Training in cultivation and combat was a long and arduous process.

Moon sat down in the shade and relaxed as his owner shot arrows for several hours without taking a break.

Finally, as the sun began to move towards the horizon, Sophie finally stopped. She checked her wrist communicator and saw that it was nearly time to meet Astrid.

"Come on Moon let's go!" Sophie called out to her pet who woke up from his nap with a grumpy expression on his furry face.

Squeak! Squeak!