The Spider Queen

(Celestia Star System- Qren Sector)

(Planet Hydroposlis – Royal Casino)

The heavy stench of smoke hung in the air.

Thousands of gamblers pushed and shoved against one another as they all rushed towards the booths placed at the back of the hall.

Many were unshaven and unwashed. Their clothes were filthy and stained with dirt, grime, and other rubbish.

The lower level of the Royal Casino was for the commoners to gamble. Nobles and those with wealth would play on the higher floors.

One could win a fortune at the Royal Casino but for every winner… there were thousands who were led to ruin and despair.

The house always won in the end.

On the second floor a woman dressed in an elegant red dress looked down at the chaos below with a sneer on her face.

She was surrounded by young handsome men who wore skimpy bathing trunks that did little to cover up their muscular bodies.

"Duchess Riveran," a skinny man dressed in a black tuxedo approached the noble lady and bowed his head.

"What is it?" the duchess asked rudely as she stretched out her hand and gently caressed the growing bulge in the pants of the man closest to her.

"The odds have finally been revealed," the casino employee politely replied.

The duchess withdrew her hand and a curious glint surfaced in her eyes. She waited impatiently as the employee handed over a metalloid tablet.

On the tablet screen were the faces of four individuals.

There was not a single person in the Federation who did not know who these people were.

Sophie Peterlor who was the daughter of the famous Duke Peterlor. A man who was known as the youngest god stage cultivator in the Federation's history.

Duchess Riveran licked her lips as she remembered meeting the duke once at a function many years ago.

That was one handsome man… it was a real shame that he rejected her advances that night. The things that she would do to that hunk…

A faint red blush appeared on the duchess' face before she tossed those naughty thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on the other pictures.

Ryan Wilhelm. The heir to one of the oldest noble houses in the Federation. House Wilhelm may not be the strongest, but they were certainly one of the richest.

Inya Baileyleaf… little was known about the Servie boy's past but his talent for dark magic was truly impressive.

And finally, the least impressive of the four… Jessie Ward. A commoner girl born on some backwater planet in the Andromeda Star System.

Next to each profile was a percentage.

"This is?" Duchess Riveran raised an eyebrow and asked curiously.

"The casino has calculated the odds of victory for each of the candidates and now invites all guests to place their bets," the employee smoothly replied.

The duchess frowned slightly and carefully examined each percentage. Ryan had the highest with a forty percent chance.

Sophie Peterlor had a thirty percent chance while Inya Baileyleaf had been given only twenty percent.

Finally, Jessie Ward's profile had a ten percent chance next to her picture.

Betting on Ryan to win would pay out the least while taking a chance on Jessie would almost quintuple a gambler's money.

"Four million Enas on Ryan," Duchess Riveran casually spoke as she took out a card from her bosom and handed it to the employee.

The handsome men surrounding her giggled softly and the duchess resumed fondling their naked bodies.

The employee bowed his head and then walked away towards the ticket counter to place the duchess' bet.

The nobles on the second floor and above did not need to personally walk over to place bets since the employees would do that for them.

Duchess Riveran smiled wickedly as she enjoyed the gentle touch of the men surrounding her.

Betting on Ryan would not lead to a decent payout but for a woman as wealthy as her… gambling was nothing more than an addicting pastime.

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(Andromeda Star System- Planet Kuran)

(Liren Capitol City- Central Mall)

Thousands of shoppers walked aimless through the mall looking at the different goods and items on display.

There were many items that one could not find on the Virtual Net but could be found in the numerous stores inside the mall.

"Wow!" a little girl exclaimed in wonder as she stared at the screens in front of her. The little girl wore an adorable blue dress that was covered in tiny frills.

Her skin was a light purple colour and tiny feather-like wings sprouted out from behind her back.

She was a hybrid and not a rare sight in Liren City since many alien species used this planet as a central hub of trading.

The girl's mom picked her up from the ground and held her tightly in her arms. She was a completely normal human woman with long flowing dark hair and a gentle smile on her face.

"What's the matter Georgia?" the mom asked softly as she lightly tickled her daughter on her stomach.

"Look mommy!" the little girl shouted as she pointed at the screens outside an electronics store.

The mom followed the direction of her daughter's finger and saw a news report playing on the screens.

The anchor was discussing the Inter-University tournament that was about to begin in a week's time.

The faces of the representative captains appeared on the screen and the mom almost dropped her daughter in shock when she saw one of the pictures.

A hybrid girl?

A hybrid had managed to be chosen as a representative…

"Mommy! She looks so pretty!" the little girl shyly spoke as she extended her finger outwards and tried to touch the screen.

Her daughter was right.

Although the young woman on the screen had inhuman features such as golden eyes, pointed ears and four blade-like appendages… she was beautiful.

April glanced at the news report one more time and then hugged her daughter even tighter.

She had never been interested in watching the Inter-University tournament before since those geniuses lived in a world completely different from her own but…

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to follow it this year.

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(Planet Caorn- Jasimin Island)

(Mariena Hotel- Private Suite)

Sophie dropped down on her bed and let out a heavy sigh of relief as she felt the comfortable mattress sink beneath her heavy body.

The press conference was finally over.

Five gruelling hours in front of dozens of cameras and recording devices. Having to deal with reporters asking all sorts of questions.

From gossip magazines to more serious publications, the range of topics had been broad and sometimes quite uncomfortable.

Sophie had ignored all the questions that dealt with her personal relationship with Cleo since that really wasn't anyone else's business.

The hybrid girl groggily raised up her head from the mattress and lazily tapped her finger against the screen of her wrist communicator.

She accessed the Virtual Net and began to browse social media and message boards to see the reaction of the netizens.

Surprisingly the reaction online was… quite positive?

Of course, there were trolls and assholes making fun of her strange appearance and alien features, but they were the minority.

It probably helped that she gave off the best impression among the four.

Ryan was an arrogant and pompous brat, Inya had spent most of the press conference asleep and Jessie… was a bit… weird.

Sophie's lips curved upwards as she saw an unopened message in her inbox from her girlfriend.

Cleo: [Hey babe! You were totally amazing!]

Cleo: [You even managed to get a fan club… honestly, I'm a little bit jealous… don't you dare cheat on me with any of your admirers.]

Sophie: [Oh please… I'm already quite smitten with a princess from the Imperial Family. She's a troublesome child but she's got a kind heart.]

Cleo: [Who? I'll kill her!]

Sophie giggled softly as she playfully responded to her girlfriend's teasing.

She could feel the stress of the day slowly melt away as she relaxed in the bed and enjoyed a nice and peaceful conversation.