The Spider Queen

(Planet Caorn- Jasimin Island)

(Mariena Hotel- Upper Floor- Suite 245)

A handsome young man with short blonde hair lay down on the mattress in his room and stared upwards at the ceiling.

He wore a sleeveless white shirt that showed off the thick muscles on his arms and a pair of long black trousers.

Golden threads composed of tiny jewels had been sown into the fabric of his pants and they shown brightly under the light.

A ring that had the symbol of a black raven engraved onto its surface could clearly be seen on the index finger of the young man's left hand.

Ryan let out a heavy sigh and stared out of the window.

His room was on the upper floor of the hotel, so he had a perfect view of the beach that was just outside.

Thousands of waves crashed against the shore and he could make out tiny ant-like figures walking along the sand.

Buzz! Buzz!

His wrist communicator vibrated twice, and a heavy sinking feeling appeared in Ryan's chest. He knew exactly who was calling and he was not looking forward to the conversation.

Ryan cursed softly under his breath and glanced at the crumpled up sheet of paper that he had thrown across the room.

He could still make out the words printed on the sheet of paper. Despite staring at the page for a long time… the words still did not change.

[Stage One- Results]

[Ryan Wilhelm- 2nd Place]

Second place.

An impressive feat considering that this tournament invited the top students from across the entire Federation.

Geniuses among geniuses.

And yet… Ryan did not feel happy.

Not when the full results had been posted online and he saw who had taken first place. Sophie Peterlor… the hybrid bitch.

She had somehow managed to beat him.

Ryan scowled darkly as he flung his fist against the wall and left a small crack in the material. Of all the candidates… why did it have to be her?

He wouldn't have cared so much if the blind chick or the Servie boy had beaten him.

Buzz! Buzz!

The noise coming from his wrist communicator got louder and louder until Ryan could no longer ignore the sound.

He grabbed the metalloid device and looked at the screen. There was an incoming call coming from the Wilhelm estate.

Only one person could be calling him… his father.

Duke Wilhelm.

Ryan fixed the angry expression on his face and slowly tapped the screen using his finger. The screen flickered and then a youthful face appeared on the other side.

The man on the other side of the screen had a remarkably similar appearance to Ryan but looked like his older brother.

From appearances alone… one would suspect that Duke Wilhelm was a young man in his mid to late twenties.

Not a monster who had lived for hundreds of years.

"Son," Duke Wilhelm slowly spoke in a serious tone.

"I have seen the results of the first stage on the Virtual Net."

"Yes father… I…" Ryan's voice trailed off as the duke raised up his hand and cut his son off from talking further.

"I am disappointed in you," Duke Wilhelm hoarsely growled as he stared at his son with a trace of contempt in his eyes.

"Second place? That position is not worthy of the heir of House Wilhelm."

Ryan's fingers curled up into a tight fist as he desperately fought down the red hot anger bubbling up in his chest.

"Father… that hybrid girl only got lucky! I am much stronger than she is! I promise you that I will defeat her for sure," Ryan ranted as he furrowed his brows.

"How can someone with dirty blood hope to match the might of a pure human?"

"Ignorant fool," Duke Wilhelm's cold voice echoed through the room.

"Do you think the daughter of Duke Peterlor got first place by luck? Underestimate her at your own peril."

"You may be talented but… your mentality is weak. I am ashamed to have a son who sprouts such rubbish at me."

"House Wilhelm is not strong because we are 'pure humans' but because we ourselves are the source of our strength."

Duke Wilhelm carefully observed his son's reaction to his words and more disappointment filled his heart.

"I will be watching the rest of the tournament… try not to shame the family name more than you already have," Duke Wilhelm sighed heavily and then cut off the connection.

Ryan screamed in anger and flung the metalloid device across the room where it cracked against a nearby wall.

Bits and pieces of the device fell to the ground and the screen shattered.

The handsome young cultivator paid no attention to the mess as his mind was racing with numerous other thoughts.

How could his father say such words to him?

Disappointed? How was he a disappointment?

Sophie Peterlor was just lucky… the first stage was a group setting… she probably got help… there was no way that she got first place on her own.

Ryan began to chew his fingernails until the tips of his fingers started to bleed. It was a bad habit that he had picked up whenever he felt as though things were not going his way.

"Sophie Peterlor… hybrid bitch… I'll show you… I'll show you…" Ryan muttered darkly as an expression of hatred flashed across his face.

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(South Wing- Cafeteria)

A cute girl with deep dimples on the side of her cheeks smiled happily as she dug into the plate of food in front of her.

She had dark red hair that fell down below her shoulders and wore a purple uniform with a long cape that was playfully wrapped around her lower back.

There was an innocent aura around her body that made her seem harmless and gentle.

Perhaps the noticeable feature of the girl was her eyes. They were completely white and unfocused.

"Jessie… I must say… I can't believe that you barely passed," a mocking jeer came from the person sitting next to the blind girl.

"Yes… I am indeed quite fortunate," Jessie smiled peacefully and ignored the barb hidden in the girl's words.

"Only the top three hundred students move on to the next round. I am very lucky to have been placed 300th."

"Tch!" the girl clicked her tongue and stared at Jessie with an expression of disgust.

"The other representatives placed in the top five… why is it that ours barely managed to qualify? You don't deserve to…"

"Hey! Leave her alone!" a rough masculine voice cut off the girl's complaints. The voice came from a delinquent looking boy with short spiky hair and dark tattoos on his face.

Jessie heard the shuffling of footsteps and an angry yell as her saviour pushed the girl to the side and sat down next to her.

"Thank you, Max," Jessie whispered softly as she stretched out her hand and continued to eat her food with an unbothered air of indifference.

If she had been affected by the girl who accused, her of being unworthy then there was no indication of her true feelings on her face.

"No problem but seriously… why did you place so low? I know you are much stronger than that…" Max hesitantly spoke.

Jessie smiled shyly and an unknown emotion flashed across her face. She continued to eat in silence while Max waited for her to answer.

"Who knows?" the blind girl finally said as she stood up from her chair and walked away with her lips gently curving upwards.