The Spider Queen

(Zrudread University)

(St. John's Science Center- Lab Room 302)

Today was the day.

Sophie strode into the classroom with a determined look on her face. She wore a simple white lab coat and a pair of goggles hung around her neck.

Several students were already sitting down next to a workstation while others were still putting on their safety gear.

A few students from the study session waved at Sophie so she nodded back politely before heading towards the back of the class.

Sophie sat down on an empty chair and took a few deep breaths in order to calm herself down.

It felt strange to be back in the laboratory building and writing an exam. 

Sophie powered on her wrist communicator and took one final look at her notes.

In the morning was the theory exam that would last for around three hours and then there would be a short break for lunch.

In the afternoon they would have to return for the laboratory portion that was worth around thirty five percent of their final grade.

Sophie nervously opened up several documents and lost herself in a world of formulas, rare toxins and cultivation techniques.

It was not that she needed to cram but it simply helped to review the notes one final time before the exam begun.

"Hey Sophie!" a cheerful voice called out. 

Celestia zipped through the entrance and flew towards the back of the classroom where she landed on Sophie's shoulder.

"Are you ready?" Celestia asked in an excited tone.

"Yeah… I should be fine," Sophie replied calmly as she continued to look at her notes. 

She skimmed over the section on inorganic trace metals and focused on the notes that she made on neurotoxins and their effect on dendrites.

"Well best of luck!" Celestia replied before jumping off Sophie's shoulder and flying towards an empty chair in the corner of the class.

Sophie raised her head and smiled as she saw the small Servie girl immediately engage in conversation about the latest gossip with her desk mate.

Celestia may have an outgoing personality and seem like an air head at first glance but the fact that she qualified as a member of the elite class displayed her hidden strength.

Sophie had no doubt that she would do well in the exam. 

There were still eight minutes left before the exam would officially begin so Sophie turned off her wrist communicator.

More students entered the classroom and soon the laboratory got more crowded but there were a few workstations left empty. 

Sophie noticed that there were less students present than when she wrote the midterm exam last semester.

Clearly there were some who dropped out of the course or decided to switch majors. 

Poison cultivation was quite difficult so it was no surprise that some would eventually choose to drop out.

Sophie absentmindedly watched the large clock in the front of the classroom and counted down the minutes before the exam begun.

The metalloid doors swung open and Professor Macabre strode into the room with a confident smile on her face.

"Hello my dear students! I hope you all are prepared for this final exam," Professor Macabre enthusiastically spoke.

"As I stated in the last lecture, the materials tested on this exam will included everything that was mentioned in both this and last semester."

"The exam will have fifty multiple choice questions, a few short answers and then finally your choice of three essay questions."

"I expect nothing less than a minimum grade of seventy five percent if you expect to keep your place in the elite class."

Professor Macabre's words lowered the atmosphere in the room as tense expressions appeared on the faces of the students.

An exam covering the knowledge learnt over two semesters was going to be quite difficult even when taking into consideration the enhanced memory that cultivators possessed.

Professor Macabre pulled a stack of metalloid tablets from her storage bag and slowly walked around the room handing one to each student.

She gave Sophie an encouraging smile as she approached the back of the classroom and handed the hybrid girl a tablet.

Sophie pressed her thumb against the device and a green light scanned her finger. Suddenly several metalloid walls rose up from the ground and trapped her in a box.

These walls were several inches thick and made from a material that absorbed light. 

Sophie curiously touched the nearest wall and found that the metal felt quite warm.

She was clearly not the only one who experienced this unexpected trap because surprised gasps echoed through the classroom.

"Cheating will not be tolerated so please don't be foolish enough to try," Professor Macabre sternly warned.

Sophie noticed that one of the walls had a hidden camera in the top right-hand corner that was positioned right above her body.

Zrudread University was quite strict when it came to finals season and especially so for the elite class students.

They received the most resources and hence were held to a higher standard than the rest of the college.

"I'm going to give you all some extra time so feel free to begin now," Professor Macabre cheerfully spoke.

The tablet screen flashed twice, and Sophie saw a few lines of text appear.

[State Your Name: ....]

[Student No: ......….]

"Okay… I can do this," Sophie softly whispered to herself. She carefully filled out her student information and then begun the exam.

She decided to skip the multiple choice and short answer questions and start with the essay questions first.

There were three hours in total, so Sophie planned on dealing with the part worth the most marks first and then working her way backwards.

Exams required not just knowledge but a strategy as well. 

Sophie scrolled down and finally saw the section that she was looking for.

The essay section had three prompts and she needed to choose one to write down two pages of information.

Let's see the options…

The first prompt was fairly straightforward and involved talking about the role of poison in the Umbra War of the thirtieth century.

The second prompt asked the students to think about how to deal with a species that did not have biological organs. 

This was not an uncommon occurrence in the universe as several races made of metals or beings of pure energy had been encountered by the Earth Federation.

Would poison in the traditional sense still be effective?

Sophie's eyes widened when she saw the last and final prompt. 

It involved a theoretical situation where multiple qi techniques could manipulate a certain neurotoxin and the students were required to choose the best technique.

Hmm… the last one seemed interesting, and Sophie had just reviewed neurotoxins earlier, so it seemed like fate.

The hybrid girl touched the screen with her fingertips and then began to write out her essay. 

The feeling of nervousness that she had seemed to fade away as Sophie carefully recalled the knowledge inside her mind.