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Chapter 277: Different Ways To Deal With Loss

The Spider Queen

(Zrudread University- The Fields of Hell)

'The Fields of Hell' was a well-deserved nickname for the hardest training area that first year assassins were expected to clear within thirty minutes in order to pass their final exam.

Just some of the hazards inside the training field included robotic androids with lethal weapons, a hostile environment full of toxic traps, randomised bio-mechanical creatures, and other deadly surprises.

It was this training area that was responsible for the most visits to the health center than any other combat arena on campus.

Inside this field, one could see the slender figure of a first-year student skillfully weaving between heavy gunfire.

She was dressed in standard battle armour specially coated with a light absorbent material that allowed her to blend into the shadows seamlessly.

In her hand were two lightweight plasma pistols with enough firepower to blow a hole through the chest of the robotic killers roaming around training field.

A pillar of fire erupted beneath the assassin's feet, but she instinctively rolled to the side and then smoothly fired off three rounds.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three shots.

Three deaths.

The light in the robots dimmed as they all came crashing to the ground with a dull thud.

The training field froze as a holographic screen was projected in the air.

[Score: 11567]

[Rating: S-]

"Good job out there," Professor Aegon cheerfully yelled as the student covered in a dark body armour exited the training room.

The girl nodded at the instructor politely before heading to the locker room to change out of her gear.

She had no interest in sticking around after her turn to watch her fellow classmates struggle to even clear the first stage.

The locker room was empty, so the masked figure headed to one of the vacant changing areas to take off the body armour.

There was a full-length mirror inside the changing area that showed the features of the mysterious student as she took off her helmet.

This girl was not particularly tall and her facial features that clearly showed signs of her east Asian ancestry could only be called ordinary.

Yet her aura of peace and tranquility gave her a strange sense of beauty like a painting come to life.

Dark raven coloured hair swayed gently from side to side as Qiana reached for the glasses in her pocket to put them on.

Ring! Ring!

The communicator in her hand buzzed and without even looking at the number, Qiana pressed accept.

"Hi babe," came a happy voice from the other end.

Astrid's wolfish face was projected from the center of the screen.

The cold look on Qiana's face vanished as she warmly gazed at the face of her girlfriend.

It had taken the loss of their friend Sophie for Qiana to realise just how short and precious life really was.

One month after Sophie's disappearance had been enough for the quiet girl to finally muster the courage to confess to Astrid.

Surprisingly, she had gotten a positive reply and the pair had been dating ever since.

It had not been easy as they were both inexperienced when it came to dating but Qiana was grateful to have a pillar of support during this difficult time.

"Don't forget that we need to visit Cleo this afternoon," Qiana reminded her forgetful girlfriend.

Astrid choked up for a second as a sad expression flashed across her face,

"Yeah… she… she really isn't doing so well…"

Qiana leaned back against a nearby wall and sighed heavily. The loss of Sophie had affected them all in different ways.

Astrid at least from the outside had recovered the fastest and was back to her usual self but Qiana had caught her girlfriend quietly sobbing when she thought that no one was around.

Rachel had also gotten the news from her information channels in the Nephilim Church and had spend weeks just binge drinking and partying to distract herself.

She still would call every weekend to check up on Astrid and Qiana, but it was clear that Sophie's disappearance had caused her to fall into a state of depression.

Qiana herself had decided to devote all of her extra time and energy into training but nothing could fill the void in her heart.

Sophie was one of her first true friends.

The worse part wasn't knowing that she was missing…

It was not knowing if she was alive or already dead.

There was no chance of closure as her body had yet to be discovered.

And to make matters worse, the odds of survival were very grim.

A computer calculation performed by a top AI placed the missing noble heirs chances of survival at 0.03%

It was not that Sophie's friends didn't believe that the hybrid girl could find a way to survive but as the months went by with no news…

The hope in their hearts became less and less.

However, without a doubt, Cleo was definitely the one most affected.

She had spent the first couple of days in a daze of self-blame and confusion.

If only she had decided to go with Sophie to the banquet.

Why was she not there when her girlfriend needed her the most?

She was not in a good mental state, so the university had allowed the princess to take some time off.

Apparently, she had also visited her mom a couple weeks ago but….

Cleo had returned to university in an even worse state than before.

Qiana and Astrid did try to reach out to her on several occasions, but nothing seemed to work.

The princess would go to classes as usual, but it was like she was a machine.

Just mindlessly keeping a schedule and her once lively and mischievous personality had become cold and taciturn.

The only time she would return to life was when she had to feed Moon.

Sophie's little frostwing bat had bonded with the princess after the loss of his master.

He was the only one who could make Cleo smile again.

It was probably due to his connection to Sophie that made Cleo treat the frostwing bat as an emotional anchor.

Qiana constantly recommended that Cleo take the entire semester off and see a psychologist, but it was like talking to a brick wall.

Cleo still maintained her high performing grades so most instructors would just say a few words of comfort and then move on.

"Okay… I'll meet you at the commons area and then we can head over to Cleo's place," Qiana whispered softly.

"Love you."

"Love you too," Astrid replied and blew a sweet kiss.

The call ended and Qiana sank to her knees while feeling a deep sense of frustration.

This visit was unlikely to change anything but for the sake of their friendship….

They needed to try.