"What the hell just happened?! How is that even possible?!"
Dante glanced back at the group of rookies he had left behind, then turned his gaze toward the fan guy who was now ahead of him. Doubt filled his eyes.
Clearly, the crowd had said that that Mecha Human was only at level C. And since it was only at level C, even if its acceleration stats were maxed out, it shouldn't mean anything against a level B Mecha Human like Stak.
So what was that launch just now? A burst warp?!
A sudden explosive start like that, he had never seen anything like it before. Was it some kind of enchantment? Or something else entirely?
"Don't worry. We're about to catch up to him," Stak suddenly spoke.
Hearing that, Dante finally realized the gap between the two Mecha motorbike was slowly shrinking.
In just a moment, he and Stak had pulled alongside the other motorcycle, then quickly edged past it.
Seeing this, a mocking smile appeared on Dante's lips.
"Heh, I thought it was something impressive, turns out it was just some cheap trick. In the end, they're still no match for us."
With that, he dismissed the rider behind him and surged forward with arrogance.
...
"He overtaken...."
"Yeah, he did. Are you sad?"
"No. I don't know. It's just... we said we would win, but we already let him pass."
"...Sorry. It's because my performance is too low." Halley's 2D voice lowered as she bowed her head.
"..."
"..."
"You really are a forgetful dummy," Jawed said.
"Mm?" Halley lifted her head, confused.
"Did you forget already? I told you that every strong person was once weak. And to become strong, every weak person has to keep moving forward step by step, right? Haizz, you really are forgetful."
"Mm, well... I... I do have amnesia right now, so maybe it's a side effect?"
"Alright, alright. Side effect. I believe you." Jawed chuckled.
"But anyway, what I mean is that you're just in the middle of moving forward right now. It's not like you'll stay weak forever, so there's no need to worry.
And while you keep moving forward, let me be the wings that shelter you, the vanguard that clears the road ahead."
***
"Gulp gulp... aaah."
At the same time, at the finish line at the foot of the mountain.
A small figure sat in the spectator stands, chugging down a can of Sky beer.
Her fingers toyed with a strand of pink hair, while her eyes remained fixed on the race playing across the giant screen.
More precisely, fixed on the young man riding the crimson red Mecha Human.
"I was wondering why you came to this small race instead of staying in the lab. Turns out it was because of him, huh? What a little stalker." A woman's voice sounded from behind her.
"Hearing that, the girl puffed out her cheeks, speaking in a sulky voice:
"Umm hmpf, how could you call your cute little sister that, Seine~?! We just happened to run into each other, purely by coincidence! I'm not stalking him at all!!!"
"Yeah yeah, whatever you say."
"Umm~"
"Anyway, Kori..." Seine's gaze shifted toward the screen. "What do you think about that Dante guy?"
"Him? Hmm, his Mecha Human's stats are pretty good compared to everyone else here, but his vibe is way too aggressive~. Maybe I'll wait until he calms down a little, because right now I don't have any good impression of him at all," Kori replied.
"Haizzz, that's not what I meant to ask." The older sister sighed. "Anyway, with those good stats, do you think he'll win this race?"
"Uh... nope. I think it'll be close, but I'm guessing my guy will win," she said, though her tone sounded more like certainty than a guess.
"But according to the profile, his Mecha Human's stats are terrible. So how could he possibly win?" Seine asked in confusion.
"Who knows? Maybe a variable will appear."
Hearing that, the sister stayed silent for a moment before speaking again: "But didn't you say endings are always constants?"
"You still remember that? I can't even remember what Skytube video I liked yesterday, let alone something I said ages ago. Hehe~" Kori put on an adorable grin.
"Well, but this time's result isn't a variable."
***
"And here we are, guys! We've reached the first major obstacle of the Renewals mountain range pass—the consecutive S-shaped hairpin complex!!!" MC Larry signaled for the camera crew to switch to the drone angle.
"And our current leader, without a doubt, is the spotlight duo of this race—Dante and Stak!"
....
On the track, the road grew narrower and narrower the farther it went.
"Brother, up ahead is a continuous series of corners. It's gonna be pretty tough." On the electronic display, chibi Stak pointed at the minimap while explaining the upcoming route to Dante.
Right after the current short straightaway came a rapid sequence of left and right turns. But don't be fooled into maintaining high speed through this simple section, because immediately after that sequence were five consecutive hairpin corners packed tightly together, suffocatingly dense.
If they carried too much speed in and failed to react in time, the lighter outcome would be slamming the brakes. The worse one would be flying straight into the 3D guardrails.
"What a troublesome path." Dante broke into a sweat, tension couldn't help but rise in his chest. But he quickly calmed himself afterward.
Facing a dangerous section like this, with Stak's low stability, slowing down was unavoidable.
But still, that wasn't really a problem. After all, at this point, who could possibly catch up to him anyway?
After that, Dante guided the motorbike through the smaller corners one by one before nearly approaching the first hairpin.
"Hah, nothing can stop me. Unlike those pathetic losers." Dante arrogantly declared.
Suddenly, at that exact moment, a roar of an engine exploded from behind him, as though it had emerged from thin air.
"Huh?!"
Dante flinched and instinctively looked into the rearview mirror.
At that instant, his pupils shrank.
Right behind him was the opponent he thought he had left far behind long ago. Now, that Mecha Human's crimson headlights were shining directly at him, like the savage eyes of a predator.
Somehow, that motorcycle suddenly accelerated.
The distance—was closing?!
...