At that moment, Dante was stunned.
The guy he had already forgotten about, lumped together with all the other mediocre racers, was now somehow catching up to him.
A level B Mecha Human being chased down by a level C one.
It sounded unbelievable, and yet it was happening right before his eyes.
"Damn it, forget about that. As long as we enter the corner earlier so he can't pass us, we're fine."
Dante's gaze locked onto the end of the downhill slope, where the road sharply doubled back and curved into a U-shape.
He twisted the throttle, this time trying to maintain higher speed.
His whole body leaned to one side.
Screeeech—
The tires scraped tightly against the asphalt as the vehicle dropped low into the turn. The front of the bike quickly reached the apex, and then the entire body shot through the corner.
50 km/h.
Dante felt that this was one of the fastest cornering speeds he had achieved so far.
And yet, in the rearview mirror, that crimson figure was still there. Its speed seemed to be increasing even further.
Dante frowned, his grip tightening.
As time passed, each minute weighed heavily on his mind.
The second corner.
Then the third...
Each time he cornered, Dante pushed even faster.
And yet, not only could he not shake that racer off, but that figure was also getting closer and closer, the roar of its engine rumbling like thunder, growing clearer behind him with every moment!
And then, just before the fourth hairpin—VRAAAAAAAAAA—!
A deafening scream of an engine echoed out as Halley surged forward, shooting past Stak's tail and completely erasing the gap between them.
"Wow! We're actually fast enough to catch up to him!" Halley exclaimed in amazement.
"That's because our corner exit speed is much higher, thanks to taking a later apex than them," the young man replied, poking the girl's miniature version on the display screen. It could be interactable too!
"A later apex? What does that mean?"
"Ah, you saw that yellow motorbike earlier, right? That rider leaned the bike right the moment he saw the corner angle, meaning that he had to follow a long curved arc before straightening back up. And while leaning through a turn, it's really hard to maintain straight-line speed, let alone accelerate."
"Meanwhile, we enter the corner later, which lets us almost skip the rounded arc of the corner, straighten the bike earlier, and start accelerating much sooner. That's called a late apex."
"I see. So that's why, by this section of corners, we managed to catch up so quickly, right?"
"Exactly."
That was also why he had chosen a mountain pass race, a type of track filled with corners everywhere. If Halley's performance meant she couldn't gain an advantage on straights, then on the corners, he would make up for it with his own skill and technique.
"This isn't over yet. We're not stopping at merely catching up."
***
"Damn it" Dante stared at the machine riding alongside him, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He couldn't see the expression of the white-haired man beneath the dark visor. All he could feel was an overwhelming pressure, like the gap between a true genius and a mere imitator.
And here, the golden tiger himself had become the imitator.
"I won't let you pass me!" Looking at the curved three-dimensional guardrail rushing closer and closer, he had no intention of letting off the throttle.
The moment he passed the turn-in point, Dante felt as though he were controlling a ferocious beast that could snap its reins at any second.
The entire vehicle trembled violently under the brutal deceleration force.
The instant he hit the brakes, all the load transferred hard onto the front tire. The handlebars sank heavily beneath his grip, the front end feeling as though some invisible force was pinning it into the asphalt.
A crushing force slammed through his entire body, as if trying to throw him straight off the motorbike.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAR—!"
The motorcycle nearly collapsed sideways onto the ground, Dante's knee slider grinding against the asphalt, spraying white smoke into the air.
The invisible reins shook violently, forcing every muscle in his body to tense just to keep control.
Finally, Dante forcefully stood the bike back upright and escaped the corner.
80 km/h.
This time, he was untouchable.
Panting heavily, Dante let out a triumphant grin. He looked into the rearview mirror, wanting to see the figure of the loser behind him.
Yet, to his shock, the motorbike behind him still hadn't turned, even after reaching the curve.
It didn't brake; instead, simply continued hurtling straight toward the barrier.
"Has that guy gone insane?!" Dante thought instinctively.
No matter how durable the holographic barrier was, crashing into it at that speed could shatter it apart and send the bike plunging into the endless abyss below.
Even just watching from afar made Dante tense up to the extreme. In contrast, Jawed remained pretty calm.
Time slowed. The young man silently counted in his head, measuring every instant, every millisecond.
And then—right before the collision—
Immediately, the handlebars suddenly snapped sideways.
The motorcycle, which had been perfectly upright, suddenly carved out an absurd angle, almost perpendicular to the road itself.
The wind howled and slammed violently against the body of the bike.
Almost right afterward, he stood the bike upright again.
Shifted gears. Opened the throttle. The tachometer needle leapt violently upward.
BROOOOOOM—!
The vehicle exploded out of the corner, like a cannon shell, tearing through wind and space itself as it blasted straight past the golden bike!
***
"Everyone, just moments ago, the underground scene's star racer, Dante, was completely overtaken by a brand-new face through a wind-tearing late apex overflowing with adrenaline!" Larry screamed into the microphone.
"Who exactly is he?! Who is this guy that, with only a level C Mecha Human, can show us such unbelievably eye-catching moments?! We'll find out soon enough, but for now, please give a few moments to our second sponsor, [Sky Fast Food]!"
"Boo! Way to kill the mood, Larry!" part of the audience shouted jokingly. But most of the crowd remained in uproar.
They had all witnessed it firsthand—the crimson motorcycle accelerating through the smaller corners, then repeatedly blasting forward after every hairpin.
Everyone was stunned, asking themselves the same question as Larry.
Who exactly was the one daring to challenge and surpass Dante?!
***
Dante froze in silence. By the time he finally snapped back to reality, the crimson vehicle had already widened the gap.
Ahead of him, Jawed was once again casually messing around with chibi Halley.
"I think that guy screamed just now. Wonder if his hair changed color too?" Jawed wondered.
"Hair changed color?"
"Ah, it's nothing. Just nonsense. Though if it did change, it'd probably turn red or blue."
"Ah... I see. But anyway...." Halley looked at the speedometer.
100 km/h.
"We actually managed to overtake him, and at such high speed too. It feels really... exhilarating?"
"Oh?"
"Um. I don't really know how to describe it. I just feel a little excited. And maybe... I like it too."
"As long as you like it, that's enough. Then, let's experience even more of that excitement together." Hearing the engine roaring behind them, Jawed knew clearly that the blond rider still hadn't given up.
He glanced at the tightly packed corners on the minimap and tightened his grip on the throttle.
"It's time to claim victory."
...