"1000 meters passed!"
"Currently in the lead is Mihono Bourbon!"
"Right behind her is Mejiro Dober!"
"First in popularity, Rice Shower is currently here, in third place!"
"..."
The commentator's voice echoed overhead.
On the track behind them, Mejiro McQueen looked at Rice Shower's back and calculated the current gap between them—two to three lengths! The remaining distance was 1200 meters, which was completely sufficient given her stamina. Should she make her move here? Her light purple eyes hesitated for just a moment before becoming utterly resolute.
No, now isn't the time to hesitate. If I don't move now, it'll be too late!
Having made her decision, Mejiro McQueen no longer wavered.
Her focus instantly heightened to an extreme level, her mental intensity rising to new heights!
High-intensity concentration—Flow!
And then came the power that erupted from deep within her body in that instant. This force tore through the wind resistance before her, her footsteps becoming more stable and powerful. Pale white flames released from Mejiro McQueen's eyes as her entire body became enveloped in a layer of radiant aura.
ZONE!
[Soaring: Reduces fatigue, grants one immunity effect, greatly increases speed and acceleration!]
With a burst of pressure through the air, Mejiro McQueen's running speed increased explosively!
This is my distance!
2200 meters wasn't her specialty, but starting now, she would surpass her former self!
"Mejiro McQueen is making her move! So fast—can she catch up?"
The host and commentator also noticed Mejiro McQueen's action.
While it was rather rare for a stalker to burst this early, given that Mejiro McQueen specialized in long distances, her stamina should be enough to support an explosion at this point.
After entering her dual state, multiple skill flashes appeared beneath Mejiro McQueen's feet.
The race was already half over, yet Mejiro McQueen's stamina reserves remained very abundant.
With the skills replenishing her, far from depleting anything, she currently still had nearly eighty percent of her stamina remaining. She had more than enough to sustain an all-out sprint from this position to the finish line. Her only concern was whether her burst speed was fast enough and whether she had enough skills to sustain her sprint to the end. But she had no time to hesitate, because she knew full well that Rice Shower's closing speed was far superior to her own.
If she waited until near the final stretch to burst, her speed and power would never compare to Rice Shower's. Never mind comparing to Rice Shower—even Tokai Teio would be stronger than her at that point.
She wasn't some fresh-faced newcomer. After running so many races, she knew her weaknesses and strengths well. That's why she chose to explode at this juncture.
[Elegance of a Noble House (Flash): Recovers stamina, increases speed! Duration: 3s]
[Mejiro Family's Wisdom (Flash): Greatly increases speed! Duration: 3s]
[Home Run (Gold): Increases speed! Duration: 4s]
[Gust of Wind (Gold): Increases acceleration on straightaways! Duration: 3s]
Speed boost, power boost, stamina recovery—a full-state explosion!
That figure was truly dazzling.
Mejiro McQueen displayed her strength as the strongest of her generation!
With the sound of horseshoes scraping against the grass, she closed the gap with those ahead in an instant.
Rice Shower glanced at Mejiro McQueen from the corner of her eye. The next moment, that figure surged past her side. She understood exactly what Mejiro McQueen was thinking—she wanted to use endurance to decide the outcome of this race!
After rushing past Rice Shower's side, Mejiro McQueen's mood didn't relax. Instead, she became even more anxious.
Because she could feel that fear and coldness emanating from deep within her heart.
If her opponent were Tokai Teio, she'd be confident that her current decision could narrow the distance adaptation gap. But against Rice Shower, she had absolutely no such confidence.
Because Rice Shower's endurance was no weaker than her own.
This oppressive feeling... I see, so she's noticed my intentions after all.
Mejiro McQueen noticed the shadow right beside her.
Had her burst left Rice Shower behind?
No, not at all.
If anything, she had actually entered the opponent's assassination range.
Although Rice Shower's current title was The Overlord, she had originally been the Black Assassin.
Damn it! But this is a battle of mental strength—I won't necessarily lose!
Mejiro Dober, running ahead, heard the footsteps rapidly approaching from behind like a gust of wind. She gritted her teeth hard and closed her eyes, lowering her head to sprint forward, but it was no use—those footsteps were still getting closer!
No good, I can't shake them at all!
Those footsteps quickly caught up to her.
Mejiro Dober's eyes flew open in alarm, and then she witnessed the moment Mejiro McQueen surged past her side. She had never seen McQueen look like that before.
Such overwhelming pressure! Is that really the McQueen I know?
The current McQueen was strong, but—
Looking at Rice Shower following McQueen like a shadow, Mejiro Dober's heart grew bitter.
She knew she couldn't keep up with her current strength.
Is this my limit then?
The breakaway running style had indeed made her stronger than before.
But while she was getting stronger, those geniuses and monsters who were already more powerful hadn't stopped improving either. The result was that the gap between her and the geniuses hadn't shrunk—if anything, it was growing wider!
McQueen, do your best!
Realizing she had no hope of victory, Mejiro Dober chose to send her blessings to her teammate.
At this moment, Mejiro McQueen was intently focused on Mihono Bourbon's back ahead of her.
Unlike Mejiro Dober who could no longer keep up with the pace, Mihono Bourbon still had reserves remaining.
Mihono Bourbon also sensed the presence of the two behind her.
In her Flow state, her mind clear of distractions, she reacted instantly.
Red waves of energy appeared once more. Unlike before when she could only briefly maintain this state through skills, this feeling was—
Mejiro McQueen's expression turned grave upon sensing the aura emanating from Mihono Bourbon.
ZONE!
Her intuition was correct. Mihono Bourbon had been holding back power and trump cards.
Rice Shower, following alongside, also looked at Mihono Bourbon with curiosity.
A new power. A power that belongs only to you, Bourbon.
[Overdrive: Speed limit increased to infinite (based on willpower)!]
Speed!
This was Mihono Bourbon's understanding of power.
The ZONE she had awakened had no explosive effects, but it granted her the possibility of surpassing her limits.
[Coco Action (Flash): Increases speed and acceleration. If opponents are behind, speed increases further! Duration: 5s]
[Escape Artist (Gold): When being pursued, speed increases further! Duration: 3s]
Her entire body radiating red particles, Mihono Bourbon continued to flee!
Mejiro McQueen's expression was serious.
That kind of burst—
She had lost in the battle of explosive speed.
But it wasn't over yet. Skills had limited durations, and ZONE consumed stamina heavily.
Mihono Bourbon, forced into ZONE before even reaching the final stretch, was no longer a threat!
Though she hadn't caught up, Mejiro McQueen's mindset wasn't affected. She glanced at the shadow to her left—and with just that glance, the shadow seemed to come alive. She felt as if she could see that cold Overlord watching her with hollow eyes.
She felt like she was running for her life, as if some terrifying darkness was pursuing her from behind.
I won't lose! I absolutely won't lose!
Even with the boost of her dual state, Mejiro McQueen couldn't completely shake off the pressure Rice Shower exerted from behind. It wasn't any skill effect—just the resonance between their mental powers.
But precisely because of this, Mejiro McQueen felt powerless.
If this were the influence of a mental interference skill, her ZONE would have already taken effect.
But this was merely the influence of presence. Rice Shower hadn't done anything; she herself was simply panicking.
"1200 meters passed!"
"The final turn is just ahead!"
"Currently still leading is Mihono Bourbon, but Mejiro McQueen and Rice Shower have already caught up from behind..."
Tokai Teio heard the commentator's voice and immediately stopped hesitating. With 1000 meters remaining, it was time to consider moving forward. She didn't need to catch up immediately, but she had to close the distance to within her burst range.
[Flash Step (Gold): Easier to break through crowds! Duration: 4s]
[Flash of Light (Gold): Speed increases faster on straightaways! Duration: 3s]
[Genius of Racing (Flash): Slightly recovers stamina, increases speed! Duration: 3s]
And then—
[Technique of a Genius (Flash): Switches to a more advantageous line, increases speed and acceleration! Duration: 3s]
Tokai Teio burst out from the crowd, chasing after the three ahead.
This time I'm the one behind. Rice Shower, McQueen—this time I will definitely win!
"The trailing competitors are starting to accelerate! First to emerge is Tokai Teio!"
In the spectator stands, Symboli Rudolf watched Tokai Teio's figure.
Tokai Teio's current strength was beyond question.
The reason she had suffered such a crushing defeat in the spring Tenno Sho was largely related to her mental state being thrown off balance at the time—otherwise, she never would have dropped to last place.
But Tokai Teio hadn't been broken by that.
Just like the name of her ZONE suggested, deep in Tokai Teio's bones lay an indomitable spirit.
If Tokai Teio could realize this, she would definitely become stronger.
Can you discover it, Tokai Teio?
On another side, Legacy World looked toward her student.
Watching Venus Paques, who still hadn't made her move, her expression shifted slightly.
Venus Paques, have you not noticed, or are you too confident?
This race's pace was extremely fast.
Opportunities came in an instant—there was simply no time to hesitate.
Venus Paques's position was as a chaser, which was inherently disadvantageous in this race.
After all, the breakaway runners were creating too much disruption for those in the rear. Add to that Rice Shower and Mejiro McQueen, those two stalkers running like front-runners, and the impact was even more severe.
If the rear competitors didn't notice this situation and accelerate in time, they would face a very awkward predicament later—bursting too late with insufficient explosive power.
From Legacy World's perspective, Tokai Teio had chosen an excellent timing.
Although this child had been hit rather hard recently, she was steadily improving through high-intensity competition, completely unfazed by her opponents' strength.
But Venus Paques's performance today was problematic in Legacy World's eyes.
Completely out of sync with the race's rhythm. Too confident. The weakness of insufficient experience is fully exposed!
Legacy World anxiously clenched her fists.
If she could, she really wanted to go up and remind her student.
During the race.
The red light in Nice Nature's eyes had just appeared before immediately fading away.
The moment she saw Tokai Teio burst out, she had wanted to release a skill. After all, the only target she could affect right now was Tokai Teio. Rice Shower was completely immune to her skills, and trying to target Mejiro McQueen at this distance would likely miss.
Of course, she could choose to release skills over a wide area, but doing so would dilute their effects. She felt that wouldn't effectively interfere with these geniuses and monsters.
But in an instant, she abandoned the thought of releasing skills.
Because it was pointless.
Even if she interfered with Tokai Teio, she still couldn't catch up to those three ahead.
Honestly, why did this race have so many geniuses and monsters?
With an internal sigh, she watched Tokai Teio's back.
Genius-sama, let me witness that brilliance you once had!
She and Tokai Teio had debuted around the same time. She had witnessed this genius's rise and fall firsthand.
Though she had never shown it, she was actually a fan of Tokai Teio.
Just as the four ahead had entered the turn and were nearly halfway through, Venus Paques in the rear of the pack had only just entered the turn. But she suddenly noticed that the competitors around her seemed to have lost the fighting spirit they'd had at the start of the race.
What happened?
Though lacking in race experience, Venus Paques instinctively sensed something was wrong.
The abnormal behavior of the surrounding competitors made her heart tense up instantly.
"The third turn is about to be cleared! The gap between competitors has widened significantly!"
The commentator's voice arrived at this point.
Venus Paques's pupils contracted instantly.
What's going on?
She hadn't even made her move yet—how had she fallen behind?!
In her mental shock, Venus Paques hesitated no longer. She exploded with tremendous presence. Despite not being a physically imposing competitor, in this moment, without using any lane-switching abilities, she forced her way through the crowd with sheer power. The surrounding competitors were startled by her strength.
Charging all the way from the back to the front, Venus Paques finally realized the severity of the situation.
Tokai Teio was now over six lengths ahead of her.
And those competitors even further ahead—by rough calculation—were at least nine lengths away.
Damn it!
Venus Paques felt terrible.
She never imagined that the competitors surrounding her had no intention of racing seriously. Despite being left so far behind, they weren't anxious to catch up at all. Being boxed in on the inside, she had been fooled along with them.
Good thing I noticed! There's still a chance now!
Venus Paques's usually smiling face was now somewhat contorted. From her perspective, she had to wonder if she'd been deliberately targeted by these Japanese competitors.
But that really wasn't the case.
The reason Nice Nature and the others hadn't accelerated was that midway through the race, they realized they couldn't keep up—they discovered the fact that they simply weren't in the same league as those people.
So they had chosen to return to their own racing rhythm.
Venus Paques had never raced against those geniuses and monsters, so she was completely out of sync with this race's pace.
After all, she had dominated every race since her debut without ever feeling any pressure.
Nice Nature watched the overseas exchange student charging forward like she was out of control.
She couldn't help but feel sorry for this newcomer.
Earlier, seeing Venus Paques not making her move, she had thought this monster from overseas had some secret weapon up her sleeve. She never expected it was just inexperience causing her to be influenced by the surrounding competitors.
...
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