A Wonderful Aspect of Autumn: Action (5)

After explaining the course to Amaha, I decided to return to it with my Sprint Drake. This time, instead of proceeding at a walking pace, we would run for real.

"Let's go all out on the first straightaway!"

"Krrr!"

The Sprint Drake followed my instructions, let out a cry, and dashed forward with tremendous momentum. She was already quite fast from the start, but she accelerated more and more with every step. How could her 'Acceleration' really be 4.3!?

When she reached top speed, she was unbelievably fast. The surrounding scenery streamed past like a raging torrent, while the hem of my robe flapped wildly in the wind. This was only my impression, but weren't we going at around a hundred kilometers per hour?

However, my partner's 'Top Speed' was 8.1. In other words, individuals even faster than her existed. No matter how hard we tried here, we probably would not be the first to reach the mountain. If we made it to the finals, perhaps we should focus on keeping up with the frontrunners without overexerting ourselves, even though straightaways were our specialty.

If we were hit by an attack at this speed, I felt certain we would fall. It seemed more important to protect ourselves from attacks than to interfere with our opponents. I was a frail mage, after all.

I gripped the reins tightly to avoid being thrown off and looked ahead while squeezing my legs against the stirrups. The slope waiting beyond the straightaway was rapidly drawing closer.

"We're almost at the slope. Let's slow down and climb it carefully."

"Krrluu."

The Sprint Drake gradually slowed down, and by the time we reached the slope, she was moving at about half her top speed. Her 'Climbing Ability' was a rather low 3.0, which was why she had slowed this much.

On the other hand, this meant that even on a slope she was bad at, she could still manage fifty kilometers per hour—about the speed of a passenger car on a public road. At this point, perhaps it would be all right to focus on interfering with our opponents.

"We won't manage the next steep slope. We'll take the switchback route at a slower pace. I want to conserve your stamina, so don't push yourself at all."

"Krrr!"

We raced up through the switchback area without overexerting ourselves. I made sure to tell her to slow down a little as well. The course was extremely long, so it would be a problem if she were already exhausted at this point.

I had slowed her down with her stamina in mind, and that had been the correct decision. Because of the switchback road's shape, its turns were nearly 180-degree hairpin bends. If we did not slow down, we would be unable to make the turns at all.

The fastest speed at which we could barely make the turns was probably around thirty kilometers per hour. That was still quite fast, but I had her run at the limit while guiding her with the reins to stay as far toward the inside of the road as possible.

I did wonder whether it was wise to push so hard on our first run, but this was practice too. We could run the course as many times as we wanted, so we might as well go all out. No, if we fell too often, the Sprint Drake might start to dislike me, so perhaps I should show some restraint. It was a difficult decision.

"A little farther... Now!"

"Krrr!"

When we rounded each bend, the Sprint Drake and I tilted our bodies at the same time. That allowed us to turn with almost no loss of speed. I had based the movement on something I had seen in an online motorcycle race, and it was more effective than I had expected.

I had not expected us to be able to round the turns so smoothly by working together. We would be running the course many times during the qualifiers, but practicing the turns would also help us practice communicating with each other. I wanted to focus on that.

After leaving the switchback area, we entered the swamp area. Our 'Rough-Terrain Ability' was low, so although going around the edge was a detour, it would be faster. Even so, we splashed through the swamp while searching for the deepest point at which our speed would not drop.

"A bridge... It's dangerous, but we'll push through this too."

"Krrrururu!"

Beyond the swamp lay the ravine area, with its three bridges. Of the three, the crumbling bridge was our only choice. We could not qualify for the finals without placing near the top in the time attack. Since this was a qualifier we could attempt as many times as we wanted, and we were capable of crossing it, there was no reason to choose another bridge.

The Sprint Drake repeatedly leaped forward fearlessly, without worrying about falling. Whoa, the suspension bridge really swayed violently whenever we jumped and landed! To be honest, it was pretty frightening, but if I tensed up here, I would interfere with the Sprint Drake's movements. Don't be afraid! Even if we fall, we'll only return to the starting point!

"Whoa! Hwahahahaha! The fear has come full circle and started becoming fun!"

"Krrrururuu!"

Although my sudden burst of strange enthusiasm was an unexpected complication, we crossed the bridge without slowing down. It had been our first attempt, but hadn't we come close to achieving the ideal performance?

If I made a point of not being afraid and not getting in the Sprint Drake's way, we should be able to do the same thing again. Perhaps yielding the initiative to her when necessary was also important in this race.

After crossing the ravine, we finally entered the last major obstacle: the long slope area. My partner could not reach top speed with her 'Climbing Ability' and 'Rough-Terrain Ability,' but she could still manage seventy to eighty percent of it.

However, the problem was her 'Endurance.' Her value of 6.6 was not particularly high, but the slope was extremely long. She had already been worn down by the course so far, and if she maintained her maximum possible speed, she would be exhausted before long. I needed to find out how far she could run at full speed.

"This is our first run, so I want to find out how far you can go at full speed. Will you do it?"

"Krrr!"

The Sprint Drake answered with a sharp cry and dashed forward at full speed. She kicked powerfully against the ground and continued running up the slope while gradually increasing her speed. I had to carefully determine how far she could go at this pace.

The Sprint Drake managed to climb about forty percent of the slope while maintaining the speed she had reached. However, this must have been the limit of her 'Endurance.' Her speed began to decrease, little by little but unmistakably.

"Krrr... Krrr...!"

"Don't push yourself. Falling would defeat the purpose, so just slow down gradually."

"Kuuu..."

The Sprint Drake slowed down while growling in frustration. I had thought she had a cool personality, but apparently she hated losing more than I expected. She acted cool, but was she actually fiery on the inside? I liked that, partner.

Even so, perhaps her pride would not allow it, because she refused to slow down any more than necessary. When we reached the goal, she was still maintaining about half her top speed. What incredible grit. She really was a die-hard competitor.

"That was a good run... Whoa!?"

"Kkyuuu..."

After we reached the goal, I tried to praise her, but the Sprint Drake collapsed forward. The backlash from her stubbornness must have been severe; she was so exhausted that even standing seemed difficult.

However, it was quite a shock for me, since I was still on her back. I had not been gripping the reins tightly or squeezing my thighs because I had not expected anything like this. I was thrown from her back and went tumbling across the mountaintop.

"Ugh... Well, I'm alive, so I suppose that's fine. You did great. Good girl."

"Kuuu... Kuuu..."

I praised the Sprint Drake as she lay on the ground, breathing heavily. I gently stroked her head and throat as I did with Cal, and her breathing seemed to grow a little calmer. After we rested for a while, she slowly stood up, apparently having recovered enough strength to stand.

After thanking her, I pulled on the reins and entered the return gate with my unsteady, staggering partner. In the mist, the virtual display I had seen just moments ago appeared, showing the time we had taken to complete the course. Naturally, it was far faster than our leisurely preview run, and beside it were the messages 'New Record!' and 'Your current rank is second.'

Hmm. I thought we had achieved a good time for our first run, before I had properly studied the course, but I had not expected to come in second. This was pretty frustrating. I wonder if I can find out who came in first?

I knew our time and current rank. Next, I had to decide whether to run again or return to the dragon stable. After hesitating briefly, I decided to return to the dragon stable this time as well.

Returning to the starting point would restore my partner's stamina, but I had just pushed her until she collapsed. Telling her to do the same thing again would be far too cruel. I was mentally exhausted too, and felt as if I might make a mistake. Considering everything, returning was the best choice.

"I'm back again."

"Kuuu..."

The Sprint Drake gave a feeble rumble. Her stamina should have recovered, but judging by her condition, it seemed I had made the right choice not to run again.

I led the Sprint Drake back to her dragon stable. As soon as she entered, she lay down on the straw covering the floor and began to sleep. She must have been that exhausted. You did really well. Thank you.

"Hmm, it's still too early to log out. What should I do, then...? Oh?"

While I was trying to decide, a message appeared in the clan chat. Eiji had written that he was playing in an arcade-like area and invited me to come play with him. Apparently, there were all sorts of games there, and they were fun even without having anything to do with the competitions.

That sounded good. I would play without worrying about winning or losing, then go to bed. After replying, I returned to the event lobby and headed toward the place where Eiji was playing.