Chapter 352
I logged in. Whew, yesterday was fun. After that, the four of us played all sorts of games to our hearts' content. There were shooting games and ring toss, where we competed over the points we earned within the time limit; medal games and slots, where we competed over the total number of shared medals we increased; and air hockey and bowling, which were fun regardless of our stats... We played until we lost track of time.
Even after playing that much, there were still plenty of games left to try. Next time, I'd like all of us to make the rounds together. In fact, there were quite a few groups of more than ten people moving around together. Several groups that size were playing bowling in particular.
"Well then, I'm planning to conduct various tests today. Sorry to drag you into this."
"Krrr?"
After finishing watering, I headed toward the 'Dragon Race' course and said that. My partner, the Sprint Drake, gave a puzzled rumble, as if asking what I had suddenly decided to talk about.
However, I considered the tests I was about to conduct important. There were two broad categories of things to test. One was the performance of martial techniques and magic. The other was checking the race's finer details and specifications.
The rules stated that we could interfere with our rivals during the main event, but I had noticed some small print saying that certain martial techniques and magic could not be used, while the performance of others had been adjusted.
What could not be used, and how had each martial technique and spell been adjusted? If I did not know that, I might suffer a spectacular failure even after advancing to the main event. That was why I was conducting these performance tests.
As for checking the specifications, that meant testing the course's various judgments. What caused a rider to be counted as having fallen off? What happened if we crossed a fence? Could the course itself be affected by attacks or other means? Those were the things I intended to investigate.
Amaha and Raga had insisted that I absolutely had to do this, so I decided to listen to them. An unexpected feature might help me, or it might instead cause me to be disqualified. There was no downside to finding out in advance.
Incidentally, my time was still in second place, so I had no need to desperately shave it down. If I had not had time to spare for investigations, I would have been running instead of leisurely testing things like this.
I decided to start by checking which martial techniques and spells could be used. This was easy, since I only had to look at the status screen. I expected two types of magic that could break the competition to be prohibited: 【Enhancement Magic】, which raised my Sprint Drake's stats, and 【Dark Arts】, which could instantly kill a player without question.
Those two would completely destroy the competition, so there was no way they would be allowed. As for the latter, it was my trump card, and I had never intended to use it except in front of my companions anyway.
"Um, what can I use...? What!? That's all!?"
When I checked the status screen, the unusable Skills were grayed out. However, there were far too many of them. Only basic elemental magic and weapons remained; things like 【Lightning Magic】 and 【Curse Magic】 could not be used at all.
Moreover, both martial techniques and magic were limited to things learnable by level 10. This was a competition that beginners could enter, so allowing techniques and spells that could only be used at high levels would make things rather boring.
This was a race, after all. If I wanted to fight, I should enter the martial arts tournament. I could not defeat all my competitors in battle first, then stroll leisurely through the course and win. The restrictions had probably been designed to allow only minor interference.
"First, I'll mount it. Then if I get off after moving a little farther...?"
I mounted the Sprint Drake, advanced a short distance from the starting point, and immediately dismounted. As expected, the system judged me to have fallen off and sent me back to the starting point in an instant. Oh, so that's what happens when you fall off.
I mounted it again. This time, I deliberately took my feet out of the stirrups and shifted my body until it touched the ground, which was also judged as falling off. Even while remaining properly mounted, extending my tail and touching it to the ground resulted in the same judgment.
Apparently, you were counted as having fallen off the instant any part of your body touched the ground. If I kept my legs firmly braced, I would not fall, but if I wanted to interfere with someone, maneuvering to make them fall was probably the right approach.
"Krrr?"
"Hey, hey, stop biting my tail. Next, let's see what happens if a weapon touches the ground."
After calming the Sprint Drake, which was intensely curious about the tail I had just shown it, I touched my staff to the ground while remaining mounted. That alone did not count as falling off, which was hardly surprising. If a weapon touching the ground counted, we would not be able to swing our weapons properly.
I tried driving the tip of the staff deeply into the ground, but that was fine too. Then I leaned my weight against it while it was planted, and I still was not counted as having fallen off. Finally, I climbed down from the Sprint Drake's back using the staff planted in the ground as support... and I was not counted as having fallen off until my feet touched the ground.
In other words, even if I lost my balance and began to fall, I could avoid being eliminated by supporting my body with a weapon. The longer the weapon I brought, the better it seemed. My staff was long and sturdy, making it ideal. I would use it in the main event.
"That should be enough testing for falling off. Next, let's see whether we can alter the course."
While running along the first straightaway, I tried firing some random magic at the ground. The spell burst on the surface, but it did not even leave a dent at the point of impact.
From that, it seemed impossible to alter the terrain through attacks. When I tried using Stone Wall, it appeared for only an instant before disappearing. Perhaps turning the ground uneven and making it more difficult terrain was impossible.
I ran through the course at about the speed I had used during my scouting run and reached the switchback area. This section required us to climb while making the turns, but then a question occurred to me. The Sprint Drake could jump.
If so, could I jump just before a turn and take a shortcut to the upper level? It might result in us crossing the fence and being judged as having gone off-course, but once the idea occurred to me, I could not resist testing it. I was running specifically to try various things, after all. It was worth a shot.
"I should try it at a low point first. All right, now!"
"Krrr!"
I tried to leap over the fence along the switchback course and land on the upper level, but before I knew it, I had been sent back to the starting point. Cutting corners was not allowed.
This was terrain advantageous to the Sprint Drake, with its superior 'Climbing Ability'; the place to make use of 'Jumping Ability' lay elsewhere. I supposed the game was telling us to be patient until then.
Some people might have differing opinions about the course's limited freedom, but it was a rule, so I had no choice but to follow it. I ran back to the slope area once more. As we climbed the switchbacks, I wondered whether there was anything I could do to help it. I understood that taking a shortcut was impossible, but perhaps I could at least do something to reduce its burden.
"A slope... Mountain climbing... A staff... A staff? I have a staff!"
At that moment, an idea descended upon me like divine inspiration. In time with the Sprint Drake's strides, I jabbed my staff into the ground and lifted my body just slightly.
Perhaps because the burden it was carrying became lighter for an instant, the Sprint Drake's steps seemed lighter as well. I thought it was a brilliant idea, but it seemed to help only a little. I had expected it to have the same effect as using a staff while mountain climbing, which made things easier, but apparently it was not that simple. What a shame.
After the slope ended, we reached the swamp area. As we advanced through a shallow section, I tried casting magic toward the swamp. The mud filling it burst and splattered everywhere. Some of it seemed to land on the Sprint Drake's face, because it shook its head with an extremely displeased expression.
As I wiped the mud away with my hand, I thought this could be used for harassment. Some might stop to wipe themselves off. Of course, it might not work against a Sprint Drake that did not care about getting a little dirty, but I thought it could still have some effect. I would remember that.
When I tested the magic I could use, the most mud splashed when I used 【Water Magic】. Apparently, it scattered together with the water produced by the spell. If I wanted to harass someone here, I should use the water attribute. Good, I had burned that into my memory!
After leaving the swamp and crossing the broad slope, I reached the bridge area. The thing to test here was already decided: I would investigate every detail of the suspension bridge's specifications.
"Magic against the bridge planks... doesn't work. The ropes are the same. But it doesn't seem entirely useless."
I attacked the suspension bridge with magic. However, I could not destroy it. Burning it, cutting it, and smashing it were all useless. There seemed to be no way to make the suspension bridge completely unusable... It felt strange that attacks had no effect on such a dilapidated bridge, but I decided to accept that it was simply how things worked.
However, attacks against the bridge were not entirely useless. When I attacked it, the impact caused it to sway violently. This was true of both the ordinary suspension bridge and the dilapidated one. Running across a swaying bridge would make it easy to lose one's balance, and on the one with missing planks, someone would be especially likely to put a foot through a gap.
The stone bridge, by contrast, did not budge at all. Its stability was outstanding. The stone bridge was ignored during the time attack, but choosing it during the main event was entirely possible. I could run across this one while firing magic wildly at the suspension bridge, which would provide sufficient interference. It would depend on the circumstances, but I should consider that strategy as well.
There was nothing I could do about the final slope. The only trick I could think of was to try to run as close to the inside of the road as possible. During the time attack, I would at least use my staff to jab the ground here and give it a little help.
"We've reached the summit. Sorry for making you hold back. This clearly wasn't enough for you, so let's run at full speed now."
"Krrr!"
The Sprint Drake had been dissatisfied that it could not go fast while helping with my tests, but the moment I suggested running seriously, its mood improved. Did it really enjoy running that much? In that case, I would run with it until it was satisfied!