A Wonderful Aspect of Autumn: Action (10)

I logged in. This was the third day of the event called 'A Wonderful Aspect of Autumn: Action.' Today was the last day of the 'Dragon Race' preliminaries, the event I've been taking seriously. Time to give it everything I've got!

I headed for the dragon stable, then went to the course with my partner, the Sprint Drake. Amaha, who had helped me on the first day, happened to be heading to the course as well.

"Hey, Amaha. Are you about to run too?"

"Yes. Since you said 'too,' I take it you're running as well."

When I called out to her, she turned around and replied cheerfully. Our partners seemed to get along, rumbling as though they were conversing.

"Do you think you'll make it to the main event? Only the top thirty qualify..."

"I made it, at least. What about you?"

"Of course I will. I've been in first place since the first day."

Wait, so first place was someone I knew? I had never expected the person who had been running ahead of me all this time to be the very first person I had spoken to at this event. What an incredible coincidence.

I had intended to keep my own rank vague, but she had told me hers so openly that I changed my mind. This was a sport, not a battle, so I would declare my own rank fair and square as well.

"I see... So Amaha was the one who had been ahead of me these past two days."

"Oh? Then you're in second place... Hehe, who would have thought we'd been competing for first place with someone we knew? It really is a small world."

"Indeed. Compared with the martial arts tournament, there are fewer participants, so I suppose things like this can happen."

"It's certainly fairly popular, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well..."

There were a great many entrants in the martial arts tournament. They were divided by level into brackets like boxing weight classes, making it easy for even players who had only recently started to participate.

Compared with that, the 'Dragon Race' had fewer participants. Even so, it was on the larger side among competitions as a whole. After all, no one would want to miss the rare opportunity to ride a Dragon known as a Sprint Drake.

However, according to Amaha, not many people ran over and over with the goal of winning, as we did. Even if they came to the dragon stable, the Sprint Drake they took a liking to was not necessarily going to become their partner, and the speed they reached while riding was far greater than expected and extremely frightening. As a result, more people apparently ran once and never came back.

I couldn't help feeling sad for the Sprint Drakes that kept waiting for partners who would never return. Even if they were not aiming to win, I wished people would ride on their backs and run with them. That was how I genuinely felt.

"So that's how things are..."

"I don't care about people who aren't motivated. More importantly, whether we win or lose, let's hold no grudges."

"Yeah."

Amaha and I each extended a hand, seemingly at the same time, and shook hands firmly. Then we entered the course together. Entering together did not mean we could run together, since these were still the preliminaries. Even so, my competitive spirit was already ablaze.

"I'm going to run to my heart's content today. Will you stick with me?"

"Krrr!"

The Sprint Drake cried as if to say, 'Bring it on!' After stroking its neck, we immediately began to run. First, we completed one run in the same manner as the previous two days. After that, we continued running while experimenting in order to shave even the smallest amount off our time.

We reevaluated our pacing, researched ways to take the switchback curves more quickly and run faster through the swamp, and developed methods for crossing the suspension bridge more smoothly without falling through its holes... Although it was the final day of the preliminaries, there was surprisingly much left to do. Three days clearly was not enough time for detailed testing.

"The curves are perfect, but... the suspension bridge is the problem."

In addition to shifting my weight, I found other ways to improve our handling of the curves, and I also discovered a technique to help us through the swamp. I thought these would reduce our time even further.

However, I could not think of any good ideas for the suspension bridge. We could only cross it by jumping at the last possible moment in the first place, so there was no room for ingenuity.

After incorporating these new techniques, we ran the course again and again. At first, we were actually slower because we were not used to them, but after several runs, we got the hang of it. When we completed a run without making a mistake, I finally got to read the words I had been longing to see.

"Woooooo! We're finally in first place!"

"Krrrrrrr!"

On the display that appeared before me in the strange space where I checked the results, our time was shown alongside the brilliantly shining words 'First Place.' We had done it! At long last, we had overtaken Amaha and claimed first place!

Overjoyed, I wrapped my arms tightly around the Sprint Drake's neck. For once, even the Sprint Drake seemed happy; instead of showing any sign of annoyance, it rubbed its head against me. I was not the only one pleased that our efforts had paid off.

Satisfied, we returned to the dragon stable. I used a spare brush of the same kind I use to brush Cal to clean its entire body. Any dirt disappeared when we returned to the stable, but showing my appreciation was more important. The Sprint Drake let out a pleased cry.

"Kyururururu!"

"Oh, does that feel good? At first, you wouldn't even let me touch you, but we've really become close."

Now that we had become this close, parting after the event ended was going to be painful. Even knowing that, I did not stop brushing. Once I knew it made my partner happy, I had no reason to stop.

After I brushed it like that for a while, its scales seemed to gleam a little more brightly. It was probably just a matter of perception, but my partner looked happy, so that was good enough for me.

"Let's go for the championship tomorrow. Count on me."

"Krrr!"

The Sprint Drake answered me with a powerful cry. After giving it a thorough petting, I returned to the lobby. I wanted to play the 'Mystery Catcher' again today.

The 'Dragon Race' was important, but with so many attractions available, it would be a waste to play only one. I would enjoy this side of the event as well.

"That said, going alone would be boring. I still have plenty of energy today, so maybe I'll invite someone."

I sat down in a random chair in the lobby and used clan chat to look for companions to go to the 'Amusement Park' with me. I might as well watch the displays here until I got a reply.

There were six displays in the lobby, all showing live broadcasts. Half showed the martial arts tournament, while the remaining three showed various other competitions. I started by watching the martial arts tournament, but unlike yesterday, none of the footage happened to show clan members or one of the few people I knew.

In that case, I decided to watch the other competitions. One of the displays was showing a tennis match. However, this was not ordinary tennis. It was called 'Battle Tennis,' a modified sport played in pairs, with martial techniques and magic allowed.

For this competition only, tennis rackets apparently functioned as equipment that could substitute for any weapon. In other words, every martial technique could be used. The players used those techniques to hit an item called an 'Indestructible Tennis Ball' back and forth.

The scoring and other rules were the same as in tennis, but magical interference against opponents was permitted, making the matches extremely intense. Magic was fired along with the serve; when one player returned the serve, the other simultaneously intercepted the magic and launched a counterattack... That was the sort of offensive and defensive exchange taking place.

"I heard there used to be a manga about superhuman students playing tennis... Was it something like this?"

That couldn't possibly be the case, I decided, dismissing my own thought as I turned to another display. It showed 'Golf.' Yes, it really was ordinary golf. It was pure golf, with no martial techniques or magic allowed whatsoever.

The only thing that was absurdly surreal was that the players were men and women wearing armor instead of golf clothes. They were issued golf clubs and golf balls, but apparently not golf outfits. The players were participating in their usual equipment.

The player currently on-screen looked like an old general in a grand suit of traditional Japanese armor. They held a golf club instead of a spear or sword and swung it with needlessly beautiful movements. Wow, that went pretty far.

The golf ball's trajectory curved slightly under the influence of the wind. However, that seemed to have been anticipated, and the ball landed on the green. What dexterity. They must play in real life too.

The final display was showing an event called 'Master Thief.' This was an individual competition in which players stole several items hidden in a large castle riddled with an intricate maze of traps, then escaped.

All the player avatars became black silhouettes of average height and build, resembling the culprit from a certain nationally famous detective manga. They could use neither martial techniques nor magic, and had to steal items while evading the guards patrolling the castle... They really were master thieves.

A point value was assigned to each item that could be stolen. Players competed based on the total, the fewest times they were discovered, and bonus points based on how quickly they escaped after the start. However, being caught by the guards meant game over, and apparently all their points were lost.

The more they stole, the more points they earned, but if they stole too much, the guards would realize items were missing, the castle would go on high alert, and escaping would become harder. Conversely, stealing only a little meant fewer points but an easier escape. To rank highly, they needed to steal as much as possible, but that increased the risk of being caught... Finding the right balance must have been difficult.

I thought repeated attempts would help, but apparently the castle's layout and the locations of the stealable items changed every time. A map was provided at the start of each challenge, so players were apparently expected to read it and adapt on the fly. It was a competition that tested a player's judgment and nerve.

Repeated attempts were not pointless, since they allowed players to accumulate knowledge about evading the guards. However, winning probably required calm judgment, route planning, and knowing when to cut one's losses.

Knowing when to cut one's losses was especially important. The player currently on the display seemed to have misjudged that moment and was being chased around the castle by dozens of guards. They were somehow getting away, but the guards pursued them while blowing whistles, so they kept cutting them off.

They were gradually cornered and eventually driven into a dead end, where they were caught. Their challenge had failed. The player's name was not shown, so I did not know who it was, but I hoped they would manage not to fail next time.

"Oh? Did I get a reply?"

While I was killing time like that, a reply came through clan chat. I opened the chat window, feeling a little excited.