Chapter 63

"Aller, with his unique flying technique that makes it seem as if he's soaring through the sky, is accelerating even further! The distance between him and Dione is clearly closing!"

I kicked the air and accelerated fiercely.

The distance between Dione and me, which had been over fifty meters at one point, was now down to just a few dozen meters.

"Hmm..."

Dione glanced back at me.

She must have thought she had completely outdistanced me; I could see the surprise on her usually expressionless face.

"But Dione! She's increasing her speed even more from here! She's showing that she won't lose to a rookie, maintaining her status as the three-crown queen!"

She's still getting faster.

But I can't afford to fall behind.

"Aller is keeping up with her! No, he's accelerating even more! What an incredible sight! Dione is trying to widen the gap, but the distance is still closing! The goddess of the sky is showing a pained expression!"

The race then entered the final straightaway before heading into the green campus grounds.

And finally, I caught up with Dione.

"Aller has caught up! He's about to overtake her—no, Dione isn't giving in! She accelerates again and takes the lead! What an intense battle! The outcome is still uncertain until the very end!"

"Uh-oh."

"Huh? Mr. Dumble?"

"Up ahead, when entering the campus, there's a large curve in the opposite direction. At this speed, there's no way they can make it through."

As the commentator said, the final curve was coming into view.

"However, both racers show no signs of slowing down! Is this safe!?"

Hmm.

Indeed, it would be quite difficult to make that curve at this speed.

But Dione doesn't slow down at all.

Does she have the confidence to make it, or is she willing to take the risk?

Well, since the other one seems determined to keep going, I have no choice but to follow.

But then, unexpectedly, Dione suddenly slowed down.

"Oh! Dione is suddenly decelerating! She's being quickly overtaken by Aller... but Aller, at full speed, is heading straight into the curve!"

"This is a tactical win for Dione. She made it look like she was going to enter the curve at that speed until the last moment. As expected of the three-crown queen, she remains calm even in this situation. On the other hand, the less experienced Aller fell for it."

"Aller has taken the lead... but oh no! He can't seem to make the turn! He's veering off the course due to the centrifugal force!"

A tremendous force from the left side is pushing my body to the right.

Hmm.

Let's see how this works.

I tensed my right arm.

The muscles bulged.

I then created a mass of air on the right side of my body and struck it with all my might.

Bang!!

The sound of the air exploding echoed, and I managed to regain my balance.

"Huh...?"

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

I repeated this several times and managed to make the turn without going off the course.

It's a good thing I trained my muscles.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to pull this off.

"He... he made it...?"

The commentator was speechless.

"Actually, his arm seemed to get bigger just now..."

"...I saw that too."

"Was it an illusion?"

"I hope so."

Maintaining my top speed, I entered the campus grounds.

All I had to do now was fly straight.

I just needed to fly straight into the training field where I started and cross the finish line.

The gap between Dione and me was over ten meters.

As I entered the training field, a loud cheer greeted me.

"Wow! Master! As expected!"

"Really, he came back in first place!?"

"Amazing...!"

"And now, Aller has crossed the finish line in first place! He won in his first year of enrollment! What an incredible achievement! Dione, the three-crown queen, finished in second place in her first race of the year!"

As I crossed the finish line, an even louder cheer erupted.

"Wow!"

"Amazing! That guy really won in his first year!?"

"Miss Dione... Miss Dione lost!"

...Phew.

I'm exhausted.

Even though I had been flying ten times this distance every night, I hadn't flown at this speed.

"And... and the time... it's a... record! An incredible time, nearly a minute faster than the previous record!"

It seems I set a new record for the event.

"...I'm surprised. I didn't think I would lose."

Dione walked over to me, landing on the ground.

She looked calm, but she was drenched in sweat.

"That was a good race."

"Yeah. We'll do it again. I won't lose next time."

We congratulated each other and shook hands.

"Skyk has returned! He's in third place! Despite being a rookie, he achieved an excellent result!"

Skyk, looking exhausted, crossed the finish line, swaying slightly.

As soon as he landed, he collapsed.

The medical team rushed over, but he glared at us and said,

"Ha... ha... Damn it! I won't lose next time! Cough, cough..."

Well, if he has the energy to say that, he'll be fine.