Chapter 14 - 14: Second Run
"The race will be straight forward, no gimmick, no obstacles. Just a plain old race using your feet and your Systems"
Mr. Lang raised his fingers as he was explaining the rules of the game. The goal is to reach from one end of the field to the other. And due to the field's gigantic size, all of them will race at the same time-- 40 students in a single race.
"What?"
"All at the same time? But there are like 40 of us!"
"How will they even evaluate us?"
Hearing the students' qualms, Mr. Jacobs let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, you will know once all of this is over. We're not grading you here, fishes", he then pointed at the side, where the representatives of various Explorer Guilds were watching them, "It is them you should be worried about"
This wasn't an official school activity, it was merely a showdown between Mr. Jacobs' and Mr. Lang's class. The winner would be based on how many Explorer Guilds take interest in their students.
Mr. Jacobs and Mr. Lang, however, could not help but squint their eyes as they looked at the group of guild representatives on the side. They were only expecting four people, their friends, and acquaintances from different guilds.
But with the unexpected appearance of someone like Sarah from the Explorer's association, more guilds followed suit.
This was becoming something big.
"Now line up, you fishes!", Mr. Jacobs said as he pushed two of his students, urging the others to go to the end of the field.
The hesitation that still plastered their faces earlier can no longer be found as all of them lined up neatly at the end of the field.
Even though there were 40 of them, the students were still 5 meters apart from each other-- a testament to how large the field really is.
Van, who was the smallest of his class, was of course, at the end of the very line, next to Beatrice. He still had a worried face as he stared at Beatrice's expression.
'Is this… the real her?', Van could not help but think. Even though it was only faint and she was trying her best not to show it on her face, her eyes that were full of obsession could not escape Van's eyes.
Van has met a lot of people in the slums that had eyes like her, and they all shared the same fate-- they were either in jail or dead.
After a while, Van shook his head. This was not the time to be thinking of somebody else. After all, he was no different.
Van likes to look in the mirror from time to time, to remind him that he too, has the same eyes.
And so, with a deep breath, he looked to the front, to the goal. He tapped his feet numerous times, trying to see how fast he could do it, but alas, it was not any faster than what it normally is.
Van could not help but furrow his eyebrows, he then activated one of his skills, [Time Perception].
All of the world's noises that were previously clouding his ears suddenly died down. The short blades of grass littering the field also stopped dancing.
Van tried to tap his foot and move his hand. But alas, his body was moving as slow as everything else. He immediately felt motion sickness as he felt too disoriented with his body not being able to catch up to his mind.
And so, he immediately canceled the [Time Perception] as he started violently puking on the ground. The sound of him retching almost reached the other end of the line.
"V...van, are you okay!?", Beatrice was about to rush towards him. But the sound of the bell suddenly rang throughout the field, signaling the untimely start of the race. Beatrice could only apologize to Van as blades of grass rotated on her body. Her hair also lifted up due to the gust of wind that was circling her, and soon enough, she was slightly floating in the air.
"I'm sorry!", she once again apologized as the wind pushed her forward at a fast speed, quickly getting ahead of the rest of the students.
"Van bro!? You okay!?", Harvey, who noticed that Van was retching on the ground from the distance, could not help but rush towards him. However, before he could even take 5 steps, Van stretched his palm towards him.
"Go!", Van shouted as he looked at Harvey with an unblinking gaze.
Hearing Van's words, Harvey still hesitated. But after looking at the other students already gaining distance and with another shout from Van, he could only click his tongue in regret and started running forward.
"I will win for you, man!", he shouted as his steps shaved off the grass from the field.
Seeing every student already gaining distance. Van could not help but slam his fists to the ground.
"Come on, System...", he whispered to himself, "...work with me!"
Sarah, who was watching from the side, quickly stood up as she saw Van groveling on the ground. The gaze of her eyes was focused, and her eyebrows stressed.
Bellick, who wasn't even watching the race and was only looking at Sarah, instantly turned his head to the field to look at who Sarah was truly here for.
'That… small kid?', Bellick squinted his eyes. He then quickly retrieved something from his pocket. It was a black ball. He then tapped it a couple of times, and soon after, the black ball opened, revealing an eye.
He pointed the eye towards Van and whispered, "Record everything you see".
"Why are you not working?", Van gritted his teeth as he tried to wriggle his feet to see if it was moving fast. But alas, it was as it was before.
Van looked in front of him, only to see the students almost passed halfway the field, with Beatrice leading.
Van's breaths started to become heavy as he closed his eyes. "Think… think", he muttered.
"Think of what you felt…"
Several memories instantly resurfaced in his mind, constantly racing with each other.
The feeling of the burn on his feet.
The cuts on his hand.
His bones piercing his flesh.
"Think… think…", his jaw started to tremble as he tried to get past the painful memories.
He wore the boots… and the next thing that happened was that his heart completely stopped.
"!!!", Van's eyes started to tremble like crazy as the thought of death drowned his mind. His heart, beating abnormally fast.
And soon, he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Trying to calm himself down. His heart, which was beating like a torrent, soon slowed down. It slowed down to the point that his veins felt like ice.
He then slightly lifted himself up, his palm, touching the blades of grass that were beneath him. He remembers it now, the rush.
The memories of his first run.
Strings of light started to glow from his shoes, turning into wings that flapped endlessly. And then, he opened his eyes as a smile slowly crept into his face.
His eyes, which were staring at only one thing, the goal, started to emit golden sparks of light.
He then quickly let out his deep breath as he whispered,
"Let's f*cking go"