5TH GEAR - THE DESPERATE NEED FOR SPEED

“Please Jonathan, I’m begging you! I don’t know anything about Speed Battles, so please teach me what to do!” Fluonessia begged. Right now, she looked like an abandoned pup in the middle of the rain trying to get inside my home.

I looked around the crowd and saw the students itching for a fight. The club members are now preparing the arena for the Speed Battle. Somehow, my eyes met with Captain Tezza, and she smiled at me- not because as a form of a greeting, but a form of a threat.

I somehow heard the other students whisper behind my back.

“Is that Captain Tezza of the Cool Escape Speedmage Club?”

“Is that girl a Speedmage too? Are they having a Speed Battle?”

“This is great!”

There’s no escaping this situation for Fluonessia. She’ll be sent to the Students Affairs Office at this rate.

“Pleeeease!” A soft voice groaned.

My attention shifted to the pink idiot who was holding my hand the whole time. Fluonessia is giving her abandoned puppy eyes to hypnotize me. I swear, if she doesn’t look cute and appears like a damsel in distress right now, I would have abandoned her a few minutes ago.

I made a deep sigh. “Fine.”

“Really!? Thank you very much!” Fluonessia suddenly livens up.

I finally stepped up like a man and separated myself from the crowd. Then I raised my hand to capture the attention of Captain Tezza.

“Uh, Miss Captain. I will volunteer as this idiot’s navigator if that is okay with you.”

“I-Idiot!?” Fluonessia gasped in the background.

“We’re conducting a Sudden Death Speed Battle, but okay. Feel free to assist your girlfriend.” Captain Tezza nodded.

“G-Girlfriend!?” Fluonessia gasped again.

I just ignored the pink idiot’s remark and then moved on. “Fluonessia, you really have no idea how to play this duel, is that right?”

“Not a thing!” Fluonessia shook her head and then smiled as she pumped her fists. “But I’m kind of excited about this!”

“Great. I kind of hope you’re excited to see Miss Terror for the second time on your first day. Now, there are two things you need to know. First, a Speed Battle is conducted between two Speedmages, and the player with the most points wins. Second, you can use any spells you know in this match as long as it is not offensive in nature.”

“Sounds simple! So how do I score a point?”

“There are two ways to score a point. One way is to touch the Checkpoint Tower. The other way is to strike the enemy from the back.”

“S-Strike the enemy!?” Fluonessia gasped. “I-Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Don’t worry, Speed Battles are conducted by casting a barrier spell to the players before the match. It may be a duel, but it is completely safe. This is not the middle ages, duh.” I said.

“Oh, okay. I somehow get it now. I’m so excited to try it!” Fluonessia clenched her fists and pumped them, trying to suppress her emotions.

I can’t believe that this girl can convert her fear into excitement. Maybe that’s how people like her get the thrill of the battle.

I noticed that the Checkpoint Tower has just been erected by the club members. Captain Tezza is ready to go too, as she is now wearing her Speedmage shoes that sparkle with mana. She stood tall in front of the Checkpoint Tower and talked.

“Since this is just a Sudden Death duel, the first one to score a point wins. You win if you touch the Checkpoint Tower or strike my back. I will give you a handicap- I will not try to score a point for the first five minutes. If you fail to score a point for those five minutes, then I will strike your back, and you lose.”

“S-Sounds good to me!” Fluonessia accepted the challenge wholeheartedly.

<>

Both Speedmages went to their starting positions, which are 250 meters away from the Checkpoint Tower. Usually, a Checkpoint Tower is 500 meters away from the starting position, but since this is just a sudden death match, we halved the distance.

One of the club members stood as a referee. As we all know, referees are the ones who officiate the game and blow the whistle that indicates the start and end of the match.

I’m designated as Fluonessia’s navigator, whose job is to give her directions and advice. But since this match is only a straight line toward the checkpoint, there’s no need to give her directions. I was given magical earphones with a mic to communicate directly with Fluonessia’s mind.

On the other hand, Captain Tezza has no navigator assisting her. She may not need one already because I know she’s an experienced Speedmage.

“On your marks!” The referee shouted. “Get set!”

Captain Tezza and Fluonessia touched the ground, ready to boost at the sound of the whistle.

“Go!”

Fweeeeeeeet!

As soon as the whistle was blown, Fluonessia rushed forward with her feet full of glittering mana. It seemed that the pink-haired idiot had a two-second running lead! But then, Captain Tezza murmured a speed-cast spell!

“Lightning Accel!”

Sparking bolts surrounded Captain Tezza’s shoes, which in turn enhanced his overall running speed! She made a swift overtake against the clueless Fluonessia with a swoosh!

“Gah!” Fluonessia cried as she was left behind the dust.

“What are you doing!?” I yelled on the mic. “Use your spells to boost your speed too!”

“Y-Yes!”

Fluonessia focused mana on her shoes, and sparkling dust served as her contrails. However, this unknown experimental spell she just did was much slower than Captain Tezza’s Lightning Accel. Fluonessia only managed half the distance when her opponent seemingly reached the finish line.

Zoom!

Captain Tezza’s lightning streak gave sparkles in their battleground. In just mere five seconds, the Speedmage Captain reached the checkpoint tower and circled it. She didn’t even touch the tower to earn a point. This explains two things: She is underestimating her opponent, and she is also a woman of her word.

It seems that we are doing the five-minute handicap challenge that she interposed.

“Woah! That’s Captain Lightning of the Cool Escape Guild for you! She is a real speedster!” One of the bystander students commented.

Captain Tezza stood tall fifty meters away from the checkpoint tower. She held her hips and smiled proudly. “So, let’s see if that experimental spell you used to crash our tent is enough to score a point.”

I had a bad feeling about this. Fluonessia’s experimental speed spell is just straightforward, so she will easily get blocked by her opponent.

“Stop!” I cried on the mic.

“W-What do you mean stop!?” Fluonessia cried.

“If I said stop, stop! Step on your brakes already! Don’t go rushing head-on!”

“B-But I don’t know how to stop this thing!” Fluonessia wept.

The moment Fluonessia finished her last word, she was immediately greeted by Captain Tezza’s hand! The opponent swiped her fingers in the air to deflect Fluonessia’s mindless charge!

“Kyah!” Fluonessia was pushed back by her enemy’s swipe, but she suffered the impact. She grabbed the ground on all fours to resist the magical force of the barrier’s repel effect.

A repel effect is made when two Speedmages collide with each other. The magical barrier around them will have a reaction that launches both in the opposite direction. Captain Tezza must have mastered the repelling effect since she was able to use her hand to absorb all the impact, while it took Fluonessia’s whole body to fly away.

“You don’t know how to brake, huh?” Captain Tezza said with a confident smile.

“Y-Yes. So, do you believe me now that I’m not a Speedmage?” Fluonessia smiled.

“I’m convinced. But that experimental speed spell of yours got me curious. Come at me with all you got!” Captain Tezza was pumped up. She spread out her arms and legs that seemed like she assumed the role of a goalkeeper.

“Y-Yes!” Fluonessia shouted with a smile.

“Wait!” I said through the mic. “I hate to burst your bubble, but you will not win if you just keep on using that unnamed experimental spell of yours. We have to try a more basic approach!”

“What do you mean?”

“Try enhancing your feet with any elemental magic,” I advised.

“You want me to use the same spell that Captain Tezza used earlier, right?”

“Yes, but use the best element you can control!”

“Got it!”

Fluonessia touched her shoes and then chanted a two-word spell.

“Wind Accel!”

A sudden burst of weak tornado shook the audience, including me, and even Captain Tezza. I know I’m no mage and I know little about them, but that surge of magical energy seeping into Fluonessia’s shoes is nothing normal. The mana is overflowing on her speed spell!

“Here I go!” Fluonessia shouted as she surged forward!