Chapter 1242 Chapter 1242 Second Jump: Nabras Featuring Willow
---- Nabras ----
Nabras looked over the edge. Gareth's jump hadn't made him any less nervous. The fact that he had to sprint off the damned platform to make it through the first ring? Yeah that wasn't helping matters. *Gareth is also a bastard that took his shoes back. He hadn't even put them back on!*
Nabras' internal monologue was correct that Gareth had taken his shoes back, but was assuming malicious intent where there wasn't any. Gareth had moved his shoes just in case someone tripped on them, and tried to get Gareth in trouble for leaving them there. Nothing was stopping Nabras from putting his own shoes there on the edge. He was too busy being annoyed with Gareth to think of that part though. Nobody else was looking to point it out to him either.
Still, he looked down at the rings and wasn't sure how he wanted to do things. Gareth had skipped all the rings on the right side, and that had 'cost' him a minute and a half. That was a lot of time and Nabras was determined to find some way to make it up. After a bit of thought, he decided the best way to go about it was to skip going to the second ring, hope he could make it from the third to the fourth without using his gloves, then activate them to get to the one over in the North-West corner, perhaps activate them a second time to get to the two in the North East, then use them one final time to get to the last ring in South-West.
Nabras hadn't realised there was quite so many rings in the South-West. Even watching Gareth go for them all, it was hard to tell. Additionally, Gareth hadn't made any comments about them, nor had Thyme mentioned how many rings Gareth had made it through. Perhaps it wouldn't matter.
Nabras stepped back for his run-up and then launched himself into the sky. He was aiming to just barely nick the side of the first ring. He was 'flying' over there and was trying to line up the best he could. Just to be save, he kept most of his body over the ring as he went through. As soon as it flashed? He was gone. Nabras was angling himself over towards the third ring.
Nabras had a plan for this one as well. He was moving off to the side with the time he'd gained not going for the second ring, and planned to build up a bit of speed and clear the third ring while heading towards the fourth. He'd already gone further West then needed for the third ring. His decision was locked in.
Nabras waited until the timing was right, or at least, he hoped it was, and then started headed back East. He nearly missed the third ring, but it DID flash, and Nabras let out a long breath he didn't know he was holding while moving towards the fourth. He was going to cut it close there as well… but he was going for it.
Nabras was worried he was going to miss, this time? for real… but almost as if by magic he hit a nice tailwind and managed to just barely get into the fourth ring. Not wasting any time he blasted himself back the way he came and headed for the firth ring. This time, he made it without any worried.
Another blast. His mana felt sluggish and empty. He really wanted to rest, to recover but he couldn't, not just yet. He managed to make it through the sixth and seventh rings. Did he go for the last ones?
His mana was low. His arms were shaking, and this would be nearly all of his mana. He was already heading in that direction just in case… but he didn't know. He almost couldn't decide… until he realise it wasn't one ring. It wasn't two either. No it was three. If he didn't do this, he would be down three rings!
Nabras grit his teeth as a third blast of air rattled the bones in his arm. He slipped through the final three rings and then was teleported back up to the platform… just in time for him to collapse to the ground. Arms shaking, mana nearly empty. He didn't even hear what Thyme was saying. What was his score? Nabras didn't know. Couldn't find it in himself to care at the moment either.
---- Willow ----
Willow frowned at how exhausted Nabras looked. She wanted to think on that a bit, but the score came first. "A wonderful performance from Nabras here. He managed to complete the course in three minutes and fifty-eight seconds… oh but he missed just the one ring along the way. Leaving him with a final time of four minutes and twenty-eight seconds,"
*Hmm… I didn't use up all that much mana last round. I thought it might've been the same as everyone except Mauve… but seeing Nabras so exhausted… perhaps not? Then again… was he using just one glove or two? It's hard to tell from looking up here. Nabras seems completely out of it… so he has to be just about empty. Surely four blasts total isn't enough to be out of mana… right?
Dammit, I wish I could compare with Gareth but he took the 'easier' way out and managed to just use the one blast to secure the left side. It probably would've been smarter to follow Nabras' route, but there must be something I'm not seeing. Well, no Gareth might not have realised there were two rings up in the North-East side of things.*
Willow walked forward and once again sat down on the edge so she could study her path. *So I can theoretically go… ring one, blast to ring two, grab rings three, five, and then head over for six and seven, skipping two, before heading back down to the corner to get ring eight. Though maybe eight and nine? Would Nabras have really used the gloves at the end there if it was just the one ring? Especially seeing how tired he is now? I suppose he might not have been paying attention.
Damn, I just don't know what the best strategy is. I think I should skip either the second ring, like Nabras, or the fourth ring. Then again… if I can manage to grab the second ring without a blast, then get the third, I could get, one, two, three, five, six, seven, eight, or eight and nine for just two uses of the gloves. I'm just not quite sure if I can manage to grab the second ring without using them.
Of course, the question of 'do you even need to save the gloves' does come up. I'm not quite full on mana but I'm not that far off either. I could easily manage three bursts. My arms might not, but my mana pool can. The question is… how many will I need for the final round and is it worth taking a riskier line to save that extra… twenty percent or so of mana?
Tough… really tough. If I try to make it to the second ring I'm not going to be able to correct it with a burst. I'll be much too close to the ring by the time its clear I'm going to fail. Then again… if I do fuck it up that's only one extra ring 'missed' and I'll have a lot more mana than Nabras that's for sure. I guess it's a question of what everyone else is doing… but I think I should take the risk.*
Willow took of her shoes, and placed them along the edge before getting up. Gareth did have a good idea after all. It would be a shame not to use it. Willow moved back, further then the other two. She knew she needed as much speed as possible for this jump. Heck, even if she overshot it that would be fine, because she could, hopefully, turn her momentum around and head for ring two while going through ring one. That would be ideal.
Willow didn't know it, but Thyme was extending the platform they were on as she kept backpedalling. Step by step, she carefully strode backwards trying to get as much distance as she could, but not wanting to fall off the other side. Not knowing there was zero risk of such a thing. She clearly didn't want to jump off, so the platform continued to extend.
Willow now had a run-up of over 100m and she still wasn't sure that it was enough. Thyme wasn't saying anything, and didn't look to like they were going to force her to jump soon. There was one worry though. *This is taking quite a while. I'm just giving everyone more time to get there mana back… but I need that run-up. But… but how big is this damned platform? I know most of the speed I'll gain will be at the start… maybe I should stop? No. Not… not just yet.*
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