Chapter 114: The Race 1
{Brazil}
"It’s finally here! I heard they took Veloce for the race this year."
"Fuck! Really? If Veloce is there, then it’s over for the other countries. They should all give up."
{America}
"Light is definitely beating the others, hands down! Have you seen that guy run?"
"For real, I can’t wait to see him leave the others in the dust"
All across the globe, excitement buzzed as screens flickered on, displaying the grandeur of the Arena.
The cameras shifted, sweeping across the cave-like tunnels before finally revealing the smooth, white-floored race track.
The event that they had all been anticipating had finally arrived and they couldn’t wait to watch it all happen.
On another part of the arena, the entire track was being featured on a large display screen and all all the participants who weren’t competing in the race were all seated in the theatre-like hall room to observe the race
"I don’t really feel like we’ll be winning the race" Selena said to the figure sitting right next to her.
"Well, I’m not so sure either. But the good thing is that we’ll still manage to get some points. After all this isn’t the major determinant. There’s still the Crucible and the combat. So I’m sure we’ll gather other points from there, for now we can only sit back and enjoy the show" Dana replied back.
And just then, on the screen, Julie’s face came into focus.
’This is perfect! My chance to finally become the biggest streamer worldwide!’ Julie thought as she cleared her throat on the stage.
The cameraman had the lens focused on her.
"Today, we officially begin the tournament!" her voice boomed, projecting through thousands of stadium speakers and millions of living room sound systems. "Get used to seeing my face, because I’ll be the best thing you’ll see all day!"
Just as she made the statement, the cameraman smoothly panned the frame to the left, completely erasing Julie from the broadcast.
The screen shifted its focus entirely to the long stretch of the first track, leaving only the very edge of Julie’s shoulder visible at the margin of the frame, while her voice echoed.
Beneath the main broadcast window, the livestream chat panel exploded into a violent cascade of scrolling text.
{GodOfDegenerates: LMAO that cameraman is deadass diabolical}
{Zorgus: He couldn’t take it anymore.}
[Pineappleudig: CAMERAMAN OF THE YEAR]
[Aidan_cote: LMAOOOO he just moved the camera mid-sentence]
[AuraNova: THE CAMERAMAN SAID ENOUGH]
[Kol_lol: bro has been waiting all morning to do that]
[Raymond_Garcia_2989: instant legend]
[Corey_Fulmore: I feel bad. I don’t feel that bad.]
Julie glanced over at the secondary production monitor mounted to her left.
From the commentator booth, a sound emerged that was somewhere between a gasp and a shriek.
"HEY! I wasn’t done with my—" Julie nearly yelled, but held back.
’Peach Fairy, please. You’re on national TV. Coordinate yourself.’
The microphone in her ears chimed and Julie’s posture straightened in an instant.
Then, she continued her voice controlled and professional, barely: "...Right. We’re on national television."
Another pause.
"Again. Welcome to the International Hero Summit Race Event. I’m your commentator, Peach Fairy." The professionalism held for exactly three seconds. "And to the cameraman — we are going to have a very serious conversation after this."
[Kamzy_1234: she sounds so hurt lmaooo]
[Boddlly: the cameraman said I don’t get paid enough for this]
Selena’s voice came through the earpiece, with a hint of disappointment, "You’re in thirty countries, Julie."
"I know that supervisor Selena! I’m so awesome"
Selena sighed exasperated.
A deep breath. The composure returned. Julie’s voice shifted back into its broadcast register.
"Let’s look at our racers."
The camera moved down the line slowly, giving the feed time to rest on each figure.
"First up, representing Germany — Panzer." The feed settled on the man.
He stood with his arms crossed, completely still. Behind him, barely visible, two compact boosters were fitted flush against his back.
"Germany’s entry brings raw mechanical speed. Don’t let the outfit distract you. Actually, let it distract you a little, it’s very distracting."
[Reeplan: why is he in a loincloth]
[AuraNova: German engineering I guess]
The camera moved.
"Representing China — Shifu." A young man in a cloth robe similar to Tianzun’s stood with both hands resting on a long staff planted in front of him. His eyes were closed. He appeared to be meditating.
"China sends their most disciplined racer. The staff isn’t decoration — Shifu’s ability channels through it. He’s slow to start. Don’t mistake slow to start for slow."
The camera moved again.
"Representing Australia — Tread." The Australian racer’s legs, from the knee down, had been replaced by something that was not legs. Wide, ribbed, slightly smoking at the edges.
Tires. Actual tires, fitted with what appeared to be small nitro canisters along the outer rims. He crouched slightly at his starting position, prepared and ready.
"Australia’s modified racer. Tread’s lower body enhancements give him sustained acceleration that pure speedsters can’t maintain. He’s not built for the first track. He’s built for everything after it."
[Mali73: BRO HAS TIRES FOR LEGS]
[Kefi_Mocca: the modification arc is real]
[Godofdegenerates: Australia said forget running we’ll drive]
"Representing Brazil—" The camera found a lean figure bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, unable to stay still, grinning at the track ahead like it had personally challenged him. "Veloce. Brazil’s entry." Julie paused, just slightly. "He’s fast. We’ll leave it at that for now."
[Raymond_Garcia_2989: Bro doesn’t look like he came for a race]
[Thegreatestscape67: He doesn’t even look like a speedster.]
"And representing the United States of America—"
The camera found Light.
He was standing very still at his lane marker, jaw set, eyes forward. The stillness wasn’t calm exactly. It was the stillness of someone containing something.
"Light. A-rank hero, American Association. You know him. You’ve seen him. For those who don’t — his ability allows him to convert his body into light particles and move accordingly." Julie’s voice carried genuine respect. "He is, by measurable standard, the fastest hero in this event."
[AuraNova: LIGHT NATION RISE]
[Josh246: America finally sending someone competent]
The view shifted, showing the second track.
This set showed a different group of racers. They carried a different energy...
"And on our second track, we have the main team.... The team that’ll decide the fate of their nations!" Julie announced.
"China has a young racer for us here... Kite."
The camera showed the hero, who looked to be the most modern they’d seen so far amongst all the other Chinese heroes.
"Australian hero Bullseye will be taking the race from here" They showed the hero in question who had a cherry smile on his face as he waved at the camera with his gloves.
"Our German Queen, Acron, ready to put on a great show for us!"
"Let’s not forget our Brazilian Hero! And then lastly..."
"Our one and only..."
The camera shifted...
And then it stopped.
On Nicholas.
He was standing at his lane marker with both hands in his coat pockets.
He wasn’t bouncing. Not stretching. Not performing the focused pre-race energy that most of the other racers were cycling through.
He looked the way he always looked — like he was waiting for something moderately interesting to happen and had no particular feelings about how long it took.
Hundreds of thousands of messages flooded the screen in less than a second.
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