Both Skylar and Alice were using Lightfoot equations. Otherwise, it would become difficult to run on the ground. A mile-long stretch of sand lay between the lake and the city walls.
The best athlete of Galatea, Franz Wagner, could run at a recorded maximum speed of thirty-five miles per hour. He was the fastest hybrid. The inferior human athletes could barely clock twenty-five.
However, Skylar and Alice were sprinting at over forty miles per hour. It was over and beyond what was humanly possible.
‘That is to be expected from a Level 35+ player,’ Piper told himself. God Formula not only boosted physical abilities but also allowed engineers to design performance-enhancing equations like Lightfoot and Agility Boost.
However, Piper did not need any Trinity enhancements to move fast. Before the trip set out on their task, the cyborg opened his inventory and brought forth motorized foot-wheels. They easily fit into his cyborg legs. The wheels operated on both fuel and mana and were retractable when the user wished to walk again.
At the moment, Piper stooped to cut air resistance as he careened across the sand on his foot-wheels. Alice and Skylar ran on either side.
[ User: Alice Trinity ]
[ Level 39: Human ]
[ MP: 9403/ 9500 ]
[ HP: 7819/ 8000 ]
[ Dynamic Skill ] [ Agility Boost x 1.25 ]
[ Dynamic Skill ] [ Lightfoot ]
…………………
[ User: Skylar Trinity ]
[ Level 38: Mage ]
[ MP: 9764/ 11000 ]
[ HP: 6985/ 7000 ]
[ Dynamic Skill ] [ Agility Boost x 1.25 ]
[ Dynamic Skill ] [ Lightfoot ]
…………………
[ User: PiperPiper ]
[ Level 42: Cyborg ]
[ MP: 9764/ 11500 ]
[ HP: 6785/ 15000 ]
…………………...
Piper tried to break the ice. “Did you girls know that an anonymous player formulated the Lightfoot equation?” Alice and Skylar did not bite. The girls were running too fast for his voice to come across. However, the cyborg thought they were rude as he spoke over the radio.
He kept at it. “Did you also know that the Agility Boost skill doesn’t make you go faster? It merely cancels the air resistance.”
“Shut up, Pieboy!” Skylar fired through the radio. “Keep your trivia quiz to yourself! We are on a mission!”
“Ouch. It’s, uh, PiedPiper. You can call me Piper, though.”
“Okay. Sure. Shut up, Piper!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Above them, showers of holy light illuminated their path. Within a few minutes, they had reached the edge of the light circle. The gandr-gators had apparently retreated after the holy-light shower was fired. Moreover, the other two teams, led by Noah and Drake, had perhaps successfully drawn away most of the hordes.
The trio slowed down as they reached the edge. Beyond was a pitch dark world. They exchanged glances, visibly nervous.
“Do we remember the plan?” Alice asked.
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“Yes,” Skylar replied. “You will bait a gator into the light. When it is inside, I will confuse its senses with illusory magic.”
“Right. While it is occupied, I will appraise the monster,” Piper continued.
“And then we run back to the city walls as if our lives depended on it,” Alice concluded. The others nodded.
Piper felt guilty that the girls were taking all the risks. Part of him wanted to be chivalrous and take the lead. He voiced his concerns to his teammates. Then Skylar offered to settle it with hand wrestling, at which point the cyborg backed out. He had no intention of getting emasculated by two beautiful girls in the middle of nowhere.
Alice walked to the edge of the light circle.
“God, help me,” she muttered and retrieved a knife from her gear. The girl disabled her recovery skill and made slashes on both her palms. Blood spewed out and dripped to the ground.
Alice took a deep breath and ran into the darkness. She disappeared from view as soon as she moved out of the light.
Piper and Skyler moved a couple of yards back and took their positions.
Five minutes passed with no event.
The only sounds they could hear were the roar of the lake and the howl of the wind.
“Did the monsters get her? Perhaps she needs a rescue?”
Skylar scoffed. “Stop being such a pansy. Alice is strong. She has never failed at any task. Besides, that bitch is quite good at running from problems.”
Piper frowned. “Seems you don’t like each other.” His bionic eye was trained towards the lake while his human eye was on Skylar. The girl shook her head but did not respond.
She scrolled through her defense options on the WTN.
“Use a magical shield,” Piper advised. “Whenever encountered with a relatively unknown monster, a magical shield is the best bet.”
“I don’t need a magical shield from the system. I can create one by myself. The person before you is a mage, remember? Not just eye candy.”
“Oh right. In that case, it’s better to preserve your mana for attacks..”
Skylar scoffed at the cyborg. “Seems you are full of advice taught in kindergarten.”
Piper suddenly realized that he was alone with an attractive girl. His face turned red. The cyborg wondered if the present task could be considered a date.
Skylar selected a shield on her system.
Boop!
A blue snowflake appeared over her right shoulder. Piper eyed it with intrigue.
“Wait, is that… is that a mythic-tier shield?”
He clearly remembered that mythic-and-above-tier equipment, when equipped, displayed tags on the player’s shoulder. Blue was for Mythic. Red was for Legendary-tier, and a black tag meant God-tier.
“Never seen one before?” Skylar asked in a condescending tone. “It’s a mythic-tier frost shield.”
“Awesome. Providence really spoils Fellowship members.”
Skylar looked ahead and asked a question.
“By the way, how strong is your friend, Lovelord?”
Piper shrugged. “He’s pretty overpowered. He fought a level 75 monster and survived.”
Skylar looked at Piper from the corners of her eyes. “Forget I asked you about him. Should have remembered that you independent contractors are just a bunch of liars!”
The sudden dramatic escalation surprised Piper, and he protested.
“It’s true! Wait until-”
“GET READY!” Alice barged out of the darkness towards them, screaming.
“Oh, shit!” Skylar blurted out. “Here it comes!”
Alice went past them and knelt on the ground. She had lost a lot of blood.
[ User: Alice Trinity ]
[ Level 39: Human ]
[ MP: 7422/ 9500 ]
[ HP: 5714/ 8000 ]
The girl dug up a health potion from her inventory.
[ Blue Health Potion ]
[ HP +2000 ]
[ Potion Cooldown Time: 180 seconds ]
Piper changed his Trinity login mode.
[ Research Mode ]
Alice’s cuts healed, and she joined Piper and Skylar.
The trio’s system prompts popped up at the same time.
[ WARNING! ]
[ Special Class Monster Detected ]
[ System Advice: DO NOT ENGAGE ]