KON POV

With that, the battle for the Chiba district area grab comes to an end! It's been an exhilarating experience, folks; here's hoping the Ramp Rebels return soon to reclaim their title as the rising stars. Stay resilient, dear underdogs! Up next, we've got a podcast for the post-battle discussion in just a couple of minutes. Catch you there!

TVHead signing off!

"Well, that was something," Zack prefaced between bites of snacks. Despite all the action, he seemed indifferent to the battle's outcome, casually munching away. Venti's expression grew more serious than ever. A glance at his knuckles revealed that his fist had been tightly gripped.

Meanwhile, I still felt lightheaded after being dumbstruck by the seemingly impossible movements that both the magician and Aika Stormhunt performed. It didn’t feel like a battle between C-ranked Teams at all.

Granted, most of them fought like they belonged in the C rank, but the highlight of the match between Stormhunt and both the magician and Pathfinder was anything but. To me, it felt more like an A or S-ranked tournament match vying for the championship, where people with inhumane abilities duke it out.

Throwing kicks and combos mid-air like something out of those exaggerated action movies. Not to mention the idea of executing a combo trick flawlessly after transitioning from a wall run before launching into a flying drop kick.

Such monstrous feats are not super rare, but in the small outer sector boonies out here, encountering them is akin to having a professional sports player show up and go full tilt in a school match.

And what was that at the end? It seemed like an air cannon flew off in a split second and blasted that magician right through the building.

I shuddered at the thought of being on the receiving end of such an impact. Yet, the magician shrugged it off with a limp leg. If it were me, I would have been pancaked.

Monsters. Both of them.

However, once the initial surprise died down, I found myself wondering back to that Pathfinder girl who wore Beast Tech fitting. Her name was Maeve, I think.

I recalled the way she seamlessly guided the magician toward the best path. I compared my run to hers and found it wanting. She saw so much further than me. She was even able to predict Stormhunt’s movements in multiple instances.

Unless she truly predicted the outcome of the clash, she wouldn’t have led them to that contact point with such timing. Her decisiveness is remarkable. Also, how did she manage to foresee the magician falling through the window and dropping down an AC unit beforehand? Is she an oracle?

But instead of feeling disheartened, I smiled.

Yes, I can use this. Maybe I can put it into practice.

CLAP!

A sudden handclap jolted both me and Venti out of our reverie.

“Alright, guys! It’s time for the usual! Gear up, we meet outside in 5 minutes,” Zack declared.

“You want to do this today? Can’t you just leave me to my thoughts?” Venti grumbled.

“No can do, spiky boy. You need to vent. Take a look at Kon there. He's raring to go, aren’t you?”

“Huh? O-oh. Yes. Let’s go,” I stuttered.

“Tch, fine. Just don’t drag me down.”

With that, we all donned our SpeedGear.

Though calling them as such might be generous considering they were little more than a haphazard assembly of wheels and shoes, lacking the sophisticated machinery and components one might expect. In essence, they were nothing more than two-wheeled rollerblades hastily put together.

SpeedGear costs money, a lot of money.

Additionally, SpeedGear licenses are only granted to individuals aged 18 or older. Thus, for now, we can only pretend and enhance our running speed through our usual practice routine.

We made our way to our long-time nearby playground, also known as the Sector 31 junkyard.

The junkyard, located just a block away from my house, served as our frequent practice ground for refining our move sets and runs. Its remote location in the outer ring boonies meant few visitors, leaving us with ample space to train undisturbed. The sole inhabitant was an elderly man who single-handedly managed the junkyard.

As we approached, the cacophony of barking dogs echoed from within the junkyard. Their bark had a synthetic, almost robotic quality to it. These were the rogue AIs that Gramps had captured and repurposed as guard dogs to ward off intruders and prevent unauthorized entry.

Stolen story; please report.

"Is it just me, or are there even more of those blasted dogs today?" Venti grumbled, effortlessly gliding over weathered cracks and bumps along the side road. He was never one to miss a chance to complain.

"Who knows, maybe that old fossil finally turned into one himself. 'The Rise of the Old Coot' would make for a good movie title," Zack remarked, whistling.

"Heh, I have a feeling that the old nutcase will outlive even the whole civilization itself. Am I right, Kon?" Venti quipped, turning to me for agreement.

"Huh? Yeah, sure," I answered absentmindedly.

Both Venti and Zack raised their eyebrows at me, but I paid them no mind. My thoughts were consumed by the Pathfinder's graceful maneuvers and signals to her teammate.

Venti glanced back at Zack and shrugged, while Zack remained silent, allowing me the space to reflect.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the junkyard, we began to stretch and warm up. As per our usual routine, we planned to enter without permission and treat it as if it were our backyard.

The robotic dogs are always made for a challenging opponent in our games of tag. Despite our best efforts, we often failed to outrun them, thanks to their inexhaustible stamina. When caught, they would drag us back to either the junkyard entrance or Gramps's shack to receive an ass beating.

As we began our warm-ups, I finally spoke up, after much consideration.

“Guys, instead of the usual race to the observatory, I want to try something,” I announced.

“And what might that be?” Zack questioned.

“A team run. Arrow formation.”

“Kon, did you not hear those howling pooches? I bet their numbers have doubled since. God knows what else is joining them. If that crazy gramps starts running at us on all fours, I will ditch you guys faster than you can curse your gods.”

“Now Now Venti, we don’t need to hear your fetish in broad daylight.” Zack waved him off.

“Screw you!”

“So let’s do this instead. We go with a wing formation and follow Kon’s lead. How about that?”

“That’s fine.” I compromised.

“Fine, but you better lead well,” Venti grumbled.

I took a deep breath and calmed my mind, centering my focus as I reviewed what I planned to do differently than my usual routine. 'Balance and direction.' Both are crucial when it comes to running. I need to recall that Pathfinder's run and align my movements with hers.

How she seemingly finds the most optimal path faster than others, taking control of the run and guiding her teammate toward the best route, is remarkable. The magician didn't show it often during the battle, but I suspect the Pathfinder's ability to communicate the route he needed to take is why the magician was able to run so fast and confidently.

While it may seem like common sense for people to follow the Pathfinder, there are subtleties at play. The magician knows when to follow the pathfinder or break off from her, all from her subtle shifts in body movement and periodic glances. In essence, the Pathfinder's capability to communicate and relay intent allowed the magician to hold his ground against Aika for so long.

But to do that, I need to be able to lead confidently.

The magician trusted the pathfinder to provide the most optimal route, while the pathfinder relied on the magician's ability to navigate the chosen path. To succeed, I require extensive information, including the balance and direction of each team member, to compile and convey my intentions effectively.

“Haaa, phew. Okay. Follow my lead.”

With that, the three of us completed our warm-up and dashed forward.

I set the pace and positioned myself further ahead of the two, with Venti and Zack running to my left and right, respectively. As we dashed through the entrance, the dogs were alerted to our presence and began tracking our movement through sound in an attempt to capture us.

Instead of running straight head-on, I began to periodically glance at my left and right side to take note of Zack’s and Venti’s balance and direction while running. Venti favors his left foot when he pivots for a spin. Most of his move sets focus on tricks that allow him to leverage his legs for a longer reach or faster dash acceleration.

I then guide the runs toward the area of the junkyard filled with discarded cars and vehicles. This allows Venti to gain some altitude from the dogs while maintaining his speed. He acts as a buffer when the dogs come to ambush us from the left, relieving us of worry about that side.

As for Zack, there isn't much to glean. He's an all-rounder; there's nothing that stands out in his runs or trick preference. However, if I had to comment, Zack possesses overwhelming inner muscle, particularly in his trunk. He has a great core and a strong sense of balance. For now, I'll keep him close to my right and have him shadow me.

As the run progressed, the dogs finally caught up to us. A couple of barks along with nursery rhyme songs could be heard a dozen meters behind us. Zack dared to glance back to take a look at our pursuers.

"Holy moly, the dog faces remind me of those creepy animatronics."

"The old fart finally went to one of those movies, huh. Oi Kon, you good?" Venti asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm good."

My shoulder trembled a little bit when I heard Zack mentioned the word animatronic. To this day, I still have no idea how I got roped into watching that stupid horror movie with them. A waste of money just to get a brand-new trauma.

“Heads up, 10 o’clock, the lot of them.” I snapped out of my reverie and focused back. Venti was in a position to view the whole pack coming to our left.

Everything is in place. In a few more meters, there will be a dead end that the dogs can’t get through. Gesturing Venti and Zack to pick up the pace, the three of us quickened our run intending to break through their flanking maneuver by simply outrunning them.

The path ahead is a ramp. I jumped through the ramp and used my hand to vault over the incoming stack of car wrecks and backflip over to the ground for recovery.

"Woooo, you're quite daring today, huh," Zack hooted as he jumped from the scaffolding and ran next to me. Venti, meanwhile, climbed further up, dashing up to the top of the stacked cars.

"You guys okay down there?"

"I-I'm good," I replied, sighing in relief, happy that it all worked out.

It brought us a couple more minutes until the dogs were back on our heels after they took a detour. At that moment, I managed to visualize more than one path and guided Zack.

Zack followed through and used the other ramp to grind on the railings, jumping over to the scaffolding and landing right next to me, exactly as I pictured it.

‘Yes! I managed to read through the entire field…. Wait.’

Suddenly, I remembered the brief glimpse of the dogs that approached from our flank. I had only spotted two, yet there were three behind us. Considering the howling from the entrance, I reckoned there should have been at least six or more.

“Guys, shouldn’t there be mo-”

BARK!

I was about to ask Venti when a bark came from my right. I turned my head just in time to meet a gaping dog jaw opening inches away from my face.

Time slowed to a crawl as I could see the jumble of overlapping metallic scraps that inhabit the dog’s grinder of a maw, down to its exact detail. The googly eyes staring me death into my soul certainly didn’t help.

Ahh. This is how I die.

BANG!