29TH GEAR - PRESIDENT SONIC JUMPER MAN
This is the last day of the joint training camp. Unlike the last two days when we have a morning jog, the officials of the camp decided to have that time to prepare for the match-ups. We will be doing Speed Battles for the whole day because there are more than a hundred participants in this activity.
I am sorting out our supplies on the bench with bottles of fresh water, mana potions, stamina potions, and towels. Ericka is doing some stretching, while Cruzo is doing some dancing as a form of warm-up. On the other hand, Flu is dozing off on the bench.
Last night, Flu was overly excited about the Speed Battle that we trained until it was about three in the morning. We overworked ourselves and I somehow feel like dozing off right now, but the early morning coffee did its job for me to stay awake. I’ll let Flu rest for now and wake her up once it’s her turn to play.
Fweeeeet!
The whistle was blown, indicating the start of the Speed Battles. The crowd of Speedmages started to clump around and looked at the two players who are about to start the duel.
“On your marks... Get Set… Go!”
Fweeeeeeet!
The spectators cheered as a support for their friends or acquaintances. I heard Speedmages yell “Go! Touch the Checkpoint Tower!”, “Don’t let him overtake you!” , “Strike him right unto his ass!”. Some are even secretly betting money for their horse in the race.
I saw Cruzo still beaming with a smile as he looked at the piece of paper that contain the matchups. His battle will be the next.
“Are you nervous?” I asked as I put on my headset.
“Of course not! I am fighting the President of the Eaglecrest Guild!” Cruzo gave a thumbs up. He is beaming, but his lips are somewhat vibrating. When he can no longer pretend, he frowned. "Just kidding. I'm quite nervous. I think all my fat will be converted to sweat even before the battle starts."
“You should be!”
Somebody intervened in our short conversation. When I looked to the left, I saw President Levi and Vincent the Teleporter in their Eaglecrest varsity jacket. I guess they are keeping their tough-guy bully vibes until the end of the training camp.
The macho man with a dark complexion flexed his biceps and gave a confident grin.
“Everybody knows that I, Levi the Great, am the leader of the most powerful guild in the Saint Crusade Academy- no, in the whole country! I lead the best of the best! And you losers will never have the chance to beat me!”
“Okay! Let’s have a good game, Mister President!” Cruzo still beamed with a smile as he offered his hand.
Levi just slapped the hand away and then turned around.
“Suck it up, big fat loser.”
After doing the glorious trash talk of the oh-so-mighty Eaglecrest President, he walked away. Vincent just followed him with an entertained smile on his face. We just had a short eye contact before moving on.
When the opponents are nowhere near us, I talked to Cruzo.
“Well, that guy doesn’t know how to keep his putrid mouth closed. I’m surprised you’re still being friendly to that jackass.”
Cruzo sat down on the bench and drank water. “You’ll get used to being trash-talked by the other guilds. That has been how they looked at the Merry Knights since time immemorial.”
I just thought that Cruzo may have been the same as me. We are both subject to discrimination and hate, but Cruzo’s coping mechanism is different from mine. He chose to confront these things by giving me a smile and a thumbs up, while I just kept on running away and avoiding people.
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He carries the true will of being a Merry Knight.
Fweeeeeeeeet!
We heard the distant whistle, signaling the end of the first Speed Battle. It’s now Cruzo’s turn to fight President Levi in a duel!
“Don’t mind them, Cruzo!” Ericka slapped the huge back of our big sophomore. “We are here to cheer you up! Go, panda!”
“Thanks, Useless Prez!” Cruzo replied with a smile. He stood up and slapped his cheeks to wake his focus up. “Okay, let’s go! With determination and guts, I will give all I got!”
<>
Both Speedmages have already taken their marks on the 1st Checkpoint Tower. Cruzo’s Speedmage suit looked like an eastern golden robe that looked like it was worn by monks who practice kung fu.
On the other hand, Levi’s Speedmage suit is a blue bodysuit and he wears a white brief on the outside of his thighs. He also has a white cape that bears the logo of an eagle, giving him somewhat a superiority of a superhero. Actually, it’s kind of cringe and lame.
Levi’s Speedmage shoe is the Wendigo, a pair of white boots with blue lines. It is commonly tuned for Counter-class Speedmage, so I will assume that he is a Counter.
As Cruzo’s navigator, I will have to give him a heads-up.
“Cruzo, just use your standard play style. Touch all the Checkpoint Towers you can. Since you’re a Speedster, you can outrun him.”
“Okay, Coach!” Cruzo said. “It’s all about determination and guts!”
I looked to the side and saw Vincent, who seemed to be acting as Levi’s Navigator. He is just there with a grin on his face. When he noticed me, he greeted me with a smile.
“Let’s have a good game.”
“Yeah, let’s,” I said.
I wonder what Vincent is feeling about this. He’s awfully smug and silent. Is he confident that they will win?
We are battling the president of the Eaglecrest after all. Eaglecrest produces high-tier professional Speedmages for the past decade. However, Levi’s not the ace player of the Eaglecrest. It was Vincent.
I did not pay attention to the Eaglecrest Speedmages during training. However, he did not stand out, unlike Flu who was always surprising everyone with her growth, or Ericka who was surprisingly calm during the training drills while carrying the “USELESS PREZ” nametag.
I don’t know why, but I feel like we can win this fight. Just because Levi is a leader doesn’t mean he’s a force to be reckoned with in Speed Battles.
“Cruzo, let’s win this,” I said with a determined smile.
“I can’t make any promises, Coach. But I will do what I can.” Cruzo replied.
The referee stood up next to the two Speedmages. He raised his hand and shouted.
“On your marks… Get set… Go!”
Fweeeeeeeet!
Once the whistle was blown, both Speedmages immediately used their starting accel spell!
“Earth Accel!” Cruzo dashed forward with a powerful kick to the ground, making cracks every time he takes a step!
“Sound Accel!” Levi shouted as he unleashed weak shockwaves every time his foot touches the soil!
Cruzo is unleashing yellow contrail streaks, while Levi is releasing blue sound waves on his shoes. Since Cruzo is a Speedster, he was leading the way with a few meters gap!
“Go, Cruzo!” I shouted.
After about a minute of drag racing, the yellow contrail streak managed to close into the 2nd Checkpoint Tower!
Beep!
Cruzo touched the 2nd Checkpoint Tower, and he now leads 1:0!
After touching the checkpoint, Cruzo drifted and then boosted forward to the next line, aiming for the 3rd Checkpoint Tower!
Levi has caught up to the 2nd Checkpoint Tower! He’s not that far away; he’s just five steps from the back of Cruzo!
Beep!
Point for Levi, and now the score is tied at 1:1!
Levi was already at his top speed, and Cruzo is slowly widening the gap between them! If this keeps going on, Cruzo will have more points at the end of the match! A Speedster has an advantage over a Counter in a race!
However, that is not the case.
I immediately knew that Levi was planning something when he smirked. With the help of my Mystic Glasses, I saw him gathering mana at the soles of his feet!
“Cruzo, watch out!” I cried.
“Time to cry, fatso!” Levi proclaimed as he bent his knees and channeled a speed spell! “Sonic Jump!”
A supersonic shockwave blasted from Levi’s feet which made him jump horizontally toward Cruzo! My favorite panda was caught by surprise as the president of the Eaglecrest Guild strike his wide back!
"Gah!"
Beep! A blue magical circle point indicator was created!
Point for Levi in the lead, 1:2!
Because of the repelling effect of the barrier, Cruzo was launched nearer to the 3rd Checkpoint Tower!
“Cruzo, focus on taking the next checkpoint!” I said.
“Roger! Hraaaaaagh!”
Cruzo boosted forward on his max speed and he finally touched the 3rd Checkpoint Tower!
Beep! It is now back to a draw with 2:2!
However, Levi is just right behind him! With a sudden drift, the jackass president touched the 3rd Checkpoint Tower!
Beep! Levi was once again in the lead with a score of 2:3!
I felt a chill on my spine as Levi once again charged mana on his feet! He’s preparing for another Sonic Jump to attack Cruzo’s back!
“One point once again for the glorious president! Hahaha!” Levi laughed as he launched forward with a sonic boom, his attack as swift as a viper attacks its prey! “Sonic Jump!”
Levi’s fingers swiped through Cruzo’s wide back, creating a blue magical circle point indicator!
Beep! The score is now 2:4 with Levi still in the lead!
My sweat rushed down to my chin. I gritted and clenched my fist.
If this continues, Cruzo will lose!