The Beautiful Elven Way of Racing

You're exaggerating, Carbanog. As if that would ever happen. I don't have that kind of influence.

Tae-hyun moved, following Elder Shuraik. Elder Krasbi was an Elf. It was said that he usually went around in disguise so that the adventurers here wouldn't recognize him.

"That fellow over there is Elder Krasbi," Shuraik whispered. "He's incredibly fast, so you must be careful."

"I see. Nantione, go."

"Ki-it!"

Though she was originally royalty of the Erangs Kingdom, Nantione had adapted remarkably quickly to her new life. Without a moment's hesitation, she charged and ambushed him! Squeeze! As she coiled her massive basilisk body around him and constricted, Elder Krasbi was caught completely off guard, unable to move.

"What is this?! What on earth is going on?!"

"It's been a while, Elder Krasbi," Shuraik said.

"Shuraik! What is the meaning of this?!" Elder Krasbi demanded, utterly flabbergasted. Then, he shouted toward Tae-hyun. "Aren't you the adventurer who brilliantly won the last race after knocking out those two other trashy competitors? What do you think you're doing?!"

"..."

"..."

Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi were left speechless. Wow, the NPCs in this city really watch every single race!

"Elder Krasbi. I came here because I wished to test my skills against yours in a race."

"Is that so?"

The struggling Elf elder suddenly calmed down. The NPCs of this city would always stop and listen if a race was mentioned. They were so utterly addicted to racing that even if they met their family's mortal enemy, they would freeze and listen if the enemy said, "Wait! Let's settle this with a race!"

"If I win, please allow me to enter the basement of your mansion."

"Absolutely not! Only those who have earned the right to be the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠city lord may enter that place."

Elder Shuraik sneered. "Don't tell me you're scared?"

"...Who's scared?! Fine, let's do this!!"

Elder Krasbi instantly flared up. As an elder of this city, being accused of being afraid of a race was a worse insult than any other. Besides, Elder Krasbi was highly confident in his own speed. While Elder Shuraik pursued victory through all kinds of underhanded tactics and interference, Elder Krasbi preferred to win by purely maximizing his own speed rather than fighting others. That was how confident he was in his swiftness.

"Bring me my Pegasus! I shall show you what true speed is! Adventurer over there! I will teach you that you still have a long way to go!"

"Understood. Let's begin right now, just like this."

"...Huh?"

Elder Krasbi was dumbfounded. Begin right now? While he was currently coiled up by a basilisk??

Elder Shuraik chimed in helpfully. "Preparing oneself in peak condition before a race is surely a part of one's own ability, is it not?"

"What kind of nonsense is that! You have to let me go first!"

"You should break free using your own strength. Surely you aren't incapable of even that?"

"Nantione. Do not let him go under any circumstances."

"Ki-it!"

"Shuraik, you absolute scoundrel! How dare you corrupt a young adventurer with such a bright future! Set him straight this instant!"

Furious, Elder Krasbi blamed Elder Shuraik. It was one thing for Shuraik to engage in his own twisted style of racing, but teaching such dirty tricks to a young adventurer? That was unforgivable!

Of course, even before Elder Shuraik had "taught" him anything, Tae-hyun was already like this...

Elder Krasbi grumbled in utter disbelief, but he ultimately opened his mouth.

"Follow me. Normally, this is a place no one can enter before becoming the city lord, but I shall make an exception just this once."

"Thank you!"

"Do not associate too closely with Elder Shuraik. He will only corrupt you. From the looks of it, your racing style must have changed like this because of him, yes?"

"Yes. I suppose there is a bit of that influence, indeed."

"????"

Farel stared at Tae-hyun, completely flabbergasted. He was already racing like that long before he ever met that spider elder, wasn't he?!

"But thinking about it now, I believe your racing method, Elder Krasbi, is much more orthodox and correct."

"Indeed. You have the right of it. My racing style is the orthodox Elven method, which can be called the most beautiful of all."

Wait, he was tied up the entire time, so we didn't even get to see it once...? Lee Da-bi tilted her head in confusion. They hadn't actually witnessed a single second ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of his supposedly magnificent racing skills.

"This mansion is so magnificent that it cannot even be compared to the other buildings in the city. How did you acquire such a place?" Tae-hyun asked.

Hearing his mansion praised, Elder Krasbi's mood soared.

"You have a keen eye," the elder said. "This mansion has been passed down since the days of the Ancient Empire. It has belonged to my family for generations, so it is only natural that it cannot be compared to other buildings."

Religious orders always seek to elevate their authority and convey divine power to the people through works of art, such as sculptures and paintings. Sacred paintings created during the era of the Ancient Empire are items that any denomination would wish to recover. If you secure the holy paintings hanging in the mansion and return them to the churches, they will be highly pleased.

"Farel."

"Yes?"

"From what I can see, your Agility stat seems quite high."

"Ah, thank you," Farel replied, feeling a bit bashful. It seemed Tae-hyun had been keeping a close eye on his abilities while they cleared quests together. To think he could even deduce his stats like that.

"I don't mean to brag, but ever since I was a novice, I've invested heavily in my Agility stat and focused on cultivating it. Thanks to that, I don't lose to anyone when it comes to raw speed."

"I see. In that case, you must be quite good at stealing as well."

"Indeed. ...Wait, what?"

Farel, who had been nodding along mindlessly, froze. What had he just said?

"If your Agility stat is high, shouldn't you be good at thievery too?"

"Uh... well... yes... technically, that's true, but...?"

Anxiety began to creep up on Farel. It was true that a high Agility stat granted bonuses when performing acts of theft. But why was he asking this?

"You'll have to steal them."

"...N-No, wait! I'm not a Thief class! You've got the wrong idea!"

Just because someone was a fast-moving, high-agility damage dealer didn't mean they were a Thief. Farel belonged to a swordsman-type class, not a rogue or thief.

"You can't always just do things that fit your class, Farel," Tae-hyun said.

"Exactly," Lee Da-bi agreed. "Sometimes, you have to utilize skills outside of your class to truly grow."

Why are these people spouting such absolute nonsense with such deadpan seriousness...?

If they were telling a Thief to steal, he could understand. But forcing someone who had never stolen a thing in his life to commit theft? Was this some kind of hazing?

"Farel, you're our only hope. Right now, Da-bi and I have to keep the elder occupied."

Since they had to constantly talk to the elder to keep his attention fixed on them, Farel was the only one who could steal the paintings.

"Go steal them."

"But if I get caught, my Infamy stat will skyrocket..."

"Then don't get caught."

Ugh. Farel swallowed his tears inwardly and began to look around. If they ordered him to do it, he had no choice but to comply...!

"You're pretty good at this. I didn't know you had such a talent," Tae-hyun praised.

"For a first-timer, you did exceptionally well," Lee Da-bi added.

"..."

Farel wore a deeply conflicted expression. While he had wanted to receive praise from Kim Tae-hyun, he had never imagined it would be for this. He really didn't want to be praised for his talent in burglary...

"...An arena?"

Tae-hyun was slightly surprised. Of course, the ruins of the Ancient Empire all had their own unique forms. Some were heavily fortified castles prepared for war, some were temple cities lined with shrines, and others were artistic cities filled with masterpieces... But he had never seen a ruin designed like a massive racing arena before.

Did they hold races here even during the Ancient Empire?

Well, I guess that explains why the NPCs of this city are so completely out of their minds.

Are you insane? Tae-hyun's face went stiff. Building a racing arena in his territory, of all things, would be an astronomical waste of money.

Of all the buildings we could construct, let's not build a racing arena. There must be plenty of other, more useful options.

He would much rather build highly practical structures like an Ancient Empire Demon Breeding Ground or an Ancient Empire Demon Training Center. He had absolutely no desire to build a useless racing arena.

Rumble!

With the heavy rolling sound of wheels, a chariot burst out from ahead. An undead rider was driving a chariot pulled by phantom steeds!

"To think living souls would show themselves here. Let us see your skills!" the rider hissed.

"Nantione, prepare for battle!" Tae-hyun signaled.

Since his other dragons would prepare to fight on their own, he only needed to focus on Nantione.

"Da-bi, please prioritize healing Nantione."

"On it. I'm keeping an eye on her."

However, Tae-hyun's worries proved entirely unnecessary.

"Ki-ii-it!"

Nantione let out a terrifying screech and lunged forward. Sizzle! As her potent basilisk venom sprayed and spread, the undead riders driving the chariots melted away instantly.

"..."

"..."

The other two dragons were left utterly speechless by Nantione's brutal offensive power. It turned out her performance during the race had been extremely restrained.

"She fights way better than I expected," Tae-hyun remarked.

"Well, she is a basilisk at her core," Lee Da-bi replied.

"Since she was originally royalty, I thought she might struggle a bit in actual combat, but seeing this, I can definitely put her to work more aggressively from now on."

"Ki-it!"

Completely unaware of the ominous plans Tae-hyun was whispering behind her back, Nantione continued to happily crush their enemies.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"Just you wait, intruders! Our boss will come and punish you slowpokes!"

"...?"

Hearing the retreating enemies' parting words, Tae-hyun felt a sudden wave of anxiety wash over him. Don't tell me we have to race in this underground ruin too?

Ames, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the former head coach of the Boston Tigers, looked at Tae-hyun and spoke. "The final lineup is really starting to take shape now."

Tae-hyun nodded. The massive pool of initial participants had shrunk significantly. Consequently, the remaining players were all top-tier talents, which meant the competition was bound to grow even fiercer.

"By the way, what have you been up to lately, Mr. Kim Tae-hyun? I heard you went up to the Sky Island."

"I've been clearing racing quests in Spada City."

"Ah! Those races. I've heard about them too. I hear they're incredibly popular lately."

As McKinley chimed in, Ames shot him a wary glare. They were already long-time rivals, so he was highly displeased by McKinley intruding on his conversation with Kim Tae-hyun.

"You both knew about it?" Tae-hyun asked, surprised.

It seemed the Sky Island races were far more popular than he had realized. Then again, both of these men were experts who kept a sharp eye on everything happening in Pan-On...

"I even know that Team KL is planning to host a tournament soon," McKinley added.

"A tournament?!" Ames gasped in surprise. He hadn't heard about that.

"It's nothing too grand, just a casual event-style tournament. The team members really wanted to do it."

"Would it be alright if our players participated as well?" McKinley asked.

At his question, both Tae-hyun and Ames reacted simultaneously.

"Wait, why...?" Tae-hyun muttered.

"Wait, why?!" Ames exclaimed.