The Limits of Speed
Perhaps it was because she had fallen completely face-first. When Rain finally got back up, her face was flushed bright red. Tears began to well in her large eyes, and her tiny mouth trembled as if she were desperately holding back a sob.
She brushed off her clothes as if nothing had happened—not that there was any dust to speak of on the spotlessly clean, polished laboratory floor.
Unlike before, Rain began to walk with deliberate slowness. She kept her eyes glued to the floor, clearly suspecting that some invisible obstacle had tripped her. Watching her navigate the room was far more entertaining than I expected.
As she drew closer to the umbrella, a bright smile bloomed on her face. Her eyes sparkled as she lifted it.
"This is mine, right?"
"Yes," Mary replied.
Rain beamed and pressed the button on the handle. With a sharp pop!, the tightly rolled fabric burst open. She began to swing the umbrella around like a magic wand, looking utterly delighted as it sliced through the air with sharp whooshes. Watching her antics, Mary quietly added,
"It's rechargeable, so most of its functions won't work right now."
"Take that! And that!" Rain didn't seem to hear a word. She continued to swing the umbrella with fierce enthusiasm. After playing with it for a good while, she finally noticed Shine and me staring. Blushing furiously, she quickly folded it shut.
"Ahem..." Clearing her throat, Rain casually slung the umbrella over her shoulder. I smiled and clapped for her. *Clap, clap, clap.*
"That was so cool, Rain!"
The more I showered her with praise, the lower her head sank in embarrassment.
"Amy."
"Yes?"
"Can I get something like that made for me too?"
"If you pass all the tests, I can have one made for you," Amy replied.
Shine kept her eyes glued to Rain's umbrella as she spoke. She clearly wanted a special item of her own. I felt exactly the same way. Rain's umbrella looked incredibly cool, and I wanted an awesome custom item just like it.
"I want one too!" I chimed in.
Amy chuckled softly at my outburst and stroked both Shine's and my hair. I clung to her side, my mouth working silently. I had so much I wanted to say, but the right words eluded me. A jumble of complex terms tangled in my mind, floating up only to sink back down.
"Amy, Amy."
"Yes?"
"How many tests do we have left?"
"Two more."
"Only two?"
"If you pass the remaining tests, you'll earn the right to conduct external operations as part of an official team, just like Rain and me."
That meant we wouldn't be allowed to do any real field operations until then. I recalled the terrorist organizations I used to see on the news. Considering how those groups operated in small, elite cells, the difficulty of the tests Amy mentioned was bound to be incredibly high.
"Has everyone currently active in a team passed those tests?"
"Of course."
Having finished her business in the laboratory, Amy led us back to our quarters. Victor had already slipped away, mentioning he had other matters to attend to.
"Amy, I want to take the test right now!"
"Not yet."
"Why not?"
"You don't have the stamina."
Shine and I blinked and looked at each other. I couldn't deny that we lacked physical strength, but what about Rain? Come to think of it, I had never once seen Rain get tired from running.
"Rain passed that test too, right?"
"She did."
Just what kind of test demanded such extreme physical fitness?
"What exactly is the test?"
"An obstacle course."
That was how Amy described it. But it wasn't until that evening that we learned the true nature of this "obstacle course."
After dinner, we followed Rain to a restricted area. She pushed open a massive, heavy iron door that usually remained locked. Beyond it lay a colossal arena.
"Whoa..." I gasped, clinging to the railing as I stared down at the massive course.
Collapsed bridges, towering cliffs, and realistically ruined buildings were scattered across the landscape in chaotic disarray. It looked exactly like a movie set.
"Did Rain really clear all of this?"
"Yep!" Rain replied proudly.
For some reason, she suddenly looked incredibly impressive. I walked up behind her and began to pat her head.
"We have to... clear that...?" Shine muttered, clinging to the railing and scanning the arena just as I had.
"Yep. That's why Amy said you guys lack stamina," Rain chimed in.
"Stamina..."
"You two pant and wheeze every time you climb the stairs."
"We don't do that anymore," Shine protested.
"What if you had to climb them twice?"
"..."
Shine fell silent at Rain's retort. She, too, was well aware of how severely lacking her physical stamina was. I looked down at my short legs. If I run as hard as I can, clearing a course like this shouldn't be a problem. I nodded to myself. It was time to build up some stamina.
From that day forward, our training regimen underwent a drastic change. First came the running. From early morning until lunchtime, we ran alongside Rain. Second was yoga. Amy introduced this new training under the pretext of improving our flexibility, and Rain naturally slithered her way into those sessions as well.
Third was "skin health training." Amy claimed we needed to relax our muscles, which apparently required full-body massages and facial masks. Naturally, this had to be done with Amy. And naturally, Rain joined in.
"Amy... is this really training?"
"Of course it is."
I fell silent at her firm response. For some reason, it felt like Amy was actively trying to prevent Shine and me from passing the test.
"Ah..." Lying face down, I let out a soft sigh at Amy's touch, my entire body melting into the table.
"Does it feel good?"
"Yes..."
As the days passed, our skin grew softer and more radiant. Our hair took on a glossy, brilliant sheen. Amy even began to manicure Shine's and my fingernails. I stared down at my sparkling nails and puffed out my cheeks. My patience had officially reached its limit.
"Amy!"
"Yes?"
"When are we going to take the test?!"
Two weeks had already flown by. I had even grown a centimeter taller, and running up and down the stairs didn't tire me out in the slightest. As far as I was concerned, I was more than ready.
"Do you really want to take it?"
"Yes!"
"Hmm..."
I wanted nothing more than to go out on missions with Amy as soon as possible. It felt incredibly unfair that she didn't seem to understand my eagerness.
"Does Shine want to take the test too?"
"Yes," Shine agreed, nodding.
Looking down at the two of us, Amy let out a soft sigh and finally nodded.
"Alright."
She had given her permission. I grabbed Shine's hand and squeezed it, clenching my other hand into a tight fist. I couldn't wait to pass this test and finally be of help to Amy.
The test was scheduled for that very evening. The heavy iron doors swung wide, and every single floodlight in the arena flared to life. Since this massive, unused space was finally being opened, a crowd of spectators had gathered to watch.
"The time limit is fifteen minutes," Amy announced.
"What?!"
My jaw dropped in sheer disbelief. Fifteen minutes? Was it even physically possible to traverse this massive, ruined landscape in fifteen minutes? I hadn't even considered the possibility of a time limit, and panic began to set in.
"Who want to go first?" Amy asked, holding a stopwatch. A playful, mischievous smirk played on her lips. It was only then that I realized the truth with absolute certainty: Amy desperately wanted us to fail.
"I'll go first," Shine said, stepping forward. As she took her place at the starting line, she glanced back at Amy. "Are we allowed to use our abilities?"
"You're free to use them however you like. As long as you clear the entire course by any means necessary, you pass."
Shine nodded.
"I'll start the timer the moment I count to five," Amy said. "One!"
"Jeff," Shine whispered.
"Two!"
"Huh...?"
"Three!"
"I want you to stay safe, Jeff."
"Four!"
"What do you mean by—"
"Five!"
The instant Amy shouted the final number, she clicked the stopwatch.
A sharp beep! echoed in my ears. Almost instantly, another beep-beep! followed. The crowd of spectators erupted into a deafening roar of awe and cheers. I stood there, utterly dazed, blinking as I looked around. Shine, who had been standing right next to me at the starting line, was gone. She was already standing at the very end of the course.
Shine stood at the finish line, staring back at me without having shed a single drop of sweat. As I met her gaze, a blurry afterimage finally registered in my mind—a streak of brilliant blue lightning tearing through the entire course at impossible speeds.
"Ah..."
"Well, she passed..." Amy's voice drifted from behind me. I snapped out of my daze and shook my head.
"One minute and thirty seconds. Shine passes."
"Now, it's Jeff's turn."
Her words jolted me, and I hurriedly ran over to the starting line. I could feel the weight of countless eyes locking onto me. The sheer anticipation radiating from the crowd pressed down on my shoulders like a physical burden. Can I really do this?
I thought of Shine's performance and shook my head. I lacked confidence. Shine was simply better than me. She had always been a step ahead. Even though we possessed the exact same abilities, even though we shared the exact same face... Shine was always superior.
"One!" Amy called out.
I looked toward the finish line with trembling eyes. Shine was staring right back at me.
"Two!"
I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart. She might be superior, but that didn't mean my own power was weak.
"Three!"
We shared the exact same ability. If Shine could do it, then logically, so could I.
"Four!"
Crackle! Blue sparks erupted before my eyes. Arcs of azure electricity began to dance across my skin, sharpening my senses to an absolute, razor-sharp edge.
"Five!"
I caught a glimpse of Shine's suddenly panicked expression. Flashing her a bright, reassuring smile, I launched myself forward. The world around me stretched into a blur of motion as the wind whipped violently against my face. The blue current enveloping my body surged, propelling me exactly where I wanted to go.
What happens when a person suddenly moves dozens of times faster than their normal speed? What if their body accelerates to extreme limits, but their mind's processing speed remains exactly the same? Without a doubt, they would fail to control their own momentum and slam headfirst into a wall. Just like I was about to do.
Crash!
A violent, bone-shattering impact racked my entire body. A blinding, throbbing pain surged through my skull as my consciousness began to rapidly fray. Tasting the metallic, copper tang of blood pooling in my mouth, I let go and plunged into darkness.