Chapter 105: Less Time, More Stimulant

"She’s really fast, but I’m not going to lose."

"Activate Dash!!"

For a split second, Arlo seemed to freeze in the middle of his movement, yet the ground beneath his feet suddenly gave way completely.

A massive cobweb of cracks spread outward within a ten-meter radius, and in the very next second...

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A devastating surge of energy erupted from beneath Arlo’s feet as the crater beneath him completely collapsed.

Moving at a horrifying speed of Mach 8, Arlo tore through the air.

He was now moving at nearly four times the speed of a bullet and eight times the speed of sound!

Normally, Arlo’s speed alone was already around twice the speed of sound, but when he activated Dash, his speed doubled once more, allowing him to reach a jaw-dropping speed four times greater than his normal limit.

And that wasn’t even all.

Arlo had already upgraded Dash twice, allowing him to move at four times his original speed when using its full power.

However, he wasn’t willing to reveal that much to Frost, lest it somehow backfire against him.

For now, he had only activated the first stage of Dash.

’Surpass me in your dreams.’

Frost thought confidently as she poured even more mana into her Frost Chaos Wings, rapidly increasing her speed without holding anything back.

Her family’s Frost Chaos Wings were a lesser version of a true legendary technique known as the Purple Demon Wings.

Yet despite being an inferior version, it was still ranked at the Epic Grade.

The technique also possessed a special effect.

As long as the user had enough mana to sustain it and could endure the increasing friction placed upon their body, their speed would continue increasing indefinitely.

From this point onward, her speed would only grow faster and faster, and Frost was confident she could withstand the pressure for the duration of the race.

However, the confident smile on her face quickly turned into shock when she suddenly felt the air beneath her violently distort.

She looked downward, and her jaw immediately dropped.

A figure had just shot past beneath her.

Arlo tore through the air at terrifying speed, rapidly closing in on the distant tower while leaving her farther and farther behind with every passing second.

"What the!? Screw it!"

Frost cursed in shock.

Immediately, she poured everything she had into her wings, violently flapping them through the air as her speed increased once more.

She quickly caught up to Arlo, touched the tower, and immediately turned around.

However, by that point, Arlo had already touched the tower as well, having arrived slightly before her, and was already sprinting back toward the skyscraper where they had started.

’He’s not even using a mana technique. How can he be this fast? Was he going easy on me earlier?’

She narrowed her eyes.

She could clearly remember how evenly matched they had been during the earlier part of the race.

Then, once she activated her Frost Chaos Wings, the advantage should have completely shifted into her hands.

Yet here he was.

Arlo was nearly ten meters ahead of her and still hadn’t used any visible technique.

"It seems we already have a sore loser, Lady Frost!" Arlo shouted toward her from below.

Frost’s eyes flashed with irritation.

However, that irritation quickly disappeared, replaced by an intense desire to compete.

"I will still win!"

"Frost Chaos Wings, Second Form: Frost Demon Towards Frost!"

The moment she activated the technique, the air around her violently parted.

Five circular shockwaves instantly appeared around her body.

Then she shot forward.

Her speed rapidly increased as she closed the distance separating her from Arlo and arrived directly above him.

"Faster! I have to move faster!" Frost roared in frustration.

If things continued like this, the race would only end in a draw, but she didn’t want a draw.

She wanted a complete and undeniable victory!

"Faster... faster..."

She muttered as her wings transformed into countless purple mirages from how rapidly they were flapping.

Yet all her efforts seemed futile.

Arlo’s speed mysteriously increased as well until he was once again perfectly matching her.

"FASTER! FASTER!" Frost screamed.

The top of the skyscraper rapidly grew closer.

At the same time, Arlo leaped into the air, soaring toward the rooftop while remaining around three meters ahead of her.

Hope was already fading from Frost’s eyes.

She knew there was no way she could win anymore.

Even though the distance between them was only three meters, it felt like an endless chasm that she simply couldn’t cross.

Yet unwilling to accept defeat, Frost released one final roar and pushed her technique to its absolute limit.

In the next instant, a strange phantom appeared behind her.

It was a snow-white bird covered in purple stripes.

And immediately afterward, Frost crossed the same three-meter distance separating her from Arlo.

The race now seemed destined to end in a draw.

Until...

For a split second, Arlo suddenly slowed down in midair, and Frost’s body shot past him at terrifying speed.

BOOM!

She landed at the center of the rooftop before Arlo could react.

Immediately, Frost crouched down and placed both hands firmly against her knees as cold white mist escaped from her lips.

"CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!"

She turned around, and there stood Arlo.

His bag rested beside him as he slowly brought his hands together in applause.

"Seems we have our sore loser, Lady Frost. And unfortunately, it’s me..." Arlo said.

Frost’s face immediately bloomed into an incredibly bright smile.

"I... I really won!"

She clenched both hands into fists in excitement.

’When was the last time I’ve ever been pushed this much?’

The thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.

She turned toward Arlo, only to see him counting down with his fingers. Soon, all ten fingers had been folded. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"Ten seconds have passed..."

Arlo picked up his bag once again before falling onto his back and using it as a pillow.

He released a tired breath as he deactivated Dash.

[You stopped at the last second! Why?]

The System’s suspicious voice echoed through Arlo’s mind.

’Got a small cramp in my knee at the last second...’

[Don’t be ridiculous, Arlo.]

[You’re at the Archmage Realm. You’re far beyond getting a knee cramp from a simple race where nobody was even chasing you.]

[You purposely let her win, didn’t you?]

’Well, why not? Look at that smile on her face.’

Arlo replied with a shrug.

[Tch, you had already planned to let her win before the match even began. Why even bother, then? You didn’t even use half your true speed.]

’Being sore over a simple loss. Tsk, what are you? A kid?’

"You run really fast. Is that your natural speed, without using any mana technique?"

Frost’s voice suddenly pulled Arlo’s attention away from the System.

He turned toward her, noticing that she was sitting nearby on the edge of the skyscraper.

"I told you, I’m really fast..." Arlo replied with a shrug.

[Stop being such a show-off, you bastard!]

’Tch, jealous old man...’

"I can only imagine how fast you’ll be if you actually use a speed-based art..." Frost muttered.

The System notification immediately flashed before Arlo’s eyes.

[Now’s your chance, Arlo! Ask her to give you that technique. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. She reeks of wealth, after all.]

’Shush it.’

"I’ll definitely be faster, that’s for sure," Arlo casually replied before suddenly remembering something.

He turned his attention back toward Frost.

"When we were racing, did you notice the strange bird phantom that appeared behind your wings?"

Arlo asked.

Frost raised an eyebrow before activating her Frost Chaos Wings once again.

Only then did she notice the strange bird phantom.

Her mouth immediately fell open.

"It appeared during the final moment before the race ended..."

"I never knew about that. This is a sign that I’ve achieved a breakthrough in the technique."

"I’ve reached the third step of the art, but..."

"But what?" Arlo asked.

"By my estimate... I should only achieve this in six months from now."

A gleam crossed through Arlo’s eyes as he understood the reason behind her sudden breakthrough.

"Perhaps you just needed more stimulation to push your talent further. Something intense, like the race we just had," Arlo suggested.

He could tell that Frost’s overwhelming desire to win had pushed her technique to its absolute limit, allowing her to break through into the next stage.

What she needed wasn’t more time but stimulation.

Something capable of pushing her beyond her limits, just like what had happened during their race.

Only then would she be able to unlock her full potential even faster.

Frost’s eyes remained fixed on the image of the purple bird.

It was something she had only rarely seen within her clan, and even then, only among the older members.

Who would’ve thought that she would reach the same stage as those elders at eighteen?

And only one person could be credited for her incredible success.

"Thank you, Arlo..."

Frost’s sudden words caused Arlo to blink.

"For what?" Arlo asked in confusion.

"For the race. It’s because I wanted to win so badly that I was able to break through, and you’re the one who offered it to me."

"So... thank you."

[Tell her to thank you by giving you her technique. Come on, say it! You don’t want to watch an Epic Grade technique disappear right before your eyes, do you?] the System urged.

Arlo casually waved it off.

"I’ll accept the thanks. Though it would’ve been better if you threw in a nice compliment as well, wouldn’t it?"

He joked as Frost rolled her eyes.