Demon King Ship originally thought she would win the race after overtaking Montjeu, but she hadn't expected another surprise waiting for her!
Rigantona—
The former world's strongest!
Even after retiring from racing for two years, she had not fallen behind the times. In fact, this girl had become even stronger after the new era began. She couldn't help but feel excited by this thought. Even without herself, Rigantona definitely would have broken free from the restrictions of Montjeu's Zone in the end. Because Rigantona was the same kind of runner as that girl!
That's right, this pure Zone reminded her of Mejiro McQueen. However, Mejiro McQueen's Zone was focused on the power of 'skills'. Rigantona, on the other hand, focused more on developing her own inherent strength because she didn't know about skills in the past. One purely maximized the power of skills, and the other purely maximized her own potential. The only difference between Rigantona and Mejiro McQueen was the existence of the system.
Interesting!
You are strong!
This great one acknowledges it!
The gap between Demon King Ship and Rigantona did not widen.
The only difference between the two lay in their maximum speed. Compared to Demon King Ship, who used speed skills to raise her maximum speed limit, Rigantona's skill duration had long since passed. Rigantona's current maximum speed could no longer be broken through. While her pure Zone allowed her to unleash her power to one hundred percent, Demon King Ship's skills also possessed strong acceleration power. Though not reaching one hundred percent, reaching eighty or ninety percent was possible. Demon King Ship held the advantage in the final spurt speed!
The final straight was short, and Demon King Ship quickly crossed the finish line.
Rigantona finished second, three body lengths behind.
Third place went to Montjeu. Due to her drop in mood, her performance was unstable in the end, finishing four body lengths behind Rigantona.
These were the top three in this Arc de Triomphe.
Trêve, who was originally destined to win the championship in this race's fate, failed in her bid for dominance. Knowing victory was hopeless, she didn't even activate her Zone, barely managing to finish fifth.
For dominant runners like them, the Zone was only considered if victory was within reach. Furthermore, if it weren't to challenge the Demon King, Montjeu and Rigantona might not have used the power of the Zone. Compared to the power of skills, they ultimately disliked the power of the Zone, which burned their own bodies as fuel. Because, setting aside the side effects, using this power made them feel as if they had already accepted the possibility of losing beforehand.
As absolute powerhouses, they possessed absolute confidence. No matter what kind of race or opponent they faced, they firmly believed they would achieve the final victory! The Zone was more like a roar and a counterattack unleashed by the weak against the strong. The moment they considered using the Zone, it implied they lacked the absolute confidence to win. And on this ultimate world stage, no runner has ever won by relying on the Zone. Demon King Ship can be said to have upheld this tradition this time, although she didn't use her Zone purely because her Zone was only for "gating." But regarding the result, the winner of this Arc de Triomphe was still a runner who did not use the Zone.
This was like a curse; runners who used the Zone in the Arc de Triomphe have almost never won.
"Congratulations to Gold Ship for winning the Arc de Triomphe crown and the title of champion!"
"And thank you to all the runners for their spectacular performance!"
Trainer Okino in the stands was ecstatic.
Even with great confidence in the Demon King.
Seeing Demon King Ship actually win the Arc de Triomphe, he couldn't help but raise his hands excitedly.
The students at Central Tracen Academy also watched Demon King Ship on the awards stage with excitement.
"Is this for real? That girl actually won in front of the previous two generations of champions."
"So strong! As expected of the Great Demon King!"
"Damn it, I'm so frustrated. We were the first to learn skills, but those world-class runners are just too strong."
...
Having won the Arc de Triomphe, Demon King Ship undoubtedly gained the title of the strongest of the era.
Upon returning to the academy, Demon King Ship thought she would have to win the Arima Kinen one more time to clear the story mode. But unexpectedly, the moment she returned to her dorm and pulled open the door, she was instantly back in the small room before her reincarnation. Mejiro McQueen, sitting in the gaming chair in front of the computer, turned to look at Gold Ship and congratulated her: "Congratulations on clearing the story mode."
Gold Ship had lived in the story mode for over two years, but in reality, less than a month had passed in Mejiro McQueen's world. This time would have been even shorter if Gold Ship hadn't traveled to the world of the original generation, affecting the time flow.
Demon King Ship was stunned for a moment, then snapped back to attention.
"I see. This great one has cleared it."
"That's right. Come here. You don't know about some of the updated system features, do you?"
Looking at Mejiro McQueen's outstretched hand, Demon King Ship didn't hesitate to take it. Although she didn't know why Mejiro McQueen needed to shake hands before showing her the computer, a free perk was a free perk! However, the moment their hands met, a strange connection allowed both of them to instantly gain each other's memories and experiences. For Demon King Ship, she only gained Mejiro McQueen's daily life experiences from the past half-month. Mejiro McQueen, however, directly gained Gold Ship's two-plus years of experience in the story mode.
"You!"
"There, it's done."
Mejiro McQueen took the opportunity to shake off Demon King Ship's hand.
Demon King Ship glared at her in fury.
Damn it, she was tricked by Mejiro McQueen. Sure enough, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
"Don't be angry. You got my experience too, didn't you?"
"..."
Is that what she's angry about?
Demon King Ship genuinely hadn't expected Mejiro McQueen to deceive her. After all, the Mejiro McQueen in her memory was too proud to scheme against others.
"This great one challenges you to a duel!"
Damn it, she must challenge Mejiro McQueen before she fully digests her experience. Otherwise, once Mejiro McQueen fully digests her experience, she won't have a chance to win. The winning formula she worked so hard to develop was just stolen!
"Alright, which track do you choose?" Mejiro McQueen turned to operate the system to set up a custom race.
"Hanshin, 3200m, turf, weather doesn't matter!"
Mejiro McQueen turned her head upon hearing Gold Ship's reply.
"Are you sure?"
This was the Tenno Sho track, practically her home field.
"I'm certain!"
Demon King Ship knew, of course, that this was Mejiro McQueen's home field. But considering Mejiro McQueen's running style, she had to choose a long-distance track to win.
Demon King Ship knew Mejiro McQueen's skill set.
Mejiro McQueen's skills were more inclined toward an early burst, then continuously raising her maximum speed limit during the race using her Zone's mechanism.
Because Mejiro McQueen's Zone could refresh the duration of skills, her speed would be boosted to a terrifying number in the final stage. However, even the strong Mejiro McQueen had one flaw, though not a weak one: her final spurt wasn't dominant enough.
Although her speed was incredibly high in the final stage due to the skill boost, making her final spurt seem very strong, it wasn't strictly a final spurt. Mejiro McQueen actually didn't possess any powerful acceleration skills.
...
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