"T-then, let's move on to the next competition! Next up, the obstacle race!"
"Oh, it's my turn."
"Yu-Yuuya-kun! Good luck!"
"…If it's Yuuya, he'll be fine."
"Well, I'm sure Yuuya will do just fine."
While receiving words of support from Kaede and the others, I made my way to the starting point, but when I arrived there, I felt my jaws gradually drop at the sight of the obstacles being set up on the ground.
"I-is this the track…?"
What a surprise, a full-scale obstacle course had been prepared on the ground that would challenge any physical fitness enthusiast.
"Now, the annual popular Ousei Academy specialty, the full-scale obstacle race! Try to overcome the obstacles on each course and reach the goal!"
Wait, wait, wait!
Don't tell me that obstacle course is the specialty? No, but it makes sense when you see obstacles of this magnitude!
I myself had no idea that Ousei Academy's athletic festival was so popular that it was broadcast on TV until I heard about it from Rin and the others.
That's why I expected it to be an obstacle race a little bigger than a regular school, but…
Once again, looking around at the participating students… there were only strong-looking boys there…
"Finally, this day has come…"
"My body has been tuned up for this day… let's see how far it goes!"
The atmosphere in the competition is such that reaching the finish line itself seems difficult! Will it be all right?
"Now, what great games will be contested this year? So let's get into position, everyone! Go…"
Bang! With a lively signal, we all started running at once.
Then, the first obstacle stood in our way.
"A steep wall, about five meters high, is the first obstacle that stands in the contestants' way! You will not be able to overcome this obstacle unless you have a solid run-up and the strength to run up the wall."
Shirase-san was right; an almost vertical wall appeared in front of us.
"This much is… phew!"
I jumped up toward the wall with a little momentum, put my hand on the top of the wall, and climbed over.
"Oh, participant Yuuya! He conquered this obstacle in an instant!"
"As expected. This should be easy for him normally. But will he be able to keep his composure after this?"
The students followed me, overcoming obstacles one after another, even though they were not as smooth as I was.
A second obstacle stood in our way.
"Eh?"
The next obstacle was a balance beam placed on a high platform with a simple pool of water underneath.
Moreover, the platform was not designed to be crossed normally.
"The second area awaiting the contestants required them to push forward while avoiding the pendulums that strike one after the other!"
Yes, large cushioned pendulums attacked us as we moved forward on the balance beam, blocking our path.
And it's──.
"Heh! This much I…"
One of the students quickly got on the balance beam, only to find that the balance beam began to spin.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeee!"
The male student rushed to regain his balance and clung to the beam desperately.
However…
"Wha-? Aaaaahhhh!"
"Oh, I forgot! If you are distracted by this balance beam and how it spins, you will fall prey to the pendulum!"
"It is truly an obstacle that requires a good sense of balance, a wide field of vision, and composure."
Yes, the boy fell into the pool after hitting the pendulum while he was distracted by the spinning balance beam.
Seeing this, the rest of us hesitated to go on.
…But if I don't go on, I won't be able to reach the finish line…
I made up my mind and hung my feet on the balance beam.
"Oops, participant Yuuya! Are you going to strike boldly?"
As I put my foot on it, I found out that with a slight shift in balance, this balance beam spins.
However, I, who had been trained by Master Usagi and Iris-san for a long time in the name of combat training in places with poor footholds, managed to maintain my balance on the spinning balance beam and avoid strikes by the pendulum and succeeded in clearing it.
"W-what! Participant Yuuya once again cleared the second obstacle first as well!"
"Wonderful! I've never seen a student clear it so cleanly before."
"Even Ohki-sensei is very impressed. As for the other students, as expected, they can't go as smoothly as participant Yuuya, but they steadily clear the way, using other students as shields for the pendulum and so on!"
"But things will get even tougher from here."
The difficulty level is still going up!
Surprised by Ohki-sensei's announcement, I proceeded onward, only to find that a five-meter long cloud ladder had been prepared this time. Moreover, the bars to hang from were thick and widely spaced, requiring a strong grip.
Fortunately, having experienced many things in the other world, I was able to clear the obstacle in one go.
In the next obstacle area, a huge iron ball was placed, and I had to carry it to the goal of this area.
The ball felt as heavy as an adult male when I lifted it, but I was able to conquer it without any problem, probably because I had handled a weapon called "World Strike" in the other world.
"Participant Yuuya is amazing, amazing! He overcame the obstacles one after another with great dexterity!"
"I didn't expect him to go this far… I think this is going to set a new tournament record!"
"What a surprise! Apparently, we may be witnessing that historic moment!"
"But will he make it through the last event?"
There were a series of other obstacles that would normally cause one to collapse from exhaustion just getting to this point, such as going under taut barbed wire and going through a storm of spikes by the volleyball team for some reason.
And then, after passing through an area where I had to climb a vertical wall using only the strength of my arms and ropes, the final obstacle stood in front of me.
It was…
"Now, participant Yuuya, who is currently leading the race! He finally reached the last obstacle, which is…!"
"Yes, it's a tightrope walker!"
To my surprise, there was only one thin rope in the last obstacle area. Moreover, the distance to the goal appeared to be more than ten meters.
"Having given everything he had up to this point, he must have already been tired, and now this tightrope walker. There was a balance beam at the beginning, but this was nothing like that! Every muscle in your body is screaming, and it must be difficult just to keep your balance!"
"Of course, you can go ahead and hang on. But then there is the concern of interference by the following contestants."
Ohki-sensei is right, if the contestants behind me catch up with me as I am crossing the rope super-carefully, the rope could be shaken, and I could be dropped.
Fortunately or unfortunately, this summer vacation has been full of battles in the other worlds and outer space, and I have enough strength left to balance this much without any problem, but…
"Yuuya-kun, keep up the good work!"
"Yuuya! You can do it!"
"Everyone…"
Cheers flew one after another from the red group's tent. With that cheering, I decided to give one a try.
"Oh, at last, the followers have arrived! Will this be a disadvantage for participant Yuuya?"
"No, wait! That Tenjou… is he going to walk on the tightrope normally in this situation?"
Perhaps Ohki-sensei and the organizers were thinking that this tightrope walker was supposed to proceed ahead while hanging on, rather than just walking across normally.
That is why they were surprised that I took a step onto the rope without any hesitation.
──But I wasn't going to be a regular tightrope walker.
"Hmph!"
"Wh-whaaaaaaattt?"
The rope was so tight that it was made to twist and turn as I took a step forward.
Then, using the elastic force of the rope, I jumped all the way to the opposite side.
"H-he jumped! Participant Yuuya, using the recoil from the taut rope, forced himself to jump over the rope!"
"That's absurd! Even if you are using a rope, can you jump a distance of more than 10 meters?"
Despite the reaction of the surprised Shirase-san and the others, I landed safely on the other side and ran through in a single bound, reaching the goal.
"G-goooooaaal. Participant Yuuya has reached the finish line at an overwhelming speed! And that clearance time is a new meet record! Or rather, will there ever be a contestant who can surpass it?"
"N-no, I don't think it will be possible… I think it will be tough even for a professional contestant of this kind…"
"I don't understand what you mean by 'surpassing professional athletes!'"
I'm glad I won for the time being, despite all that's being said. As I returned to the tent, I was greeted by Ryo and the others.
"Yuuya, that was awesome!"
"Yeah, you clear every obstacle in an instant!"
"…It was great to watch you."
"I-is that so? Thank you."
"B-but, Yuuya-kun, are you okay? Next up is the tug of war…"
Shingo-kun said this with concern, but I had no problem with it.
"Yeah, I'm fine with this much."
"T-this much, you say… you're too much of a monster, aren't you? Look at all the other contestants."
Rin was right, the other contestants were exhausted, and they all limped back to their tents with heavy feet and collapsed in a heap.
W-well, I wouldn't have cleared it very well either if I hadn't been leveled up in the other world.
But these days, in addition to training with Master Usagi and Iris-san, I had to fight in outer space, and I was in a situation where my physical strength was increasing whether I wanted it to or not.
Since I couldn't give a detailed explanation, I tried to cover it up with a vague smile and headed to the next competition, tug-of-war.