After the sudden end of the race, confusion settled among the competitors. Lucas, who had found a brief moment of relief with his snacks and soda, which he had stored in his backpack, was trying to understand the situation.
— Wait, how can the race just end like this!? — exclaimed the girl from the Cubo de Gelo Family.
(No matter what you say, it's over!)
After these words, everyone heard a sharp sound, indicating that the commentator had turned off the microphone. Silence hung in the air among the competitors, unsure of what they should do.
Their boats were still heading towards the center of the flower, but as there was nothing left to gain, there was no reason to continue.
The first to change course was the boat of the girl from the Autômato Family. In silence, she began to backtrack the path they had traveled. Alongside her, the dragon girl also adjusted her route to return.
— I never imagined the race would end like this — murmured the old man, looking at the horizon with a pensive expression.
— What do we do now? Should we go back? — asked Lucas, feeling immense relief that this insane race had finally come to an end. As he spoke, he couldn't resist the temptation and began to savor the best cheese snacks he had ever tasted. — Hm? Isn't this a cheese bread? How can it be so incredible!?
Domingos looked at the young man with an amused smile while Lucas devoured the snacks without realizing.
— ...Let's go. There's nothing more to be done here — said the old man, still smiling.
As they repositioned the boat to head back, an ice vessel approached, following them on their trajectory. The cool breeze from the neighboring boat brought a welcome relief to Lucas, who had been enduring the desert's heat.
— This shield is a bit of a bother — he muttered, deactivating the shield. — Much better...
The barrier Domingos had created had been very useful, but there was no longer any reason to use it.
— Now that this competition has ended, how about having a chat? — suggested the elder from the Cubo de Gelo Family, jumping from his boat to Domingos' boat.
Behind him, his daughter shot Lucas looks that seemed almost lethal. The young man chose to ignore her and stayed on the boat's edge, enjoying the feeling of the cold wind on his skin.
Simultaneously, the girl from the Incêndio Family and her brother also entered the boat, leaving theirs tied to the rear of Domingos' vessel.
— What's this? Aren't you going to ask for permission before boarding my boat? — the old man asked calmly.
— We apologize for the intrusion — said the red-haired young man from the Incêndio Family, offering a smile. — We had some complications and would like to ask to use your boat for the return.
Behind him, the little red-haired girl looked dejected, showing clear signs of exhaustion. She was so tired that she just stayed silent while her brother negotiated.
— Alright, you can stay until we return — Domingos replied before turning to the Cubo de Gelo Family elder. — So, what would you like to talk about?
— Well, why don't we sit down? — said the elder, creating two ice chairs for them.
He remained close to the boat's edge, still looking after his vessel, and invited Domingos to sit with him.
— Ice AE is quite convenient... — Lucas muttered, watching the two of them sitting on ice benches.
— Hunf, of course it is — said the silver-haired girl, who somehow appeared next to the young man.
Lucas was slightly surprised by her sudden appearance but soon remembered that he could hardly keep up with everyone's movements during the race and sighed.
— So, do you need something? — the young man asked, looking at the girl in front of him.
— No! — she replied abruptly, turned around, and went over to the Incêndio Family.
— … — Lucas silently observed the girl. — Why did she come here?
But as soon as Lucas turned towards the ice boat and decided to open the soda, he realized his hand was empty.
— ... Seriously? — thought the young man.
— Ah!
Hearing a slight scream, Lucas looked in the direction of the Cubo de Gelo Family girl and saw her soda-soaked clothes. Moreover, she glared at him with a furious expression.
— Pf... At least it's hot — he said, trying to hold back a laugh. — So, even if I store something in the backpack, whatever's inside will suffer from my movements... — The young man realized the reason the soda had exploded in the girl's hand.
It was also possible to consider that someone had shaken the soda before handing it to him, but Lucas chose to believe it was his movement at the moment, and he would test it better later.
— Since you're so hot, let me cool you down a bit! — exclaimed the girl, as a freezing air emitted from her body.
Lucas began to shiver from the sudden cold, and even felt strange chills running through his body. Dizziness began to cloud his mind, and he could barely stay on his feet.
— A-Are you trying to kill me!? — the young man screamed, gripping the boat's edge and trying to breathe, but only icy air entered his lungs.
During the race, the silver-haired girl had used this ability, but Lucas had his shield at that time. Now, feeling this without any protection, it could easily kill him.
— You started it — she said, interrupting her ability.
Lucas tried to calm his body, but it seemed like it was no longer responding. Unbeknownst to him, his vision darkened until everything went black.
[To be continued...]
??? — Even after the race, he almost got killed...
??? — But how did the soda I gave him end up like this?
??? — System, explain.
[Backpack: Can store up to 10 items at the moment.]
[Although stored in a separate space, as the ability is inside the owner's body, it will follow his movements.]
??? — Aahh!! Explain it to me with examples!
[If the owner jumps, the items inside the backpack also jump. If the owner falls, the items suffer the impact of the fall.]
??? — So that's why it's called a backpack and not an inventory...