A motorbike speeds through the night city. A person with no driving experience normally wouldn't be able to control a large motorcycle like this. If a newbie makes a slight mistake, they will end up heading straight for the wall.
However, in this virtual world, there is a system that automatically supports the driver's actions. That's why, even though this is the first time I drove a motorcycle in my life, I was able to go over 100 kilometers per hour(km/h).
Moreover, the wind gushing towards my face, which would normally be strong, was so weak that I could keep my eyes open, and even without a helmet on, I didn't feel any problems.
Perhaps, the reason why helmets aren't implemented is that some species have horns and their body size is different from humans. Well, a helmet wouldn't be necessary because of the Support-system's guarantee that we wouldn't be in any accident.
Anyway, the race started without any problems, and my bike steadily increased in speed. A little ahead of me was Alice's mini buggy.
It's hard to believe that such small tires could allow such a vehicle to go over 100km/h, but it's a game anyway, so I don't think I should really mind the small details.
The NPC racers were also smoothly following behind us as a matter of course... U- Unnn? What the heck is that?
[Alice! Alice!!!]
Seeing something unbelievable, I called out to Alice who was a few distance in front of me... but as expected, even though the wind blowing in front of me was weak, with the sound of our vehicles, my voice won't reach...
"What is it?"
[Uwooohh!? What is this!?]
Just as I was thinking this, a small monitor suddenly appeared in the upper-left corner of my view, showing Alice's face.
"You can open a private connection by pressing and holding the name of the player you want to talk to in the player section of the menu screen~. Incidentally, only the other player would be able to hear what you're saying when you're on a private connection."
[I don't know how many times I've said this, but this is really awesome.]
For it to also have a private chat, this really is a high-performance game. The feel of the vehicle is really realistic, and the scenery is beautiful.
I think I'm going to continue hanging around even after this race.
[....wait, putting this aside, Alice! What the heck is that, that... Red Gorilla Mark II... Isn't it "running"!?]
"Ehh? It's obviously running. It's a gorilla after all, so it's going to run on its four limbs."
[...U- Unnn? I- I see...]
I couldn't respond with anything when Alice told me something that really is quite obvious. Glancing at it again from my mirror, I saw the mechanical red gorilla with an NPC on its back, running on all fours towards my direction... it just looked too surreal.
Well, enough of that... Let's just concentrate on the race.
Forcing myself to accept that the Red Gorilla Mark II was "that kind of vehicle" for the time being, I sped up to catch up with Alice who was ahead of me.
Although the course is modeled after the Metropolitan Expressway, it still looked like a typical game course. Looking at the map displayed on the upper-right corner of my view, I can see that there are highs, lows, and sharp curves that makes the race more exciting. If possible, I'd like to take advantage of such aspects of the race... but I guess it's to be expected from this game's creator huh. She's really skillful.
Alice's mini buggy is a light vehicle with a small turn radius, and although my bike has a higher maximum speed than hers, she uses a technique that allows her to glide around, making it difficult for me to catch up.
Glancing at the map again, looking if there was a good spot where I could turn things around, I continued maneuvering my motorbike.
Thereupon, I suddenly noticed that there were three red circles under the speed display. What is this? It doesn't seem to be that meter to check if your vehicle doesn't have any gas anymore, nor does it look like a traffic light's red signal.
[...Alice, what are these red circles under the speedometer?]
"Oh, I accidentally forgot to explain. It's a switch to unleash the Special Drive."
[Special Drive?]
"Yes, by pressing that button, your vehicle will automatically perform the "Special Drive" which is set for each vehicle. The special Drive for Baby Castella-96, which Kaito-san is riding, is a simple speed up. For five seconds, you can break through the maximum speed limit and super accelerate. However, you can only use it three times during a race. Be careful how you use it."
I see, there are special moves in this game huh... It really stimulates my boyish mind. But, even so... The BC in BC96 really means baby castella huh.
I've been thinking about this for a while now, but Kuro's naming sense...
"Of course, my "Alice-chan's Transcendental Special Buggy" also has a Special Drive!"
[...…]
...Well, I guess it's more decent than Alice's naming sense.
"...Arehh? Why do I feel like I've just been subjected to some unwarranted slander..."
[It's just your imagination.]
"Is that so... Well, anyway, my vehicle allows me to accumulate a Special Drive one by one every time I drive a certain distance, and when I use it, it allows me to automatically slip forward without slowing down my speed with each of my turns!"
[...I see.]
That means, Alice's drifts that make it seem like she's sticking on the curves was a result of that Special Drive technique huh... This can be a great weapon if I use it correctly.
With that in mind, I stared at the map and began to formulate a strategy... The BC96's Special Drive is of the type that has a limited number of times, but being able to run at a tremendous speed for 5 seconds is very powerful.
However, one drawback of this ability is that it can only be used in a straight line... After considering these factors, the points where I could attack are...
The first one is saved for the long straight road at the end, and the remaining two charges... I'll use them here.
With my strategy in place, I looked ahead to the first crucial point... a big uphill slope.
The steep uphill and downhill slopes in the Metropolitan Highway-style space are also unique to the game. This is where... I catch up with Alice.
At this point, the gap between Alice and me was quite large, and by the time I reached the hill, Alice had already made it to the middle of the hill.
That's when I activated my BC96's Special Drive, the speedometer swung out, and my motorbike accelerated at an unbelievable speed. Feeling the scenery blowing backwards, I stared ahead of the race course.
I would never be able to drive at a speed like this in real life. This is the kind of driving that can only be done in a virtual world where you can't get hurt.
The BC96 accelerated beyond its limits, and as Alice began to descend the slope, the BC96 burst forward, ascending the slope... and then...
"Wha!? Y- You're flying!?"
Jumping over a downward slope while maintaining this speed... Ahh, this is scary!!!
[Uwooohhhhh!?]
Even though I knew that I wouldn't get hurt, it was still chilling to see my motorbike fall from a great jump.
However, this was a virtual space designed to be safe and secure. It was a pretty big leap, but my motorbike landed on the track and started running without making me feel any sort of impact.
"What speed... Gununu, I didn't expect to be overtaken by a beginner like Kaito-san..."
Alright, I've gained a big lead. My BC96 has a higher maximum speed than Alice's mini buggy... If I can keep this lead, I can win!
Dear Mom, Dad———— A heated race against Alice. I was able to overtake Alice, who was leading in the beginning, in the middle of the race. However, I don't think Alice would just let me keep the lead————– The game has just begun.