The word 'shock' alone was not enough to describe his current emotion.
William, who had always been confident about his speed and stamina, suddenly felt little in front of a guy he always mocked to be a nerd.
Who would have thought that, even after pushing his speed to the limit, not only did he fail to shake Austin off, but he also saw there was no sign of exhaustion on the guy's face. It was as if Austin was a robot, unable to feel weariness.
"How could this be? Am I seeing things? Did the sun fry my brain and mess with my vision? Otherwise, how is that nerd still going strong—oh, wait, now he looks worn out." This time, he was sure of it. From his viewpoint, William noticed Austin starting to furrow his eyebrows, and his speed seemed to drop a bit. He also appeared to be breathing more heavily compared to earlier.
"Haha! I knew it! He was just bluffing all along. Hmph! How dare he try to trick me?" scoffed William as he shot Austin a triumphant look.
Feeling ecstatic, he accelerated to widen the gap between them.
After completing the third lap, William was already panting heavily, sounding like an overworked horse. There's a limit to everyone's body, and for William, sprinting for three laps straight had surpassed his limit
He could feel his stamina had reached a critical point, and his steps wobbled from the strain of overexertion. Adrenaline was the sole force keeping him on his feet.
Gradually, he started to significantly slow down, transitioning to a more steady pace.
Out of curiosity, he stole a glance behind him, wondering how far ahead he had left Austin.
However, as if being struck by thunder, he became stunned.
W-what?
How was that nerd just one step behind him again?
A chill ran down his spine. He wondered whether this was a reality or a nightmare.
It felt like he was trapped in an eerie loop, with Austin consistently one step behind, no matter how much effort he put into shaking him off.
"Huff...huff, asshole! You must be cheating!" William cursed loudly in the midst of panting. Other than the possibility that Austin was cheating, he couldn't think of other reasons as to why he was able to stick closely behind him.
"What do you think? There are plenty of students watching us. Do you believe I could cheat without being noticed?" Austin calmly replied.
"Huff... huff... then how a nerd like you can keep up with my pace. That's impossible!" William exclaimed in disbelief.
"Who knows?" shrugged Austin "But if you lower your speed now, I'm afraid you'll be overtaken by me," he reminded him.
"Huff... huff... shut up! You yourself look like you're about to collapse. I just need to hang on for a while, and the victory will be mine to claim," William retorted.
"Hehe, are you sure about that?" Austin gave him a cheeky laugh. His breath, which had sounded laborious before, immediately returned to normal. His eyebrows smoothed, and his pace began to quicken.
Under William's shocked gaze, Austin effortlessly overtook him.
With hands tucked in his pockets, he started running backward, facing William directly. "Hehe, William, if you don't want to crawl around the campus like a dog, you better give it your all."
"Ahhh!! You scoundrel!" William shouted with frustration, pushing himself harder. He no longer cared about his image and just sprinted like a maniac.
The idea of crawling around the campus like a dog seemed to bring out a hidden strength in him. His face became red in the process. It was unknown whether it was due to rage or the result of pushing himself too much.
William ran as if his life depended on it. His usually handsome face was now twisted ugly with tears, saliva, and a mix of snot, looking far from the charming prince he usually appeared to be.
In stark contrast to William's increasingly disheveled appearance, Austin remained poised and graceful. As he wiped the sweat from his face, a few girls on the field couldn't help but comment.
"Who's this guy? Is he a new student? I've never seen him before."
"I believe he's part of the track and field team."
"He's not one of ours. I'm sure I'd remember if he were. But I have to agree that his speed, stamina, and endurance can be considered to be top three in our club."
"Wow! So, despite not being a member, he's that skilled? A mysterious master—I'm loving it!"
"Same! I didn't notice before, but he's actually really cool and good-looking!"
"Me too. Look at how dashing and cool as he ran backward. It's just super duper cool! Like a bearing of a master!"
"What a fart! Master my foot! Cool and dashing? He's just plain arrogant!" Lester couldn't resist but butt in during the girls' discussion.
One of the girls turned to Lester, scanning his out-of-shape physique before breaking into a sneer. "You're just being jealous."
"Yes, I'm jealous. So what?!" Lester puffed out his chest unapologetically.
Harry, embarrassed by Lester's antics, had to pull him back and offer an apology to the girl.
"That jerk, Austin, since when can he run so fast and have so much endurance?" Lester exclaimed in exasperation.
"I bet he's been secretly training his body. He puts on this nerd facade, but deep down, he might be a hidden master!" Harry speculated.
"You're diving too deep into novels. I'm more inclined to believe that Austin got injected with a super soldier serum last night. That's how he pulled off today's performance," Lester dismissed Harry's theory.
"Isn't my theory far more realistic?"
....
"You fucker! Just get lost, disappear from my sight!" William's desperation deepened as he realized that no matter how fast he accelerated, Austin remained ahead. What was more humiliating was that Austin looked like he didn't take the match seriously.
He continued running backward, the annoying smile still plastered on his face. As William stared ahead, that irritating grin on Austin's face nearly drove him mad.
William desperately wished he could wipe that smile off the face of the Earth.
Suddenly, as if the heavens had finally granted him an opportunity to escape from his crises, he noticed Austin stumbling in his steps.
"Oops!"
'A chance!' William's eyes lit up.
Seizing the moment when Austin lost his balance, William swiftly sped past him. "HAHAHAH! Austin, you fool! Keep pulling off those stunts! In the end, you'll be the one crawling like a dog!"
"I'm going to be the winner!"
With only a few dozen meters left before the finishing line, William was confident he could cross them in a matter of seconds. Victory was within his grasp!
In his eyes, images of Austin crawling like a dog became more vivid and satisfying.
He no longer felt as restless and frustrated as before. Instead, his face was full of joy.
Seeing the finish line was like seeing a beautiful woman lying naked in a bed, and he couldn't wait to pounce on it.
However, unbeknownst to William, a subtle smirk slowly formed on Austin's face.
Had he continued sprinting ahead without granting William a fighting chance, the latter would have merely tasted frustration and anger.
Yet, for Austin, that wasn't sufficient. He yearned to acquaint William with a more profound flavor of despair—despair born when one painstakingly claws their way out of a pit, glimpses hope on the horizon, only to emerge and find yet another pit waiting to swallow them whole.
That was Austin's grand design—to show William a glimmer of hope and mercilessly shatter it before his very eyes.
Just as William approached the finish line, a sudden blur passed by him.
He didn't know what it was, but it gave him a sense of foreboding.
To his horror, he caught sight of Austin's unsettling smile.
"Y-you fuc-"
Before he could finish his sentence, he soon heard the announcement from the big-chested girl. "Austin wins!"
William sensed the noises of his surroundings fading into silence as darkness enveloped his vision.
It's over...