Jorn, Dom, and Roni all looked down at Mario whose defeat took a lot out of his soul. The guy seemed completely lost.
"That…that can't be…how did all of you…you're supposed to be the rejects of the Ruobber company! You're not supposed to become…this!"
Mario still couldn't process this loss. He couldn't believe that the three people who walked out of the internship program instead found a saving grace that would propel them to stardom. While he, who did everything that the Ruobber company wanted him to do, still lost against them.
He should have won! He should have been faster! He should have been stronger!
The three men all looked down at Mario. They were all victims of his bullying in the Ruobber company. He was the one who would take credit for their work and use it to advance through the ranks and finish his internship early. There were a lot of other students who dropped out of the internship because of this injustice.
In Mario's eyes, he was just doing as the company wanted. If they didn't want him to exploit his other interns, then they would have stopped him. Instead, they promoted him even faster. This motivated him to do more heinous stuff. Everything was for a better chance at becoming stronger.
But even after he did all that, he still lost to them. He lost to those who couldn't stand up for themselves and were the subject of his bullying.
Jorn looked down at him and said, "In your desperation for the ultimate strength, you chose to torment others. You became the bully. But in our desperation, we tried to find another way. We could have just gone your route and bullied others just like you bullied us. We could have been employees like you by now. But we didn't. We searched for a better way. We found it."
"And we weren't weak because we got out of the internship program. We dared to seek out new opportunities even if they could end up in disaster. And because of that, our futures are now looking upwards," added Dom.
Roni felt sorry for Mario. "I have a little bit of advice for you. You should leave the Ruobber company now or else you'll be stuck there for the rest of your life, bullying and tormenting others until you torment yourself."
Dom and the others turned to leave. "This is probably the last time you'll get to see us in person. Maybe, you'll have to look up to see us in the future."
Mario had his head down, his knees down on the track, and his fire destroyed. All the interviewers and officials ignored him and chased after the mythical dark horse trio. They all wanted to get a piece of their minds and ask them how they received this new power.
—-----------
Meanwhile, one of Mario's superiors was in one of the booths right next to the Track and Field. After three more interns left them suddenly without any explanation, the Ruobber company ordered him to go to the Physicality Test and recruit more interns.
He was ordered to get more interns even if he had to go around and beg the students to go to their internship.
He felt that it was below him, but he couldn't ignore his superior's words.
But if he was going to do this, then he was going to do this right. He even ordered Mario, one of his subordinates, to perform well in the Track and Field race and promote the company in his podium interview. He would show off his powers and the aspiring slaves–no, interns, would be tempted to join the internship.
At that point, he would just watch as the students lined up and voluntarily became his human laborers.
At the start of the race, everything was going well. The natural popularity of the Ruobber company led a small crowd of students to come and inquire more about the internship. Of course, he made sure to inflate the rewards and minimize the labor to them so that they would feel more inclined to join.
"Mister, why should we join?"
The man raised his chin in arrogance. "Can't you see? We are your best chance at achieving your dreams! Just look at one of our best employees in the company! He is the short red-haired man in the middle of the track. He'll show you how you can also become the first in every race that you join."
The rest of the curious students all looked at Mario in the field. He looked very confident and his posture was impeccable. It was as if they were looking at a professional.
Most of these students were on the edge of joining, he was sure of it. If they saw that Mario dominantly won the race, then they would finally make up their mind and join the internship. He smiled. He wondered how much he would get praised for getting 10 new interns in just one day.
However, when the gunshot rang out and the race started, Mario stayed in the starting line like an idiot.
What the fuck are you doing, Mario?!
However, he couldn't let his frustration show to the rest of the students. Flustered, he had to make up an excuse for Mario's idiotic stunt. "Haha…that's…that's all part of our plan, of course. He plans to show everyone that he can still win first place even if he gives everybody a head start!"
The rest of the inquiring students all looked on at Mario with amazement. He had that much confidence in his speed that he was willing to do that.
If he won the race, then he could wholeheartedly prove that the Ruobber company produced transcendent talent like weeds! Many would get sucked into this false narrative and join the Ruobber company.
But after four seconds elapsed, Mario still hadn't started running. This made him extremely angry, to the point that his head turned beet red. Why isn't that idiot running? With his speed, he'll only barely win the race!
And after six seconds, Mario finally started running. His superior was relieved, but he was still angry because of the heart attack he almost suffered. If Mario lost this, then his superior would be the one to take the brunt of the blame from the company.
Thankfully for him, after Mario started running, he quickly outpaced the rest of the racers. With his speed, he would win first place with a photo finish. He decided to punish Mario after this even after he won the race.
However, everyone's eyes suddenly darted towards the starting line. There was one participant that just started running after a full two seconds after Mario started running. And that's not all. It was clear to see that he was much faster than everyone, even Mario. And he was still accelerating!
It was at this point that the superior noticed his face. Wait…isn't that the intern who left us a day ago?
He quickly dismissed the thought. After all, that was way too absurd. It must have been some other inheritor who had a ton of resources under him to become that fast.
However, as the announcer talked to the audience, he heard the name. Jorn Kjellberg. That was the name of the lost intern! He was forced to remember the name because the company sent out a hit on those four interns who suddenly quit the internship.
How did Jorn get a Teqx?! No, that wasn't the right question. HOW IS HE SO MUCH FASTER?!?!?!
Jorn quickly overtook Mario with ease. And in his desperation, Mario tried to clutch Jorn's sleeve and sabotage him. Unfortunately, Jorn was too fast for Mario to catch up. Mario ended up stumbling headfirst into the track.
The superior was horrified to see the other racers run past Mario and cross the finish line. Dead last. The Ruobber company representative was dead last. He didn't know how he was going to explain this to his superiors.
But that wasn't all. The giant television in the air suddenly changed and showed the other dark horses. The superior saw another familiar face. It was Roni! And just like Jorn, he was able to win the competition in a completely dominant fashion, leaving no doubts as to who transcended the other competitors.
And Dom too! He couldn't believe that all the interns who left their company suddenly gained tremendous powers and talents! How could that be?!
The superior looked at the students in front of him and he saw something horrible. He saw a yearning glint in their eyes. He could see them slowly inching away from him. He could see them erasing the thought of joining the Ruobber company from their minds.
"Wait, aspiring students. Join the internship program now and you'll get a really big discount! Maybe you'll get a Teqx in half a year!" the superior lied.
But the rest of the students still had their eyes on the screen. He could see them imagining a life where they become a transcendent talent like Jorn, Dom, or Roni. And, according to the announcers, they got their new powers after leaving the Ruobber company.
Why would they ever join the Ruobber company now?
"Sorry, I think I'll keep my options open."
"I don't think the Ruobber company is for me."
"My mom just called. They don't want me to join you now."
The superior tried to force them to stay. He even got on his knees and begged them to join. Alas, they all left in the direction of the three dark horses.