V2Ch128 New Obstacle

With that last big "Go," racers took off at varying speeds. Fliers quickly took the lead and started scooping up the closing circular doors in the first obstacle. Ruby and Durt took higher rings while the three behind took lower ones.

"Hey, Newbies. Take the lower rings. Makes it harder for the runners."

One of the fliers called out to them.

"Doesn't look like it."

Durt responded while looking back. Some of the runners were taking the upper rings instead of the lower ones. Simple bounds or gliding leaps from a previous ring to the next. The slower contestants would be weeded out quickly as the skilled ones were not even slowed down yet.

The first corner of the race had random objects being launched from the sidelines. Things would fly through the air that the fliers would first have to dodge. When said objects landed, it was another obstacle for the runners. No one was safe between obstacles.

The second obstacle was already visible by 14 of the 32 contestants. Six fliers and eight runners were currently in the lead.

Durt looked over to Ruby who was slightly ahead of him. She had a smile on her face as she did a slow barrel roll. He could tell that she was enjoying flying at full speed.

The second obstacle, the lava pit, was getting closer. The fliers had to start flying low to the ground in order to reach the entrance. A winged lizard-man started swatting at Durt's legs.

"Get out of the way you faediot."

"It's a race. Getting out of your way is my objective."

Durt sped up. Signs on both sides of the entrance said "Flying prohibited." That was fine for both Durt and Ruby. They both flew at max speed while the others slowed down to make a safe landing.

Together, the brother and sister fae held each other's hands to balance as they lowered their wings and slid through the entrance at speeds that no one else would dare attempt. The end of the hall split into four directions. The middle paths went down for fliers and the far left right paths went out to the pillar tops. Durt went right and Ruby took the left. Neither one slowing their pace.

It seemed like they were both halfway through the lava pit before others started shouting and nearly losing balance behind them.

"AH BLAST IT!"

Durt looked back to see the flying lizard man's tail falling through the cracks. He either fell or gave in to the temptation to fly below. Either way, the entrance was just before him and Ruby.

They both met up in the middle and ran out of the lava pit cave at the same time. Just as they lifted off of the ground, stomping could be heard behind them. The lizard-man was just behind them. Flying below had paid off for him.

The gap between the second and third obstacles was filled with more flying objects. For the brother and sister fae, it felt like a dance. Splitting up to avoid something large. Twirling to avoid something thin. Meeting back up in the middle and rotating around each other. All the other contestants were struggling with all their might while this combo seemed to simply be enjoying life.

The three-way split for the wall climb was approaching fast. Obviously, the pair had taken the right path as fliers. The initial climb was easy. Flying straight up suddenly felt taxing to them.

"Not so cocky now, are ya?"

Below the pair was the lizard man along with a very fluffy bird-man.

Ruby looked into Durt's eyes.

"Ready to try what we talked about? This is the perfect opportunity to keep ahead."

"Let's do it, Ruby."

The lizard and the bird quickly started gaining on the fae. Anyone watching from afar would think that the fae had either lost all of their energy or given up. Neither instance would be true.

The moment that the lizard and the bird were a dozen feet below, the siblings pushed off of each other and landed on the shoulders of the rising opponents. They both pushed down with all their might and lifted off in mid-air.

The sudden thrust down caused the lizard-man and bird-man to lose over 100 feet in height. In comparison, the fae siblings were rising faster than when they started their ascent.

They quickly reached the top of the wall of fairies and floated over, stomach side up. The descent was quick but once again, they looked as if they were dancing. Durt had on a large smile while Ruby closed her eyes and felt the wind flow past her.

As they neared the ground, Durt called out to Ruby.

"Almost there."

Ruby opened her eyes and they both narrowed their flight path to the wall climb finish line. They both zoomed past the line fast enough to throw some of the nearby fairy competition helpers off balance.

The next obstacle was not far. Trees were already littering the land and becoming annoyingly abundant. They had to slow down a little once they were in the main forest. Random objects stopped falling from the sky but now they had to keep their eyes out.

A faint shimmer revealed a wire so thin that it was almost invisible if not for the light that had reflected off of it.

"Watch out Durt. These traps are harder to detect than we thought."

"Got it."

As soon as Durt said that, he felt a light pull on his foot. He heard a loud sound to his left. Some kind of spiral was coming right at him from the nearest tree. He dived at the last second, narrowly avoiding whatever that stuff was. He watched as it landed on a nearby branch, spread out among the leaves. The material tightened around the tree's branches and leaves. Whatever it was, it would have surely paralyzed a flier.

Durt looked ahead once more. His sister was already out of sight, he got left behind due to his gawking.

*FWOOSH*

Yet another reason to get moving once again. The flying lizard-man had just passed him.

Mustering up his strength, he raced forward once again through the trees. As he neared the collection obstacle, his sister was already entering the ten coin door.

"Damn, she's fast. I gotta catch up."