The sea breeze scattered the whispers of the freshmen standing in formation.
"Remember to use the Speed Spell Cards we covered in class," the Turbo Duel instructor said while tapping the edge of the guardrail with the attendance roster.
"Got it, teacher."
Niobe swung herself onto the white training D-Wheel and pulled down the transparent visor of her helmet. The metal buckle beneath her chin snapped shut with a crisp click.
Phila stood beside her own D-Wheel.
She lowered her head to look at the heavy metal pedals and streamlined body, her fingers clutching the edge of her goggles.
Then she sat down and gripped the handlebars.
A blue holographic interface from the autopilot system appeared in her vision.
"Mr. Spirit, help me!"
Raku's spirit sat cross-legged above the back seat of Phila's motorcycle.
"How am I supposed to help with this?" Raku looked at Phila. "I don't even have a license. I've only ridden electric scooters before. Besides, doesn't this thing have autopilot?"
"But aren't you always driving around and crashing into me in my dreams?"
"You've already been hit by cars every day, and you're still scared?" Raku rested his chin in his hand.
"I'm not scared of getting hit anymore. I'm scared of crashing into Niobe."
"Alright, alright." Raku stood up in midair. "I'll take control of half your body. But you have to handle the Duel yourself this time."
He transformed into a translucent white light, sank downward, and merged directly into Phila's body.
"Okay." Phila lowered her head.
In less than a second, Phila's left hand and both legs suddenly tensed.
The fingers of her left hand gripped the clutch on the motorcycle's left side with an incredibly practiced–almost violent–force, while both legs planted themselves steadily onto the control pedals.
Meanwhile, her right hand and entire upper body were still trembling slightly.
The Duel Disk on the D-Wheel was fixed to the right side of the handlebars, where an unfolded holographic screen lit up. Only her right hand remained free.
The Turbo Duel instructor walked to the front of the two D-Wheels and raised a signal flag printed with the academy emblem. The red lights at the starting line lit up one after another.
"3, 2, 1, GO–"
The signal flag swung down sharply.
Niobe twisted the throttle with her right hand.
She did not press the autopilot confirmation button. Instead, she selected manual mode beside it.
The white D-Wheel released a deep roar.
"Phila, first turn is mine–"
Niobe's words were still echoing inside her helmet when the goggles on her visor reflected a rapidly expanding white blur.
The training D-Wheel on the right released an ear-piercing screech of tires scraping against the track. Rubber burned two black streaks into the road surface as blue flames burst from the exhaust pipe.
The instant Niobe began accelerating, the white motorcycle had already shot past her at a terrifying cutting angle, the resulting airflow almost throwing her balance off.
"Slow down, slow downnnn!"
It was Phila's voice.
On that speeding motorcycle, the left side of Phila's body was as steady as welded steel against the seat, her left hand refusing to let go of the throttle. Yet her right arm waved helplessly through the air, and beneath her goggles, tears blown out by the wind could even be seen at the corners of her eyes.
The entire motorcycle leaned crazily against the very edge of the ocean track.
While shouting for it to slow down, her left foot simultaneously slammed the acceleration gear all the way down.
The Turbo Duel instructor lowered the signal flag in his hand.
He stared at the figure in the distance that had nearly become a tiny white dot just two hundred meters away.
The freshmen in formation stood there with mouths hanging open, so stunned they didn't even notice the wind blowing straight into their throats.
"As expected from someone who plays Zombies." The Turbo Duel instructor slapped the attendance roster against his palm. "Duelists like these are the sneakiest. Screaming that they can't drive while flooring the throttle and overtaking everyone anyway."
The roar of the motorcycle exploded across the open sea.
The white training D-Wheel shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, slicing through the cold ocean wind.
"Mr. Spirit! Didn't you say you only know how to ride electric scooters?! Is it really okay to drive this fast?!"
Phila's screams were shredded apart by the wind pouring into her helmet.
The nails of her right hand dug desperately into the handlebar grip while cold sweat made her leather gloves slippery.
"That was the old me. This is the new me," Raku's voice echoed in her mind. "I realized that after crashing into you so many times, if I don't floor the throttle now, it just feels wrong somehow."
"Don't say something so terrifying so casually!"
"Don't lose focus. The first turn's coming up. Push it, push it–we're taking first turn." The left leg under Raku's control hooked downward and kicked the gear lever again, shifting up another gear. The front wheel nearly lifted off the ground. "We're gonna blow Niobe away."
Behind them-
Niobe lowered her body until she was nearly pressed flat against the motorcycle's fuel tank.
She stared at the figure ahead that kept swaying left and right while stubbornly clinging to the inside line, her fingers tapping the edge of the dashboard.
"Phila... that posture isn't beginner-level at all."
Niobe forcefully twisted the throttle, attempting to overtake from the outside lane through the corner.
But the instant Phila's motorcycle entered the turn, the metal pedal on the left side scraped against the ground, sending a shower of orange sparks flying.
It was a cornering angle pushed to the absolute limit.
The airflow generated by the maneuver hit like a solid wall, forcing the newly accelerating Niobe back behind her.
The motorcycle sliced through the apex of the first corner.
Phila forced herself to steady her breathing.
Her trembling right hand released the handlebars as her fingertips brushed across the top of her Deck.
Five cards unfolded one after another across the holographic display.
The indicator on the dashboard flickered once.
"My first turn. During the Standby Phase, I gain one Speed Counter."
Waves from the ocean crashed against the bridge supports, sending sprays of seawater as tall as a person into the air.
"I Normal Summon [Uni-Zombie]."
Unlike the monsters in ordinary Turbo Duels that flew through the air, Uni-Zombie was driving the same jeep Raku used to drive. The car speakers blasted "DEJA VU" while it followed behind Phila.
[Uni-Zombie] Level 3│DARK│Zombie│1300 ATK
"I activate its second effect: target 1 face-up monster on the field. Send 1 Zombie monster from the Deck to the Graveyard, and the targeted monster gains 1 Level."
Phila's fingertips slid across the card slot on the side of the Duel Disk, and a card automatically popped out from the Deck.
"I send [Glow-Up Bloom] from my Deck to the Graveyard. The targeted Uni-Zombie increases from Level 3 to Level 4."
[Uni-Zombie, Level: 3 → 4]
"First effect of [Glow-Up Bloom]: if this card is sent to the Graveyard, you can banish it from the Graveyard to activate this effect. Add 1 Level 5 or higher Zombie monster from your Deck to your hand."
Phila looked at the dashboard.
"I add the Level 5 [Vampire Fraulein] from my Deck to my hand."
A card popped out from the Main Deck and fell into Phila's hand.
"Next, I continue by activating the first effect of [Uni-Zombie]: target 1 face-up monster on the field. Discard 1 card, and the targeted monster gains 1 Level."
Phila inserted one of the cards from her hand into the Graveyard slot.
"I target [Uni-Zombie] and discard [Mezuki] from my hand. The targeted Uni-Zombie increases from Level 4 by another Level, becoming Level 5."
[Uni-Zombie, Level: 4 → 5]
Behind the motorcycle, Niobe narrowed her eyes as she stared at the blue light flickering across the back of Phila's hand.
"I'm not done yet." Phila bit her lip. "I activate the first effect of [Assault Beast] in my hand: discard this card from my hand to the Graveyard. Add 1 [Assault Mode Activate] from my Deck to my hand."
She drew the new card into her hand.
"[Assault Mode Activate], huh?" Niobe's voice came through the communicator in her helmet, carrying a trace of excitement. "Looks like you adjusted your Deck during this past week."
"Yeah. Since Spell Cards are heavily restricted in Turbo Duels, a lot of my old combos became difficult to pull off. I had no choice but to temporarily add some support cards."
Phila felt the throttle under her left hand loosen slightly.
That was Raku controlling the speed, maintaining the perfect lead position.
"I Set one card and end my turn."
The salty scent of the sea filled the air.
A combo sequence that would normally pass in an instant during a standard Duel now carried a strange sense of weight beneath the pressure of two-hundred-kilometer speeds and crashing ocean waves.
Niobe looked at the Speed Counter lighting up on her own dashboard and pressed a hand against the top of her Deck.
"Then... my turn, draw!"
...
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