NOVEL NEXT Chapter 212: Friendship, Effort, And Victory
In the suffocating silence, the first to move was Sasha.
“Let’s go!”
At her urging, we charged toward Class 2-A’s cavalry.
On the other hand, Karen’s cavalry hadn’t moved yet.
‘Could it be that they’ve given up?’
For a moment, that thought crossed my mind.
That’s because there was an insurmountable gap between Karen’s cavalry and ours.
The gap was ‘height,’ with me being 190 cm tall and Sasha about 170 cm, making our combined seated height at least 3 meters.
In contrast, Karen was barely 150 cm tall, so there was at least a two-head difference in height between her and Sasha when seated.
We soon reached right in front of Class 2-A, and just as Sasha bent her upper body to grab Karen’s headband at the perfect moment,“Now!”
With Karen’s shout, the entire cavalry she was riding suddenly sank down.
“What the?!”
To be precise, it didn’t really sink.
‘It temporarily knelt down.’
I couldn’t help but be impressed by Karen’s cleverness.
‘Being tall in a cavalry battle is certainly an advantage. But if the opponent is much shorter, it can become a disadvantage.’
Karen’s cavalry height was at most about 250 cm.
For Sasha, who was relatively taller, to grab Karen’s headband, she had to naturally bend her upper body far forward.
But what if they got even shorter?
Given the body’s center of gravity, a point of no return where one couldn’t bend further forward would be created.
At that moment, Sasha wasn’t just wrapping her legs around my neck, but her stomach was also pressed against the back of my head.
In this situation, trying to grab the headband of the kneeling Karen would inevitably cause our cavalry to collapse.
‘I never imagined she’d come up with such a brilliant strategy in such a short time.’
Karen, you’re a scary one!
Then, from beneath Sasha’s panicked chest, Karen shouted.
“We knelt down to gain momentum!”
Escaping from the point of no return, Karen’s body suddenly sprang up like a spring.
Sasha tried to pull her upper body back in panic, but it was already too late.
Flutter!
“We won!”
The headband was snatched away in an instant.
The PE teacher, who had been watching the situation, blew his whistle.
Tweeeeeet.
“Class 2-B! Team 3 is out!”
Waaahhh!!
The stands erupted at the unexpected turn of events.
The Class President, who had been watching everything from behind, murmured.
“We’re doomed….”
I couldn’t help but agree.
With the unexpected defeat of Class 2-B, a strong contender, and Karen’s struggle, the final victory in the cavalry battle went to Class 2-A.
“Tojo! You were amazing!”
“As expected of Tojo!”
“You’re the hero of our class!”
Seeing Tojo, who had always been a typical outsider in the class, being lifted up by her classmates for the first time, I felt a deep sense of emotion.
Sasha, who had been quietly watching with her hands in her sports jacket, approached Karen, who was being lifted by her classmates.
She extended her right hand to Karen, who had just managed to touch the ground.
“Today, it’s my loss. Karen.”
Karen gave her a puzzled look and said,
“Sasha, you admitting defeat so easily? Did the sun rise in the west today?”
But despite Karen’s cheeky tone, Sasha shook her head with a gentle smile.
“Unlike you, I don’t think losing in a match is something to be ashamed of. So you should be proud, Karen.”
“…You’re a strange one.”
Karen muttered that, but soon took the hand Sasha offered and shook it.
Friendship blossomed between the two girls in the midst of fierce competition.
It was a scene straight out of a shounen manga.
The classmates who had been watching everything around them applauded the two.
Standing a bit away, I watched the scene with a satisfied smile, but when the Class President shouted, “Aaaah! We’re going to miss out on the tournament prize!” I quietly slipped away.
Honestly, it wasn’t my fault that we lost this game.
The sports day, which had been hectic since morning had gone through all the major ball games like soccer, basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, and baseball, as well as the usual events like group jump rope, cavalry battles, ball toss, centipede race, and three-legged race, leaving only the final match.
‘Relay race.’
Also known as the relay, it was the final event.
The fastest students from each grade would be selected to compete in a 4:4 red team vs. white team race.
As the final event of the sports day approached, everyone seemed quite tense.
“Kim Yu-seong, you have to win this race.”
Seeing the Class President’s unusually serious expression, I nodded.
It was no wonder because the class with the highest overall score would receive a large prize from the school.
Since our class’s prestige was at stake, Ayase was even more obsessed with the sports day results, hoping to win the biggest prize.
Honestly, if there had been no chance from the beginning, she would have given up entirely, but thanks to our class winning the soccer and volleyball tournaments, the first-place prize was now within reach.
“Leave it to me.”
If nothing else, I had no intention of losing in a physical fight.
Since the red and white teams were decided by drawing lots, the quality of the final relay members was evenly matched.
Everyone was skilled in running, but since they were representing their classes and grades, they all seemed quite nervous.
After the final break, everyone headed to the field.
As it was the last event of the sports day, all the grades gathered in the stands to cheer for the students in the relay race.
“Kim Yu-seong! Hang in there!”
“Show them the power of Class 2-B!”
And the same went for our class.
Even the kids, who usually didn’t care about each other, were united in cheering for me today.
This might be the true power of sports.
Clap.
To gather my thoughts before the relay race officially started, I slapped my cheeks, closed my eyes, and took slow, deep breaths.
My heart, which had been pounding with tension, gradually calmed down, and soon the surrounding noise faded away.
With my composure regained, I opened my eyes calmly.
“Alright. Let’s do this.”
This is the last event of the sports day.
So I’m not holding back, and I’ll give it everything I’ve got to crush the opponent.
I made that resolve.
Bang!
With the dry crack of the starting gun, the 400-meter relay began.
Each team’s first runner grabbed their colored baton and started running vigorously on the track.
Waaahhh!!
The excitement and cheers filled the large stadium.
Just like how people who don’t usually like sports get excited about the Olympics, at this moment, everyone was united.
“Run!”
“Don’t lose!”
“Hang in there!”
The runners were propelled by the mixed cheers and desires of the crowd.
Even if they were out of breath and felt like their hearts would burst, they ran with every ounce of strength they had to contribute to the team’s victory.
The next runner took the baton and ran, passing it on to the next runner again.
Because of that, the baton was never light.
That’s what it means to carry everyone’s expectations on your shoulders.
Waaahhh!!
“The final lap! Only one more lap to go!”
Yamada’s excited voice, holding the microphone, echoed in my ears as he broadcasted the race.
As the final runner for the white team, standing side by side with the red team’s fourth runner at the starting line, I tensed my trapezius muscles at the sound of approaching footsteps.
And then…
“We have to win!”
The red team’s fourth runner, who received the white baton, started running first.
As his figure slowly began to fade from my sight, I received the blue baton from our third runner, who had arrived teary-eyed after falling once in the middle, and patted him on the shoulder.
“Let’s win this.”
Immediately after, I started running with all my might.
My official 50-meter dash record at school was 5.38 seconds.
Considering my muscle mass and nearly 100 kg body weight, this was incredibly fast, but honestly, it pales in comparison to professional sprinters in the world of manga.
But I’d long since overcome this weakness by learning Hayate, the assassination technique passed down in the Fuma clan.
The characteristic of the martial art Hayate is that it imitates the natural phenomenon of ‘wind.’
Naturally, the only footwork of Hayate, Oikaze (Tailwind), also possesses such characteristics.
In other words, unlike my former self, who knew nothing, the current me has become a body that can run faster aerodynamically, surpassing physical limits.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
The sound, like a bull running, echoed across the wide stadium.
Each time my foot hit the ground, the dirt on the track was deeply indented.
The gap between me and the runner of the opposing team gradually narrowed.
With only about 30 meters left to the finish line, I finally drew level with the opposing team’s runner.
But that was only for a moment, as I overtook him in an instant.
“Uwooooo!!”
With a roar pulled up from deep within my chest, I thrust my foot forward.
And then…
“He won! Kim Yu-seong has won! He made a dramatic comeback right before the finish line!”
Matsuda’s excited voice announcing the white team’s final victory echoed through the stadium.
Later on, the students who watched this race in person would say that the sight of Kim Yu-seong chasing the red team’s fourth runner was like the Terminator chasing John Connor.