Magic Race

'What!? No wonder they were running so quickly,' Lyrian thought to himself on hearing what Julius said. 'I might as well be the first one to get there. There isn't any merit in avoiding prizes after all.'

With this, Lyrian firmed his feet on the ground, positioning himself to burst out into a full-blown sprint, before finally dashing forward.

The serious faces of the kids farther behind turned perplexed as they saw the blur of a figure whiz past them in an instant, their eyes widening in shock.

In a few seconds, Lyrian had entered the small forest inside of the dome that Julius had flown over. Here, he surpassed even more kids who struggled with the density of the trees and shrubbery.

To Lyrian, who practically lived in the forest for years, traveling through there made him even faster, allowing him to use the branches and vines to propel himself forward like an ape.

Bolting from tree to tree, he finally made it out of the forest area and launched himself to where the leaders of the race were in an instant, his eyes filled with seriousness.

Silandra, who was the next in front of him, looked to be using ice skates made from her own magic to skate through to victory.

The boy in front of her was who Lyrian recognized as Endra Yuuin, the fourth-place prize winner in the magic potential testing.

He was running on all fours like a wild beast, his nails stretching out into claws to help him dig into the ground and get more force.

Finally, the person in the first place was, as expected, Silvus. From afar Lyrian saw that he rode atop a small log most likely from the forest that looked to be imbued with some sort of magic that made it fly.

No matter who he saw, Lyrian noticed that they all used magic in one way or another to help him run, while he on the other hand was simply using his sheer natural power.

Still, no matter how fast he ran, it didn't look like he was going to surpass any one of them anytime soon, as their magic propelled them to heights almost unattainable by natural standards, at least, for the lamen.

Lyrian didn't want to waste any mana before the preliminary fights began, but it looked like he was going to have to right now.

'Enhance.' He said in his mind. Instantly, vibrant green energy surged through his body, invigorating him with newfound strength. With a burst of speed, he swiftly passed Silandra, leaving her astonished and exclaiming, "What in the world? You again!?"

Endra looked back behind his shoulder, noticing that someone was quickly approaching him. Determined to not be overtaken, he let out a wild scream, turning his hands into the paws of a white tiger.

Just before Lyrain could reach him, Endra's speed suddenly increased, leaving Lyrian in the dust.

With Endra now in the lead, Lyrian refused to let him stay ahead. He focused his mind and tapped into his well of mana, feeling its energy course through his veins.

The green aura intensified around him as he summoned an even greater surge of power. His legs propelled him forward, his strides lengthening as he closed the distance between him and Endra.

Endra glanced over his shoulder, his eyes widening in disbelief as he saw Lyrian rapidly gaining on him.

A mixture of surprise and frustration crossed his face. Determined to still try and defend his position, Endra channeled his mana and unleashed a powerful burst of speed. Unfortunately, Lyrian's speed was far too overwhelming. The two runners raced side by side for only a moment, the air crackling with their magic-infused movements.

In an instant the wind whipped past Endra as Lyrian shot ahead, leaving Endra momentarily stunned.

Noticing a powerful aura approaching him at extreme speeds, Silvus gazed forward towards the finish line with an indifferent expression, his speed suddenly increasing by two folds.

The change in speed was enough to surprise Lyrian slightly, seeing that the finish line where Julius and the race announcer were waiting was only about 50 meters away from where Silvus was.

Silvus looked confident. 'At his current speed… It's impossible for him to pass me,' He thought to himself, only 5 meters away from the finish line.

At that moment, Lyrian turned around, facing opposite to the finish line before suddenly putting his hands together.

'GO!' He yelled in his mind as a powerful burst of fire exploded from his hands, catapulting him to the finish line in an instant.

'I win–' Silvus' thought was interrupted by a sudden blur that jolted past him, as his eyes widened in shock.

The two looked to cross the finish line at the exact same time, no one behind them knowing who came in first place.

"The winner of the race!" the race announcer yelled. "Is–"