Sin City

Michael woke up the next day and trained all morning. He planned on going to Las Vegas first. Honestly, Michael did not want to keep gambling. He thought casinos were too vain and excessive. However, upgrading a skill to intermediate tier costs 10 million credits; he was planning on upgrading Stock Market analysis skill to Intermediate level. If he did that now he would only have 3 million dollars left. He knew that when it came to investing, it was optimal to have as much starting capital as possible.

He booked a flight to Vegas in business class. This would actually be the first time he flies on an airplane. Michael realized that he was a frog in a well. Honestly, domestic ticket prices are not even that expensive. It's just that he never had anyone to visit.

He read web novels till he had to go to the airport. He drove to the airport and found a remote parking lot. After checking around to make sure no one was looking, he put the car in his inventory and walked in to catch his flight. Having an inventory really made things easier. Michael had a decent moral character so it was alright; however, he wondered what would happen if a shady person got the system.

He could go around and take everything as long as he could touch it: Jumbo jets, Statue of liberty, and even an entire bank.

"Wait, system what happens if I absorb a bank? Will the cameras and the security system still work? " Michael was curious now.

[ Since all absorbed objects are placed in a dimensional pocket the electronics will not work as they will get disconnected. However, host should not try this because the building will be connected to the ground; which is connected to earth so you might absorb more than you expect. You can only absorb free objects.

However, you might be able to absorb an isolated safe box. Furthermore, the inventory cannot contain living creatures. So if you try to absorb a building you would suffer a backlash if the building contains living creatures.]

Michael did not expect that he could accidentally absorb earth. Honestly, he did not want to think about the consequences of such an action. However, he was delighted to hear the hint about the safe box. He did not want to become a robber. However, if some bank messed with him it was nice to know he had this option. He wanted to earn wealth by himself; Stealing is never a long-term solution.

Michael finally boarded the flight. Honestly, he was really nervous to go on a plane. What if the plane crashes? He decided to meditate the whole time.

A random stranger sitting next to Michael

The guy sitting next to me was obviously very scared of planes. He started sweating after the plane took off. He took one look outside the window and then closed the blinds. Then he started meditating; is he an Indian guru? Man I really have to upgrade to First class from now on. I cannot stand these freaks.

The flight only took two hours. As Michael walked out of the airport, he was astonished by the city. The background reminded him of a desert. However, the city was full of skyscrapers. The buildings were not conventional either. There were pyramids, glass towers, and even a mini Eiffel tower. It looked like a child was given infinite money and asked to design a city.

He spent the rest of the day driving around and seeing the city. He planned to relax a little before continuing his gambling spree. There was surprisingly a lot to do in Vegas. He booked a hotel and then went to sleep.

The next day he planned on going to the Las Vegas motor speedway. Michael always loved cars and he always admired race car drivers. At the Vegas Motor Speedway, he could rent a race car and race on the track. He drove to the track. It smelled like petroleum and burned tires. Honestly, this must be what manliness smells like.

He saw many cars racing on the track: Supercars, Hypercars and even official race cars. He walked into the office to register and rent his own dream car.

He finished the registration and rented a Nissan GTR. He also signed up for the amateur race challenge. Before he could race he had to attend a safety course. As he walked into the classroom he noticed that a gang of teenagers were already there.

He ignored the rowdy kids and sat up front.

"Hey, kid you here for racing? Have you ever raced before?" the kid who looked like a leader started trying to get Michael's attention.

"No, it is my first time on a race track." Michael was very frustrated and replied harshly.

"No wonder why. Do you even know who I am? I am Daniel Weber; I am a racer who has been offered contracts from many Indy 500 teams (Indy 500 is the American version of F1 racing series).

Let me give you some advice; Racing is very dangerous and it is not meant for everybody. Why don't you go back home to your Mommy." Daniel did not like the way this kid was treating him. He was one of the top talents in the new generation of race car drivers. Every time he goes to a race track, people would be lining up to ask for his autographs.

He brought his friends today to race and try the amateur challenge. He had not officially begun professional racing yet so he could still participate in the amateur track challenge. He wanted to show off to his friends and set a new track record.

"We have not raced yet so how do you know that I will not do well?" Michael was annoyed. Why did this guy put his nose into other people's business? Does Michael have a pick on me sign on his back?

" Haha, you think you can just try racing and be good on your first try. Let's see if you can beat me on the challenge? If you do I will shave my head and quit racing forever. However, if you cannot beat me then you have to kneel and beg for forgiveness in front of everybody. Deal?" Since he did not know that Daniel was a racing driver; Daniel did not plan to tell him and decided to take advantage of his ignorance.

Michael agreed because he was confident of doing well with the help of the system.

"Hmm I will naturally win and I will post your apology on the internet to make sure you fear me" Daniel mumbled under his breath. He could not wait to win and see the teenager's reaction.

Michael looked at the skill store in the Technical skills section. He saw a Driving skill and bought it.

[ Basic Driving (100,000 credits): allows you to operate cars much more efficiently. You will be able to learn racing techniques much faster than before.

Deducting 100,00 credits. Remaining credits: 730,000]

With the new skill, Michael was much more confident in defeating Daniel. He did not plan on upgrading the skill as not all skills are worth upgrading. The instructor finally arrived and started the safety course.

After the safety course, Michael decided to do some laps in the Nissan GTR he rented. The rental package included an instructor that would sit in the car with him and give advice. This was the other reason why he accepted Daniel's challenge; He was hoping to learn from the instructor; with his high intelligence, he should be able to quickly learn new techniques.

Paul Mitchell was a retired racing driver, now he worked at the Las Vegas motor speedway as a Racing Instructor. He has seen many hopeful amateurs who wished to become professional race car drivers. He heard today that some kid from out of town challenged Daniel Weber to the Amateur Track Challenge.

Daniel could not be considered a professional racer yet, but he is already being offered contracts from multiple Indy 500 teams. Youngsters these days are really to hot-blooded. They played racing games and think being a race car driver is easy. He hoped the challenger would not embarrass himself too much.

Paul joined his trainee and started explaining some of the basics of racing. He explained concepts like Understeer, Oversteer and optimal braking. He learned that the boy's name was Michael and he was touring Vegas. Sigh! racing is really too dangerous for the average tourist; However, since Michael already signed the waiver there is nothing Paul can say.

Michael started doing laps around the track. At first, he was going slow and trying to get familiar with the track. Then he started speeding up while making adjustments according to the instructor's advice.

Paul could not believe it; Michael was a monster. Within a couple of laps, he practically memorized the track and then started improving. He had never seen anyone improve so fast; this boy was born to race. After the training session, Paul tried to offer recommendations to help Michael jumpstart his racing career but Michael turned them all down.

Michael was glad he took the training session before the challenge. There was so much to consider in racing; it is almost like a science. He now looked forward to the challenge this afternoon.