Rules are rules…

Given the current situation in the race and with the roots descending, Lucas felt lost about what he could do.

— Am I still useful here? — he wondered, noticing his apparent lack of usefulness. — ...I shouldn't have joined this.

The young man observed Domingos' boat's condition and chose to remain silent beside the old man, considering it the safest spot on the vessel.

(Chomp, chomp... It seems like everyone is in serious trouble! Chomp... I love these snacks.)

— Hey, can't you be more professional!? — Lucas exclaimed, uncertain if his voice would reach the person.

(Chomp! What's the matter? Want some too?)

— I do! And a soda, too! — the young man replied, simply not caring about anything anymore.

The race had become so chaotic for him that he just wanted to watch now while snacking.

(Take it. Chomp...)

Inexplicably, Lucas found himself holding a cheese snack and a soda in his hands.

— ...Thanks! — he expressed his gratitude, still somewhat surprised.

— Wait, isn't this unfair!? — exclaimed the girl from the Cubo de Gelo family, who held resentment towards Lucas due to previous events. — This is clearly a violation of the rules!

(Do you think you have time to complain? Your boat is in last place, and the roots are about to hit you!)

— Tch.

The other competitors watched the exchange of words between the commentator, Lucas, and the girl with interest but quickly refocused on the race when they remembered the roots.

— Haha, this race is much more exciting than I imagined — Domingos commented, laughing. — Come on, we need to get out of here!

And so, the tension of the race resurfaced, triggering distinct responses from the competitors, each opting for one of the possible paths.

Everyone needed to get out of the ravine quickly, but the walls were frozen and extremely slippery. Observing around, Domingos realized the only way out was to climb. He headed to the front of his boat and began reeling in the anchor until it had enough length to swing.

— Lucas, hold onto the mast and don't let go! — the old man warned, examining the icy wall. — Here we go!

With that, he launched the anchor toward the top of the ravine, causing the boat to tilt so much that Lucas had to lie on the mast while the chains reached their limit. Although the boat brushed against the wall, as it had an icy layer on top, the friction only slightly reduced the anchor's force.

With the anchor firmly secured outside the ravine, the boat swung like a pendulum, with the bow pointing upward. As they ascended, the boat spun to the point where it seemed like it would turn upside down.

— AAHHH! I'm going to fall! — Lucas exclaimed, clutching the mast as if his life depended on it.

— Calm down, I'll stabilize the boat — Domingos said, moving upside down in the boat as if it were normal.

— Do it quickly!

Seeing the boat about to capsize in the air, Domingos disappeared from where he was and reappeared at the bottom of the boat. With a strong stomp, he made the boat spin in the air and finally land correctly while also holding onto Lucas.

— C-Couldn't you have been smoother than that!? — Lucas asked, irritated and scared, trying to calm his nerves.

—  More than that? You're asking too much, kid — the old man replied, somewhat intrigued. — Let's move on — he said, while retrieving the anchor.

As Domingos executed his maneuver, the other competitors also took action. The girl from the Autômato family, who was ahead, suffered a major setback at this moment. She was so far ahead that the roots descended rapidly toward her. To escape, she took advantage of a bend formed by the ice on the wall and used the momentum to launch herself upward, but this resulted in the roots colliding with her boat.

Her boat was thrown directly toward the dry land, breaking all the protections covering it. The impact was so intense that deep cracks formed in the ground, and sand scattered in all directions.

— S-System analysis... Seems damaged — the girl with an imperturbable expression said quietly. — No spare parts... I'll have to control it manually.

Her clothes were stained with dirt, and a little blood trickled from her forehead, but she seemed indifferent, maintaining her unchanged expression.

Fortunately, the boat landed upright; otherwise, she would have had to abandon the race.

— My chances of winning... have been reduced — she pondered, manually examining each part of her boat. — Experiment... failure.

After a brief sigh, she activated the manual controls of her boat and resumed the race, with only the desire to finish it as quickly as possible.

At the moment, even after the root incident, she was still leading the race, but the dragon girl was rapidly catching up in her small boat, which had lost almost half its original size.

Although her boat was fast and agile, it was also more vulnerable to damage.

— ...It won't last much longer — she muttered, looking back and seeing a flaming boat approaching.

The Incêndio family's situation was relatively stable compared to the two leaders, as their boat was in a reasonable condition.

The only problem was the fuel they used to power their boat, the flames of their AEs.

— I'm getting tired... Switch with me! — the fiery girl requested her brother.

— Sis, if I go there, I won't be able to control the boat — the young man replied, concerned.

— I'll control it! Leave it to me!

The young red-haired boy looked at his sister, wishing to stop her, but he recognized that there was no alternative and headed to the back of the boat.

Until now, he had always controlled the boat, as his sister didn't have a good grasp of it, which made him doubt if they could continue the race without problems.

However, he couldn't avoid the current situation, as his sister had used a lot of her power so far, mainly to escape the root. She created a massive flame in her hands, pointing them downward, propelling the boat so that it looked like it was flying.

Of course, he also helped, but his main role was to control the boat most of the time, which gave him more energy.

— Well, It's in God's Hands — he murmured, watching his sister take control.

The boat's control system was simple, with two paddles at the front, one on each side. Lowering one of them would turn the boat in the corresponding direction. The person in control needed to be careful about the angle of the paddle.

As soon as she took control, the little girl decided to test and lowered one of the paddles without much thought.

— AAHHH!! — they both shouted for a brief moment as the boat spun, almost throwing them out.

— C-Control the boat right! — the young man exclaimed, feeling like he'd had a heart attack.

— A-A-Alright! I-I was just testing! — the young girl replied as she tried to calm down.

Due to the sudden spin, they had to stop the boat, allowing even the last-place Cubo de Gelo family to overtake them.

The Cubo de Gelo family was in a precarious situation as well, as the roots had caused significant damage to their boat. To escape, they had to create an ice platform, a kind of bridge, to get out of the area, which took more time than those who chose to climb directly. 

— Dad, some of the servants got hurt and are being treated — the silver-haired girl reported.

— It seems bringing this boat was a mistake after all... — the elder reflected, evaluating the state of the vessel.

Although the impact hadn't been as severe due to the way they climbed, there was still damage. If it were just to the boat, it would be possible to repair it gradually during the race. However, with injured crew members, only the elder would be able to control the boat until the end.

— For now, I'll keep the boat's state and just try to repair the essential parts — he declared, while ice crystals floated around him.

— Then I'll help! — the girl said, ready to use her power.

— No, it's better for you to focus on attacking — her father declined.

— Okaaaay...

The elder had a reason for avoiding his daughter's help but chose to remain silent. In any case, it was crucial that someone was available to attack the other boats, especially at this moment when everyone was facing problems.

— We'll soon reach the center of the bone flower — he murmured, preparing for what might occur.

(...In the end, everyone broke the rules! They're all out!)

And with that, the race had an abrupt end.

[To be continued...]

??? — Huh!? How can you end the race like that!?

??? — They broke the rules, so I couldn't do anything!

??? — But you were the one who established those rules in the first place, weren't you?

??? — Well... Anyway, rules are rules!

??? — Seriously, why did you include that rule of not being able to pass by the sides...

??? — It's done! Now we'll just say there was no winner!

??? — You ruined Lucas' chances of completing the system's first mission.

??? — Oops...

[Mission: Failure]