"Racing?"
Duke raised an eyebrow. Viktor stepped away from the Blitz prototype and went over to his workbench, pulling open a drawer. He rummaged inside before pulling out a flyer.
"Here, this year's flyer!"
"Heh, I still remember last year's theme was climbing. Dozens of people broke their arms and legs!"
Recalling the original Duke's memories about the Innovators' Grand Competition, Duke couldn't help but laugh. "This year the theme is racing? What's the Academy thinking?"
"Planning to host a chain-rear-end-collision contest?"
"Flip it over and look at the back. This year's theme actually has something to do with you."
Viktor turned the flyer in Duke's hand over, pointing at the bold image of a scarlet motorcycle.
Duke's eyes widened at once. That motorcycle, without a doubt, it was Pride in its motorcycle form.
"What's going on? Why is Pride's motorcycle form on here? How come I didn't know about this?"
Staring at the flyer, Duke felt baffled. The Innovators' Grand Competition could play with any theme, but why showcase Pride's image?
Using it was one thing, but why hadn't anyone told him in advance?
And Dakal hadn't said a word either!
What the hell was this?
"Well, who told you to keep loitering at the Academy gates with Pride all the time? Plenty of people have been drooling over it. Once Professor Heimerdinger heard, he just slapped Pride's image right onto the flyer."
"His exact words were: Your troublemaker has already caused the Academy enough headaches, so…"
"Ha! Heimerdinger really has a way with things."
Duke rolled his eyes helplessly. He'd never realized Heimerdinger had such a sly side!
Still, for the Innovators' Grand Competition to shift its theme to racing because of him, that was something no one had expected.
The butterfly effect truly was everywhere.
"Jayce already signed up. Want to join in too?"
Viktor began tidying up the scattered manuscripts littering the floor. Duke glanced at the flyer a few times, then nodded. "I'm in."
"Why wouldn't I be? It's just racing. I'll be staying in Piltover for a while anyway. Might as well kill some time."
"Where do I register?"
"At the Academy's office."
"Got it."
Duke walked to the window, opened it, and called down to the two figures waiting below. "You two!"
Pride and Gluttony instantly switched into combat mode, lifting their heads toward Duke.
"Father, what's the matter?"
"Is there something tasty for me?"
Pride glanced at Gluttony, who was drooling at the mouth, then wordlessly conjured a crystal brick and shoved it into his greedy little sister's mouth.
"There's a competition. Go sign up, then bring home the championship on the day."
Duke tossed the flyer down. Pride stretched on his toes to catch it midair. He scanned the words and nodded. "Father, it says here that contestants must bring their own creations to compete."
"I'm busy. Go handle it yourselves."
"The rules don't say that creations can't register themselves."
"Understood, Father."
Since Duke had spoken, Pride wouldn't argue. He dragged Gluttony by the tail, preventing her from following through on her bright idea of shoving the announcement board into her mouth.
"Let's go. Stop eyeing the board like food."
"I just wanted to help them check the seasoning! Really, I wasn't going to eat it."
"Ha! Barely a few days old and already lying."
"No, I wasn't!" Gluttony pouted at the board growing farther and farther away, then sighed dramatically as her brother tugged her along.
But when she spotted the stone tiles paving the ground, she sneakily pried one loose and stuffed it into her mouth, squinting in bliss.
Didn't matter what it was, if it could be eaten, that was good enough.
Under countless curious gazes, Pride dragged Gluttony toward the Academy's registration booth. He was already bracing himself for trouble, but when Gluttony suddenly went silent, he felt uneasy.
He turned back, and froze.
The path behind them was gouged out in a long trench. Every tile of the pavement had vanished without a trace. Meanwhile Gluttony was skillfully prying up another tile, stuffing it in her mouth, and even cupping her hands over her lips to muffle the chewing.
"Gluttony!"
"Whut?" She blinked her wide, innocent eyes up at him.
Pride slowly spread the fingers of his left hand. A shimmering ion blade extended from his fingertips.
"Take another bite, and guess what I'll do to you."
Her brother's smile didn't reach his eyes. Gluttony gulped audibly, forced a laugh, and said, "I can explain!"
"Really, big brother, let me explain!"
"The tiles attacked me first!"
"I'm serious!"
"Don't, !"
"Eeeeek!!"
Moments later, Gluttony's mouth was firmly sealed shut with crystal, her eyes glazed over as Pride dragged her off the square. Behind them, the chewed-up tiles were promptly replaced by new crystal flooring.
For this greedy little sister, Pride really did worry himself sick.
Before long, guided by the signs, Pride arrived at the registration stall for the Innovators' Grand Competition. Standing tall before the temporary booth, he slapped Duke's flyer down onto the desk.
"I want to compete."
"Uh…"
The staffer glanced from the flyer to the towering two-meter dragon-beast in front of her, then down at the mechanical serpent he was dragging along.
"This booth is for contestants. You… uh…"
The staffer hesitated, looking from Pride to the flyer. "You appear to be… a creation."
"Do the rules say creations can't compete?"
Pride leaned in, staring hard. Sweating, the staffer rifled through the regulations. No matter how she searched, she found nothing forbidding creations from registering themselves.
"Well… it doesn't say that, actually."
"Then is there a problem?"
"…No."
"Register me."
With a flick of his wrist, Pride shoved Gluttony forward, gripping her head. "Her too. She's signing up."
"Uh, I'll… need to ask for authorization."
The staffer quickly nudged her colleague to fetch help. Nothing like this had ever happened before.
A creation registering itself, dragging a companion along as well!
Normally, it was contestants who struggled to lug their inventions here. But these two had shown up on their own!
This was completely unprecedented.
Before the colleague could even leave, Professor Heimerdinger appeared at the booth with his Poro at his side.
"No need to fetch anyone. I'll handle this."
He waved the staffers aside, taking charge.
Why was Heimerdinger here? Simple: Pride and Gluttony had drawn attention across the entire Academy while walking through. Especially after Gluttony had eaten her way through the paving stones. Everyone knew these two weren't to be trifled with, and no one but Heimerdinger had the authority to deal with them.
"Hm…" Heimerdinger circled Gluttony, stroking his beard. "So Duke's created another pair of mechanical lifeforms. Fascinating."
"As for you two competing, was this Duke's command?"
"Father ordered us to compete and win the championship."
"Confident, aren't you?" Heimerdinger clasped his hands behind his back. "Well, since it's Duke's request, I'll make an exception."
"But, Professor, isn't that… against the rules?" one staffer whispered nervously, glancing at the dragon-beast and serpent.
"Young man," Heimerdinger replied, "this is the City of Progress. Here, the unreasonable happens every single day."
"As researchers, we must learn to break free from conventional thinking. Only then can true breakthroughs occur." He gestured toward Pride and Gluttony. "Remember, their father is a researcher who defied convention himself!"
"To achieve the extraordinary, you cannot cling to ordinary rules. Of course, one must still respect basic morality."
Just as Heimerdinger's lecture gained momentum, Pride cut him off flatly. "Shorty."
"…What?"
"Register us."
"Oh! Right, I nearly forgot. Come then, let me fill out the forms for you. You two don't exactly seem suited to paperwork."
"Let's start with you, big guy."
Heimerdinger settled into a chair with a quill pen in hand, beckoning Pride. "Don't be shy. Just give me some basic information. We've got plenty of time."
End of chapter....
🔹 Hexcore Initiate – 15 chapters ahead
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