"Woohoo~!"
"Go go go! The first place is mine!"
"Thrilling!"
"..."
The majority of the flying race forged ahead, accompanied by howls, echoing far and wide, startling other students into hastily stepping aside.
These evasions only made them laugh more freely.
"Hahaha! This is great!"
"Where are those Law Enforcement Team dummies? Come and catch me quick!"
The first group flew incredibly fast, and soon they saw some people rising into the air, wearing Law Enforcement Team uniforms, rushing towards them.
They were not surprised.
The Law Enforcement Team wasn't just comprised of instructors; most were students doing it part-time, with the instructors managing them.
"Hahaha, these fools are only now getting up to intercept us."
"No rush, let's toy with them!"
"Anyone who gets caught will be laughed at all year!"
"..."
Everyone whizzed past, just about to pass through the activity zone when suddenly lightning-like beams appeared around them, rapidly merging into everyone's flying devices, leaving marks on them, sharply reducing their speed.
Someone's face changed dramatically: "Oh no! It's a Blocking Array!"
"The Law Enforcement Team set up a Blocking Array in advance?"
"And the Star Spirit Network Shielding Array too!"
"How did they know the route?"
"There's a mole!"
"Who said they'd laugh all year just now? Why aren't they laughing anymore?"
Up ahead, Law Enforcement Team Captain Regis and other members formed a semi-circle, blocking everyone, with others rising behind them to form a circle, intercepting all those flying too fast.
The racers' smiles didn't disappear; they just shifted to the faces of all the law enforcement officers.
Regis's lips even curved up, unable to be suppressed.
"Your speed exceeded 160, four times over the limit of 40, you're seriously overspeeding. Stop immediately, accept the punishment, and if you continue to resist, you'll be expelled on the spot!"
Everyone instantly became obedient.
What a joke, overspeeding at most gets you confined for introspection for three days, not worth courting bad luck.
Almost the entire flying race was intercepted, with only a few who didn't enter the array area, battling wits with law enforcement officers outside.
And... two leisurely competitors.
Hilia and the second-to-last competitor approached the law enforcement interception site not long after.
Seeing those students and teachers wearing Law Enforcement Team uniforms, Hilia's heart skipped, her face paled.
"They... all got caught by the Law Enforcement Team?"
The girl was dumbfounded; before the race seemed so impressive with various disguises, she didn't even think about being intercepted by the Law Enforcement Team.
But only a few minutes in, how did everyone get captured?
What about my Gold Coins?
No time to mourn for the Gold Coins, Hilia immediately thought of escaping.
Rose stopped her: "No need to run, just fly through normally."
"They..."
"Just listen to me."
The competitor ahead seemed to have anticipated it all along, diving headfirst into the circle.
Hilia followed closely.
Regis was directing law enforcement personnel to seize all the violating students' flying devices, seeing two students squeezing in, seemingly watching closely, he impatiently waved his hand.
"Spectators, go outside, don't come in and join the commotion, this is an enforcement zone."
Hilia and the competitor ahead rode their flying brooms, smoothly passing through the Law Enforcement Team's circle.
"See? You're not overspeeding, they won't trouble you."
"Uh..."
Feeling a bit...
What's the right expression now?
This underground race, full of flair, turned humorous as nearly all competitors got intercepted.
Passing through the enforcement zone, Hilia silently wondered: "Can I still get my Gold Coins back?"
"Don't worry about it, first go to the Tower of Diligence's top, see what's over there."
"Okay."
Just after passing the activity zone, the broom of the competitor ahead of Hilia spat out a tail flame, suddenly accelerating, flying quickly towards the finish line.
——
"Too easy!"
Nosen sat on the flying broom, glanced back at the competitor slowly following him.
"Pretty sharp, but what's the use of sharpness? The champion is ultimately mine!"
Yes, the slow-moving competitor ahead of Hilia is Nosen, Mier's brother.
Initially, he didn't plan to participate in the flying race, but when Mier decided to report the race, he changed his mind.
Instead of letting the organizers tragically take the money, why not enter the race and earn a pot of gold?
For Nosen, dozens of Gold Coins weren't much, but they weren't trivial either.
Even if in the end the organizers traced it back to Mier, it'd be his dear brother who gets punished, having nothing to do with him participating anonymously.
The plan seemed great, victory was close at hand, but just as he smiled, a gust suddenly flew past, accompanied by a long whistling "Ahhhh," almost causing him to lose control of the broom.
"What flew past?" Nosen was dumbfounded.
...
Divine Magic Academy, Holy Beast Forbidden Forest Area entrance, Professor Oston was sitting on a chair outside a small house, pouring himself a cup of calming Word Spirit Brew, gently blowing on the steam.
"I wonder if the kids had a flying race today? Youth is wonderful."
Oston looked to the sky, preparing to see if any flying race contestants would zoom by today.
After waiting a bit without seeing any, he picked up the Word Spirit Brew, ready to take a sip.
"Aah——!!!"
Suddenly, a gust from the sky knocked over his cup, spilling the brew everywhere.
Oston jumped up angrily, outraged: "Little rascal, don't let me find out who you are!"
——
"Ahhhhh... Too fast, Mr. Rose, stop quickly... I can't take it anymore... Ahhh..."
"Stop? What stop? A flying race without reaching three to four hundred yards, what's that? A hundred-yard flying race? Might as well be a ground chicken!"
Rose didn't spare Hilia, letting her experience the three hundred-yard wind; the flying broom's windproof capability couldn't completely counteract such strong speed, only slightly reducing the wind.
If her endurance wasn't limited, he would have let her experience subsonic speeds.
At such speeds, it didn't take long to reach the finish line, Hilia quickly approached the endpoint.
The tower named "Diligence" rose abruptly in the forest, standing alone atop a low mountain.
This was the northernmost point of Divine Magic Academy; further ahead was the border covered by the Protective Array.
Rose didn't directly reach the tower top, slowing down within a certain distance from the summit, allowing Hilia to ease into it.
It took three minutes for Hilia to calm down, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes; her hat was nowhere to be found, her smooth hair now messy.
"Next time, I'm not coming." The girl's eyes were filled with fear, her heart pounding.
Letting someone afraid of heights experience a three hundred-speed flight was really too much.
Hilia slowly landed on the tower top, finding a box there.
As she approached, the box and a wooden plaque license emitted faint light as if verifying, then the box opened.
Inside was a note.
[Congratulations on winning first place, please keep your certificate safe, proceed to Forbidden Forest Lake to claim your prize]