The Alps, uninhabited area.
On this snowy mountain, where almost no one had ever set foot, several Fusion Soldiers and Herrschers were currently warming up, eagerly preparing for a race.
A total of eight people were participating in this ski race: Fu Li, Pardo, Seele, Destoria, Sakura, Hua, Elysia, and Kosma.
Originally, Kalpas had no intention of participating in such an activity, but after Fu Li said, "You're not scared, are you?" he easily fell for the taunt and started clamoring to join the competition.
The role of referee was filled by Eden, while Aponia was in charge of watching Griseo and Rin to keep them from running off, lest wild animals like wolves encounter them and end up getting captured and bullied.
As for Mobius and Klein, they had put down their computers and taken out controllers to operate drones, recording and live-streaming the entire event.
"Alright, are all the contestants ready?"
A heavenly voice echoed across the snowfield. Hearing it, everyone got into their skiing stances.
"We're ready! Sister Eden! Let's start!"
Although the path ahead of them was dense with pine trees and branches, for them, this level of difficulty posed no threat whatsoever.
Hearing Pardo's words, Eden nodded. She then drew a pistol from her waist and aimed it at the sky.
"Good. Then, before the race begins, I will repeat the one and only rule: all participants are forbidden from using their own abilities. Beyond that, there are no rules."
"Please remember this. The race is about to begin! On your marks! Three... two... one...!"
As the countdown began, everyone fell silent, crouching down slightly to prepare for the start.
The countdown ended. Following the sound of Eden's gunshot, Kalpas was the first to bend down and charge forward, throwing a taunt at Fu Li as he went:
"Heh, Li! You better watch this! I will definitely beat you in skiing!"
"Heh, Kalpas, don't speak too soon!"
As the race began, all the contestants gave it their all. On the men's side, Kalpas and Fu Li were constantly going back and forth, neither willing to give an inch.
As for the women's side, Sakura, Hua, and Elysia were all outstanding warriors, so their speed was no less than that of Kalpas and Fu Li.
Seele and Destoria, on the other hand—one a homebody and the other a psionic-type Fusion Soldier—could only trail behind in a competition that relied on pure technical skill.
As for Pardo, not long after the race began, she darted into a side path, leaving only the faint sound of her snowboard gliding away.
"Hey, Pardo, why don't you let me take control of the body? Your speed is so slow."
"Huff... huff... stop fooling around. Have you ever snowboarded before?"
"Of course. I'm a Herrscher. I just have to use a little trick."
"Absolutely not. This is a competition."
Hearing Black Pardo's voice, Pardo snorted coldly and refused to cheat.
Although she really wanted the mysterious grand prize that Fu Li had prepared, she wouldn't resort to such petty tricks.
"Fine, fine." Black Pardo's voice sounded a bit helpless, but when she thought about the preparations she had made, she felt at ease.
A mysterious prize is nothing compared to what I'm about to do.
As time went on, the race became more and more heated. In the end, it had become a chase between Kalpas, Fu Li, and Elysia.
"Whew, Kalpas, Li, you two really don't know how to be gentlemen to a lady."
"Come on, Elysia, this is a competition."
"Hmph. Women. Useless!"
"Oh my, as expected, boys are just so rough." Elysia chuckled. Though her words were teasing, her movements didn't slow in the slightest.
"But that's alright. I'm very magnanimous, so of course, I'll forgive you. However... I'll be gratefully accepting this championship."
Saying this, Elysia's feet suddenly accelerated. After pulling into the lead, she casually scooped up some snow from the leaves of a nearby tree, packed it into small snowballs, and threw them at the two behind her.
And thus, the first person to interfere with their competitors in this race had appeared.
While it seemed a bit despicable, in this no-rules ski race, it was completely permissible.
"Damn you!! E-LY-SI-A!!!"
Kalpas, who was caught off guard and got a mouthful of snow, instantly flew into a rage. He quickly bent down, scooped up snow from the ground, and began hurling snowballs indiscriminately at the other two.
"Whoa, you two are really something else. Sigh, if you're going to be like that, then don't blame me for fighting back!"
Dodging a snowball aimed at him, Fu Li also felt a surge of excitement. He unhesitatingly joined in, rolling up snowballs and throwing them back at the other two.
In an instant, what was originally an ordinary ski race had transformed into a violent skiing competition.
These were, after all, snowballs thrown by Fusion Soldiers. Each one could be said to be as fast as lightning, whistling through the air with a sound that forced the three of them to dodge one another, greatly slowing their speed.
This scene was transmitted via drone back to the base camp. Watching the three of them in their chaotic state, even Mobius couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh out loud.
The price of this entertainment, however, was that three or four drones had already been hit by stray snowballs and were now in a semi-scrapped state. But for them, it wasn't a big problem.
As long as they were returned to the 'expert,' Vill-V, she would surely be able to fix them quickly.
As the race neared its end, when Sakura and Hua caught up to the three who were having a snowball fight, they were almost inevitably drawn into the battle as well.
And with the increase in numbers, the event had almost completely devolved from a ski race into a snowball fight competition by the end.
Finally, when the group arrived at the finish line, covered in snow and stumbling over, what they saw was Pardo, holding her hands up and waving at them.
"Wow! Li! And Sister Ely and Hua, what happened to you all?"
"Hah... that's a long story."
Seeing the panting group, Pardo, with a look of feigned confusion, went to each of them to offer water. Then she stood behind Li, thoughtfully brushing the snow off his back.
Everyone recovered quickly. After only a few minutes, they were more or less back to normal.
And Pardo, of course, now understood what all the commotion behind her was about while she was quietly taking the shortcut.
But in the end, the winner of this race was still Pardo.
"Hah, this reminds me of a story," Elysia said, stretching lazily. It was easy to see that the girl's mood hadn't soured from losing the race.
Hearing this, Pardo asked curiously, "Hm? What story are you talking about, Sister Ely?"
"Mmm, I remember... I think it was called 'The Tortoise and the Hare.'" Elysia blinked, her tone carrying a deep meaning. "This story is a reminder that people often fail due to carelessness, caused by pride or the belief that victory is already in their grasp."