Chapter 72
“Ha….”
Ion let out a deep sigh, recalling how he ended up in such a situation.
Of course, the circumstances were clear. It was the earnest request from Doctor Brown, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, that led him to this moment.
‘I don’t want to.’
‘Please, just once! We’re not strangers, you and I!’
‘I don’t want to. And we’re not really close, are we.’
‘People can be so heartless! I wouldn’t even bleed if you pricked me with a needle!’
‘……’
In reality, I wouldn’t bleed even if I was pricked with a needle. The needle couldn’t pierce my skin.
Anyway, the reason I had no choice but to accept Doctor Brown’s request wasn’t just that he had persistently followed me for an hour, nagging me. It was because of the ‘thing’ he promised to give me if I demonstrated the test.
The compensation that Doctor Brown promised was so enticing that I couldn’t turn down the demonstration based on my personal feelings.
And when I actually laid eyes on the prototype, it looked quite impressive as well.
It felt oddly nostalgic, but…
I held onto the handle of the two-wheeled magical auto carriage—what they call a magic bike for short.
I couldn’t understand how a two-wheeled magical auto carriage came to be known as a bike, but since it was originally named by Philion Grand Empire, I just accepted it.
“Hmm…”
Doctor Brown’s request was simply this.
To push this machine to its limits.
I had to perform various extreme maneuvers, such as sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, and maximum-speed runs to test the mechanical limits. In such cases, ensuring the safety of the demonstrator is quite difficult, but it seemed like Doctor Brown believed I could escape unscathed in case of an emergency.
That was rather reassuring. I rode the airship without expecting it to burst, but this bike was meant to be treated like it would explode from the get-go, so it meant I could handle it carelessly.
Currently, I was in the flatlands outside Sangria.
With nothing around, it was a perfect place to race freely.
They said if I released the brakes and pulled the throttle, it would move forward…
I pulled the throttle with all my strength, and an incredible roar erupted from the engine of the magic bike.
-BROAAAAR!
With the sudden acceleration, I felt my body being thrust backward, and in an instant, I shot forward.
*
The people gathered in the lecture hall couldn’t take their eyes off the video on the screen.
The giant machine, composed of two wheels and reminiscent of a horse, appeared to rush forward rapidly before suddenly lifting its front wheel and riding solely on one wheel.
During sudden deceleration, the back wheel lifted, standing completely horizontal, teetering on the verge of falling over. Yet, Ion seemed to balance in that state and sped ahead with even greater velocity.
It dashed through the flatlands at a speed several times faster than a horse, and before long, Ion was heading directly towards the thick forest.
“Whoa!”
“It’s dangerous!”
Even in such a perilous situation, where a slight mistake could lead to a collision with trees, Ion refused to slow down and instead pressed himself against the machine to steer. With every turn, he narrowly avoided the trees, impressing everyone watching.
“Whoa…!”
“How can he do that?”
It was astonishing enough to see a machine running at such speed, but the incredible maneuverability and courage of the rider sparked admiration as well.
No matter how excellent the machine was, it seemed unlikely that anyone else could demonstrate the same level of control that this rider was showing.
Even now, the speed at which Ion was darting through the woods caused the Zegler, who was filming, to occasionally miss capturing the scene on camera.
Doctor Brown was likewise in awe.
With a childlike excitement, he clenched his fists and focused intently on the screen.
“Hehe! My instincts were right! Oh, is he doing that move? It keeps holding up even with such extreme maneuvers? Then we can skip the stability test! Great! Show us more, whew— cough!”
In his excitement at obtaining valuable experimental data, the doctor nearly let slip an inappropriate comment, but thankfully, no one noticed his slip-up.
Everyone was engrossed in the video footage.
The demonstration continued, approaching its climax. Ion seemed to think he had shown most of what he needed to and stopped performing stunts in the forest, instead accelerating to burst forth from the trees.
However, those watching were aghast. On the screen, it became clear that a cliff awaited Ion in his path.
In the end, Ion and the bike could not slow down and plummeted off the cliff.
“AAAAH!!”
“No! It’s dangerous!!”
Everyone gasped and focused intently on the screen. The only people who were not shocked were a few, including Marian, who knew the rider to be The Faceless Hero.
However, in the next moment, even they could not hide their shock.
As Ion leaped off the cliff, he sharply turned the machine’s handle, executing a 180-degree spin in mid-air and changing the angle of the fall. That new direction was toward the cliff wall.
As the throttle was pulled to its limit, the bike’s wheels touched the slope of the cliff. Soon, it began to slide swiftly along the sharp cliff face.
“Insane…”
“Is that even possible?”
Ion swiftly descended the cliff, using jutting rocks and stones as footholds. If he made even the slightest error, he might plummet to the depths below, yet Ion continued without hesitation, leaning his body and steering to keep the stunts going.
Everyone was left speechless by his extraordinary riding skills. Even mountain goats living in highlands couldn’t pull off such feats on a cliff.
Even Doctor Brown, despite supplying the bike, wondered if Ion had ridden before, momentarily doubting it. The performance was that remarkable for a first-time rider.
Finally, when Ion and the bike safely reached the bottom of the cliff, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause.
“Wow!”
“That’s insane! Truly insane!!”
“I thought my heart would drop, seriously!!”
It was at that moment that Ion removed the goggles covering his face.
Marian, who had recognized Ion from his hair and facial features earlier, was not overly surprised, but Gwen, who stood beside her, finally recognized him and seemed stunned.
“Uh? Instructor?”
However, it wasn’t just Gwen who was shocked among the students in the lecture hall.
Almost half of the students who had been cheering suddenly stopped, holding their breath. All of them were girls.
Ion had only shown his face at the entrance ceremony. Yet that event had been chaotic, with over a thousand new students present, and hardly any returning students had attended.
Thus, this was practically the first time for the upperclassmen to see Ion’s face properly.
“I-Ion Instructor—!? Ugh!”
“AAAAH!!”
“What’s happening!?”
“Senior Rozé suddenly collapsed!”
Fourth-year Diamond White student Rozé von Kruger suddenly complained of difficulty breathing and lost consciousness.
Other girls had different situations but showed similar reactions. Some students stared blankly at the screen, while others simply murmured in awe.
The boys were ecstatic over Doctor Brown’s new machine and the thrilling ride, while the girls were excited for entirely different reasons during the demonstration.
“What is this…?”
In any case, Marian had no choice but to acknowledge that Doctor Brown’s lecture had been extremely successful.
*
After finishing the short demonstration.
I had to accept it. The demonstration was quite enjoyable.
The bike’s maximum speed was comparable to the maximum speed I could achieve running. However, running and riding a bike felt entirely different, and as I breezed through the forest, I even found it refreshing.
In the end, I even jumped off a cliff to push the machine as hard as possible, yet the bike withstood that too.
Ultimately, I had to admit that Doctor Brown’s prototype was quite an impressive piece of equipment.
Having something like this would definitely make movement much easier, and just as I was thinking that, a communication call came through my communication device, which I had tucked in my pocket.
The sender, of course, was Doctor Brown.
[Hehe! You did an excellent job! Thanks to you, I was able to collect quite a bit of useful experimental data!]
“How was the lecture?”
[It was a huge success! Absolutely perfect! It seems not just the students but the sponsors are satisfied as well. Based on the data we gathered because of you, we might be able to showcase the bike to the general market along with the airship by next year!]
“I’m glad to hear that. Where should I return this?”
[Huh? Ah, the prototype? Hmm….]
After a very brief moment of contemplation, Doctor Brown cheerfully replied.
[Just keep it for yourself.]
“Is that really okay?”
[It was designed knowing it would break from the start. But since it didn’t break, that must be some kind of fate. Plus, you showed a much more impressive performance than I expected, so I’ll consider it a reward.]
I nodded slightly and said, “If you say so, then I gratefully accept.”
[Hehe! Once again, it proves that my design skills are the best in the continent. If you need something next time, just contact me!]
“…”
I hoped there wouldn’t be another request.
Anyway, by fulfilling this one request, I secured the bike along with whatever I would receive later.
At this point, it seemed like a reasonably worthwhile use of time.
I turned the handle toward the capital city and pulled the throttle with all my might.
Soon, the bike began to race toward the capital.
