Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 964: At The Race Track

Soon, Asher pulled up to the gate of the racing track, and in front of them stood a huge, imposing gate that rose impossibly high into the sky. Upon arriving, Asher and Arianna immediately used their abilities to disguise themselves. At the gate, a surge of an unknown force swept across the car for a brief moment as though scanning both the vehicle and its occupants.

The massive double gates slowly opened, allowing them to drive inside. Asher stepped on the throttle, and the engine rumbled like a beast announcing its arrival as he drove through the entrance. Both Asher and Arianna looked around them. The place was enormous, to say the very least, stretching far beyond what either of them had initially expected. After driving around for a short while, they eventually found a parking spot where they parked the car before stepping out.

They walked toward a direction where a group of young masters seemed to be gathered as they watched two people racing through a large heads-up display suspended in the air.

”This place is quite nice,” Arianna stated as she looked around. ”Although I’ve been to the Thalvorn Empire with my father and mother in the past, I’ve never been to a racing track or anything of the sort,” she said, taking in the lively atmosphere around her with quiet curiosity.

Asher looked around, his eyes shifting toward the bleachers as some people loudly cheered for the racers who had just finished their race.

”Well... the Inter-Empire Competition was what brought me to the Thalvorn Empire, so I guess you already know I’ve never been here either,” Asher spoke as they continued walking side by side.

The young masters noticed Asher and Arianna approaching and couldn’t help but glance in their direction. Young masters were, in a way, able to recognize one another simply through the way someone carried themselves. Their confidence, posture, mannerisms, and overall bearing often revealed whether someone belonged to the same social class. It was one of the methods they unconsciously used to determine who they could bully and who they absolutely shouldn’t provoke.

Not all trash nobles were as dumb as the youngest Zarik.

”It seems we’ve got some new faces here,” one of them spoke, a young man whose eyes settled on Arianna. Even though Arianna had disguised herself, she had still made herself almost as beautiful as she originally was, making it nearly impossible for others not to notice her.

Asher glanced at the young man but said nothing. Nevertheless, he was already prepared to put him in his place should he decide to make a foolish move.

”How come we’ve never seen them before? People as handsome and beautiful as the two of them are supposed to be well known, or at least known to a certain extent,” another person spoke, this time a young woman.

Asher and Arianna approached the group and greeted every one of them. There were eight of them in total, five men and three women, and they appeared to be waiting for two more people before beginning their own race, as they apparently didn’t want anyone below a ”certain standard” participating alongside them.

”I’m Logan, and this is...” Asher spoke, introducing himself with a fake name before gesturing toward Arianna, who immediately stepped forward and continued.

”I’m Tanya, Logan’s girlfriend,” Arianna said.

She had introduced herself as Asher’s girlfriend because she had noticed the looks these young masters were giving her. By establishing herself as someone who was already taken, she hoped they would at least back off and limit themselves to nothing more than the occasional glance from afar.

”So, it’s you guys’ first time here, I’m guessing,” Melinda stated as she walked together with the group of ten.

”Well, we’ve done almost everything the Thalvorn Empire has to offer, so we decided to finally try out racing. Some of our friends had been suggesting it to us for quite a while, but we never really bothered trying it until now,” Asher, or rather, Logan, explained as they walked toward the payment booth, where they were supposed to pay the entry fee for the race.

The second girl, Miracle, had already informed Asher and Arianna that they would be participating in a unique race instead of the normal, boring one... at least according to Miracle’s own words.

At the payment booth, Asher couldn’t believe the price he was told to pay for the unique race. One thousand platinum coins per participant meant that he and Arianna would have to pay a total of two thousand platinum coins. Even though he possessed an unlimited balance card, the amount still felt rather excessive to him. Nevertheless, his curiosity ultimately won over, and he paid without hesitation, eager to discover what kind of race could possibly justify such an outrageous entrance fee.

The staff member then led Asher, Arianna, and the remaining eight young masters toward the racing lanes where their assigned cars were already lined up in perfect formation.

As they walked, Asher turned toward Arianna and asked, ”So, did you bring the handkerchief I told you to bring?”

Arianna looked at him before smirking as a handkerchief suddenly appeared in her hand. She held it out toward him as she spoke, ”I brought it, but I brought it for you to use, not me.”

Seeing Asher make no attempt to take it, she simply tucked the handkerchief into the breast pocket of his shirt before lightly patting his chest. With a satisfied smile on her face, she turned around and walked away as though she had just won this round of their little exchange. Asher stared at the handkerchief for a brief moment before shaking his head with a helpless smile and making his way toward the car the staff member had assigned to him.

Asher opened the door, and resting on the driver’s seat was a neatly folded racing suit, which he immediately put on without hesitation. However, the very moment he finished putting it on, the system chimed.

[Ding]

[The Host’s Astra Energy has been sealed]

[The Host’s physical fitness has been reduced to the Kindlestar Life Rank]

Asher arched an eyebrow as he immediately realized that the racing suit was responsible. His head instinctively turned toward the other young masters, but none of them looked surprised in the slightest, clearly indicating they had already been aware of this feature. His purple eyes then shifted toward Arianna, who looked just as surprised as he was. Even so, she merely nodded in his direction before stepping into her own car.

After entering the car, Arianna searched through the glove compartment and the center console, hoping to find some information regarding the vehicle or this so-called unique race that sealed Astra Energy and suppressed one’s physique. Unfortunately, she found absolutely nothing.

She sighed before pressing the ignition button. The car instantly came to life, and the moment it did, a mechanical voice echoed throughout the cabin.

”Welcome to Blood Racing, dearest driver. As usual, I, your personal AI system, shall explain the car’s components and features, along with the race rules before the competition begins.”

Arianna was stunned for a brief moment before quickly focusing her attention on everything the AI had to say. It wasn’t exactly an advanced artificial intelligence capable of independent thought, but it was more than capable of handling basic explanations and assisting drivers throughout the race.

The entire process lasted only three minutes, and once the AI finished explaining the rules and every relevant feature to everyone inside their respective cars, the traffic lights positioned above the starting line illuminated with a brilliant red glow.

Everyone immediately revved their engines as their hands tightened around their steering wheels while the other rested firmly on the gear lever. Unlike most ordinary races, this one only permitted manual transmissions, leaving no room for automatic assistance.

Arianna glanced through her passenger-side window, her eyes landing on Asher. Sensing her gaze almost instantly, Asher turned his head and looked back at her. A smile slowly spread across her face as she raised her thumb before dragging it horizontally across her neck in an unmistakable gesture.

Asher simply responded with a confident smirk. The very moment he did, the traffic lights switched from red to yellow. The yellow lights blinked three times in rapid succession before instantly changing to green, signaling the official start of the race.