[Demon King's Aura (Flash): All opponents' stamina and stats decreased!]
[Demon King's Domain (ZONE): Forcibly affects all opponents' mental state!]
This is unbearable!
The Demon King's skills made Rice Shower experience unprecedented agony.
Her entire body felt crushed by a hundredfold gravity. The grass seemed to transform into muddy terrain, making it impossible to run properly.
So this is Gold Ship-neesan's power.
No—this wasn't even Gold Ship-neesan's full strength.
Rice Shower knew perfectly well that this skill combination was merely what Gold Ship-neesan used to toy with opponents.
Gold Ship-neesan's true power wasn't this kind of technique—it was that explosive force capable of transcending limits.
She was completely outmatched.
Against blocking skills of this caliber, Rice Shower couldn't even accelerate.
Though she'd known from the start she couldn't win, it was only after the race began that Rice Shower understood what a truly overwhelming difference in power meant.
Forget competing with McQueen-neesan, the strongest among them—right now she couldn't even break through Gold Ship-neesan's barrier.
The spectators had also realized this.
Rice Shower, trailing behind, was simply not on the same level as the three ahead. For a moment, they couldn't understand why Rice Shower was even allowed to participate.
"So this is the Rice Shower from another world?"
"They're not even in the same league."
"Even using this world's [Rice Shower]'s body, this overwhelming gap..."
Seeing such a massive disparity, even [Rice Shower]'s friends no longer believed she had any hope of contending with those three.
By the first section of the track, Mejiro McQueen was far in the lead.
Tokai Teio was second, Gold Ship third.
Rice Shower had already been left far behind.
[Mejiro McQueen] spoke as if stating the obvious: "A completely expected result."
"What are you looking so smug about? It's not like you're the one racing," [Tokai Teio] retorted.
[Mejiro McQueen] shot [Tokai Teio] a self-satisfied look but said nothing. Her expression said it all.
[Tokai Teio] couldn't help but clench her fist.
Damn it! Just because another me lost to another you doesn't mean I'll lose to you!
Just you wait, [McQueen]. I will defeat you in your own domain!
Is it coming? That unprecedented ZONE?!
Only Symboli Rudolf and a few others who knew some insider information hadn't jumped to conclusions yet.
If what Mejiro McQueen said yesterday was true, then this Rice Shower from another world was far from as simple as she appeared now.
A ZONE that could permanently steal an opponent's power—the upper limit of such an ability was immeasurable.
Back in the race.
The three ahead had intentionally slowed down, waiting for Rice Shower to catch up.
But even so, Rice Shower's current ability wasn't enough to match their pace.
The Demon King thought expressionlessly: Still not going to use it, I see.
Under the suppression of her skills, Rice Shower still clung to this meaningless conviction.
This girl was truly stubborn about the most pointless things—laughably so.
But if this continued, she would drown along with that pointless ideal of hers!
Don't ignore your own instincts, you fool!
Rice Shower was also hesitating. Gold Ship and Tokai Teio's earlier words flashed through her mind.
Should I really use it?
That dangerous power.
Can I really control this power?
But without power, survival was impossible.
To survive this race, she needed to obtain tremendous strength.
The kind of power that could instantly propel her across several tiers and catch up to her opponents!
And the only thing capable of that—
Was [Fusion]!
Only this power from [The Overlord]!
"Your current way of thinking is meaningless!"
"The key isn't the power—it's you!"
"First think about how to survive this race!"
Aren't you afraid?
You're the ones being stolen from!
Not wanting to become a villain—what was wrong with that?
But—
If this was what it took to survive in this world...
Then even so, Rice Shower wanted to struggle and live!
The pitch-black aura bloomed across Rice Shower's body!
That tremendous power was even capable of directly devouring the Demon King's blocking skills.
Oh? You can even do something like that? You truly possess an extraordinary power!
An excited smile curved up the Demon King's lips. Feeling that chill from behind, she felt no fear whatsoever—only her blood running hot.
Yes, this was it!
This tension and exhilaration!
This was a true race, a true battle!
Show this great one, then—the power of Fusion!
Flames ignited in Rice Shower's eyes, now stained pitch-black—
[Fusion] activated!
That terrifying aura made many spectators' hearts skip a beat.
The uma musume who had already awakened their ZONEs felt it even more intensely—that boundless darkness seemed ready to swallow them whole.
In an instant, the Demon King felt herself being absorbed by a black hole.
By the time she regained awareness, part of her power had already been stolen.
Feeling her strength regressing and the skills that had vanished, the Demon King's expression remained unchanged.
Slightly beyond my expectations. So it's forced plundering that ignores conditions entirely—even skills I haven't used in this race were taken.
What tremendous power.
That's what she thought, but the smile on the Demon King's face only grew more exhilarated.
Because that's how it should be. If it couldn't accomplish at least this much, it would be disappointing.
Very well then—I'll let you have this moment of glory as a reward for your effort.
The Demon King's speed began to drop while Rice Shower's began to rise. The two quickly exchanged positions.
Meanwhile, Rice Shower, having just used [Fusion], felt the new power flowing through her. Though she sensed guilt, there was also some excitement.
Because with this power, she could survive this race.
At that moment, Tokai Teio ahead of her furrowed her brow.
That Demon King was taken down so easily? No—she did it on purpose.
She refused to believe the Demon King could be defeated that easily, even with Rice Shower using [Fusion].
Besides, even if the Demon King fell to last place now, it didn't matter much—that position was where the Demon King excelled most.
Still, this was quite something. Just moments ago Rice Shower couldn't keep up with the race at all, yet now she could follow them. So this was the power of [Fusion]?
No wonder Rice Shower feared this power so much. If not controlled properly, it could truly lead the wielder into an abyss.
After all, the rate of growth was simply too fast. No effort required—just plunder opponents' power during races, and one could rise to the peak without any bottleneck.
Really now. Tokai Teio had thought McQueen's ZONE was already outrageous enough, yet Rice Shower's ZONE was equally absurd.
In comparison, her own prized techniques seemed somewhat inferior before these two.
But it still wasn't enough.
[Fusion]'s potential now appeared limitless, but surviving this race required more!
Show me then, Rice Shower.
A golden light flashed beneath Tokai Teio's feet.
[Professor of the Arc (Gold): Turn speed increased!]
Almost simultaneously, Mejiro McQueen ahead also increased her speed.
Just as Rice Shower had relaxed for a moment, these two accelerated again and left her behind.
So what will you do now, Rice Shower? [Fusion]'s power is certainly formidable, but now you understand, don't you? No matter how strong a power is, it depends on the wielder!
[Fusion]'s effects were powerful, but strictly speaking, this power needed to grow.
Having only just used [Fusion] for the first time, Rice Shower couldn't yet reach the realm where they stood. Even the Demon King had lost on purpose.
Moreover, if Tokai Teio's guess was correct, [Fusion]'s forced effect probably had the same limitation as her own ZONE—usable only once per race.
Seeing this, Rice Shower suppressed the urge to immediately use more skills. She recalled an operation [The Overlord] had once employed.
Though she had gained part of the Demon King's power through [Fusion], a massive gap still remained between her and the two ahead.
Setting aside skill panels, even the attribute gap was enormous. After all, she was currently using [Rice Shower]'s body.
Even if [Fusion] could plunder attributes, there was a limit—it couldn't steal all of an opponent's attributes.
Ultimately, [Fusion]'s greatest strength was its ability to forcibly steal skills including ZONEs. Attribute plundering was merely a minor side effect.
To improve attributes through [Fusion], one would need to do as [The Overlord] had done—spend years in the training simulation mode, constantly participating in races to plunder opponents' attributes.
Rice Shower certainly couldn't do that now, nor would she.
So at this moment, to catch up to her opponents, she could only consider the second type of power.
Skill Fusion!
Can I do it too?
No—she had to do it.
[Looming Shadow (Gold)]
[Professor of the Arc (Gold)]
[Corner Sommelier (Gold)]
Fusion!
[Beyond-Limit Curve Mastery (Flash): Maximum speed increase during turns, maximum acceleration increase!]
The pitch-black aura churned violently. A sound like rumbling earth resonated in everyone's minds.
Almost instantly, Rice Shower's speed exploded upward like a rocket!
What is this?!
Both Tokai Teio and the Demon King shared the spectators' shock at the skill Rice Shower had just unleashed.
Did [Fusion] have more than just the plundering aspect?!
Being able to fuse multiple skills into entirely new power—this ability was completely broken.
This isn't good. I'm actually starting to feel like getting serious.
Tokai Teio had to admit that Rice Shower's move had genuinely made her feel threatened.
[Fusion]'s first effect, no matter how unreasonable, was limited to one use per race.
But this second effect seemed similar to McQueen's ability to maintain skill states.
In other words, as long as the body could handle it, skills could be fused without limit?
Impressive. Truly impressive.
Rice Shower, you really are remarkable.
But there's still a gap!
Tokai Teio and Rice Shower's voices rang out simultaneously in their hearts.
Even using skill fusion to forcibly bridge the attribute gap, this only allowed her to barely keep up. Once the skill effects wore off, she'd be knocked back to square one.
Not enough. Still not enough.
[The Overlord]'s power alone wasn't enough to contend with these three!
If it's just [Fusion]—
A fierce determination drove Rice Shower to act instinctively.
She released her own state.
The Demon King behind her immediately sensed her missing portion of power returning. She looked questioningly at Rice Shower ahead.
Had she given up?
No, that wasn't it.
That was a brand new power equation!
[Fusion Release]
In an instant, Rice Shower's aura weakened.
But her gaze remained unchanged, and the skill effects on her body didn't disappear due to the Fusion Release—already-activated skill effects wouldn't vanish because of it.
Almost in the same instant, [Fusion]'s pitch-black aura surged across Rice Shower once again.
If using only [The Overlord]'s power wasn't enough, then she would use the power beyond it!
[Re-Fusion]!
Ignoring her opponent's will, the forceful dark power was released once more.
Tokai Teio felt herself being pulled into a black hole. By the time she regained awareness, her attributes had dropped an entire tier, and most of her skills had been taken.
But none of that mattered. What shocked her now was Rice Shower's operation.
What even was [Re-Fusion]?
Being able to use an active skill multiple times—she had never heard of such a thing!
So this is your true power, Rice Shower.
Tokai Teio's expression turned serious.
At this point, there was probably no way to continue holding back.
Never mind the coaching aspect of losing to Rice Shower—she absolutely refused to lose to that one in the back!
Hahaha! Looks like you're going to lose again today, clown!
The Demon King felt her power returning to her body. Though somewhat surprised that her skill cooldown had been reset, she unhesitatingly used her blocking skill for a second time.
After being hit, Tokai Teio's expression turned extremely ugly.
Fusion Release has this kind of side effect too?
Compared to Tokai Teio, who'd been hit again—
Mejiro McQueen remained unaffected by blocking skills as always.
And Rice Shower simply devoured the blocking skill's effect with [Fusion].
The race had passed its halfway point.
Still in the lead was Mejiro McQueen.
Second was Rice Shower.
Third, Tokai Teio was losing speed. Fourth, Gold Ship was making her charge.
...
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