A Day at the Races

“How are you still faster than me?” John panted, following his girlfriend through the forest that bordered Springfield. “We were so close in Agility before we started grinding. Now you’re like twice as fast as me.” John had decided to spend his two perk points on Parkour and Stellar Witness, so now he swung through the trees. Jenny had done quite a bit of freerunning with Joan, so that along with her substantial Agility allowed her to gracefully make her way from treetop to treetop.

“You put points into Strength, I… don’t have weird powers that let me gain muscle at the press of a button,” Jenny replied, swinging off a tree limb overhead and landing roughly on another. It couldn’t support her weight, and she would’ve fallen… if not for John holding the branch up from below with Mana Constructs emitting from his hands like stilts. “I’m way better at this in the city! I wish you could just make barriers there.”

“And get murdered by a necromancer or arrested for no good reason by the Order? Doesn’t sound too productive,” John retorted as Jenny got down from the branch.

“I totally had that!” Jenny pouted, immediately recovering and getting her bass out of its case. “We’re out far enough, right?”

“I guess so,” John responded, pulling up his GPS. We’re over a mile out by now, so it’ll probably be fine anyway.

“Alright, you haven’t seen my new barrier menu yet, have you?” John asked, activating his Create Barrier skill.

Are you choosing to recreate a barrier you have previously made or overwritten?
[Yes]/[No]

You have selected [No].

Population
Populated? [Y]/[N]

You have selected [Y].

Population Options
Populated by hostiles? [Y]/[N]
Population related to scenery? [Y]/[N]

You have selected yes to both.

Choose type of hostile barrier
Combat?
Trap?
Prison?

You have selected Combat.

Choose Barrier Mode
Search and Destroy?
Diplomacy?
Base Defense?
Escort?
Race?
War?
Elimination?

Glancing at Jenny, and thinking about what they talked about on the way here, John selected Race.

You have selected Race.

Scenery
Mirror type?
Random type?
Consume an item?

You have selected Random type.

Time dilation: (Min -44%) [-]/[+] (Max 44%)
Size dilation (inside)? (Min -33%) [-]/[+] (Max 33%)
Size dilation (outside): (Min -33%) [-]/[+] (Max 33%)

You have selected maximum positive time dilation. Time flows faster in the barrier. You have selected maximum negative size dilation (outside) and maximum positive size dilation (inside).

“You know, if everybody got that much better at making barriers just by doing it over and over, Fateweavers would be way less valuable,” Jenny commented, eyeing the menu. Her eyes glossed over the menu, and John hid the mode from her before she could see what he had picked. Together, they entered the barrier.

Immediately, the smell of wet asphalt assaulted them. John opened his eyes and saw a pop-up and, more pressingly, a crowd of abyssal people of all kinds (though mostly halflings) rushing by. They were followed by four dark elves on motorcycles. The dark elves were followed by five cars. First came a classic ‘69 Ford Mustang muscle car with the engine modification sticking out of the hood. Its cherry red finish reflected the moonlight as if it were day. It led, but after it followed three flaming Firebirds in a miniature v-formation. Sputtering behind the Firebirds came a beat up silvery DeLorean that lit up the night with millions of lumens in its headlights. The last racer, like them, didn’t have a car. He moved as a blur past them, though John could’ve sworn he saw a flash of a smile as he went by.

Barrier Quest: Wacky Races
Objective: Complete the race in the top four.
Rewards: +2,000 XP, $1,500, 2 Skill Points
Optional Objective 1: Finish in 1st place.
Rewards: +2,500 XP, $2,000, 1 Skill Evolution Point
Optional Objective 2: Finish in 2nd place.
Rewards: +1,500 XP, $1,000, 1 Perk Point
Optional Objective 3: Finish in 3rd place.
Rewards: +1,000 XP, $500
Optional Objective 4: Knock out three other racers.
Rewards: One skill from a knocked out racer, +1 Skill Point

Three floating rules hung in the air, glowing an electric yellow. They zapped and fizzed.

1. No firearms or explosives of any kind. No ranged weapons of any kind. No exceptions.
2. You must finish the race in the vehicle (or lack thereof) you started in.
3. Any racers whose vehicles are eliminated can still affect the race but cannot finish.

“Racers! Take your places!” Immediately, the ten vehicles were lined up in two rows of five behind what had to be the starting line, with the motorcycles in the back. The racer without a vehicle stood tall in front.

“Jenny, we don’t have a car.” John exclaimed, feeling pumped immediately upon hearing the announcer’s voice.

“Alright, you’re going to give one of the biker girls all you’ve got with a blast, we’ll take her bike and win this thing!” she replied, putting her bass in its case and taking out a shiny black helmet. “My Dad used to take me out riding before he got sick. His bike is still at the house. I’ve only taken it out once or twice, and I don’t have a license, but how hard can it be?”

“Alright, let’s do it,” John said, preparing a Mana Bolt in each hand. He let each charge with one hundred of his mana as the announcer belted out.

“3… 2… 1… Go! Go! Go!”

John immediately fired both at the dark elf that rode in the back. She fell off her motorcycle as the others surged forward, and Jenny was already on top of it. John noticed the elf getting back up, so he cast Magic Rope and wrapped it entirely around her body. “Sorry about this.”

Vaulting into the seat with the rapier the elf had prepared to stab Jenny with, he equipped his duster as she gunned it forward.

“The racers are off! In front as usual happens to be The Blur. Hot on his heels are the Phoenixes. Behind their gang is Doc Brown, though it beats me how his car is holding together. The Muscle MAAAAN trails behind. Looks like the Nightsisters are giving him some trouble. They’re trying to get through his wheels but his wheels JUST. WON’T. QUIT. In last off to a bumpy start are our mystery racers on a stolen motorcycle. Let’s see what happens when The Blur sprints into the first obstacle. The NON-NEWTONIAN ROAD!” The Announcer’s voice echoed through the entire barrier, though he was nowhere to be seen. John and Jenny raced around the corner to see the muscle car from before being harassed by the three remaining elves.

The supposed “Nightsisters” had all taken out their rapiers, though now they had lengthened and looked like spears. They each took turns stinging at the left back tire while the “Muscle Man” sat at the wheel as if nothing was happening.

“This is great! The wind blowing past us! The competition! I love it!” John exclaimed, tossing a Mana Bolt toward the closest Nightsister. A futile effort as, due to their high speed, it barely inched forward in front of the bike.

“That’s the spirit, Johnny! Take the driver’s seat for a second! I’m gonna grab my bass!” Jenny told him as they drew closer to the Nightsisters.

“What!? You know I’ve never-” John began but was interrupted as Jenny moved behind him, hanging on to the edge of the bike as it started to slow down.

“Go on!” Jenny said, kicking him squarely in the ass. “Pump that throttle!” He was pushed forward into the driver’s seat, and he did as he was told. Immediately they began to shoot forward again. “Man, these things have amazing balance. Think we can take it out with us?” Jenny asked as she took out her bass.

“Actually? Maybe,” John called back over the rushing wind. He noticed that one of the elves began an incantation, and the muscle car in front of them started to freeze over. Mana Bolt might be too slow, but Disrupting Blast? John thought and sent a blast over, instantly thawing their fellow racer’s red ride and bringing the elves’ attention to them.