Birth Of The Crafts-God

While remodeling the Juggernaut, Lucas suddenly had an idea.

'System, what do you think Callus' position would be at the end of the race?'

Lucas suddenly asked.

"The system has no interest in predicting such events as it isn't related to the growth of the host."

'Oh? How about we include a wager? You can make it like a system mission. In a way, it's related to my efforts as the Crafts-god successor. So, how about it, ten system coins on the line?'

The system didn't reply, seemingly considering Lucas' proposal.

Suddenly, a notification popped up in front of Lucas.

It was a system mission but a bit different. The contents stated that the Juggernaut had to place above 15th place with a reward of ten system coins. If it placed less, then it would be a penalty of ten system coins.

'Heh.' Lucas smirked.

Logically, he shouldn't have brought up this challenge. The system could read Lucas' mind and it was aware of his capabilities. Together with its analytical abilities, it was sure to be able to get an accurate depiction of the Juggernaut's prowess and Callus' abilities. Using these information, it should be able to calculate his odds at winning and the highest of them.

From this, it was sure that the system's estimate was one with at least an eighty percent chance of occuring. In other words, Lucas had a mere twenty percent chance. What's more, he had to ensure that Callus placed higher and not lower.

'Even though the system's calculations are more likely, human error is a thing. Oh, it should be hyuman error.'

Lucas smirked.

. . .

The next day arrived soon and so did the second drift race for the K1 drift racing league. As always, the fervour from the audience was high and there were many spectators present for this once-in-a-week event. The stands were already occupied and the host was warming up the audience for the event as the teams got ready.

The K1 drift racing gave ten free entrance slots to teams participating in the race. Being members of the Black Star racing team, Lucas and the others were covered by this privilege.

Since the Black Star team was only made of eight men, there were still two open slots. One of them was given to a member of the team who wanted to have his spouse come over. After much deliberation, the second slot was given to Lucas.

One reason for this was because Lucas alongside Havos were the minds behind the astonishing changes the team had made to the Juggernaut. The second reason was that Havos didn't need it so the free slot fell onto Lucas who had Melissa come over.

The location of the second race of the month, and the tournament, was not in the K1 drift racing arena as with the previous race. Instead, it was at a track called the Cayern Windway. Unlike the K1 stadium's track, the Cayern Windway was one of the few tracks with significant risk.

This was exactly how the K1 drift racing league operated as an unofficial league. Of the four races per month, at least two involved a significant amount of risk. The race for the day happened to be one of those two.

Unlike other tracks, Cayern Windway was filled with dangers and risks, most notably the wind, which blew at a speed of 90km/hr (56 mph). Whether it was the tough winds, outrageous bends, or narrow roads, these were the least worries on the track.

The true danger of the Cayern Windway lay within the man-made threats within. Apart from the typical obstructions set up on the track, there were also fixed regions where the drivers would come under attack. That's right, midway through driving, they would be attacked by fixed machines.
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Although the power of these weapons and drones can't even be compared to a Grade 1 vestige, it could still impede the drivers. In some cases, they could cause severe danger especially since the track was already dangerous. This was one of the reasons the K1 drift racing league was an unofficial league; the dangers involved weren't tolerated in official leagues.

Vestige-smiths of each team would be on the weapons, setups and natural characteristics of each track for the season. Although it wasn't a detailed report, it was still enough to help them in developing proper protection for the racing shuttles. But in the end, the driver's skill was important.

"Host please be remember your duty as the manager of the store." The system's voice sounded in Lucas' ears at this time.

The previous day, the shop was closed and the same was so today. Hence, the system saw the need to remind Lucas of his task.

"I haven't forgotten. If anything, it's always been on my mind. You can read my thoughts so you should have known that." Lucas who stood with his arms folded replied to the system as he stared out the entrance.

He was located in a special building meant for the teams of the drivers. The building was erected along the race track, giving teammates the ability to react to emergencies on the track and aid their drivers. It was essentially the same as a pit-stop [1] back on Earth.

As for Lucas' plans with drift racing, he originally wanted to develop a team of his own and contest. However, after recalling his experience in Baylands city-state, Lucas decided to be more low-key. Working under a team was much better, but it would still be difficult for him to represent his store and make it standout. As a result, Lucas began to have different ideas.

He heard that ten percent of stocks in the team was still open. Originally, Luka had reserved that for Havos, but the latter refused it saying his master wouldn't be pleased he had his hands in the unofficial drift racing business.

Lucas was currently aiming for those stocks as well as sponsorship rights for the team. He could see that some of the racing shuttles present had a company logo or two painted on them. These companies were the ones either backing or sponsoring the teams. But the Black Star team didn't have any such sponsors

Now that it was still underrated, Lucas wanted to seize the opportunity. But that would be for later on.

"They're about to start." One of the members of the crew said.

There was a display screen in the room that showed the official broadcast of the race. There was also another display screen by the side, but it wasn't the official broadcast. It only focused on the Black Star's driver who was Callus, aka Joker. A similar display screen was in the other pit-stops, but they solely focused on the drivers of each individual team.

On the track was an assortment of racing shuttles, numbering thirty. There were all sorts of models, colours, shapes, sizes and densities, all made according to the research of the lead designer of each team. Even though the shuttles were merely stationary, they gave off an intimidating feeling to the public.

The half a minute countdown had already begun a while ago but there was still ten seconds left on the clock.

'The current top speed of the Juggernaut can reach up to 442 km/hr and maintain that for at least two hours. However, the wind speeds here are up to 90 km/hr. The Juggernaut would have to consume more power to accelerate in this area. Luckily, there's almost no need to reach top speed because of the curves.' Lucas thought as the count down was left with only three seconds on the clock.

"3!"

The crowd chanted alongside the announcer.

"2!"

"1!"

"Fiewwww"

"Vooom"

"Whoosh"

The variety of shuttles abruptly zoomed off, producing a cacophony of sounds as they pierced through the air.

Although they didn't break the sound barrier, the shuttles could still accelerate up to at least 120 km/hr (74.56 mph) in 0.8 seconds. The more powerful engines could reach 150 km/hr (93.2 mph) in the same time and achieve a top speed of 450 km/hr in six seconds.

"The drivers are out!" The announcer declared.

However, the shuttles had already flown far away before he had finished his sentence, a testament to the insane speed they moved at.

The strong winds blew at the vehicles, but it wasn't such a problem for them. They didn't even need to activate their light shields and the wind wasn't much of a threat to the racing shuttles.

At the moment, there were four ranks to the racing shuttles. Those behind made up one rank, and they were the ones most likely to sit at the bottom of the table. The next rank was those about two kilometre away. They had the second largest numbers and the gap between the drivers in this rank wasn't much.

Right after the second rank was the third rank, which had a gap of four kilometres from the second rank. This rank had the largest number of drivers and a lot of famous ones, but they still weren't at the lead. However, some of them did possess the ability to challenge those ahead.

The final rank were six drivers who took the lead in the race and maintained a one kilometre gap from the seventh place, who was in the second rank. Not all the drivers here were at the top of the table, as some of them had only come this far because their racing shuttles were superior in linear acceleration and motion.

"The first hindrance to our dear drivers would be the valley's teeth. Let's see how they get around it and who comes out on top." The announcer said.

The valley's teeth was a path on the Cayern Windway that spanned over two hundred kilometres. Just as its name suggested, it was a valley, but it had a few jugged rocks that protruded from the ground, appearing like teeth when viewed from an angle above. This was the origin of the name, valley's teeth.

The existence of the 'teeth' eliminated the advantage of certain racing shuttles that pursued superiority in linear acceleration. As such, it was very likely that the current top six would be reshuffled.