This Text Adventure Game is definitely poisonous
Chapter 663 - 353: Chocobo Racing Contest_1

Chapter 663: Chapter 353: Chocobo Racing Contest_1

On Tuesday afternoon, the pet shop was open for business as usual.

The pet shop was particularly lively today. For one, we had added several kinds of ornamental butterflies to our pet collection this week. Brought back from the Dream Butterfly habitat when we first entered the shop, they were exhibited for the first time today, attracting many people to come and admire them.

However, the more important reason was the second one: the pet shop was hosting its first official Chocobo Racing Competition!

This competition was initiated and sponsored by the Business Alliance, with Mu You only responsible for providing the venue. The promotion and manpower were all arranged by the Business Alliance.

This kind of competitive event involving magical creatures had never been held domestically. The so-called professionals hired by the Business Alliance didn’t have much practical experience either. So this first competition was more of an invitational game for amusement.

There were ten participants in the competition, five of whom were from the regular speed ranking list of the pet shop. The top five on the list with the fastest lap times all received an invitation.

The remaining four were Chocobo enthusiasts from all over the country who brought their own Chocobos.

While Chocobos were valuable, they were not an extinct species. If Mu You could get them, other capable people could also get them through various channels, especially after the Chocobos in his shop become popular. The commercial value of Chocobos soared, and many investors were willing to invest in them.

The nine aforementioned participants were all professional players. The last participant was a lucky audience member chosen from the spectators at the scene. After all, many of the audience came specifically for this competition, so it was important to give people a sense of involvement.

There would be three races in total: an obstacle race, a restricted speed race, and an unrestricted speed race.

The lucky audience member chosen for the first obstacle race was a young woman, also the only female among the ten people. She often rode Chocobos in her daily life and had fairly good control, but her skills were a bit rough compared to the other nine professional participants.

Fortunately, this race was for amusement, and ranking was not important. Everyone who participated would receive a prize.

Before the game, the emcee interviewed the ten participants one by one, asking their names and their feelings about being selected to participate in the first Chocobo race.

Except for the young woman who was temporarily selected and was rather nervous, the other nine professionals all skillfully accepted the interviews. The emcee didn’t waste time and immediately announced that the first event, the obstacle race, was about to begin after heating up the atmosphere.

The rules of the obstacle race were simple. There were more than 20 hurdles, water pits, columns and other obstacles set up in the field. Players had to ride a Chocobo and pass these obstacles while racing, testing their speed and skill. Otherwise, each obstacle that couldn’t be passed would result in a three-second penalty.

Of course, the audience members who were temporarily picked to participate did not have to go through the obstacles and could directly run on the normal track, which was a special treatment for non-professionals.

In addition, there was the issue of magic usage. Magic could be released in this competition, but only three times at most, and only restrictive and enhancement type magic could be used. Any damaging magic was forbidden, and those who violated the rules would be immediately disqualified.

This was to ensure the safety of the Chocobos and the competitors. Each of the three types of magic that everyone was going to use had been registered in advance, confirming that they were all safe spells. Also, using any magic that was not registered during the competition would lead to disqualification.

The rules were very strict, which placed higher demands on the magic everyone had prepared. The level and type of magic, and even the timing of its use, could all potentially influence the outcome of the game.

Soon, ten people riding Chocobos settled down behind the starting gates.

"Get ready!"

The referee’s amplified voice echoed around the field, instantly quieting the crowd. The Chocobos behind the ten gates also instantly prepared to start.

"Bang!"

With the sound of the starting gun, ten figures dashed out from behind the gates like lightning, rushing forward together. But very quickly, distinctions emerged.

The first obstacle was a hurdle. Nine Chocobos leapt up one after another and nimbly jumped over the wooden barriers. At this point, their skill levels began to show. Those with better skills hardly lost any speed when they landed, while those who were not as skilled had to pause to adjust. This difference immediately distinguished the participants from each other.

The man in the trench coat running at the forefront was the current leader in the speed ranking. Because he always wore a trench coat when he came, he was nicknamed ’Brother Trench Coat’. He was quite famous in the Chocobo circle, and many spectators were not surprised that he took the lead.

Soon more obstacles came one after another, and all the Chocobos nimbly moved through them. To make it easier to distinguish, different colored saddles were fitted to each Chocobo. One could see a variety of colors winding through each other, dazzling the eyes, just like a group of butterflies flying through the flowers.

Loud applause immediately erupted from the scene. Many people didn’t expect a plain racing competition to become so entertaining just because magical creatures were involved.

So far, none of the participants on the field had used magic, as there were only three chances, which were very precious.

Everyone was looking forward to seeing who would be the first to use magic.

Surprisingly, it was Brother Trench Coat, who was running in the front. After casting a Light Body Skill, his Chocobo seemed to have Nitrogen Acceleration added, and it sprinted away, immediately widening the gap with the following competitors and the gap was still widening.