Chapter 47 Odd Gaze
Suddenly, Victor walked toward the referee and whispered something into his ear.
The referee nodded and cleared his throat.
“The design of the fourth round has been changed to keep things a bit fair for both participants. The hypersonic robot will no longer be used. Instead, a treadmill with a top speed of Mach 1 will be used. The treadmill starts at a speed of one kilometer per hour and gradually increases automatically. It is equipped with advanced AI sensors and will safely eject its user if it detects they can no longer keep up. However, participants are advised not to push beyond their limits,” the referee announced loudly. The next moment, a massive treadmill was brought in by a forklift crane and lowered onto the ground.
As soon as the forklift moved away, someone plugged in the treadmill and it came to life.
Victor was the first to step forward as usual. The moment his feet touched the treadmill, it began to move, starting slow and gradually increasing its pace right before my eyes.
The tachometer was bold and bright, clearly displaying the speed and RPM the machine was running at.
\[150 km/h\]
\[190 km/h\]
At this point, Victor was still running casually. From the way he moved, it was obvious he wasn’t even serious yet. It looked more like he was warming up.
Glancing at Rudy, I saw him staring straight at me, his arms folded, and worry etched across his face. It was as if he didn’t want to believe what he was seeing. At the same time, he didn’t want unnecessary bloodshed since we were already at war with several rival groups. On top of that, we were on the government watchlist.
\[300 km/h\]
\[400 km/h\]
\[550 km/h\]
At this point, Victor began running at Superman speed, his movements blurring. I could still follow him in real time and noticed he was as calm as ever, there was even a grin on his face.
“How? How can he move so fast if his Quirk is tech-type?” I muttered in disbelief as the numbers kept climbing.
While an SS-Rank Quirk user like Victor is blessed with god-like power, that doesn’t make them invincible or capable of insane speed. If anything, they only excel within the limits of their Quirk type.
None of this made sense. First, he was an incredible marksman. Now he was running like a speedster. Even Rudy could only move like this in short bursts, not continuously. Running at near-supersonic speed requires enhancement-type Quirks, speedsters whose bodies constantly repair themselves. The only exceptions are monsters like my dad and a few others whose powers border on the divine. My father could even use his fire Quirk to boost his speed beyond fighter jets and mechas.
As the speed continued increasing, the rate of acceleration slowed, but it was still insanely fast, and Victor kept up without issue.
\[650 km/h\]
\[700 km/h\]
\[750 km/h\]
At this point, Victor finally became serious. He was moving at a blistering pace, sweat dripping down his body. Instead of the speed increasing further, it began to drop, as if he had reached his limit.
\[400 km/h\]
\[350 km/h\]
\[310 km/h\]
The speed continued to fall rapidly until the treadmill eventually came to a complete stop. Victor was drenched in sweat from head to toe, and one of his lackeys immediately rushed over and handed him a bottle of water.
“Mr. Victor was able to reach 750 km/h on the treadmill before the machine detected his speed waning! This is an unprecedented feat for someone who is not a speedster!” the referee announced, breaking into his usual weird dance.
Victor glanced at me, his gaze lingering longer than usual. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, then hesitated and turned away.
The lights shifted again, deliberately focusing on me. I knew it was my turn. From the corner of my eye, I searched for Rudy, but he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, I spotted Anna and Eric standing beside each other.
Where did he go?
Pushing those thoughts aside, I climbed onto the treadmill. The moment my feet touched its surface, the machine rolled to life.
From my position, I couldn’t see the tachometer, it was facing the opposite side, so I had no idea how fast it was going.
Was that intentional?
Slowly, I felt the speed increase and began to run. Within two minutes, I was already moving faster than I ever had in my life. Sweat poured down my forehead, and my shirt was instantly soaked.
‘Fuck… I can’t do this anymore. It feels like my body’s about to tear itself apart.’ I felt the urge to leap off the machine, but suddenly I noticed the treadmill’s speed begin to drop. It was almost as if it had read my thoughts. Then I remembered the referee’s words, the treadmill was integrated with advanced AI sensors.
The speed reduced sharply until it finally stopped. As I stepped off, dizziness washed over me and my legs trembled violently. I lost my balance and stumbled, but before I hit the ground, a pair of hands caught me from behind.
“Are you okay?”
I lifted my head, and my eyes widened in shock.
It was Victor.
“Get off her!” Rudy suddenly shouted, yanking Victor’s hands away and catching me himself, lifting me into a princess carry.
“How dare you put your filthy hands on her, you jerk?!” Rudy roared.
“Woah. If I hadn’t caught her, she would’ve hit her head. I guess you’re the one who doesn’t know what to do,” Victor replied calmly, raising his hands as he stepped back with a smile.
But I noticed his gaze.
It was different…