The Innkeeper



The cart that Lex bumped into immediately began swerving left and right. Since the race had just begun and all the carts were nearby, the swerving cart hit quite a few of them, immediately causing chaos.

Everyone, from the viewers to the drivers themselves, were taken aback by the tumultuous beginning as the races had more or less formed a pattern during the past two days. The first lap, while not free from competition, was usually peaceful as the drivers got used to the track and employed various tactics.

Due to how unpredictable the track itself could be, let alone how the various power ups the drivers received created unexpected variables, there was no real benefit in claiming first too early.

As such, most races started off peacefully and progressively became more and more destructive. Yet Lex had no intention of playing slowly, nor did he want to take his time getting used to the track.

For him, only two things were true. First was that he wanted to win, and he had enough confidence in his intuition, reflexes and abilities to get that win, even if he became a big target. Second, he was on vacation, so what was the point of doing things safely? Only an intense match would bring him maximum satisfaction, so he set himself apart from the get go.

Lex used his sharp instincts to maneuver carefully out of the initial confusion and suddenly gained a huge lead! Although there were still three or four cars in front of him, the road was open and free for him to do as he pleased!

Since everyone's golf cart was identical, they had the same acceleration, speed, breaks etc. so the greatest tool that Lex could reliably use was his driving ability. As a former resident of Manhattan, he did not have much need for a car so he didn't have a lot of driving experience, but he was learning now.

Taking advantage of his newly advanced capabilities of his mind, parts of Lex's focus were on observing and memorizing the minor details of how the cart responded to every move he made.

The first 100 meters of the track was straight before it carefully turned and expanded across a slope. He saw that one of the carts in front of him drifted into the curve while another was using the entire width of the track, going from one side to another, during the turn so that he wouldn't have to slow down at all. A third hit the brakes, to slow down enough to turn without going off the track.

Lex's first thought was that he would have to slow down as well, for he had too much forward momentum to turn quick enough, but another part of Lex which knew that even if the cart crashed at full speed, due to his resilience, he would not be harmed at all, wanted to copy the drift!

Lex had limited experience driving normally, let alone drifting. In fact, he had no knowledge of how to do it all!

A wide, wild grin painted Lex's face. With the cart speeding and the turn coming, he had no time to think so, instinctively, he entered the state of Flow! As if he was watching a film, his memory of everything the drifting golf cart did to drift played in his mind and, as if he were a machine, Lex copied all the actions exactly!

From the location where the cart entered the drift, its speed, how much it turned, everything was exactly identical. It was only after he exited the drift perfectly that he exited the flow state, and his emotions caught up to him.

The wind blowing in his hair, the sun shining down on him, the beautiful scenery of the Inn passing him by - he finally understood why Gerard liked this so much. Moreover, the drift was very clean and satisfying, but his heart was beating like crazy!

Although he knew he wouldn't get hurt, it was natural to get excited if you think you are going to crash. And it was only after he completed the drift that the feeling came to him because to drift, HE HAD TURNED THE WHEEL IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF THE ACTUAL TURN!

Despite himself, Lex couldn't help but laugh. He had no idea how that worked, but he was beginning to wonder why he had spent so many years without trying this ever?

But he had to turn his attention back to the race. It was far from over. Actually, it had just begun!

The first set of obstacles were coming his way. The track split into four, going over, around, through and under a set of very short hills. Moreover, parts of the tack were covered in Delinquent Viper Vines. They wouldn't damage the cart, but if the cart came close enough, they would latch onto it, trapping the vehicle for a few seconds.

Lex observed the carts in front of him to see if they were doing anything else that was crazy that he could imitate, but they were splitting off. Lex decided to follow the one that was going over the hills. Whether that cart did anything or not, Lex suddenly had an inclination to overtake the cart by jumping over it using one of the slopes of the hills.

This time, Lex entered the Overdrive state and his spirit sense spread out in front of him, though currently its range was barely a few dozen feet. That didn't matter to Lex though. A part of his brain started doing careful calculations he would need to pull off such a maneuver. The conclusion he came to was that without a power up or boost of some kind, it would not be possible.

Lex was tempted to use an array, but that would go against the rules. A fire lit in his unresigned heart. What was the point of being a cultivator if he couldn't even surpass a fast and the family movie? There had to be a way.