Shatei Kyokufuri Yumi-Ojisan

harge attack…can’t be used yet.
The S Gauge didn’t need to be filled to use the skill, but the SS Gauge was different.
And so I had to maintain the highest speed while also making sure to gather all of the hay.

The sheep dashed through the field and entered the forest.
You had to avoid the trees here.
While you wouldn’t be thrown into the air if you crashed, you would still stop.
Thankfully, there weren’t too many trees in the course.
With a little more practice, I should be able to dodge them without slowing down.

We then exited the forest and reached the mountain and climbed up the slope towards the top.
Round boulders would roll down towards you, so I had to dodge them while accelerating.
At this point, I had no trouble with steering.
It was just a matter of finding my rivals and unleashing the SS Gauge at the right timing in order to catch up with them!

At the top of the mountain, the course turned into a rainbow bridge that stretched out.
And then I saw the others at the halfway point on the bridge.

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It was time to use it…!
I pushed the button on the right horn and activated Super Dash.

In order to brave the rocket-like acceleration, I leaned forward and held the horns tightly.
The sheep looked as composed as ever.
It would definitely look surreal to someone who didn’t know what was going on.

However, for me, it was the most heated moment of the race.
You really couldn’t do any steering while using Super Dash.
Perhaps you could manage to make a gentle curve, but not any sharp turns.
But the rainbow bridge was a straight line.
And so I just needed to keep it steady and accelerate.

The back of my rival on the yellow sheep was closer and closer and then…I passed it!
Yes! I was no longer dead last!
I would continue like this and enter the top 6, so I can get the medal!

The sheep then moved onto their homeground, which was the clouds.
Most players might be a little scared of the extreme height, but the clouds were practically my home away from home now.
If anything, it filled me with excitement…!
Besides, speed tends to change people.
I now felt like I could get 1st place!

“Faster! Fast…?”

I was losing speed in spite of not touching the brakes.
At the same time, something popped up on the goggles.
What’s ‘Magnet Power’…?

I found out soon enough.
On the back monitor, I could see that the yellow sheep was shining.
It was likely their charge attack!
It seemed to have the ability to pull others towards them like a magnet…!

Now the yellow sheep was gaining on me.

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But there was no need to panic.
As soon as the effect ended, I could move away again.
After all, the Red Star Sheep had superior default speed.
I could save the gauge and use it to get past my other rivals…

But I had underestimated it.
The yellow sheep activated its skill.
It unleashed sparks all around it.

The Red Star Sheep could withstand it for a while, but once the Disturbance Resistance gauge was empty, we spun around and then stopped.
The yellow sheep dashed past us.

It’s still…not over.
The Red Star Sheep got back up and started to accelerate once again.
We weren’t that far apart…!
The race had only just begun…!

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Ultimately, I finished in 10th place.
I did learn some techniques, like how after passing the yellow sheep, I used Dash just as the sparks flew in order to avoid it.
However, there were other sheep.
Some would shoot at me with vulcan cannons, while others dropped boulders to make the road narrower…
I would have to learn all their characteristics in order to make progress.
That was the only way to improve.

We were long past the time where people believed that playing games for so long would make you stupid, but I did think that playing without thinking at all could have that effect.
However, it wasn’t the case if you played to improve in order to beat your friends or defeat a powerful boss.

Because you were studying.
Maybe you weren’t making calculations and memorising, so it wouldn’t help with your grades, but you wouldn’t become dumber… That’s what I believed.

And so I entered the next race and waited to be matched.
Once I was able to select a sheep, I would try and learn their features.
This race was not easy enough to win if you just played without thinking.
There was enough depth that I wondered if they were thinking of selling it as a standalone game…!