Running.

The act of moving quickly to a desired location by a living creature.

There are many beings in this world adept at running.

Indeed, there are too many faster than humans.

Excluding a few like sloths and pandas among animals of similar size, it’s hard to find one slower than humans.

That’s how slow humans are.

But they can run longer, farther.

A species crazily evolved for long-distance running.

That’s the true essence of humans.

“Pant, pant, huff, huff!”

Lloyd ran towards the south.

He ran and ran.

Hours passed since he left the starting line.

For humans, it was a very fast pace.

But compared to a centaur?

Embarrassingly slow.

Especially against his competitor Comanche, he was no better than a slug.

Yet, he never stopped.

Slow but steady.

Slow but tenacious.

He kept running because he was confident that this was his secret to victory.

“Of course! This is the greatness of humans!”

Pacing himself lightly.

Thus, he continued to run.

“This is humanity’s advantage. The ability to run long distances. No animal can dare to compare.”

Truly, humans could not outrun most animals in a sprint.

Only having two legs for propulsion.

Standing upright increased wind resistance.

Their body structure imposed clear speed limits.

But in long-distance running?

The story changed dramatically.

“It’s thanks to sweat!”

Lloyd wiped off the sweat dripping down his face.

The cool breeze typical of the highlands cooled his sweat beads.

His body cooled down in real-time.

The heat building up in his muscles and body was efficiently controlled.

His body temperature didn’t rise beyond a certain point.

That’s why he could keep running.

“And it saves energy too!”

Only having two legs for propulsion.

Only two legs consuming energy.

Fewer muscles involved in running.

Less energy was consumed over the same distance.

This allowed him to manage his energy more efficiently.

“Pant, pant, huff, huff!”

Thanks to this, Lloyd kept running non-stop.

Like Native Americans who tracked and chased a deer for days to get an unblemished hide.

Or like ancient Homo erectus ancestors who pursued boars for tens of kilometers.

Utilizing the crazy racial trait of a species specialized in long-distance running.

He ran with a persistence that was almost grotesque.

Lloyd also drew on his past experiences.

“Huff, huff! I was pretty good at long-distance running!”

He remembered the swordsmanship training he received from Javier.

The first exercise had been running.

But that wasn’t all.

In South Korea, he had mastered numerous manual labor jobs to make a living.

There were days he carried bricks on his back, climbing four floors of a villa all day.

“Compared to that, this run is just a walk in the park!”

Additionally, he had other slick techniques learned over time.

Whirring-!

With every beat, his heart throbbed, and three mana circles spun fiercely.

He absorbed small amounts of mana from the air while running.

He amplified the absorbed mana by spinning it.

The amplified mana was pushed into the mana heart.

Then, the mana heart worked hard to pump.

It provided his muscles with top-quality mana as if a farmer in the Alpine foothills was kindly offering fresh spring water.

The unique long-distance running trait of humans.

The physical stamina honed in his youth through manual labor.

The running techniques learned from Javier.

Combined with the mana circles and mana heart.

These elements transformed Lloyd into an unstoppable running machine on this land.

Not very fast.

But never tiring.

Never stopping.

He became the unstoppable ultimate tortoise of the great plains.

Meanwhile, Comanche, who was far ahead of Lloyd?

At first, it was good.

Just at the start.

“Pant, pant, haha!”

Thudding rapidly!

He kicked up explosive clouds of dust.

With tremendous power, he stamped the earth.

Running like a whirlwind.

Racing like a hurricane.

His run was wild like that of a horse.

A stark contrast to Lloyd’s steady trot.

“Of course! Surely a mere human can’t be faster than me?”

Comanche had felt it from the start.

From the moment he burst from the starting line.

After just three strides, the pitiful human competitor was far behind.

As he continued, the distance between them stretched dramatically.

After five strides, Lloyd’s figure had shrunk to the size of a bean.

After seven, he was reduced to a dot.

By the twentieth stride, Lloyd was hidden by dust clouds, barely visible.

That much Comanche’s happiness soared.

“This is what true running is!”

It was exhilarating.

The sensation of cutting through the wind.

The vivid feeling of stamping the plains.

Even the despairing expressions of his competitors as they faded into the distance.

He thought it was a perfect run, a victory.

That was true for the first day.

“Huff, huff!”

Thudding, clicking!

A day passed, and Comanche’s running speed noticeably slowed.

Not for any particular reason.

It was just too hot and exhausting.

“Bigger challenge than I thought! Huff, huff!”

Comanche gritted his teeth.

Sweat frothed all over his body.

Yet his body felt too hot.

His muscles seemed to burn fiercely.

Running further seemed like it might cause dizziness.

He had no choice but to slow down his pace.

That made him feel a bit more alive.

“It’s okay. I’ve already put a considerable distance between that slow human and me!”

He wasn’t worried.

He felt sufficiently at ease.

He had left the human competitor far behind right at the start.

And that human was creepily slow.

He couldn’t possibly catch up.

“So there’s no way I could lose. Absolutely not!”

Comanche was confident and convinced.

And then another day passed.

“…Huff, huff!”

Click, click…!

He was now walking.

Galloping was an impossible dream.

Even cantering was a luxury.

“My body… feels powerless!”

It was too hot.

His legs felt like they would give out.

His strength drained from his body entirely.

So he walked.

Trotting along.

Resolute not to stop.

Comforted by the thought that he had already put a significant distance between himself and the human competitor.

Steadily heading south.

And the next day.

“…Gulp, cough, ugh… huff!”

Dragging, dragging…

He dragged his hooves.

Too weak to continue.

Feeling like he might collapse any moment.

Too exhausted to walk any further.

The sky, which should have been blue, appeared yellow.

Foam formed in his mouth as he barely moved his legs.

His knees hardly lifted.

His ankles wouldn’t obey.

But as a champion representing the centaur race, he burned with a fierce will.

“I can’t stop here. The finish line must be close. I’m… fast! I won’t fall like this!”

He glared with determination.

Clenched his fists.

His fiery will.

Burning the last of his mental energy at a speed of 500 meters per hour.

He was certain.

“I’ll still win! It’s obvious! I’m struggling like this! But that human who’s much slower must be having an even harder time! He must be collapsed halfway here, unable to reach this place!”

He thought it was obvious.

He believed it must be so.

Just a bit further and it would be over.

He would cross the southern boundary of the great plains.

Then he would meet the guards of the human kingdom.

He would just ask them to take him to the front yard of the border guard captain’s residence.

Firmly believing this, he crawled desperately.

But reality was cruel.

“Pant, pant! Huff, huff!”

“…!”

Comanche perked up his ears.

A strange and regular breathing sound came from far behind.

It was getting closer.

“What’s that?”

At first, he thought it was an auditory hallucination.

Because he was in such an extreme, nearly collapsing state.

He thought he was hearing things.

But… it wasn’t.

“Pant, pant! Huff, huff!”

“…Huh?”

In a dazed moment.

Something passed him by, trotting.

Sweat-soaked all over.

Running awkwardly and slowly on two legs.

A bright red speeding ticket prominently displayed on its back.

It was the human competitor, Lloyd Frontera!

“Impossible!”

He wondered if he was seeing things.

Or perhaps experiencing an unrealistic dream.

At first, he thought so.

But it wasn’t.

No matter how hard he rubbed his eyes.

No matter how vigorously he shook his head.

Even if he did a handstand in his struggle.

The figure trotting ahead was indeed Lloyd Frontera!

“What, what!?”

He became frantic.

Urgently, he tried to power his legs.

Run. He could do it. He was the champion.

He motivated himself and stamped the ground.

But it was futile.

Dragging…

Just 10 centimeters.

His hooves merely dragged on the ground.

“No, this can’t be happening. It’s a lie… ugh.”

He tried to deny reality, but it was no use.

He had no energy left.

Eventually, he collapsed.

Unable to move further.

Lying sprawled and gasping.

His consciousness rapidly faded.

Darkness enveloped him.

After some time.

“Whoa, why are you sleeping here? You’ll catch your death of cold.”

“…!”

Someone slapped his cheeks.

That sudden sensation made Comanche snap his eyes open.

And he could see.

“Here’s some salt water. Drink this first and get your strength back.”

Someone offered him a cup.

Clear water rippled inside.

Beyond that, he could naturally see the hand, forearm, shoulder, and face holding it.

“Lloyd… Frontera?”

“Good to see you recognize me. You’re not in a critical state, then. That’s a relief.”

“…”

“Staring like that is a bit awkward. Drink this first.”

“…”

He took the cup mechanically.

Drank it.

It was salty and refreshing.

Then his head throbbed painfully.

“What the… how did this happen?”

He was confused.

What exactly was the situation?

Why had he lost consciousness during the race?

Why was his human competitor, Lloyd Frontera, handing him water?

And why was that human looking at him with such eyes and expression?

He couldn’t understand any of it.

But the answer he got was devastatingly simple.

“What happened? The race is over.”

“What?”

“It’s over, the race.”

“…”

“You lost.”

“Then the winner is…”

“Obviously me.”

“…”

“Can’t believe it?”

“Of course not!”

Comanche cried out without thinking.

“I felt it at the starting line! I was overwhelmingly ahead! And I was ahead the whole time! But…!”

“I crossed the finish line first.”

“…”

“If you’re wondering if there are witnesses or proof, why don’t you take a closer look at that cup?”

“…”

Look at the cup?

What was that supposed to mean?

Hesitating, yet Comanche examined the cup in his grip.

Thanks to that, he could see the engraved words on it.

[(Congratulations) Appointment of the Captain of the Magentano Northern Border Guard (Celebration)]

“What is this?”

Comanche was flustered.

As much as he was flustered, Lloyd’s smile widened.

“Fortunately, you can read human writing. It’s a souvenir from the inauguration. It was on the desk in the office of the residence of the captain of the Magentano Kingdom’s northern border guard.”

“…”

“Actually, I borrowed it to show you as proof. You may not know, but I am a meritorious official of the Magentano royal family. When I asked politely, he even said it was an honor and asked if he could lend more.”

“…”

“So, what I borrowed roughly are, well, the captain’s rank insignia and identity verification. This is the captain’s toothbrush. This is the ceremonial sword and family banner bestowed by the king to the captain. And over there, let me introduce you. That’s the wife of the captain, well, the lady.”

“…”

As expected.

A human lady in her early forties greeted him elegantly, which Comanche watched with a stunned gaze.

And he realized.

‘I’ve lost.’

By now, it was real.

He had lost the running competition.

On one hand, a voice inside his head still screamed in denial that the human might have cheated.

But Comanche shook his head to dismiss that voice.

“A trick? No. That’s impossible. There would have been members of my race watching the race all over the great plains. They would have seen us running. You can’t fool them. Plus, that human, before I lost consciousness… he was sweating profusely and running.”

Then he remembered.

Just before he collapsed from exhaustion.

The unsightly figure that had briskly trotted past him.

Not very fast.

A very tired walk.

But he didn’t stop.

It seemed he had never stopped.

‘It was real.’

Comanche had spent his life running.

He could recognize the true form of a runner who ran honestly without scheming.

That realization made him feel the loss.

He could admit defeat.

“I understand. I… lost.”

The moment Comanche sincerely accepted the outcome of the contest.

A new accolade appeared before Lloyd’s eyes.

Ding-dong.

[You have outlasted the greatest champion of the centaur race in a running contest with your persistence, more tenacious than a slug, more consistent than a sloth, and with perseverance even a turtle would admire.]

[Centaur champion Comanche sincerely admires your persistence.]

[Your remarkable victory will be widely shared through Comanche and the spectators across the corners of the great plains.]

[A new accolade from the centaur race has been created for you.]

[New Accolade, <Never Underestimate Humans Again> has been created.]