It was not the first time I was mounted on Styx, holding the reins tightly in my hands. It was not the first time I felt his cold skin, the rough ebony scales, his horns. Nor was it the first time I felt his breathing and beating heart as he stretched his wings and moved his muscles.

Yet somehow, I was even more nervous.

Get a hold of yourself, Vex. Don’t be an embarrassment.

I took a deep breath, the air leaving my lungs shakily. “There will be three stops and four lanes. We want to be among the first five thousand in before the first stop, yet we need a good boost for the final lane.”

The moment we entered the enclosure space, Ergos sent the race’s information to our crystals. Four lanes was an average number, all things considered. If they were normal-sized lanes, that was.

From within the walls, I could hear the gears and mechanisms moving, the front gate starting to shake. Signaling us it would open soon.

My heart continued to race wildly against my chest.

“Just fly as fast as you can, and I will support you. Unless we are too far behind, save your power.”

I could hear my heartbeat echoing in my ears, ringing in my head, the sound getting louder and louder. In front of us, the metal door began to rise, basking the dark room in a blinding light. Styx growled, its vibration reaching each of my bones.

Forcing a smile, I put on my goggles, my grip on the reins tighter. So tight all my knuckles were white.

“Show them why we should respect our elders.”

In the exact moment we heard signal—

We were already gone.

With one quick boost, Styx was in the air with his wings wide open, the wind hitting against my face. And from this point onward, it was complete insanity.

From every single direction fathomable, dragons collided and roared through the skies. Styx dodged others’ attacks with precision, almost instinctual. I leaned my body and adjusted my legs, trying to make it easier for him to maneuver.

Left and right, up and down; I could hear dragons crying in pain and riders screaming on top of the crowd’s cheers and claps. Spectators watched the race behind the mana barriers, and though I could see the multiple silver orbs floating above the benches, I couldn’t see what they were showing.

Nor did I have the privilege to wonder.

Before I could get too lost in my thoughts, a four-legged dragon came from above. I could see the dense purple smoke before they even opened their mouth.

My eyes quickly ran through our surroundings, desperately searching for something. We were not in the underground; there were no buildings, no structures. Only the clear sky above and the woods below, both brimming with dragons and their riders—all desperate to win.

I pulled Styx, trying to steer us to the right and then down. The elder dragon understood exactly what I wanted, being two steps ahead of me.

As Styx veered to the side, the four-legged’s poison descended toward the dragon who was right below us, making the animal cry in pain and slow down as they breathed in the purple smoke. In the same heartbeat, Styx ducked and dove downwards as a wingless dragon charged at full speed, colliding with the four-legged instead of us.

There was someone narrating the race, yet I could barely hear them amidst the roars, cries, and explosions.

I briefly glanced at my black crystal, our position being displayed with glowing numbers.

6789th.

I cursed, bracing myself as I tapped Styx to fly faster.

Five times I almost slipped out of my saddle, tearing the skin in my hands as the leather reins scraped against my skin again and again every time I pulled and held it tighter.

As we began approaching the second lane, I spotted the mountains. They had hundreds of small entrances, tunnels that would direct the riders to the first stop. The entrances had different sizes, taking me a few seconds to spot the ones ideal for Styx.

When we flew through the entrance, the walls around us getting narrower the more we crossed the tunnel, all sounds got muffled. I could hear the other competitors from the haunting echoes that ran across the mountains’ paths, yet that was it.

Once we got to the end of the tunnel, we found ourselves in an open area. At the very moment me and Styx stepped into the space, my black crystal glowed up. I spared not even a heartbeat to read the message’s contents, my brain processing the new information as fast as it could.

Stalactites filled the cave’s roof, crystals of all colors shining and illuminating the space as more and more dragons and their dragons arrived and departed. On the other side, there were five big entrances—each leading to a different type of lane.

The stop points in Traditional Rosters were not only for competitors to catch their breath.

It was to make our strategies.

During the first and last lanes, competitors could engage in combat with each other. However, the purpose of the middle lanes was solely to choose the path best suited to the dragon and rider—to beat other racers through speed and quick thinking.

We all had five minutes to rest and plan, counting from the moment we entered the stop point. In that moment, I didn’t plan to use all my five minutes. We needed to close the distance and do it fast.

With one glance, I immediately discarded the second and fifth lanes. They were both far too narrow, playing with extreme temperatures. The risks were too great for us.

The first lane was the safest. A wide lane in the woods, few constrictions and obstructions. Yet for that reason, it would be one of the lanes most sought after. Unless I was absolutely certain and confident about managing Styx speed, going for the first lane was a poor decision.

Which left me with two options. One was a simple lane with a lot of obstacles.

The other was ¾ underwater.

It took me less than ten seconds to make my choice.

I opened one of the saddle’s pockets, taking a large pair of goggles and quickly tying on Styx. The dragon gave me a side glance, barely moving a muscle as I set up the gear. As I quickly explained to Styx my reasoning, his ears twitched as I spoke. I was not even done when Styx opened his wings and charged toward the fourth lane. 

Hah, I knew it.

True to my prediction, the fourth lane had been one of the least chosen paths. The deeper we went into the tunnel, the darker and colder it got. It came a point where I could barely see anything, forcing me to grab some glowers in my pockets—small flasks containing alchemic fluids that, once properly mixed, triggered an alchemical reaction. Creating an effervescent glow. 

I shook three flasks repeatedly, between my fingers, as fast as I could. At the exact moment the flasks began glowing, Styx dove in one fluid motion right into the water.

My body was immediately overwhelmed by a gelid embrace, almost making me gasp. Holding my breath, I watched as Styx used small boosts of air to navigate through the underwater cave, swimming at an unbelievable speed. 

Others could almost mistake him for a sea serpent…

Still, he was not the fastest. 

At first glance, this was a terrible lane; an underwater cave system with freezing temperatures, and poor visibility. It was also quite tricky for riders for two main reasons. One, breath control and second, pressure. 

When flying and shifting to higher altitudes, there were some risks due to the oxygen levels, yet not like this. While the caves were not absurdly deep, depending on the depth they were, if dragons dove or submerged too quickly, it could nearly kill their riders. It was a tricky and dangerous lane, yes—

But it was shorter.

Though I could barely see my surroundings, it was possible to spot the few riders who were also using glowers. Not only that, I could hear the movements within the water—sense the vibrations as they reached my body.

After my training with Emrys, I could hold my breath well enough, and Styx had good dark vision. On top of that, Styx was an experienced racer—he knew how to gauge his depth. If we played our cards right, we could advance well in the ranks.

From time to time I would see shadows in the water, the light from the glowers illuminating spikes and rough walls that could cause more than a simple injury. And soon enough, even with Styx swimming that fast, I saw it. 

Traces of blood.

Though there was no way for me to smell it, it was impossible for me to miss that unique color. And considering the amount, it had not been something minor. Even with Styx being careful with his maneuvers and speed, I had scraped my shoulders and arms on the rocks more than once—my skin burning even with my leather armor.

Which only made me wonder what unexperienced riders and their dragons had accomplished in this lane.

When my lungs begun to hurt, I saw the light at the surface. The moment Styx broke the surface and we landed at the second stop, I took a deep breath, glancing at my crystal.

4531th place.

I let out a relieved sigh, not bothering to contain my smile.

“That’s how it’s done,” I said to Styx, patting him lightly.

The space was almost identical to the previous stop point, with the difference of having only three paths to choose from. I began reading the new information, frowning the more I read. The middle one was just like the previous first lane; a wide path in the woods. I ignored it. 

The left path was a closed lane, with very active geysers, smoke, and hot temperatures. Styx had a cold core, which already made the left lane unappealing. The right one, however, was not much better. Yes, it would put less strain on Styx’s core since it was colder.

Yet it was in the middle of a tempest.

Even when the lanes were artificially created, to race with violent winds, lightning, and heavy rain…it was troublesome. And knowing the quality of Ergos’ alchemists and engineers, I knew for a fact the lanes would feel as real as they could be.

Time escaped me as if it were sand falling between my fingers. I had to make a choice, and do it fast.

A dragon’s core was their most important organ after the heart. For that reason, forcing a dragon to race in an environment that opposed their cores was one of the fastest ways to exhaust them. And even if Styx was in excellent form, he was still older.

I pulled Styx’s reins, signaling him it was time to go. As I steered him toward one of the paths, I checked our position one last time. 

4958th.

I clicked my tongue, making Styx fly a bit faster. Our position hadn’t dropped that much, yet getting closer to 5000th wasn’t good. Especially when we had two more lanes to run.

Yet not even thirty seconds into the third lane, I stopped worrying about staying above the 5000th place.

Because I realized too late I made a huge mistake when choosing the lane. And this mistake could very much cost us the entire race.