Kereta yang ditabrak Lex segera berbelok kiri-kanan tak terkendali. Karena perlombaan baru saja dimulai dan semua kereta berdekatan, kereta yang melenceng itu menabrak beberapa lain, segera menimbulkan kekacauan.
Semua orang, dari penonton hingga pengemudi sendiri, terkejut dengan awal yang gempar ini karena perlombaan kurang lebih sudah membentuk pola selama dua hari terakhir. Lap pertama, meski tidak bebas dari persaingan, biasanya damai saat pengemudi terbiasa dengan trek dan menerapkan berbagai taktik.
Mengingat betapa tidak terduganya trek itu sendiri, apalagi power-up yang didapat para pengemudi menciptakan variabel tak terduga, tidak ada keuntungan nyata merebut posisi terlalu dini.
Oleh karena itu, sebagian besar perlombaan dimulai dengan damai dan bertahap jadi semakin destruktif. Tapi Lex tidak punya niat bermain pelan-pelan, atau meluangkan waktu untuk terbiasa dengan trek.
Baginya, hanya dua hal yang benar. Pertama, dia ingin menang, dan punya keyakinan penuh pada intuisi, refleks, dan kemampuannya untuk meraih kemenangan itu, meski jadi target besar. Kedua, dia sedang liburan, jadi ngapain main aman? Hanya pertarungan intens yang bakal bikin puas maksimal, jadi dia bedakan diri dari awal.
Lex pakai insting tajamnya untuk menaklukkan kekacauan awal dan tiba-tiba membuka jarak jauh! Masih ada tiga atau empat mobil di depannya, tapi jalan terbuka leluasa buat dia!
Karena semua golf cart identik, percepatan, kecepatan, rem sama semua, jadi alat andalan Lex hanyalah kemampuan mengemudinya. Mantan penghuni Manhattan, dia jarang butuh mobil jadi pengalaman nyetir minim, tapi dia belajar sekarang.
Memanfaatkan kemampuan pikiran yang baru naik level, sebagian fokus Lex arahkan buat mengamati dan mengingat detail kecil respons kartu ke setiap gerakannya.
Seratus meter pertama trek lurus sebelum pelan belok dan melebar di lereng. Dia lihat salah satu kartu di depannya drift di tikungan, satu lagi memanfaatkan lebar penuh trek, bolak-balik saat belok supaya gak perlu rem. Yang ketiga rem keras, perlahan cukup buat belok tanpa keluar trek.
Pikir pertama Lex, dia harus rem juga, momentum terlalu besar buat belok cukup cepat. Tapi bagian lain di dalamnya tau bahkan kalau kartu nabrak full speed, berkat ketahanannya, dia gak bakal cedera sama sekali, mau ikut drift!
Lex pengalaman nyetir normal aja minim, apalagi drifting. Faktanya, dia gak punya knowledge cara melakukannya sama sekali!
Senyum lebar liar melukis wajah Lex. Kartu melaju, tikungan mendekat, dia gak punya waktu mikir jadi secara instan dia masuk state Flow! Seperti nonton film, memori semua gerakan kartu drift tadi diputar di benaknya dan, seolah jadi mesin, Lex menyalin semua aksi itu persis!
Dari titik masuk drift, kecepatannya, berapa derajat beloknya, semuanya identik. Baru setelah keluar drift sempurna dia keluar dari flow state, dan emosinya kepanjang.
Angin menghembus rambutnya, matahari menyinari, pemandangan indah Inn lewat di depannya — dia akhirnya ngerti kenapa Gerard suka ini banget. Apalagi, drift itu bersih dan memuaskan, tapi jantungnya deg-degan kencang!
Meski dia tahu gak bakal cedera, wajar aja excited kalau mikir hendak tabrakan. Dan rasa itu baru datang setelah drift selesai karena buat drift, DIA BELOK STIR KE ARAH BERLAWANAN DARI BELOKAN SEBENARNYA!
Tak terkecuali, Lex gak bisa menahan tawa. Dia gak ngerti gimana caranya, tapi mulai heran kenapa bertahun-tahun dia belum pernah coba ini?
Tapi dia harus fokus balik ke perlombaan. Masih jauh dari selesai. Faktanya, baru dimulai!
Rintangan pertama sudah mendekat. Trek pecah jadi empat, lewat atas, keliling, tembus, dan bawah serangkaian bukit pendek. Lebih-lebih, bagian trek tertutup Delinquent Viper Vines. Mereka gak ngerusak kartu, tapi kalau kartu cukup dekat, mereka bakal nempel, menjebak kendaraan beberapa detik.
Lex amati kartu di depannya apakah ada yang lain gila yang bisa ditiru, tapi mereka berpencar. Lex putus ikutin yang lewat atas bukit. Apapun yang kartu itu lakukan, Lex tiba-tiba punya kecenderungan buat nyalip dengan melompat lewatnya memanfaatkan salah satu lereng bukit.
Kali ini, Lex masuk Overdrive state dan spirit sense-nya meregang ke depan, meski jangkauan sekarang baru beberapa puluh kaki. Itu gak masalah buat Lex. Sebagian otaknya mulai kalkulasi hati-hati yang dibutuhkan buat manuver itu. Kesimpulannya, tanpa power-up atau boost semacamnya, mustahil.
Lex tergoda pakai array, tapi itu melanggar aturan. Api menyala di hatinya yang gak mau kalah. Ngapain jadi kultivator kalau gak bisa ngalahin film keluarga cepat-cepatan? Pasti ada jalan.
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.
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