Chapter 41: New Test [Bumper Car] Appears!

[2nd Trial – Eco-Friendly Super Hyper Extreme Bumper Car Battle!]

[Objective: Survive.]

Amusement Park, Second Trial Ground.

“…Ugh.”

She slowly opened her eyes.

The place where Aki regained consciousness was completely different from before.

A wide, rectangular arena.

Her companions, who had been with her just moments ago, had vanished before her eyes.

But this was definitely the [Amusement Park].

Because the carousel they had smashed just days ago was neatly restored, as if nothing had happened.

“What, what. All that effort was for nothing! …Well, I guess they regenerated it because they needed more successful candidates.”

Aki quickly scanned for presences.

She was certain the Minotaur was within this arena, but he wasn’t visible.

It seemed he was hidden behind those giant pillars.

“Hey. Cow Mister, are you alive?”

“I’m alive.”

Aki felt relieved at the Minotaur’s voice coming from afar.

Fortunately, others seemed okay too, as voices echoed from here and there.

“……It seems like they scattered people around to make them ride these.”

Aki scoffed and looked at the bumper car placed before her.

A lovely mushroom bumper car under bright lights.

Green vines served as seatbelts,

And its appearance resembled one of the mushrooms often seen around here.

The problem was—.

It was a Deadly Poison Mushroom.

An extreme poison mushroom that would teleport you to the Sanctuary of Resurrection with just one bite.

‘…No way. They don’t actually expect me to ride this, do they?’

Aki pressed her lips together firmly and glared at the bumper car.

The characteristic purplish stains of the Deadly Poison Mushroom,

Its shiny, flashy appearance.

It was an object practically screaming ‘Do not touch’ to anyone looking.

However—.

Boing!

The bumper car swayed cutely left and right.

As if urging, ‘Get in quickly!’

The problem was that poison spores scattered around Aki every time it swayed.

“Kugh, what?! Trying to kill me right from the start—!”

Aki coughed and stepped back.

A notification window flashed before her eyes through the poison spores.

[Poison Nullification: Self-Detoxification Function Active]

[※ Self-destructs when durability is depleted (5 uses).]

“Whaaaat?!”

It was a warm consideration from the goddess who inspected the bumper cars.

Because until then, thanks to some sturdy former hunter,

It had been an ill-fated bumper car not even granted a ‘Self-Detoxification Function’.

However.

There was no way Aki would know of that kindness.

“It looks obviously dangerous, how am I supposed to ride something like this—!”

At that moment,

The lovely Deadly Poison Mushroom bumper car flashed its headlights.

It was a considerate move to hurry the guest aboard,

Before the entry time passed—.

To Aki, it just felt like,

A menacing aura threatening death if she objected.

“…They called this the 2nd trial, but the difficulty skyrocketed, didn’t it?”

She steeled herself and boarded the bumper car.

The moment she climbed in grumbling,

The vine seatbelt automatically tightened around her body.

The seatbelt fastened snugly.

Why? Strangely, it felt like it was choking her.

“Seriously, what is this.”

Aki caught her breath and scanned her surroundings.

The pillars in front of her began to descend one by one.

[Boarding Confirmed. 10 seconds until the match begins.]

[Number of Participants: 32]

[Objective: Time Limit 10 minutes. Survive until you are the last one standing.]

Aki whipped her head around.

“What. It was a survival match…?”

Only then did she see her companions.

She saw the other participants, each seated in their own vehicle.

Someone with a terrified face,

Someone with a look of resignation.

Moreover, all were mushroom bumper cars.

All with somewhat suspicious-looking, uniquely個性 넘치는 (full of personality/unique) designs. Let’s rephrase: All with somewhat suspicious-looking, distinct designs.

One guy was riding a Frenzy Mushroom,

Someone else had a Flame Mushroom, and another’s vehicle was a Storm Mushroom.

“The trial creator might definitely be the type with a screw loose?”

She saw the Minotaur a short distance away.

“Hey, Cow Mister…?!”

“Moooo….”

Aki, who had been waving, stopped abruptly.

Aki narrowed her eyes.

His giant body was wedged neatly onto a small cloud bumper car.

That’s right.

The mushroom the Minotaur boarded was shaped like a fluffy cloud.

And that mushroom—.

Though it looked comfortable and plush on the outside,

Its spores induced hallucinations, making the world seem like a field of flowers.

Of course—.

This had no effect whatsoever on a certain sturdy former hunter who could chew through iron,

And the third-ranked demon lord of hell stalking him.

Furthermore….

The goddess with her head perpetually in the clouds who inspected these—.

“Oh my, wouldn’t that actually be a merit?”

And so.

She had amplified the mushroom’s effect tenfold.

As a result…….

The symbol of the afterlife, of bottom-tier mythology.

The Minotaur stared blankly into the air and muttered.

“Wow… Such pretty flowers….”

A flower crown had somehow appeared on his horns,

And in his hand was a bouquet of flowers, placed there by who knows whom.

The Minotaur gripped the bouquet, which served as his steering wheel, tightly and pressed the accelerator.

“Aki, that tulip over there called my name….”

“What nonsense are you spouting?! Stupid clumsy Cow Mister—!”

“I was born to be loved, co— no…. bull. Moooo…….”

Of course, there were no actual tulips calling him.

[3, 2, 1……..]

[Start!]

Vrooooooom—!

“Waaaait….”

“Hiiiiiiiiiiik?!”

Still—.

The fact that he was charging full speed towards a tulip…

No, a stone pillar, right from the start, was true.

Aki shrieked in alarm.

“Hey! That’s not a tulip, it’s a stone pillar, you idiot~!”

“Moooo.”

However, the Minotaur just grinned and waved.

“It’s fine. A tulip wouldn’t hurt me….”

“That’s not a tulip! You crazy cow!”

At that moment—.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—!

With a spectacular explosion, the stone pillar was half-destroyed.

The Minotaur’s bumper car spun rapidly in the air, flew off, and then landed smoothly.

…As if nothing had happened.

“Moooo……. The flowers are spinning around….”

“That clumsy….”

However—.

The Minotaur was the only peaceful one.

As he spun violently, hallucinogenic spores spread around him.

Nearby participants, completely unprepared for the spore attack,

One by one, succumbed to the ‘head full of flowers’ state and started laughing insanely, ‘Hehehe’.

Furthermore—.

The shattered stone pillar tilted and lunged towards the unharmed participants, threatening to crush them.

“Ugh?!”

“What?!”

“Fi-Fire explosion magic!”

“What?! You crazy bastard, I’m on the explosion mush—!”

“I’m flame…!”

Bang, bang, bang!

Boooom─!

Boooom!

Boooom—!

[Remaining Participants: 16]

[Time Limit: 9 minutes 40 seconds]

Half the arena was blown away by the chain reaction of explosions.

Less than 30 seconds after the start, half were eliminated.

Aki pressed her brow firmly.

“…Since it’s survival, I guess it’s fortunate in a way.”

She hadn’t expected it to be this bad, even when they smashed the Carousel of Death.

What she saw before her eyes was,

Truly pandemonium.

Deadly poison, hallucinations, flames, storms.

Even a crazy bull relentlessly smashing stone pillars.

At that moment, someone’s shout reached her ears.

“Akiiiiiiii! The magic daisy said! If I charge now, I can have a fateful kiss with Aki!!”

“What kiss are you talking about, it’s just a collision! You idiot!”

Aki grabbed the steering wheel.

To dodge the obstacles appearing haphazardly before her.

And—.

To escape from the charging…….

“Akiiii…….”

“Mooooommyyyyy….”

“Mooo, becoming a disciple of the tulip….”

Madmen with glazed eyes.

Aki hurriedly pressed the accelerator.

Cars speeding out of control after hitting boost pads,

Crazy drivers drifting along walls and ramming opponents,

Even sudden events where a Mini Horned Creature popped out, forcing sharp turns of the wheel.

[Remaining Participants: 12]

[Time Limit: 7 minutes 20 seconds]

A murderous difficulty incomparable to the previous carousel.

“…Ughhhh. What is this.”

Not even 3 minutes,

Had passed since the start, and an exhausted Aki gasped for breath.

Just then.

A participant’s bumper car slammed squarely into her vehicle.

“Kyaaaaaak—!”

Her bumper car hit a mushroom jump pad, launched into the air,

And began spinning, scattering poison spores everywhere.

[Durability 3/5]

A warning window popped up simultaneously, but Aki forced herself to regain balance.

Immediately after landing, she wrenched the wheel to counterattack.

“Since it’s come to this, everyone just get poisoned and dieeeeeee—!”

It wasn’t a remark expected in an amusement park full of dreams and love.

But to Aki, this place was,

A survival-terror arena ruled by madness, hallucinations, and explosions.

Bang─!

Kwaaaang─!

On one side, a hallucinating participant threw water magic at their own teammate,

On another, a Corrosion Mushroom vehicle went berserk on its own, crashing through a wall.

“Hahaha! Bumper car! Flyyyyyyyy!”

“Crazy—! The brakes are corroded—!”

Someone even.

“I am the God of Flameeeees!”

Shouted as they went up in flames and teleported to the Sanctuary of Resurrection.

[Remaining Participants: 10]

[Time Limit: 6 minutes 42 seconds]

The problem was.

That flame-engulfed vehicle was hurtling towards Aki.

“You crazy bastard!”

Aki clenched her teeth tightly.

She tried to swerve quickly, but a giant mushroom materialized before her.

And that was—.

A mushroom boasting a large and beautiful explosion.

“…Eh?”

Boooom!

Instantly, the blast wave engulfed everything.

An ear-splitting explosion sound,

Heat that felt like it was scorching her hair.

That was the last scene she saw before losing consciousness.

When she opened her eyes, she was in the Sanctuary of Resurrection.

Before her floated a notification window tagged ‘Retry’.

[Eliminated]

[2nd Trial Survivors: 0]

At that moment, the Minotaur and several other participants popped into existence beside her with a ‘thud’.

The Minotaur,

Seemed unable to shake off the hallucinations yet.

“Flower…. Flooooower.”

“…Haaaaaa. This crazy trial ground.”

Utterly dismayed, Aki covered her face with both hands.