Reborn As The Minor Villain In A Romance Fantasy Novel

Chapter 265: Beach Activities [III]

"You mean... we should race?" Luna asked as she stood on her board, balancing carefully on the gentle swells.

On her right was Selene and Vanessa, both looking confident and competitive.

"Of course we should." Selene replied with a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "You can even use your magic freely... but let’s race and try to impress Lucius with what we can do."

Luna looked at Vanessa who nodded in agreement, and then turned her gaze toward Lucius who was in the distance, surfing with the rest of the girls on the smaller safer waves.

They were riding together in a group and he was watching over them protectively, especially Lilliane since he was holding her hand to help her maintain balance on the unfamiliar board.

"Fine..." Luna said as they lined up their boards side by side, the ocean rocking them gently. "How will we do this race exactly?"

"From here, the first one to reach..." Selene threw something up and it shot through the air in a high arc before landing in the water with a splash and floating above the surface.

It seemed like a white inflatable ball bobbing on the waves. "That item and bring it back to the shore wins the race. Simple enough?"

With that declaration, there was an immediate burst of mana as Vanessa shot forward without any hesitation, creating small propulsive waves of her own with mana as her board accelerated forward with explosive speed.

The water behind her churned white with the force of her departure.

Selene went next in a flash of silver light, her mana creating a luminescent trail behind her as she carved through the water.

Luna almost lost her balance completely as she was left behind in their violent wake, the displacement rocking her board dangerously, but then she grinned with fierce determination.

"Momentum Shift." She said clearly, activating her spell.

The instant she did, she shot forward like a rocket and caught up with the girls in mere seconds, her board skipping across the water surface.

Using Momentum Shift to directly influence her own momentum was relatively easy with all her practice, but at the same time, she had to maintain perfect balance on the constantly moving board so she couldn’t afford to go completely reckless with her speed.

The spray from the ocean hit her face as she accelerated, and she could feel the wind whipping through her hair as she matched their pace.

There was a massive wave forming up ahead, easily fifteen feet tall and still building higher as it approached them.

The wall of water cast a shadow across their path. Selene as well as Vanessa split apart to the sides to go around it while Luna charged straight forward with reckless confidence, deciding to go through rather than around.

She increased her momentum once more with a focused burst of mana, starting from the base of the wave and riding up the steep vertical face toward the crest.

The board vibrated beneath her feet from the speed and force. However, as she reached the top and crested over, her board slipped slightly on the lip and that resulted in her launching into an uncontrolled flip that sent her rolling through the air above the wave.

Everyone’s eyes immediately turned to watch her aerial mishap, and she could even feel Lucius’s concerned gaze locked on her from the distance where he was teaching the others, but she bit her lip and focused intently.

’Zero Shift!’

Zero Shift usually cancelled motion completely, freezing an object in space, however she lowered the effectiveness to merely slow down the rotational motion instead.

Time seemed to slow as she gained control of her tumbling body. She completed the flip with grace, her arms spreading out, and lined herself perfectly with the water surface as she reactivated Momentum Shift again with precise timing.

She shot across the water like a missile, landing smoothly on the descending back of the wave and continuing forward without losing speed.

Selene popped up at her side with an approving smile, clearly impressed by the recovery.

"Sister wife Luna~ You’re so cool with those flips~" She called out over the sound of rushing water.

With that compliment, Selene moved ahead toward an oncoming wave and executed a graceful flip over it, her silver hair streaming behind her as she landed perfectly on the descending face.

Luna rode along the side of the same wave, carving a smooth line through the face and feeling the power of the water beneath her board.

She came out the other side in a spray of white foam and used Momentum Shift once more to accelerate even faster.

She spun around rapidly on the water surface, her board cutting a tight circular pattern as she adjusted her trajectory, and they were getting very close to the white ball now.

The target was visible ahead, bobbing innocently on the waves.

Just then a powerful shockwave of displaced water came from behind them and Vanessa shot past both of them explosively, her board leaving a wake that rocked them both.

Her knees were bent low on her board as she maintained perfect balance despite the extreme speed she was generating.

Selene immediately burst forward with a concentrated release of mana, silver light exploding around her, though she wasn’t using her full power yet... Hell she didn’t plan to use it at all.

’The white ball is heavy as fuck.’ Selene thought as she watched Vanessa’s speed continue increasing even more with each passing second.

It seemed the blood manipulator was pumping enhanced blood circulation throughout her entire body while simultaneously using mana to boost her board’s propulsion through the water.

Luna was maintaining her position as a close second, her face set with determination. ’They won’t be able to grab it properly when they reach it. The weight will surprise them.’

Just then, Vanessa rounded the floating ball in a tight arc, spray flying from her turn, and extended one hand out confidently.

She lifted the ball with apparent ease and immediately shot back in the opposite direction without losing any momentum, tucking it against her body.

Selene’s eyes widened in genuine surprise as Vanessa moved past her at incredible speed, already heading back toward shore.

"Oh, I didn’t activate it yet..." Selene said casually as she pointed directly at the ball with two fingers, and a spark of moon mana ignited within the sphere’s core.

Immediately Vanessa sank completely beneath the water as the ball’s weight increased exponentially, multiplying many times over and dragging her down into the depths.

"Oopsie~" Selene said with obviously fake innocence as she spun her board around smoothly and moved toward where Vanessa had disappeared beneath the surface in a explosion of bubbles.

Luna pulled up beside her quickly, both looking concerned despite the competition.

Selene leaned off her board and pushed her face into the water to look down, only to pull out immediately and stare at Luna with genuine alarm in her eyes. "She’s still moving underwater somehow! She hasn’t let go!"

Both girls began paddling and surfing again with renewed urgency as Vanessa suddenly surfaced up ahead in an explosion of water, somehow still balanced precariously on her board and holding the impossibly heavy ball within her arms and pressed against her waist.

She was positioning her board at a careful angle that would distribute her weight equally across the surface to prevent sinking though her muscles were straining visibly.

And then a massive wave began forming directly ahead of all of them, building higher and higher.

It was going to crash down and swallow them completely in its curl.

Vanessa immediately burst forward with another explosion of mana-enhanced blood flow and rode along the vertical side of the wave as it curled overhead, surfing along the face at a forty-five degree angle.

The other girls followed desperately.

Luna and Selene were close behind, matching her pace as they all three rode along the same massive wave face.

The curl was forming above them, creating a tunnel of water. Then Luna bit her lip hard and made a decision.

’Momentum Shift!’

Her momentum burst forward even more dramatically and she was rapidly closing the gap to pass Vanessa completely, her board cutting through the water at dangerous speeds.

Her hands were extended outward to snatch the ball that Vanessa held, when suddenly the woman made an unexpected move and dove sideways directly into the wave itself, being swallowed by the churning water completely and disappearing from sight into the blue depths.

"Huh? Where did she—" Luna caught nothing but air, her hands grasping emptiness.

Just as she was about to be caught and crushed by the massive wave collapsing behind her, the curl finally breaking, Selene grabbed her outstretched hand firmly and threw her upward with enhanced strength into a high flip to escape the impact zone.

Selene herself was swallowed by the crashing wave completely, disappearing beneath the white foam and tons of water.

The wave passed and collapsed with a thunderous roar, and Selene surfaced in the calmer water behind it, holding her board with one hand as she coughed up seawater and pushed her wet silver hair back from her face.

Luna landed smoothly on her board nearby, looking around frantically for Vanessa.

"Stop her... It’s up to you now, sister wife." Selene said between coughs, pointing toward the shore where Vanessa had to be heading.

Luna nodded with fierce determination, using Momentum Shift to take off at maximum speed in pursuit.

As soon as Selene was absolutely certain that Luna was no longer looking in her direction, she dove beneath the crystal clear water intentionally in search of a pair of beautiful sea shells she had spotted just now.

’I can use these to make a beautiful necklace for Lucius as a gift...’ She thought happily while swimming down, her competitive spirit was satisfied. ’Besides, Vanessa deserves the win for that performance.’

...

Vanessa was currently far ahead and rapidly nearing the beach, using concentrated bursts of mana to ensure her board maintained incredible speed despite the enormous weight she was carrying.

Though her entire body was soaked completely wet from diving through that massive wave, and her arms were burning from the strain, she absolutely wanted to win this race.

’Using Blood Movement internally is definitely the best approach for this.’ She thought as visible veins popped up prominently on her arm that was holding the ball against her body.

It was extraordinarily heavy, far heavier than it had appeared, and she had to distribute her enhanced strength carefully to not only hold it securely in place but also prevent her board from sinking entirely beneath the water from the combined weight.

Every muscle in her body was engaged in the effort.

The only reason the board hadn’t already broken into pieces under the stress was that she had seeped some of her mana-enhanced blood through the wood’s natural pores and was manipulating it from within to reinforce the internal structure, turning it into something far stronger than normal wood.

There was no rule in the race stating that she couldn’t do exactly that.

Just then Luna shot up to her side with explosive speed, spray flying from her board, and looked at her with intense competitive eyes.

"Vanessa, if you give me the ball right now, then I won’t hurt you." Luna said seriously, and Vanessa raised an eyebrow in genuine amusement at the threat.

Luna was actually planning on hurting her to win?

She honestly wanted to see her try that. A powerful wave was building from behind them both and it pushed both boards forward even faster than before, accelerating them toward the beach.

Vanessa extended the ball toward Luna with a sweet, innocent smile.

"Sure, you can have it..." She said in a helpful tone.

Luna reached out and took it confidently with both hands, only for the overwhelming weight to consume her completely in a matter of seconds.

Her eyes went wide with shock as the true mass registered. She lost her ability to stand upright and fell backward with a cry of surprise, and the ball was immediately snagged back out of her failing grip by Vanessa’s quick reflexes.

Luna fell off her board entirely and the massive wave consumed both her and her board, carrying them backward and tumbling her through thd water.

She came out the other side sputtering where Selene was currently surfing at a leisurely slow pace with a collection of colorful sea shells held carefully in both hands like treasures.

"Oh Luna, you lost too?" Selene asked with genuine sympathy in her voice. "I guess Sister Wife Vanessa really is something special, huh? That strength is no joke."

Vanessa executed a perfect flip in the air as she approached the beach, rotating her board beneath her, and landed directly on the shore with a spray of sand.

The residual speed from her surfing accidentally knocked Luke who was practicing awkwardly on his board completely off course and sent him tumbling sideways into the shallow water with a splash and a yelp.

As soon as she stepped off her board onto the solid sand, her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the ground from complete exhaustion, every muscle in her body screaming.

She held up the ball triumphantly above her head for a moment before letting it fall, and it created a small crater in the sand from the heavy impact, sand spraying outward.

Lucius appeared and stood above her, looking down with an amused expression on his face.

"You seem to have had quite a bit of fun with that race." He said as he looked at the ball sitting in its crater, then back at the ocean where the others were still coming in. "Maybe I’ll join in the next one..."

Just then a sharp crack ran across Vanessa’s surfboard as she drew all the reinforcing blood out of the wood structure, the red liquid seeping out of the pores.

Several more cracks spiderwebbed rapidly across the surface before it broke apart completely into four separate quarters with snapping sounds.

Lucius’s eyes widened in shock as he looked down at her and the destroyed board lying in pieces.

"N-nooo..."

He looked over at the surfing rental stand where the woman who owned it had somehow suddenly materialized beside him like a ghost.

She extended a hand out accusingly, somehow managing to grab him firmly by the wrist and begin dragging him off toward the stand with surprising strength for someone so small.

"That’ll be 50,000 royals for the damaged board, sir!"

"Nooo... for just a single board?!" Lucius protested as he was dragged along the sand.

"They’re the absolute best quality boards available on this entire beach!"

"But it broke after a single surf session, that’s not what I’d call durable at all!"

Just then Luna and Selene came up onto the beach as well, walking through the shallow water. Selene dropped her collection of beautiful sea shells onto the sand carefully, arranging them in a small pile.

"Come on, everyone..." She called out cheerfully to the other girls who were still in the water. "Call the rest of the girls over here, let’s check out all these beautiful sea shells I found! They’ll make wonderful jewelry!"