Speedrunning the World Starting with Firefly — Part 17

She easily analyzed them.

She did have a Herta puppet, but that puppet was truly hard to describe.

Its basic artificial intelligence was really just basic—it could only be used as a puppet-version robot.

Putting those thoughts aside, since Tsumuri had already appeared, it meant that a new round of the Desire Grand Prix was about to begin.

Firefly was looking forward to it as well.

Not only could she farm points, but there was also something she cared about deeply.

It was just a pity that she had yet to find the place where the Jamato were cultivated. It seemed to have been hidden away by the Desire Grand Prix organizers.

Otherwise, things would have been much simpler.

Firefly only vaguely remembered that the place should have been located in a city destroyed during a past Desire Grand Prix, after the Rider faction met with defeat.

Later, the ruins of that destroyed city became the Grand Prix's garden for cultivating Jamato.

Not only that, but the bodies of past Kamen Riders who had died and been eliminated, along with nearly all of their ID Cores, had become nourishment for the Jamato.

But there was an even more crucial point.

The people of the future had been forced to become data-based lifeforms. One reason they had been forced to choose spiritual ascension was because of the overgrown plants in the world they had once lived in.

When Earth was destroyed, they had been forced to evolve, abandoning their physical bodies and entering a virtual world.

After losing their bodies, they began to subsist on spiritual entertainment, and the Desire Grand Prix came into being soon after.

The Jamato were monsters cultivated by the people of the future using the plants that had conquered Earth as samples.

If she wanted to change or destroy the Desire Grand Prix, the garden where the Jamato were cultivated was undoubtedly of utmost importance.

In fact, the Desire Grand Prix had not been this cruel in the beginning. The winner did not become a God of Desire either, but merely received gold coins representing honor.

It was only after that Goddess of Creation appeared that the Desire Grand Prix evolved into what it was now.

Pulling back her thoughts, Firefly entered the room.

Kurama Neon was still holding the Desire Driver and her Na-Go Chip, seemingly lost in thought.

Only when she sensed Firefly entering did Kurama Neon hurriedly hide them behind her back, not wanting anyone to know.

But after reconsidering, she realized there was no need for that at all.

Firefly seemed far from ordinary as well. That miraculous fox mask was proof enough. Perhaps Firefly had known about the Desire Grand Prix long ago.

"Neon, what are you..."

Watching Kurama Neon panic, Firefly knowingly asked anyway.

"Hehe..."

Kurama Neon gave an embarrassed laugh before taking the Rider Driver out from behind her back.

"This is?"

Firefly looked curiously at Kurama Neon's Rider Driver.

There was a hint of interest in her eyes. Compared to a true Kamen Rider, Firefly—Sam—was more like a cosmic warrior.

That was why an actual Rider belt made her want to play around with it, even if these Desire-series Kamen Riders were weaker than her in her own right.

Hmm, looks like I need to find an opportunity to snatch the Vision Driver and play with it.

As the Rider transformation device of the Game Master and the Game Producer, the Vision Driver had much richer functions and could directly connect to the Goddess of Creation.

With both of them, one could directly grant wishes as well.

It was far more interesting than an ordinary Rider Driver.

"This is... a Rider Driver."

Kurama Neon chuckled and told Firefly directly.

Normally, the Desire Grand Prix could not be revealed to outsiders, but there were exceptions! And Kurama Neon was afraid that Firefly would not understand, so she explained some of the information she had just learned.

"So that's how it is. Then, Neon, are you going to accept the invitation to participate in the Desire Grand Prix?"

Firefly acted as though she had only just learned of it. She stared at Kurama Neon with great concern, as if she were worried about her.

"I'm not sure either, but I probably can't refuse."

Kurama Neon could not say for certain herself.

The Desire Grand Prix Officially Begins

"I see."

Firefly held Kurama Neon's Rider Driver, but after only looking it over for a few moments, she returned it to her.

This belt required a matching Rider Chip ID, and the Na-Go Chip belonged to Kurama Neon.

"Although I don't know exactly what the Desire Grand Prix's invitation entails, that's exactly why you need to be careful."

"I can't help you much, but I'll still cheer you on."

The cute and well-behaved Firefly encouraged the girl, putting Kurama Neon, who had still been somewhat uneasy, much more at ease.

"Mm-hm! With Firefly cheering me on, no matter what I face, I'm sure I can do it."

Faced with such an adorable Firefly, Kurama Neon became much more confident as well.

"Oh, right, Neon. I have two more things to give you."

Remembering something, Firefly took out two items and handed them to her.

"Huh, more gifts? Firefly, you're making me feel embarrassed."

Hearing Firefly's words, Kurama Neon felt a little embarrassed too. She had already been very grateful for the fox mask Firefly had given her earlier.

She had not seriously given Firefly any gift in return.

Mainly because she did not know what to give her. Ordinary gifts felt far too commonplace.

"What are these? Could they be something magical again?"

The items Firefly took out looked quite ordinary, but she wondered whether they possessed some mysterious power like the fox mask.

"Something like that!"

"They're not anything precious. Keep them with you—if something unexpected happens, they can protect you."

Firefly seriously placed the two items in Kurama Neon's hands. They truly were not ordinary items. But they also truly were not precious, at least not to Firefly.

After all, they were both blue-quality little pieces of junk!

Still, their abilities were genuinely quite good. In this world, they were more than worthy of being called treasures.

One of them was a blue-quality Light Cone.

Preservation [Garrison Guard]!

Introduction: A faint power condensed from time itself. It is every insignificant instant that weaves together a magnificent destiny.

"Behind the city walls, resilient people proved that defense, too, was a means of victory."

It could manifest the power of Preservation at a critical moment.

The other item was not particularly useful: a blue-quality Curio that could automatically clean stains off its carrier's clothes.

And the reason Firefly gave Kurama Neon this was because... it was also an incredibly useful super tracker for Firefly.

As long as it was with Neon, Firefly could lock onto the Desire Grand Prix's location at all times and would not miss her target.

Although she did not understand the abilities of the two items, Kurama Neon was still deeply moved. She did not refuse again, instead carefully putting them away.

Soon, it was time for the Desire Grand Prix to officially begin.

After Kurama Neon inserted her Na-Go ID Core into the Vision Driver, she found herself on a floating platform in the blink of an eye.

Kurama Neon was somewhat flustered and astonished, but after remembering something, she steadied herself. Only then did she look around, and immediately spotted Sakurai Keiwa—the person she had fled for her life with last time...

He was also looking around blankly at that moment.

Just then, Tsumuri appeared on a platform nearby. Holding a clipboard, she began to speak.

"Hello, everyone present. I am the game navigator, Tsumuri!"

"Welcome to the Desire Grand Prix!"

"Right now, the world we live in is exposed to the threat of the Jamato..."

After drawing everyone's attention, Tsumuri skillfully began explaining the game-related information of the Desire Grand Prix.

In the Desire Grand Prix, the final contestant standing would receive the opportunity to have their wish granted.

That condition alone was enough to excite the countless contestants who were still completely confused.

Any wish could be granted. Just thinking about it was thrilling.

Even Kurama Neon was no exception!

"So it really isn't in reality?"

Firefly lay on the sofa, sensing the location of the Curio on Kurama Neon's body as she fell into thought.

It had to be said that the technology of these future people was indeed impressive in certain respects. They could freely set and alter a world covered by the Goddess's power!

Because this world was covered by the power of the Goddess of Creation, all kinds of game rules could be established through one of the key Vision Drivers.

But what was amusing was that such powerful future people still needed sponsorship from this world's conglomerates and had to consider the authorities' reactions. Even when something happened, they generally only relied on the power of creation to alter everyone's memories and perceptions.

Even more ridiculous was the fact that something as important as the Vision Driver was actually unlocked using fingerprints.