The next morning had arrived rather quickly for Danny. He woke up and jumped from his bed, took his breakfast, which was again instant noodles. He also took his bath and brushed his teeth. Not in that order.

  He rushed to his slanted gaming chair and placed the virtual reality headset over his eyes. He activated it, which sent his mind to the void.

  Just like the previous times, his vision showed the gray space, the three 3-D boxes floating in front of him. He selected the one that would take him to the private track, and his mind was transported into his avatar, and he found himself in his muscle car.

  “Welcome back, Danny,” Cane greeted. “Are you well-rested and fed?”

  “Yeah, yeah!” Danny answered quickly. Using his mind, he brought up the digital screen and navigated to the skills page in a rush. He couldn’t contain his excitement.

  He found the skill he was looking for:

  Full Burst: Nitro is concentrated and let out in a powerful burst in a second, increasing the Nitro’s power by five times.

  “Good, it’s still there,” Danny muttered. Of course, it was still there. There was a thought at the back of Danny’s mind: it was a small one, but it was still there. It told him that he had just imagined the skill. He was so glad that wasn’t the case.

  He clicked on the skill. As he did, he wondered what it would take for him to acquire the skill. Acquiring Beginner’s Edge required him to manually perform the skill in a streak of four.

  His blue digital screen appeared with the answer. To acquire it, you must drive your vehicle at max speed for an hour. If the vehicle speed drops, the driver must start again.

  “Okay, now that’s just impossible,” Danny complained.

  “Why do you say that?” Cane asked.

  “Because I’ll have to drift eventually on this track. The only way I could maybe drive at max speed for a whole hour would be if I was driving on an infinite road or something,” Danny explained.

  “Spectacular observation,” Cane praised Danny. “But do not worry, Danny. I can solve this problem.”

  Just like before, the private track turned into blank spaces and its edges neon lights.

  Cane was reshaping the private track. I wonder how Cane’s going to change the track this time, Danny thought.

  The track of neon lights formed into a narrow rack with no walls, and it seemed to go on forever.

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  “What you are looking at is the infinite track. A track that has no end. This should help you fulfill the condition to acquire the skill Full Burst,” Cane said.

  “Thanks, Cane,” Danny said. Gone were the days when Danny would be surprised by every trick Cane would pull off in the game.

  He had made a promise after all. He would just go with the flow.

  Danny stepped on the pedal of his muscle car. His car accelerated and reached max speed in very little time. His digital screen appeared with a timer.

  It was set for one hour. Danny's feet remained on the pedal, and his muscle car kept racing at max speed, not shifting in speed in the slightest. It was a weird experience for Danny.

  To travel at such a great speed without stopping even once. His body didn’t feel strained in the slightest. Of course, it didn’t. It wasn’t his real body after all. If it was, Danny would surely feel some discomfort in his feet or his hands that held the steering wheel.

  As half an hour passed, Danny began to sense something shifting within him. It wasn’t physical, but rather a subtle mental strain, like the weight of concentration was slowly wearing him down. The constant effort of maintaining the car’s speed, ensuring it never dipped below the maximum, was starting to take its toll, especially after hours of relentless focus.

  Danny gave a small nod to shake off the fatigue, but his head jerked back up too quickly, just for a moment. The muscle car responded with a slight tilt, its acceleration faltering as it briefly dipped below the maximum speed.

  The digital screen appeared in front of him with a message: Vehicle has dropped below max speed. Start over.

  “Damn it!” Danny cursed.

  “You can always start again, Danny,” Cane encouraged. Danny knew Cane was being helpful, but honestly, the thought of doing this again and again didn’t sound pleasurable to Danny.

  But… he didn’t have a choice. He took a deep breath, tapped on the pedal, and tried again. Every time he reached max speed, the digital screen would notify him and start the one-hour timer.

  This trial for him to get Full Burst was torture in a way. It was a kind of challenge that Danny had never experienced.

  He had lost concentration on the task about half a dozen times, and the furthest he had gotten to keeping the car at max speed was about forty-five minutes.

  Danny pulled at the black and white hair of his avatar and let out a large groan. “Would you like to take a break, Danny?” Cane asked. “I can see this task is taking quite a toll on your mind. Perhaps a few hours of rest is needed.”

  “NO!” Danny quickly answered. “Thanks for the concern, Cane, really. But I only have a day to master this skill, and I’m going to need it if I’m going to win my first race, and I intend to win.”

  Danny continued on with the trial. He had reached the max speed of the muscle car and had managed to beat his record of forty-five minutes, but he didn’t know that.

  He didn’t bring up the digital screen to check his progress. He couldn’t afford any distractions. He had to focus on keeping the car at max speed at all costs.

  His body in the real world started sweating tremendously, and he bit his lip unconsciously. Fifty-five minutes had passed, and Danny had a strong urge to let go of the pedal even if it was just a little while.

  He shook his head and continued on with his task. He ignored the powerful urge to let go. Only two minutes remained, and the urge came back even stronger.

  “Maybe… I can just rest for a little while. How long have I been driving at max speed? I gotta be close, right? Or maybe that’s just what my mind wants me to think. Maybe I’m nowhere near reaching an hour,” Danny battled with his thoughts.

  He was moments away from shifting his feet away from the pedal, but thankfully the digital screen appeared with a satisfactory message.

  Congratulations! You have acquired the skill Full Burst.

  “Yes!” Danny exclaimed