"System, did I accomplish the Quest?"
"I'm very sure I was making use of Overtaking Skill when I crashed him."
"Don't tell me I ruined a fellow driver's race for nothing."
[Congratulations! Daily Quest Completed!]
[You have been rewarded with (EXP)!
"I must be averaging 30 now in my Attributes."
[You have unlocked a feature:
Finally, Luca had unlocked this Tuning Upgrade the system had ever so overhyped. He wondered if it would actually live up to the hype, or if the system was just exaggerating. But something about the name alone made him think it had to be cool.
Luca took a deep breath. The safety car parade was still ongoing, as was his potential penalty review. So, he had enough time to communicate with the system.
"So, c'mon, say it. What's Tuning Upgrade about?"
[...Data successfully retrieved]
[Tuning Upgrade is a feature that grants the host the ability to manually enhance Attributes and Skills at will. Instead of relying solely on natural progression or predefined upgrade paths, the host can directly allocate upgrade points with a simple mental command.]
Luca couldn't believe it! Had he just discovered a glitch to the system?
He reread the explanation again, a smile creeping into his face as he realized leveling up might just turn out to be much easier!
So in other words, instead of waiting for things to improve over time, he could just decide to boost his stats?
"I hope there's no catch to this?"
[There is no definite "catch" as host states. However, the full description of Tuning Upgrade and its mechanism is as follows:]
[Tuning Upgrade is a feature that grants the host the ability to manually enhance Attributes and Skills by using tools which can be acquired from Daily Quests, Race Wins and other accomplishments]
[Catalyst (Self Upgrade) :
—The Catalyst tool can help refine host, allowing you to enhance your attributes and skills through direct selection.
—1 Catalyst equals 1 Skill EXP
—1 Catalyst equals 3 Attributes EXP
—3 Catalyst equals 1 Wrench ]
[Wrench (Car Upgrade):
—The Wrench tool is the counterpart to Catalyst, designed to enhance the car itself when host unlocks Professional Bundle. It allows host to fine-tune the car's performance, rather than relying solely on natural leveling up and the team's engineering staff.
—1 Wrench equals 1 Skill EXP
—1 Wrench equals 3 Attributes EXP
—1 Wrench equals 3 Catalysts ]
[You have received 1 Wrench!]
[Note: Catalysts and Wrenches expire upon anytime host makes use of Sync Buff]
Luca stared at the interface, trying to process the sheer depth of what he had just unlocked. His eyes flicked from one line of text to the next, mentally dissecting the mechanics behind Catalyst and Wrench.
"This is... extreme."
Catalyst for me, Wrench for the car... But they convert into each other?
His fingers twitched over the wheel as he muttered under his breath.
One Catalyst equals three Attribute EXP, but one Wrench equals three Catalysts.
That meant a single Wrench was basically nine Attribute EXP, or three Skill EXP if converted properly.
"What in the world is this feature, first of all?!"
[System has provided an icon box titled where host can keep count of how many Catalysts and Wrenches he has]
"Hmm. I'll check that later," Luca said as he reread the whole thing again to fully grasp it.
Then his eyes landed again on the last line.
[Note: Catalysts and Wrenches expire upon anytime host makes use of Sync Buff]
His brows furrowed. Sync Buff... so if he ever activated it, he'd lose whatever Catalysts or Wrenches he had? That was a serious trade-off. Did that mean Sync Buff was that overpowered, or was it just a failsafe to prevent him from abusing the system?
Luca inhaled sharply as he navigated to the inventory the system just provided.
A Wrench. Right from the get-go. A gift, I guess.
He sat back in his cockpit, the distant hum of engines and safety car sirens still somewhere in his mind. His thoughts were running wild.
"Do I use this Wrench on myself? Convert it to Catalysts and take all my attributes to 30?"
"I don't have any such thing as car upgrading yet. System doesn't want to tell me, but I know Professional Bundle has to do with upgrading the car that I drive."
That's why—THAT'S WHY YOU FREAKING GAVE ME THIS QUEST! Nice!
Luca studied the wrench. It definitely looked like a real wrench, ready to turn and turn, tune and tune a single-seater to perfection. Too bad he didn't have Professional Bundle yet. The Wrench was useless.
Unless he converted it to three Catalysts and use it on himself instead.
Luca began to ponder how to make good use of this Wrench. Because from what he could perceive, these tools would come rare, and he didn't want to waste any potential.
"System, show me all my Attributes."
[Generating host's Attributes...]
[....Generation completed]
Luca needed only Strength, Agility and Intelligence to make it to 30 to unlock another Skill.
If he were to convert this single Wrench to three Catalysts, he'd be able to then get nine EXP and use it in any manner he liked.
He might just nonchalantly assign +2 EXP each to all Attributes except Stamina which he would assign +1. This would take them to these:
Strength—31, Stamina—33, Endurance—32, Agility—30, Intelligence—31.
Luca was certain if he went through with this, he'd unlock a new Skill.
His mind hovered at the interface, ready to commit, until his eyes caught something else on the screen.
[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 87.5%]
Was his priority unlocking a Skill that he'd have to grind up from (2)? Or was it winning this race and finally securing the Professional Bundle?
And what if the new Skill wasn't even useful right now?
No. His first Tuning Upgrade had to be impactful. He needed something that would make a difference—now.
Would he even have enough time to complete the Sync Bar before the checkered flag?
His rivals definitely had better car Operational Status than he did. Luca needed an upper hand.
His mind flashed back to the conversion rates and he recalled the use. Then, Luca asked his system to change the Wrench to three Catalysts.
[Processing request...]
[Conversion initiated...]
[1 Wrench → 3 Catalysts]
[Conversion successful!]
[Note: Catalysts can be allocated to Attributes or Skills at host's discretion.]
"Okay. Show me all my uncompleted Skills."
[... successfully generated.]
Straightaway Chopping:8
Spatial Awareness : 7
Slipstream Mastery: 8
Slipsense & Rainborne: 3]
It didn't matter which he upgraded with the Catalysts. All that mattered was that he completed his second Sync Buff of this race.
So, Luca decided to go with Grid Launch. At least, in the first race of next season, he might just have the upper hand at the grid.
[Processing request...]
[Applying 3 Catalysts to Grid Launch...]
[Grid Launch: 7 → 10]
"Nooooooo," Luca wailed dramatically. He was already in love with those two tools.
[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 100%]
[Host, Sync Buff can now be used.]
It was official now: Luca had completed two Sync Bars in one race.
He was leading the pack in the parade. All he had to do was resume the race with this monstrosity called Sync Buff, and he was on his way to victory!
As the system began loading the next display to randomly determine the Sync Buff duration, Luca turned his attention to the wild circuit around him.
For some reason, Miles' crash didn't bother him—definitely because of Zen Zone—but he was still wary about the penalty verdict.
Whether he was innocent or guilty, Luca would forever be seen as guilty in the eyes of the Italian crowd, mainly Squadra Corse and Bueseno Velocità.
The French Grand Prix had its own controversy with the DNF he forced Max into. Now... the Italian Mega Prix had its own sauce.
As the safety car gradually concluded its purpose, the announcement of the verdict was broadcasted loud and clear.
The crowd went wild as the announcement relayed that Luca was found innocent of foul play.