Before returning to London the following day, Luca made sure to spend at least two hours at HQ with the team.
There weren't as many people as yesterday, confirming his suspicion that most had only shown up because they knew he would be there.
This realization made him a bit sad. Those who were absent today might think he had completely disregarded them and decided not to return. And the truth was, he wouldn't be back in Berlin again until next year.
Luca managed to call a few of them to come, but even then, the group still wasn't complete.
Haas, Mr. Grant, Ms. Vallotton, and Colt were missing. Even though they were invited, they didn't seem particularly eager to leave their homes just to come and see him.
Regardless of who was there or not, Luca had fun playing with McCauley and Mr. Ruben's children, enjoying the time he had left.
At some point, someone suggested that he take the F2 04 out for a spin since this might be his last time in one. Everyone loved the idea, and before long, Luca found himself getting suited up in a Trampos Veststar.
He sighed, taking one last good look at himself in the mirror before swiftly putting on his helmet and dashing out into the cold morning.
[SYNCHRONIZING HOST....]
[SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE]
[Host is now synced with Dallara (F2 04)]
Luca was grateful to whoever had suggested he get into the car one last time. After tearing around the small track, making donuts, and drifting wildly to the thrill of everyone watching, he realized there was some system communication he needed to do.
[Car, chassis, and engine detected.]
[Would you like to select
It turned out he needed to be synchronized to a car after attaining the Professional Bundle in order to unlock its features.
And with this new leveling-up system, every vehicle had a profile status. Any car he designated as his own would now have a tracked progress report, allowing him to monitor his development as its driver.
[Host's car's status generating....
[..... Generation completed]
Car Name: Dallara (F2 04)
Chassis: F2 04 Chassis
Engine: Mercedes-AMG M239 Hybrid Power Unit (SomberCore ]
----------------------------
[Performance Information:
Acceleration: 3.5 s (0-100 km/h)
Braking Efficiency: 15
Tire Wear Management: 8 ]
-------------------------------
[Engine Features: (B) Rating
-------------------------------
------------------------------
Luca was amazed by what he could see on the system's interface. It felt like the system was taking him to a whole new world.
It looked just like his own profile status, but with entirely different attributes, ones he could actually level up.
The system had explained most of these beforehand, so nothing felt foreign. Except for the Engine Feature tab, where the B-level rating was displayed.
"What are those, system? Skills? Can I level them up too?"
[Engine Features are the respective characteristics an engine is known for, differentiating it from others, thereby showing its potential and ability on the track.]
[Yes, they can be leveled up. However, only with the Tuning Upgrade Tool: Wrench, and not by natural progression.]
"So, this is how the F2 04's stats are..." Luca muttered to himself. "I wonder what an F1 chassis stats look like... and their engine features."
Luca paused, his mind drifting as far as the cosmos.
I wonder what a HiCE Engine Features would be!
Luca wished Nevada might be able to secure one next season and place him in the cockpit to pilot it.
He wouldn't hesitate to begin this whole car leveling up endeavor. From S-level, he could stretch it to SS or even SSS, if the system permitted such rankings.
But ever since the Italian Mega Prix, Luca hadn't received any Catalyst or Wrench. And the system had explained that Wrenches were the most important tools for car upgrades.
"System, you've never given me a Catalyst nor a Wrench as a Daily Quest reward. I'm expecting one."
Luca recalled how he'd been barely paying attention to his system lately, more focused on his second life now. He only just realized he hadn't been getting any rewards—or punishments—for his Daily Quests either.
[Catalysts and Wrenches are obtained through Daily Quests, Race Wins, reaching milestones, and other achievements.]
[Most Daily Quest rewards are randomly generated, host. Only a few are specifically arranged by the system.]
[Lack of rewards lately is also a result of lack of punishments attached.]
Tsk! Stop playing smart.
Studying the car status again, Luca realized he didn't need to upgrade his F2 04, since he'd be moving to F1 to drive a whole different chassis.
It'd be better to invest his Cs and Ws there instead...
But if he started increasing the stats of this Dallara (F2 04) and then switched to another team, would he lose all his progress?
Luca considered an example: what if he hadn't finished maxing out all the sections, but he suddenly moved to another team due to some reasons? Would he have to start from scratch, leveling up the new team's chassis all over again?
He expected the system to have an explanation. And it did.
[System cannot directly calculate and transfer all progress to a new car. However, host has the option to transfer existing stats to another car.]
[For example: If Chassis X has stats (50, 25, 33, 60) and is rated A, and host selects a new chassis, Chassis Y, which has stats (12, 20, 30, 22) and is rated B...]
[Host can choose to transfer Chassis X's stats to Chassis Y. This is a direct transfer, meaning no additions or multiplication of the values, only a full replacement and continuation.]
[Thus, after the transfer, Chassis Y will now have stats (50, 25, 33, 60) and be upgraded to A.]
"Wow! That's incredible. I really like it!"
[System is delighted to receive positive feedback on Tuning Upgrade!]
This was just like saved data on a computer, more like a flash drive that he could connect to any PC and resume his work. Luca found it very satisfying and helpful.
He left the headquarters by late morning and made the finishing touches to his home before leaving it for the rest of the year.
He wondered how it would look when he returned.
Luca got on the afternoon plane back to London. He had driving lessons to attend and fencing to spar with Adrian.