Soon he was already running side by side with him, and with a cheerful grin, like an old acquaintance, he waved at him.
"Hey, Todoroki!" - he shouted, saying hello.
"How's the race? Not bored out there by yourself?" Sonic, with his usual casualness, wasn't about to have a silent race. He wanted to have a little fun, and at the same time watch the reaction of his silent rival.
In response to Sonic's greeting, Todoroki, without saying a word, immediately unleashed an icy attack on him. Sonic, dodging the ice projectiles with agility, stopped right in front of Todoroki, turned his back to him, and started running backwards as he continued on his way.
"Hey hey Todoroki, what's with the disrespect for your guest?" - Sonic shouted cheerfully, while maintaining his trademark smile.
"That's not how you do things, didn't your mom teach you that saying hello is polite? Or is that your method of introductions, throwing ice in your face? " Sonic continued to run backwards, taunting Todoroki and trying to keep up his speed, showing that the ice didn't scare him in the slightest.
At his joking lunges, Todoroki only gave him a look full of icy hatred.
His eyes seemed to exude frost and contempt, as if to say, "Shut up and stay out of the way."
"Is he really that vulnerable?" - Sonic thought, but he didn't have time to consider it properly before the ground beneath his feet treacherously opened up. He abruptly felt his body begin to fall. A huge hole appeared as if out of nowhere and gaped beneath him like a black abyss. He instinctively thrust his arm forward, and Sonic barely managed to grab onto a sharp rock protruding from the edge of the hole. His body hung over the abyss, and adrenaline instantly shook him up like a cup of strong coffee.
"Gee!" - he exclaimed to himself, hanging over the precipice. "What kind of a set-up is this?!"
And then, as if on purpose to heighten the atmosphere, the commentator's voice rang out:
"So, dear viewers! It seems that our race favorites have made it to the second test! And, as you can see, it is... Canyon! The contestants will have to show all their agility and skill to overcome this difficult section!" Then, after a little silence, he added, with a note of regret in his voice:
"Alas, it seems that our promising newcomer, Sonic, has had a little difficulty. He's now hanging over a precipice, and from the looks of it, it's going to take a lot of effort for him to get out of this situation." The commentator took a breath and continued, already with more enthusiasm:
"In the meantime, the son of the hero Indevor, Todoroki, continues to lead the way, showing his strength and coolness!" Sonic, hanging on the rock, heard the commentator's words and couldn't help but roll his eyes.
He saw more and more students taking advantage of his hiccup and bypassing him.
"No way, that's no good!" - flashed through his mind. He wasn't going to be left behind. Looking around, Sonic noticed that there were earthen columns stretching upward along the edges of the canyon like giant fingers. A grin blossomed on his face. "Great!" - he thought, and, pushing himself off the rock on which he was hanging, he began to leap from one column to another with lightning speed, like an acrobat jumping from one window to another. With each jump, Sonic moved closer to the edge of the canyon, demonstrating his agility and speed while ignoring the growing excitement among the spectators.
Once out of the pit, Sonic looked around. The canyon was indeed huge, and there was no easy way to run through it. But Sonic wouldn't be Sonic if he didn't find a solution. He looked at the pillars sticking out of the ground like bridges leading to the other side of the chasm. Smiling, he decided to use them as support.
"Since that's the case, we'll just jump over!" - flashed through his mind, and he pushed himself off the edge and began to fly swiftly from one pillar to another. Sonic, like a mountain goat, deftly and quickly moved across the improvised bridge, without slowing down.
Finally, Sonic, jumping from pillar to pillar, deftly made his way to the other side of the canyon. He landed on solid ground, shook off the dust, and exhaled with relief. But before he could savor the moment, the commentator's voice came again:
"So, dear spectators! Our participants have successfully overcome the canyon and reached the last, final test! And that is... Minefield!" Sonic squinted his eyes upon hearing these words. "A minefield?
And as if reading Sonic's thoughts, the commentator added:
"And no need to worry, participants! The mines certainly look intimidating, but they're not deadly! They'll just give you a little surprise!"
Sonic, clearly catching the commentator's words - "the last challenge", realized that the finish line was just around the corner.