The day after the Oka Sho reached its conclusion, the training team led by Dream Weaver didn't allow themselves to wallow in the nectar of victory.
While securing the first gem of the Triple Tiara was certainly a cause for celebration, they had sights set on horizons far grander than a single trophy.
Despite her effortless win, Liberty Island hadn't let her guard down for a second. She knew exactly who her ultimate rival was.
Facing an Uma Musume who was fast becoming a world-class phenomenon, now was hardly the time to kick back.
As she finished today's session in the virtual dive simulation, she slowly sat up from the pod. After a few minutes of catching her breath, she gave a sharp nod to Sugar Lights.
Having long since developed a silent understanding, the two didn't need words.
Liberty Island headed for the track, while Sugar Lights closed her eyes. Using the predecessor to the virtual dive gear, she projected her consciousness into the mechanical Uma Musume, ST-2.
A virtual simulation was one thing, but it only counted once you felt the wind in the real world. Thus, a follow-up mock race against the machine piloted by Sugar Lights had become a mandatory ritual.
Since there was only one dive pod, Liberty Island and Hishi Miracle usually rotated. As soon as one finished, the other would take her place.
Meanwhile, Sugar Lights would wait for them to emerge from the digital fray before linking up with the mechanical runner for the physical sparring session.
Through this grueling regimen, both Liberty Island and Hishi Miracle had made staggering progress. Sugar Lights, training alongside them daily, used the opportunity to harvest data and fine-tune her mechanical double.
By now, her ST-2 was far past the days of making rookie blunders like the clumsy trip-and-fall she'd suffered when she first met Dream Weaver.
Seeing Liberty Island and the mechanical runner exit the clubroom, Hishi Miracle didn't dally.
With Agnes Tachyon's assistance, she climbed into the pod and began her own simulation for the day.
As the familiar mechanical hum filled the air, Hishi Miracle practiced her breathing and shut her eyes. Seconds later, she stepped once more into that vast, white void.
As per routine, a data panel reflecting her latest stats shimmered into existence before her.
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[Virtual Dive Device — Uma Musume Status]
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Character: Hishi Miracle
Speed: C [Senior Grade]
Stamina: C+ [Senior Grade]
Power: C+ [Senior Grade]
Guts: B [Elite Grade]
Wit: D [Rising Star Grade]
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Adaptability: Turf A, Dirt G
Zone: None
Skills: Long Straightaways, Long Corners, Concentration
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For an Uma Musume who had only recently debuted, these stats were nothing short of luxurious.
With a spread of three Cs and a B, Hishi Miracle already possessed the raw talent to contend for G3 graded stakes.
Half a year ago, she wouldn't have even dared to dream of winning a heavy prize. But now, that once-untouchable fantasy had been forged through daily sweat into a goal she could reach just by standing on her tiptoes.
But it wasn't enough. At least, not in Hishi Miracle's eyes.
Whether compared to her teammate Liberty Island or the records of her trainer back when she was a G1 champion, these attributes felt pathetically thin.
Thinking about how Liberty Island had likely unlocked every technical skill the system had to offer, while she sat there with only two common techniques and one gold skill, Hishi Miracle couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"Liberty's stats are already hitting Rank A, but I'm still stuck at C+. Is the gap in our training efficiency really that massive?"
In truth, Hishi Miracle didn't feel like she was hitting a wall. Whenever Dream Weaver asked, she never felt like there was some unbreakable ceiling hindering her growth.
And yet, her stats crawled upward at a snail's pace—especially when measured against the meteoric rise of Liberty Island or the legends of Dream Weaver's past.
However, if Dream Weaver knew what Hishi Miracle was fretting over, she'd tell her to stop overthinking.
Liberty Island was a freak of nature, a talent in a league of her own.
When Dream Weaver herself first hit Rank B back in the day, she did it slightly faster than Hishi Miracle, but that was largely due to her early-maturing nature and a lower overall potential ceiling.
In reality, Hishi Miracle's current growth rate was actually quite brisk for a standard Uma Musume. At this pace, she'd likely push at least one attribute to Rank A by the end of the year.
And Rank A was the true ticket—the moment an Uma Musume earned the right to step onto a G1 stage.
Out of the sea of active runners, only a select few ever made it to a G1. Hishi Miracle had already completely surpassed the lazy, easy-going version of herself from months ago.
Even if she usually played the comedic relief in the group—obsessing over sweets—she was actually putting in the work.
Her moment of self-doubt didn't last long. She flicked away the data panel and summoned the simulation interface.
Unlike the pitifully thin list of opponents from six months ago, the menu was now packed with legendary names.
She could even do what Liberty Island did: fuse the data of several powerhouse runners into a single composite opponent for high-intensity training.
But Hishi Miracle didn't do that.
She knew she wasn't as clever as Liberty Island; she hadn't mastered that kind of complexity.
Thinking of herself as a bit of a slow learner, she stuck to the "idiot's" way of training.
She selected Dream Weaver as her opponent, cranked the difficulty to G1 level, and stepped back into the arena to face her trainer.
She couldn't dissect and learn techniques from a dozen different legends like Liberty Island could.
She could only choose the one person she knew best, the one she wanted to be closest to, and push forward through failure after failure—like the old man trying to move a mountain one pebble at a time.
This was the goal Hishi Miracle had set for herself in secret. She didn't plan on registering for a real-life G1 race until she could at least best the version of her trainer from her championship days.
To her, the G1 stage was something special, something radiant.
Only by defeating a trainer who once shone just as brightly would Hishi Miracle feel she had truly earned the right to stand under those lights.
She locked eyes with the figure in the crimson cape.
Having grown somewhat accustomed to that overwhelming pressure, Hishi Miracle bit her lip, summoned her courage, and charged onto the track once more.
The result, of course, went exactly as expected. Hishi Miracle spent her day being thoroughly defeated.
It wasn't until the system flashed a warning about mental fatigue and ended the session that she finally withdrew from the virtual world.
As her eyes fluttered open and focused on the ceiling, a familiar voice drifted into her ear.
"Finished?"
Dream Weaver, who had been keeping watch by the pod for who knows how long, looked up from her clipboard. She gave Hishi Miracle a knowing nod.
"Now, let's talk about why you keep dragging your feet on entering a G1 race. Tachyon is at the track helping monitor Liberty Island's vitals. It's just the two of us in here."
"You aren't running away today."
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.