On the day of King Halo's simulated race, the training grounds drew a sizable crowd. Reporters from the Flash Press — Tracen Academy's longtime media partner — turned out in force, along with members of the Student Council and a cluster of senior trainers from across the academy.
The participating racers were fired up. Before the race even began, each had already rehearsed in her head how she'd make herself stand out. They knew they weren't the main attraction today — but they wanted to steal that spot anyway.
If I can beat King Halo in this race, I'll definitely draw senior trainer offers of my own, right?
The thinking was natural. Beating King Halo was a tall order, sure. But what if? What if King Halo had an off day and one of them happened to run the race of their life?
Without dreams, what was the point of being an uma musume?
"Quite a turnout."
Nishizaki Ryu muttered to himself from a corner of the grounds.
Even though he'd already decided not to pursue signing King Halo, he couldn't stop himself from coming to watch. He was genuinely curious what she'd do in this race.
"I hope nothing goes wrong."
He was a little worried. If her performance fell short today, the fallout — the public chatter, the pressure — could crush a young girl like her.
"So you want to challenge the world's strongest? Let me see for myself whether it's the raving of a dreamer or the boast of someone who can actually back it up — young lady who ran away from home, King Halo."
Symboli Rudolf stood at the spectator section beside the training grounds, arms crossed, expression severe. Her bearing radiated such authority that no student dared approach.
She already knew about King Halo's last simulated race. But just one Flash-tier skill wasn't enough.
Not if she wanted to run the Arc. Not if she wanted to contest for world's strongest. Not nearly enough. El Condor Pasa, currently training in America, had already mastered four Flash-tier skills, and had even grasped the power of Flow.
That was what Symboli Rudolf considered an uma musume qualified to contest the Arc. If King Halo had only one Flash skill to her name, then challenging the Arc was nothing but fantasy — she wouldn't even qualify as a pacer for it.
"So that's the daughter of the world legend — the valiant dancer's child. I wonder what kind of race she'll show us!" the Flash Press reporter, Miss Etsuko Otona, was snapping photos with barely concealed excitement. She looked every bit the fanatic uma musume enthusiast, because she was one.
Trainer Fukunaga watched King Halo from his position and murmured, "Are you really serious about challenging the Arc?"
Honestly, his feelings about her were a tangle.
She had rejected the placement the higher-ups had arranged, which was a public vote of no confidence in him as a trainer. If word got around, it would only deepen his already precarious standing. And yet, he couldn't stop himself from being drawn to her.
Drawn to King Halo as an uma musume.
Something inside him kept whispering that she was the one — the only one meant to be his charge.
He didn't know how to face her anymore. So he'd chosen not to face her at all.
Nearby, Trainer P was in a subdued mood.
I really was rejected by her, wasn't I? I suppose it makes sense. She doesn't think much of Fukunaga or the senior trainers — how could she possibly think anything of a nobody from the countryside like me...
After long and careful deliberation, he'd decided to reach out to King Halo — this prodigy — anyway. But he hadn't charged in to find her in person. Instead, he'd written her a letter.
In it, he'd introduced himself and explained that he wanted to pursue their shared dream together. He knew the words were hollow — he had no record and no name yet. He really did have nothing.
So being rejected didn't surprise him.
But...
I still want her.
He had never forgotten his Master's teaching.
"Go find the uma musume who can make your heart race. Find the one you believe can carry your dream with you."
Master — I think I've found her.
His eyes burned with conviction even through his disappointment.
It wasn't time to give up. He still had a chance.
King Halo wouldn't sign with just anyone — her behavior so far had proved that. So all he had to do was move her before any other trainer could.
The Arc de Triomphe? If he could partner with her, he had absolute faith they'd reach it.
Fukunaga eyed the other trainer curiously.
The man wore a set of the Academy's complimentary staff uniforms. He looked less like a trainer and more like a janitor. What was with that fierce drive in his eyes? Had he already signed someone, and was she competing in this race?
Fukunaga shook his head.
He didn't think a nobody like that could amount to much. Judging by appearance, the man was the type who had to scavenge study materials from the library — practically destitute. Getting into Tracen Academy at all was miracle enough. Standing out among its many trainers was out of the question.
To become a senior trainer on nothing but common textbooks? That was a pauper's dream — the kind that never came true in reality.
Even in those inspirational trainer biographies, the protagonist always ran into a patron at the right moment. Without that lucky break, they never made it.
This person would face reality soon enough. Then, unable to deliver, he'd dissolve his contract with his charge and vanish.
Fukunaga believed new trainers should apprentice under senior trainers. If his own father weren't backing him, he wouldn't have dared run a team solo this early, either.
A guy like P — refusing to join an established team, still deluding himself that he could change his destiny through an uma musume — was ridiculous to Fukunaga. The man needed to go back and study more.
P had originally planned to climb from the bottom. But after watching King Halo's last simulated race, he couldn't settle his heart again. He'd made the decision he'd made now because he'd remembered his Master's words.
"If you ever meet the uma musume you want, don't hesitate. The chance passes in a blink."
That was why P had changed his mind.
As the crowd watched with their various agendas, King Halo's second race was about to begin.
Mid-warm-up, King Halo could already feel the hungry stares from her competitors. She knew some of them would try to disrupt her race the moment the gate opened.
The willingness to do whatever it took to pursue one's dream — that wasn't rare among uma musume. In truth, without that ambition, no one pursued their dream at all.
"Ara ara~ I'm getting nervous. Sounds exhausting. What am I gonna do?" A somewhat boyish-looking uma musume sauntered over, speaking in the lazy, offhand tone of idle chatter. "What about you, Miss King Halo? In the race coming up — please take care of me, alright?"
"Heh."
King Halo couldn't suppress a smile. She hadn't expected to draw this one as an opponent — this looked like it was going to be fun.
"Give it everything you've got, Miss Seiun Sky."
Seiun Sky looked faintly surprised.
She was still hiding her ability, and as an uma musume from an ordinary family, she was a minor figure on the edge of Tracen Academy. She hadn't expected someone as high-profile as King Halo to know her name.
"Interesting."
Seiun Sky had planned to show off in this race anyway. She might act lazy, but she was sharp — she knew perfectly well this was a golden opportunity.
If she could put on a display in a race this closely watched, she could vault overnight from unnoticed nobody to rising star.
That was why she'd come to poke King Halo first.
"Race Fourteen, 2000m simulated race, beginning now. All competitors, take your positions!"
Today's judge was Miss Hayakawa. Since the Chairwoman was watching from the spectator section, Hayakawa had taken the role.
"On your marks. Five-second countdown. Five..."
At the count of one, her whistle blew and sixteen racers exploded off the starting line.
This was a 2000m turf race, run clockwise. The turns ran long and the final straight was short, which put heavy demands on a racer's sprint timing — the course was modeled after Satsuki Sho.
Seiun Sky charged into the lead.
Alright then, here I go!
Her lazy gaze sharpened. A gust of wind swept around her, and a wave of terrifying pressure detonated outward.
Under the stunned eyes of the other racers, Seiun Sky surged ahead. White flashes rippled through her body one after another, wind building around her as she entered the [Surge] state.
Skill after skill activated in rapid succession, culminating in [Ground Foundation] at maximum effect — a skill that only triggered when multiple skills were activated together at the starting gate.
The strongest launch skill a front-runner could possess!
True, [Ground Foundation] was only a basic-tier skill.
Above it sat the advanced-tier [Solid as a Rock], and there was even a dedicated Flash-tier top-tier version.
In the game, the optimal play was to mindlessly pick the higher-tier skill. In reality, things were more complicated.
Skill cost and physical burden had to be factored in, which was why basic-tier [Ground Foundation] actually outperformed the higher tiers in practice.
And as for cost-free aptitude skills — green-tier skills?
Those were the hardest type to acquire in the real world. They were almost always innate.
Maxing out [Ground Foundation] with green-tier skills was virtually impossible. Outside of King Halo and the others who possessed the System, no one could pull it off — and green-tier skills had their own activation requirements on top of it all. Even if you had the skill count, if you didn't meet the conditions, the stack wouldn't trigger.
So Seiun Sky's decision to use only basic-tier [Ground Foundation] as her launch skill was perfectly sound.
The race had barely begun, and already Seiun Sky had pulled ahead of the field. The second-place runner couldn't keep up.
Front-runner versus front-runner, yes — but a front-runner without a gate-launch combo and a front-runner with [Ground Foundation] stacked were entirely different beasts. Seiun Sky was turning heads.
"Who is that racer?"
"That speed — she's seriously good!"
"Is that... a Breakaway tactic?"
Even Tojo Hana was caught off guard. She hadn't realized the academy was hiding another top-tier front-runner besides Suzuka. That skill combo wasn't something ordinary students could master.
Hehe — Miss King Halo, I just found your weakness. That skill of yours must have some pretty serious limitations, right? So what are you going to do in a situation like this?
Seiun Sky thought and ran in parallel.
Her mind was too busy to enter Flow — but that razor-sharp cognition was its own weapon. She had exceptionally high race IQ.
"King Halo's in trouble. That tactic — is that Breakaway? That Seiun Sky's a hidden talent, and she's even figured out a counter to King Halo!"
Nishizaki Ryu watched the trailing pack — King Halo running as a Chaser in the mid-to-rear — and then looked at Seiun Sky, four or five lengths clear of second place. Repeating her last race's victory didn't look possible.
Seiun Sky wouldn't let her.
Sure enough — as the race entered the mid-stage straight, Seiun Sky kicked again. A flash of gold rippled across her as another skill fired. The gap to second place widened further. As she entered the middle stage, a soft glow of recovery skill starlight passed over her.
"Incredible."
Even Trainer Fukunaga, with his limited eye, could tell Seiun Sky was the real deal.
P frowned. King Halo hasn't changed her running style?
He noticed her expression remained perfectly composed — even eager, with a hint of anticipation in her smile.
In the race, the competitors who had treated King Halo as the main threat now watched Seiun Sky pull away with dismayed expressions.
She was hiding her ability all this time!
Damn, what a dirty trick!
You think you're actually going to get away with this?
Several racers began to push harder, trying to close the gap. Their combined effort slowly began to reel Seiun Sky back in. In the process, King Halo's position dropped further. She looked genuinely caught out by Seiun Sky's pace, and a few of the watchers exchanged surprised glances.
"King Halo's dropped that far back?"
"That can't be right — with her ability, how could she fail to keep up? Unless..."
Some trainers started to speculate.
Maybe King Halo wasn't suited to mid-distance races.
Otherwise, given her training data and her last race's performance, how could she possibly be affected this much?
"No — wait. Look at her state. Something's off. It doesn't look like she's falling behind."
One senior trainer offered a different read.
Sure enough, a closer look showed King Halo didn't appear fatigued at all. Her expression hadn't cracked.
That wasn't what a distance mismatch looked like.
Meanwhile, Seiun Sky heard the footsteps closing behind her and smiled faintly. The recovery skill she'd just used reduced fatigue by lowering her speed. That was why her speed appeared to drop in the back half of the course — but it was all part of her tactics.
Phew. You've all burned yourselves out, haven't you? Sorry — now it's my turn!
Just as the pack looked like they were about to catch her, a rainbow-colored shimmer flashed beneath Seiun Sky's feet. The wind around her, which had been fading, suddenly surged back with redoubled force.
[Take the Bait (Flash): Leading at the final turn lifts her spirits, massively boosting acceleration!]
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