So this was the strength of the current fourth place on the points leaderboard?
"Victory and defeat are decided! First place is, unsurprisingly, King Halo. Second place is Smart Falcon. Third place..."
Along with the commentator's voice, the result table appeared on the large screen.
This tournament had an implicit rule: there was no huge-margin elimination system. Even if second and third place were pulled away by a huge margin from first, they could still obtain points.
So as long as one entered the top three, it did not count as a loss.
Although Smart Falcon lost to King Halo, she was not eliminated because of it and still had the chance to continue participating in the tournament.
Mejiro Ramonu, who had been second in popularity, looked at her own miserable result and could not help shaking her head. It seemed she truly needed to go to the training grounds to raise her field aptitude.
Although raising stats and skills gave more of a feeling of becoming stronger, if she did not improve her field aptitude, she would lose again the next time she randomly drew a dirt track.
At this moment, among all participating parallel worlds, the remaining King Halo participants, including King Halo herself, were only the last-joined original King Halo.
However, this was not particularly unbelievable.
After all, the King Halos of other worlds, even the one who had already graduated from the Flash Series, were merely umamusume who had won only one sprint GI in the Flash Series.
In a tournament of this scale, they truly did not have the strength to continue pushing forward. After all, this tournament's fields and opponents were randomly matched, and King Halo's luck was also not the particularly good type. Being eliminated was far too normal.
After this race ended, the original King Halo successfully met King Halo. King Halo did not feel surprised by the original King Halo's participation, because as long as one had the qualification, she believed no umamusume would refuse such an event. And the original King Halo's world, due to King Halo's previous crossing over, had indeed obtained the qualification to participate.
"I just saw your race. You were incredible."
The original King Halo looked somewhat nervous.
Her attitude was different from when King Halo had possessed her body back then. But at that time, she had not known King Halo's situation, after all. Now, when she looked at King Halo, it was as if she were looking at an idol.
King Halo had long since grown used to such praise. She asked, "Did you just enter this world?"
"Eh? Y-yes."
"Then come with me. I'll take you to familiarize yourself with this world."
King Halo decided to look after this original King Halo she knew. Although she did not think the original King Halo had hope of charging into the final, she could at least make the original King Halo enjoy this event more. Besides, she had more points than she could spend.
Unlike the difficulty of obtaining ranking points, points in this event were very easy to obtain.
Aside from races, there were all sorts of ways to obtain them.
Basically, as long as a participant wanted to work hard, she would have so many points that she could not use them all. If not for the fact that the number of skills each umamusume could master was tied to her current mental strength, then every participant who got through the first race could max out her skills.
But such a thing was obviously impossible. After all, mental strength was not so easy to raise.
Moreover, skills learned through skill books were only at the newly learned stage. It was impossible to immediately use them skillfully in races. If one used too many skill books at once, then forget increasing strength; one might even become weaker in the short term.
However, these were matters other participants needed to pay attention to. For King Halo and the others, the shop's only use was buying items that recovered stamina and removed negative conditions.
This was also the reason they could participate in multiple races in one day. Otherwise, under ordinary circumstances, after one race, even umamusume at their level would need several days of rest before their bodies fully recovered. Participating in multiple races in one day was not impossible, but it would indeed place quite a burden on the body.
But with carrots, small cakes, and panaceas, there was no need to worry about this. They could truly race nonstop.
...
While King Halo and the original King Halo were shopping together, today's races continued.
Kitasan Black was waiting at the race venue for her race today. At this moment, her total score was 35 points. She was fourth on the points leaderboard, having just been overtaken by King Halo.
Because she had encountered Demon King Gold Ship in her second race, she had regrettably lost that race.
After this race ended, it would be her turn.
Looking at the participant list for the next race, Kitasan Black expressed great confusion.
Wasn't she the truly unlucky one?
Why had Senior Rice Shower, who bore the misfortune buff, not encountered any major opponents even now, while she had already encountered two? In her second race, she had encountered Senior Demon King, and in this race, she encountered Senior Teio. Was her luck really that bad?
"The race is over!"
"The winner of this race is Duramente!"
The result of this race came out.
Kitasan Black watched the classmate she knew take the championship and did not find it surprising at all. Because this classmate had truly become much stronger. Or rather, the classmates from her world had all become much stronger. That should be the world that had grown the most among all worlds.
"Next, we will announce the list for the next race!"
Kitasan Black looked at the large screen.
"Fortunately, this time I only encountered Senior Teio."
Although Senior Teio's strength was indeed great, it was a strength she could understand. By comparison, the others were somewhat difficult to deal with, including King Halo, who came later.
If the Wit panels of most of them only represented perception strength, then King Halo was a tactician who pushed the Wit panel to its limit. Kitasan Black had watched King Halo's races and discovered that sometimes this person truly won in very strange ways.
Although she was confident she would not lose to King Halo, against King Halo, she also had no certainty of victory. Among everyone right now, the only one she had certainty of victory against was Senior Teio, because Senior Teio was really easy to defeat.
"I'll eat something first."
Although she had confidence in victory, Senior Teio was still not an ordinary opponent.
Kitasan Black took out carrots and small cakes sold by the shop. The former could recover stamina, while the latter could recover mood condition. If not for the fact that reality could not use shop items without limit like a game, and there was an upper limit for fullness, they might long since have used these shop items to sweep through this tournament.
The small cakes tasted quite good.
But eating too many also made one dislike them.
And compared with these recovery items, the various big meals at the restaurant were naturally more delicious. This was also the greatest reason why, despite being able to purchase items, they still had not filled 100 points in two days.
Because reality truly was not as simple as a game.
And the most important thing was this:
Eating too many carrots and small cakes made one gain weight.
At that point, one had to go to the training grounds and purchase a weight-loss course. But even if the training grounds had miraculous effects, they could not take effect instantly.
One had to know that Senior McQueen had only run one race so far and had not even entered the top ten on the points leaderboard, precisely because Senior McQueen was too self-disciplined and completely unaffected by the atmosphere of this tournament.
But that was also the leisure of being the strongest.
People like them chose to use items and participate in races not because obtaining points was the key, but because they wanted to become stronger through more races. Senior McQueen had no need in that regard.
"After running this race today, I'll stop."
The thirty-minute waiting period passed.
Kitasan Black had entered the changing room ten minutes earlier to change into her race outfit, then walked toward the race field.
A 3200-meter long-distance turf race. Right-handed, Hanshin, sunny weather, firm going.
When Kitasan Black entered the field, Tokai Teio had already entered ahead of her. Their gazes instantly met.
"Kita, are you ready?"
"Of course, Senior Teio. I will win!"
It seemed as if only each other existed in their eyes.
The other participants watched them nervously.
"It's that Kitasan Black and Tokai Teio..."
They were participants receiving great attention in this event.
If at the start of entering this tournament, everyone had thought those umamusume who had left legends in history were the greatest opponents, then on the first day of the tournament, the performances of White McQueen and the others overturned that idea.
Legendary umamusume were indeed very strong. They were invincible existences in their own eras. But in this tournament, they were not absolutely unshakeable powerhouses.
By comparison, the divine skill holders and the runners capable of opposing divine skill holders were the existences in this tournament that forced others to look up at them.
Kitasan Black and Tokai Teio were such runners.
"Interesting. So I am the challenger."
A red-haired umamusume looked at the figures of those two, the corners of her mouth rising slightly. This was Secretariat during her active career.
"Teio... Luna's successor?"
A certain runner from the Symboli family looked at Tokai Teio.
"Thank you for waiting. We will now begin introducing the popular runners!"
The commentator came online.
Because there were enough staff members, the commentator changed for almost every race.
There was no situation of exploiting commentators.
"Are you somewhat dissatisfied with this result? Third in popularity, Secretariat. Her current record is three races, two wins."
No, I do not feel dissatisfied.
Secretariat shook her head.
Being able to witness such a new world made her very happy. How could she feel dissatisfied? Besides, the opponents' strength was genuine. These were not popularity votes hyped up by promotion.
"How far can I walk in this tournament? Just thinking about it makes my heart surge. Come, let me witness the strength of you who stand at the top of this tournament."
"Second in popularity, Tokai Teio. Her current record is two races, two wins. She is a very outstanding powerhouse in this tournament as well!"
Hearing this, Tokai Teio smiled slightly.
She had lost to Kita in the popularity vote.
But what would happen in the real race?
On Tokai Teio's stat panel, the SS that should originally have been golden suddenly flashed with rainbow light.
"First in popularity, Kitasan Black. Her current record is four races, three wins. She is a powerhouse who did not look inferior even against the Demon King!"
One had to know that the Demon King's current races had all been won by terrifying margins. It was as if she were showing off her strength, showing no mercy at all. But in a previous race, Kitasan Black had only lost by a slight margin to the Demon King who had activated a divine skill.
This was also why Kitasan Black's popularity vote overwhelmed Tokai Teio's. It was a reflection of her battle record.
"Runners, please enter the gates!"
One gate after another closed tightly.
The countdown ended.
"The race begins!"
Kitasan Black's figure transformed. A pure and holy figure flashed by, like an angel spreading her wings. That clear sound of footsteps instantly rushed out of the racing pack in front of the gates. From the beginning, she went all out. Deep purple flames emerged in Kitasan Black's eyes.
"A perfect start!"
"Kitasan Black has successfully taken the lead!"
That start was as perfect as a pegasus from a fairy tale. No matter how many times one saw it, it could make people lose focus. The runners looked at the figure that had rushed out in an instant and felt tremendous pressure.
Tokai Teio's expression did not change.
"She really is exactly like McQueen."
If it were the old me, I could probably only watch helplessly. But the current me is no longer the old me either.
I will not always remain stopped in place.
Tokai Teio's gaze focused. Waves of air erupted around her body. As one skill after another was released, she kept tightly behind Kitasan Black, maintaining a gap of four lengths between them.
The other participants looked at them with some difficulty.
The race was this intense from the very start. Was this the strength of first-rate runners in this tournament? As expected, it was so strong that it was hard to understand.
In the spectator seats, Rice Shower asked McQueen beside her, "Sister McQueen, who do you think will win this race?"
"Teio."
McQueen answered without hesitation.
"Sister Teio will win?"
Rice Shower found it somewhat unbelievable.
But she knew Sister McQueen's judgments were very accurate.
However, how could Sister Teio win against Kita?
One had to know that Kita not only knew Mimicry now, but had also mastered the entire skill panel. Even that passionate Flow state had become familiar to her. She was far stronger than before.
Rice Shower did not directly ask McQueen for the answer.
Instead, she watched curiously.
Although it was a 3200-meter long-distance race, under Kitasan Black's rhythm, the early phase ended very quickly. Some runners already could not keep up with the race's rhythm in the early phase.
Entering the middle phase of the race, the skill radiance beneath Tokai Teio's feet also began to change. Before, she had been alternating basic and advanced skills, but now she had begun using Flash Skills.
Although she could not erupt with multiple skills at once like Demon King Gold Ship, who possessed a divine skill, Tokai Teio could connect new skills without any gaps. This was the display of her talent as the ultimate umamusume.
Even Kitasan Black could not do the same without using Tokai Teio's template, even if her talent did not lose to Tokai Teio's. After all, talent was only talent.
"Come, Kita. If all you have is the level of the old McQueen, then that is not enough to make this race lively. But this is not your limit yet, is it? Use your full strength!"
Tokai Teio began to chase.
...
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