First was the "perfect replica."
There wasn't much to say about that…
Fuuka Shirayuki knew perfectly well this thing was meant for her to write Tokai Teio's ending.
But she was still thinking—thinking about how to "gift" Teio a grand, magnificent finale.
So for now, she put that aside.
What did catch her interest a little was the Hex card system that came afterward.
Fuuka Shirayuki raised an eyebrow.
Hex?
If she remembered correctly, wasn't that the thing from Teamfight Tactics and that arena mode?
Pick a Hex, get a different kind of power boost… and there were tons of totally broken ones. As long as you paired them with the right champions, you could stomp straight through the earth's core and snatch first place!
But what about body tempering?
Fuuka Shirayuki wondered.
She kind of wanted to try a "desperate-forced tempering" build.
Because aren't horse girls basically… products of training the flesh into sainthood? Using the body itself to suppress chaos and darkness!
What if it even gave her an 80% efficiency boost?
She shook her head.
Pulling her scattered thoughts back, Fuuka Shirayuki looked again at the system panel.
[Refreshing Hex…]
[Three choices! The host may choose only one! No rerolls!]
The system in front of her went ding ding ding like a gacha machine… then burst into light in a brief instant!
[Because this is a newbie-task benefit, this Hex selection will be a PRISMATIC-tier Hex!]
…Prismatic tier.
Fuuka Shirayuki thought:
Hexes came in three tiers—Silver, Gold, and Prismatic.
And there was no debate: Prismatic was the strongest.
"Nice," Fuuka Shirayuki couldn't help sighing. She grabbed a piece of bread beside her, chewing as she spoke:
"You think—(chew chew chew)—who even invented this little system thing—(chew chew chew)—anyway? (chew chew chew)"
"So fun," she added.
Her gaze returned to the panel.
[1: Little Horse Girl Looking for Mom.]
[Hex Effect: During a race, you may designate one horse girl as your "Mom." When moving toward Mom, gain +10% movement speed, +10% stamina recovery, and -10% stamina consumption.]
[The little horse girl found her mommy, nya nya =^w^=~]
Fuuka Shirayuki's whole body jolted.
"Holy—"
"So this is your dirty trick, little bro Wá?!"
Good thing she played Go.
[2: King of Kings, Boot-in-Boot.]
[Hex Effect: Immediately obtain a pair of long boots.]
[Your mile-distance aptitude increases to "S." When training while wearing these boots, proficiency progress can be activated; upon completing tasks, your other track and distance aptitudes will automatically upgrade.]
[3: Afu the Manatee's Warrior]
[Hex Effect: You must participate in seven races.]
[Reward: Bow Before Me as King — Golden Spatula]
Staring at the three Hexes, Fuuka Shirayuki fell into a brief contemplation.
First, she had to admit Hex #3 was clearly filler.
By the time she'd run seven races… would she still need an "evolved" Golden Spatula?
Even if the numbers were good, the mechanic was just too stupid.
If she was going to pick seriously, it had to be #1 or #2.
The first one was a pure meme Hex—looked pretty interesting.
And the second one was like the "Flame Mantra" from Battle Through the Heavens—endless growth potential…
But then Fuuka Shirayuki remembered: King of Kings, Boot-in-Boot had been removed because of an unfixable bug.
Which meant…
If she chose this Hex, could she trigger that bug?
"There's no such thing! No bug!" the system swore confidently.
Fuuka Shirayuki read the effect description, sinking into a long silence.
She didn't say anything…
But it felt like she'd found a loophole.
So no matter what world it was, this Hex would always create an impossible-to-balance bug, huh?
Fuuka Shirayuki said, "I choose #2. King of Kings, Boot-in-Boot."
[Reward granted!]
In the next moment—
A blaze of daylight flashed before Fuuka Shirayuki's eyes, so bright she couldn't even open them.
When the light faded, a pair of long boots appeared before her, right on schedule.
Exquisite craftsmanship. Pitch-black all over. Sleek lines that looked almost aerodynamic.
"…A real-world item?" Fuuka Shirayuki wondered.
She tried to put them on. They were a little large at first, but like a cultivation novel's spiritual treasure, the boots automatically resized to fit her perfectly.
Interesting.
She raised an eyebrow—
Then didn't bother playing with them any further.
For Fuuka Shirayuki right now, there was something more important still unresolved.
Registering for the debut race.
Thinking that, she took the boots off and set them aside.
Then she opened the cabinet under her computer desk, intending to stash the boots away.
If her little sister saw them, how was she supposed to explain?
Fuuka Chiori would think her big sister had supernatural powers or something.
She opened the cabinet. At first, Fuuka Shirayuki meant to place the boots straight inside—
But then she noticed something hidden deep within.
Bottles. Little jars. A whole cluster of them.
"…?"
Confused, she patiently crouched down. She set the boots aside, then reached into the cabinet and pulled the bottles and jars out one by one.
They clinked as they swayed together.
What was this?
Fuuka Shirayuki stared at the Japanese label.
"Escitalopram oxalate tablets?"
A complicated name.
Probably medicine…
But Fuuka Shirayuki didn't know what kind. In the original owner's memories, there wasn't any recollection of this either.
There were two possibilities:
One: she simply didn't know.
Two: something more complicated—because the brain often tricks us into forgetting memories we don't want to recall.
So…
The reason Fuuka Shirayuki couldn't remember might be because she didn't want to.
She didn't dig any further.
She put everything back where it came from—and after stuffing King of Kings, Boot-in-Boot into the cabinet as well—
She focused completely on her computer screen.
It was the registration page for the Tokyo horse-girl debut race, which required JRA screening.
Six days later, there would be a debut race right on schedule.
[Turf, 1600m Mile, Maiden/Newcomer Race.]
The prize money was a full five million!
Fuuka Shirayuki's eyes lit up.
Just as she was about to click "Register," the website suddenly popped up an identity verification prompt.
[If you wish to debut in Tokyo, please prove your identity using one of the following three methods. We will verify as soon as possible.]
[1. Tokyo Tracen Academy student ID. (24H)]
[2. Recommendation letter from a horse-girl family or a senior. (24H)]
[3. Manual review to prove you have the strength to participate in Tokyo's debut race. (Requires time to organize a test race: 7–15 days).]
"…?"
Looking at all that, Fuuka Shirayuki fell into a long silence.
...
...
Meanwhile—
Night had already fallen over Tokyo Tracen Academy.
After a long day of exhausting training, the horse girls were either in the cafeteria or resting in their dorms.
In Ritto Dorm's Middle School Division, inside an unremarkable room—
A girl stared at a message someone had sent her.
"Six days from now, Tokai Teio will lose."
She fell into an equally long silence.
It was worth mentioning…
This girl's blue eyes looked a bit like Tokai Teio's.
Her brown hair tied into a high ponytail also resembled Teio's.
And the most striking part—
A streak of snow-white bangs across her forehead.
Like some legendary young nobleman—
She looked exactly like Tokai Teio.
Oh my god!
She was Tokai Teio!
Tokai Teio stared at the message on the screen…
Her little mouth hung open like an old geezer's.
Like she was about to do that adorable "huff."
Huh?
I'm going to lose?
Damn it! Is this some kind of genjutsu? Since when?!
-------
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