Inside the starting gate, Eternal Meteor flexed her feet and rubbed her soles against the turf. Something felt… off.
She couldn't tell whether it was the rain-soaked grass—slick and unstable—or the fact that her body had grown across the board, making even familiar sensations feel unfamiliar.
"Eternal Meteor. This time, I'm definitely going to beat you."
Why did this feel strangely familiar? Do all horse girls love trash talk before a race? …Oh right. I'm a horse girl too. Never mind.
The teeth-gritted voice from the horse girl to her right drilled into her ear. Eternal Meteor lazily turned her head, glanced once, then looked away again.
The contempt in those red pupils was so blatant it was basically shouting: Who even are you?
In Eternal Meteor's view, replying with threats wasn't nearly as effective as not caring at all. Acting as if the other person wasn't worth noticing—now that was the kind of psychological damage that could shatter someone's mental.
Listening to the stream of censored profanity beside her, Eternal Meteor nodded in satisfaction, then flashed the girl another bright little grin.
That smug, bratty expression made the other horse girl's fists clench hard.
Leonatal sighed at the commotion next to her. Honestly, she admired the girl who was still trying to intimidate others—after racing against Eternal Meteor once, she still had the will to challenge again.
Leonatal herself was only here because her trainer had fought for it. After the last time she raced Eternal Meteor, she'd fallen into a slump. She couldn't even train at full strength anymore.
Her mind had been trapped in that absurd gap. She knew it wasn't a difference training could close. She'd blamed her own "lack of talent," spiraling into self-pity, until her trainer patiently talked her back out of it.
Leonatal rubbed her face and forced herself to stop thinking about it.
Focus on this race.
At the very least, she couldn't disappoint her trainer again.
"All horse girls are now in the gates! The crowd is holding its breath for this clash between undefeated runners—starting any moment now!"
"Runners, set! The race is about to begin!"
With the announcer's call, every horse girl took her starting posture. Flames burned in every set of eyes—they weren't here to be background scenery. They were here to prove they were protagonists.
The signal light switched from red to green.
Clang!
The gates snapped open. Every horse girl drove her foot into the ground at once, launching into the track together under the beating rain.
"All runners are clean away—an excellent start across the board!"
The announcer's excited voice echoed through the stadium, but in the stands, one viewer frowned.
"Wait—together? Did Eternal Meteor miss the break?"
"Probably her first time on a heavy track," the slightly chubby fan said, casually reassuring the glasses-wearing fan beside him. "Playing it safe is fine."
Two young men—now fully evolved into Ultimate Eternal Meteor Fans—kept chatting.
In the chubby one's mind, Eternal Meteor winning was already a done deal. Tokai Teio or not, Teio wasn't the kind who'd opened a massive gap in every single race. Meteor was a lock.
Dense raindrops, driven by wind, lashed at every horse girl, ramping up the test.
The turf, thoroughly saturated, sank noticeably under each step. One careless stride and you could wipe out.
Their clothes grew heavier as they absorbed water. Conditions worsened by the second.
But for most of the runners here, that was nothing. They'd endured countless trials to stand on this stage. They wouldn't be defeated by something like this.
Unfortunately for them…
Tokai Teio was still far too strong.
Even though she hadn't started from the inside rail this time, Teio—running in fourth—looked completely unconcerned. She calmly assessed the pack ahead of her, confidence written all over her face.
The inside runners kept wary eyes on her, trying to trap her on the outside and bleed her stamina.
The three runners in front subtly formed a blocking shape, as if preparing to box her in.
Under Teio's pressure, they instinctively switched into targeted defense.
But it was futile.
Tokai Teio smiled, and her rhythm changed.
The only opponent she truly cared about— the only one in this race who could threaten her—was Eternal Meteor.
And to fulfill her dream… and to win the wager with Meteor…
Sorry, but you all need to exit the stage quickly.
Her flexibility was extraordinary. Her explosiveness was terrifying. Add years of relentless training, and breaking through this pack was easy.
She leaned forward hard. Her shoe struck the turf, splashing a burst of water.
Like a dancer, Teio surged with a sudden acceleration, swept up to third, then slipped cleanly through the gap that opened between first and second—smooth, effortless.
"Tokai Teio! Tokai Teio passes Sen'aki Memory, Kinka Banshoku, and Hiyun Jiang—she's now in first!"
"But the crowd favorite Eternal Meteor is still at the back… is she setting up another unbelievable late charge?!"
The commentary stirred the stands into discussion, but this time nobody assumed Eternal Meteor was "having a bad day." They were anticipating a miracle.
None of that noise reached the track.
Rain hissed. Wind roared. Footsteps hammered.
All the runners could catch were broken fragments of sound. Better to worry about the opponent beside you than the audience.
Teio, a front-runner by style, planned to seize an overwhelming advantage from the start. With no true "escape" runner setting the pace, she could run exactly the tempo she wanted.
From first, she could dictate the race rhythm and control the runners behind. This was the best position.
And on a track where the rain kept intensifying, a deep closer at the tail had only two options:
Either pass on the inside, threading through traffic and fighting head-to-head—
or swing all the way out.
And swinging wide?
That was a joke.
It cost more stamina, and the outer turf hadn't been packed down—wet, sticky, unstable. The soil out there was softer than the inside line.
In these conditions, how could anyone possibly overtake me in first—
Even Eternal Meteor.
But…
Was that really true?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 138)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
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