In the afternoon, Luo Cheng arrived at the training track. Aside from Tokai Teio, Seiun Sky was there as well; she was now officially his horse girl. He remembered that Sky's base attributes were mostly in the nineties, not yet reaching a hundred. She had only just begun her training.
These attributes didn't translate to reality quite as one might expect. For example, Rudolf's speed was over 1,400—ten times Teio's base—but she wasn't literally ten times faster. If she were, and Teio ran at twenty meters per second, Rudolf would be doing two hundred meters per second. She'd be a human bullet. It seemed that as attributes increased, the actual performance gains followed a diminishing curve.
Furthermore, unlike the mobile game, attributes didn't just stay put once they were raised. If you focused solely on power training, stamina would eventually begin to drop. All stats influenced one another. Spending too much time reading to boost intelligence would cause other values to decline.
It was a process of give and take. Planning a schedule meant maximizing these values within a set timeframe; that was a Trainer's job. Luo Cheng hadn't formally studied training theory, and his understanding of the books was patchy at best. However, because he could see their basic info and predict growth values, his "forecasting" ability actually surpassed the experience of many veteran Trainers, some of whom managed to let their trainees' overall stats drop after a session.
Though he couldn't see the UI right now, he relied on his past experience to arrange their training.
"Start with a warm-up."
"Yes!" Tokai Teio and Seiun Sky ran onto the track. Luo Cheng watched them.
After he had signed Sky this morning, that system interface had reappeared, confirming they were now partners. This meant he now had command authority over her as well. But Luo Cheng wasn't happy. He felt this world was "fake." It looked normal, but in truth, he was still alone. This place was likely just the original game world with the map limits removed and the characters' emotions expanded.
He finally had some change, yet it was still so heartbreakingly hollow. He felt like giving up.
In the past, he had managed to endure by focusing on Teio's training. Without that, he would have long since become a shell of a man. He had to give himself a goal; he couldn't let his baser instincts rule him forever. He had to do something to keep himself moving. A person couldn't live without a purpose. If he was assimilated by this world, he would become a zombie driven only by desire, eventually losing his humanity altogether.
He instinctively resisted becoming like that, which was why he had been so purposeful in raising Teio. He wanted to turn her into a "stat monster." That was his goal then, and it remained so now.
Once the warm-up was over, Teio and Sky ran back to him.
"Trainer, what's next?"
"Follow the plan I gave you."
"Understood." The two girls looked at his face, feeling slightly confused.
During the session, Teio whispered to Sky, "Don't you think Trainer has been acting weird lately?"
"How so?"
"He's always mumbling things I don't understand, talking about 'games' and stuff. He dazes off a lot, too. Yesterday he just sat by the flowerbed staring at the track for ages without moving."
"What's weird about that? Boys Trainer's age all like games, don't they? And dazing off... I do that all the time. Though I prefer sleeping to dazing," Sky replied leisurely.
"Is that all it is...?"
"Of course. Ah, right. It might also be because of your debut race. Trainer might be tired, so he's using games and dazing off to relax."
"Is it because of me?! Is he nervous about my debut race?"
"I'd say it's highly likely."
"Then... what should I do?"
"Obviously, find a way to let him relax. Don't worry, leave it to me. If I let him sleep in my arms for a bit, I guarantee he'll be full of energy the next day."
"Don't you dare! You stay away from my Trainer!"
"What do you mean 'yours'? He's mine too."
"Dammit! Trainer had me, and that was enough! Why did he have to sign someone else?! Anything he wants to do to a horse girl, he can do to me! Anything he wants to do to a girl, he can do to me! What could he possibly be unsatisfied with?!"
Teio was getting heated again, while Sky offered a soft, infuriatingly smug smile. "Maybe Trainer likes someone a bit softer, or someone who's more comfortable to hold. Like me."
"Hah?! How could you be more comfortable than me?! Anyway, I'm the one who's going to comfort him. Don't you come and meddle!" Leaving that sharp warning, Teio turned and ran off. Sky watched her go with a languid gaze.
Whatever. It's not like you can stay by his side twenty-four hours a day. But I can.
While the girls trained, Luo Cheng looked at his schedule. He had recorded the last set of values he'd seen for Teio and Sky, writing his previous observations on attribute growth next to them. Aside from the interplay between different stats, there was also the issue of repetition. If a certain training was done for too long, the gains would slow down, and the decline in other stats would accelerate.
Different combinations of training could result in a "one plus one is greater than two" effect, but he also had to account for the girls' moods and conditions. Sometimes Teio would be in a inexplicably bad mood, leading to poor results and almost no attribute gain.
However, changing their mood was easy—easier than in the game. A head pat, a cheek rub, or a foot massage would boost Teio's mood. Even if she was so depressed her ears were drooping, a kiss would immediately make her perk up and overflow with energy.
It was so complex. Now that he couldn't see the UI, he had to recall everything from memory.
"Two single-leg hops followed by squats... then..."
"Trainer." While Luo Cheng was lost in thought on the grass, Teio approached from behind. She had just finished her set and was covered in sweat. The scent of salt mixed with her citrus body fragrance filled his nose as she wrapped her arms around him.
"What is it, Teio? Finished already?"
"Just taking a break. I want to help you take a break, too." Seeing the thoughtful expression on his face as he looked at the chart, her strange feelings vanished. He looked exactly as he always did when planning for her. He was still the same Trainer—the person she loved most.
"Ahn~" Teio opened her small mouth and bit down gently on Luo Cheng's ear.
Her wet tongue flicked against the canal as she whispered syrupy words. "Let me help you relax."
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My : https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Uma Musume: Inside the Game (40 Chapters – Ongoing)
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