At the academy training grounds, ten horse girls participating in the selection race were warming up on the track.
Urara was among them.
Around the outside of the track stood a crowd of new trainers hoping to find a horse girl to take on, along with a few friends of the participating girls who had come to cheer them on.
After finishing their warm-ups, the horse girls entered the starting gates one by one.
The selection race was run over 1600 meters on turf. At the finish line stood a dark-skinned, blue-haired horse girl holding a sign—Hishi Amazon. Passing her counted as crossing the finish.
"Then the selection race is about to begin. Three, two, beep—"
The signal lights flashed. It was time to start.
Urara immediately stood out from the others—
Not because she charged into the lead, but because she was late out of the gate.
The moment the gates opened, the other horse girls burst forward at once, while Urara lagged behind by half a beat. By the time she reacted and rushed out, the others were already several meters ahead, leaving her scrambling along in last place.
The commentator assigned to the selection race began calling the race.
"In first place is Daisy! In second is Minaminankai! Right behind them is Happy Miko!"
"In fourth place is... in fifth place is..."
"And in last place is Urara."
"Now then, the girls have already passed the second turn, and the order is being updated!"
"In first place now is Minaminankai! Daisy is second, and Happy Miko remains in third!"
"They're entering the final bend! What will the horse girls do?!"
"Happy Miko makes her move! She's challenging Minaminankai!"
"Happy Miko shows no signs of tiring! Happy Miko crosses the line!"
"First place goes to Happy Miko! Second is Minaminankai! Third is Daisy!"
By the time the announcer was already recording the final placings, Urara had only just passed the fourth bend, all alone in last place.
In the end, Urara finished tenth, a full six lengths behind ninth.
And unlike the other horse girls, who crossed the finish looking relatively composed, Urara bent over gasping with her hands on her knees, looking utterly exhausted.
"About what I expected."
Tang Han scratched his head.
To be honest, none of this surprised him in the slightest.
Maybe it was because his soul had already been inoculated dozens of times by something called the Arima Kinen, but seeing Urara finish dead last did not shock him at all.
The version of you in the game, no matter how strong, is fake.
It is not reality.
As a local horse girl who had been brought into the academy due to a system error, Urara simply could not compare, talent-wise, to the central academy's prodigies. In the game, you could raise her stats through training, but in reality, no matter how much you trained, it would not matter—her ceiling was already fixed.
The legend of never winning was no joke. Getting Urara into first place was truly harder than climbing to heaven.
Still, the meaning of life did not lie in whether or not you could get first.
There were so many things in the world, and so many strong people. Who could guarantee being number one every single time?
What made Urara truly precious was that no matter how many times she met failure, she never let it crush her. Instead, she faced the next challenge with an even brighter smile, passing that joy on to everyone around her.
That was why Tang Han had chosen Urara.
Of course, another reason was that Urara was an angel and therefore could not be corrupted by cursed fanfic logic.
Isn't that right, Tokai Teio?
Tang Han stepped over the railing and walked toward Urara.
The other new trainers also entered the track, hurrying off to poach the horse girls they liked.
"Happy Miko, was it? My name is Hiroshima Baozha. I consider myself highly capable. I've taken a liking to your talent—it barely matches my own gifts. Become my assigned horse girl, and I guarantee you'll eat well and live well."
"Hello, Miss Happy Miko. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Aoi Kiryuin. I am a new trainer, and also the only daughter of the prestigious Kiryuin family of trainers..."
"Miss Daisy, my name is Goumon Guantong. The way you ran on the track truly moved my heart..."
The poaching frenzy was in full swing, especially around the top three finishers, who were being fought over by a whole crowd of new trainers.
Naturally, no one was interested in Urara, who had finished last.
All she could do was watch enviously as her classmates were courted one after another.
"Urara."
Suddenly, someone patted her on the back.
Urara turned around and saw Tang Han.
"Mr. Ninja!"
she cried happily.
"Mr. Ninja..." Tang Han broke out in a cold sweat. That title was way too embarrassing.
"Just call me Trainer Tang Han. A ninja's identity can't be exposed, after all."
"Okay, Trainer Tang Han!"
Urara gave him an adorable salute.
"Sorry, Trainer Tang Han. I broke my promise and didn't get first... But I did run a little faster than last time, and I think next time I can definitely get first!"
"Mm. I believe you."
"Oh!" Encouraged, Urara's motivation shot up. "Urara's going to work even harder!"
"Trainer Tang Han, are you here to poach a horse girl too?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, hey, which horse girl did you fall for? Miko-chan, right? Miko-chan was really amazing! Urara couldn't catch her at all. But Trainer Tang Han, you'd better hurry, or Miko-chan is going to get poached by another trainer!"
Urara assumed Tang Han, like everyone else, had come for one of the top three girls, and cheerfully recommended her.
But Tang Han lifted a hand and pointed straight at her.
"No. I came to poach you."
"Eh?"
Urara froze.
"Me? But Urara came in last place."
Tang Han took a deep breath, then delivered the speech he had already rehearsed dozens of times in his head.
"Urara, what do you think ninja talent means?"
"Ninja talent?" Urara tilted her head.
"Is it being able to use all kinds of amazing ninja techniques really, really well?"
Tang Han shook his head.
"No. A ninja is someone who can endure everything."
"What matters in ninja talent isn't how many techniques you've learned, but the determination to never give up!"
"No one gets to live a life where everything goes smoothly. Failure runs through life from beginning to end. That's what life is."
"And the truly strong are the ones who dare to face failure—and turn it into fuel for the next challenge."
"Urara, when it comes to never giving up, you're already number one!"
"That's why I want to poach you."
"The first-place Urara."
Just as Tang Han was expecting this speech to move Urara to tears, she narrowed her eyes and swayed her head dizzily from side to side.
"What Trainer-san said is really deep... Urara doesn't understand it."
"Pfft!"
Tang Han nearly coughed up blood.
His carefully prepared heartfelt speech—and Urara had not understood a word of it?!
"But I'm really happy!"
Urara suddenly flashed him a radiant smile.
"Urara finally has a trainer now! And it's an ultra-strong Mr. Ninja! With Trainer-san's guidance, Urara's definitely going to become super strong!"
"Ah... well..."
Fine, then.
Apparently, poaching Urara did not require any grand speech at all. All you had to do was tell her you wanted to be her trainer, and that alone was enough.
"Please take care of me, Trainer-san!"
Urara held out her hand.
"Please take care of me too."
Tang Han reached out and shook it.
...
Ding! Mission Complete: [Take Charge of Haru Urara]
Evaluation: E
Reward: None
Suggestions:
Take off the Doctor's Outfit and let Urara see your true face.
Buy a ring, slip it onto Urara's ring finger, and make a lifelong vow to stay together.
...
Ding! Main Quest Complete: [Quest 1]: Join Tracen Academy and take charge of one horse girl
Reward: Doctor's Outfit duration extended by one week.
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 126)
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 (Chapter130)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter157)
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 133
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 125
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 143
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 115
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 99
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 75
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 75
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 51
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
My Harem Is Indescribable 26
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