"Time is up. Please hand in all personal items except writing tools."
A teacher in a suit opened the door, walked into the classroom, and spoke to the examinees. Only after watching each examinee hand over the items she carried did he take the test papers from his briefcase.
"The exam time is sixty minutes. Timing will begin after all papers have been distributed. I hope you all achieve good results."
The teacher walked down and handed out the papers one by one. Although this process gave a slight advantage to students with earlier numbers, it seemed that even this was part of the exam.
However, only a small number of examinees noticed this. Unfortunately, the lucky person who had drawn No. 1 was not among them. She was still watching the teacher hand out the papers.
"Just like drawing a good number in a race, for an umamusume, luck is also a kind of strength."
Special Week noticed the abnormality of this second exam.
After receiving her paper, she quickly scanned it and discovered that it was indeed a comprehensive test. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to finish testing every subject in only one day. In other words, although it looked like the written test and mock race had equal weight, the exam's focus was still on the practical side, where the scoring would be higher.
Moreover, the questions on this paper were unexpectedly simple. The difficulty was not even as high as a municipal public middle school's exam. This clearly did not match Tracen Academy's level.
Even though there were a few high-difficulty questions mixed into the test, the points assigned to those questions were unexpectedly low.
As expected.
This exam had another meaning.
"If my guess is correct, then Tracen Academy's enrollment quota this time is probably very limited. Many of us here will likely be eliminated. I must ensure that I get one of those spots!"
Special Week took a deep breath.
Answer seriously.
Even if this paper looked childish, the score itself was real. If her guess was correct, then half of these examinees might be eliminated by this exam. So even if the written test was not the main evaluation item, these were still points she absolutely had to take.
"Good. Although I'm not sure I can get full marks, and I can't guarantee I won't make mistakes on those high-difficulty questions, even so, getting over ninety points shouldn't be a problem."
Half the exam time passed.
Special Week finished the paper.
She checked it again.
Just as she planned to hand it in early, she looked up and saw that the other examinees still seemed to be struggling.
She could not understand it. Weren't these people elites selected from ten thousand? How could a paper of this difficulty trouble them?
"Could there be some hidden detail in this paper that I don't know about?"
Special Week held back the thought of submitting early and began seriously checking the test paper's situation.
The invigilating teacher, seeing movement from behind, could not help walking over and examining Special Week as she carefully checked her paper. He only glanced briefly at Special Week's paper before calculating that this examinee's score was good. The teacher was somewhat surprised, because among umamusume, honor students like this were rare.
"But... what is she doing?"
The invigilator was puzzled.
He had seen Special Week's movement earlier and thought she might be trying to cheat. But now that he saw Special Week had long since finished the paper and was still carefully checking it, he truly did not know what she was doing.
At this time.
Behind the exam room's surveillance feed.
Symboli Rudolf watched Special Week's camera feed and could not help laughing. Unlike the invigilator at the scene, she had clearly seen Special Week's performance just now, along with the changes in her expression.
"No, something is wrong. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this test paper."
Special Week was puzzled. She had already checked it several times, and had even suspected that the paper might contain a hidden layer. But until now, she had not found a single abnormal point.
She raised her head and looked toward an examinee not far away. She could clearly see the other party frowning and gritting her teeth in frustration. But on closer look, that person was simply answering the questions seriously. The paper was still just the paper.
Could it be... that I overthought it?
Just as Special Week was distracted by that answer, the invigilating teacher finally could not resist tapping her desk and reminding her:
"All right. Don't keep looking around. If you've finished, do you want to hand it in early?"
Although it was a warning, it was also a kind reminder. As a teacher of academic subjects, he quite liked honor students like Special Week.
"Yes. I want to hand it in early."
After realizing she had misunderstood, Special Week decisively chose to submit early.
"Then you may leave."
The teacher took Special Week's paper.
Special Week retrieved her bag and phone, then left the exam room under the shocked gazes of the other examinees. At this time, less than forty minutes had passed.
"That person already handed it in?!"
"Damn it!"
"I absolutely won't be eliminated!"
"Come on, me!"
The remaining examinees began to flare up.
Unfortunately, written exams could not be broken through with sheer momentum. Questions one did not know remained questions one did not know.
After Special Week left the exam room, she saw a somewhat familiar person in the hallway.
"Hello. I am Air Groove, a member of Tracen Academy's student council. You are Special Week, correct? It looks like your exam went smoothly. I look forward to your performance in the mock race later."
"Thank you."
Hearing the other party introduce herself, Special Week dared to confirm that her guess had been right.
It really was Air Groove.
The real person was somewhat different from the anime character, but she was still an extremely elegant beauty. So elegant she barely seemed like a student. Special Week felt that even the female executives of large companies she had seen in her previous life did not possess as much presence as this umamusume before her.
But why was Air Groove, the student council vice president, here? Could she be the one hosting the mock race later?
"Special Week, if you don't mind, the seat here is still empty."
Air Groove looked at Special Week standing to one side and felt the atmosphere had grown somewhat stiff.
Special Week nodded at the words, accepted, and thanked Air Groove again.
Just as Air Groove thought she could relax, Special Week sat down and took out her phone, as if guarding against her.
Could this child be introverted?
Air Groove was not certain.
Because Special Week's outward presence felt proud and aloof. Even without dressing up, she gave off the impression that she was not simple, very much like an expert hiding her depth.
Would this kind of personality affect her performance in the mock race later?
Air Groove thought this in her heart, but immediately thought of Student Council President Symboli Rudolf.
If it were that person, she would definitely say this now:
"Do not worry. When she enters the gate, her instincts as an umamusume will tell her what she should do."
Air Groove felt as though Symboli Rudolf had really lectured her just now.
Air Groove carefully glanced at Special Week beside her, looking forward to the mock race later.
What she had said to Special Week earlier had not been polite small talk. She truly wanted to witness Special Week's performance. Because this child was the only examinee this time to receive an A-rank result.
The two had nothing to say.
Special Week and Air Groove waited outside the exam room until the exam ended. When the bell announcing the end rang and the examinees came out of the classroom, both of them sighed in relief for different reasons.
At this point, Air Groove stood and announced to the examinees that they would immediately proceed to the next exam site. Although some examinees had not yet recovered from the previous test, Air Groove did not give them time to prepare, because this too was part of the exam.
Special Week, who had received plenty of rest time, silently followed the group. By now, she was fully certain that something was unusual about this exam. It did not feel like an exam. It felt more like a large company observing applicants who had already met the hiring requirements.
Correct.
It was more like workplace competition.
Special Week's gaze sharpened.
She looked toward the examinees who seemed to have known something in advance and understood why they had been so hostile before.
For them, this exam meant one of two things:
Either show strength that surpassed the other examinees, or eliminate every examinee except themselves in the mock race.
What a direct method.
But for umamusume, perhaps this level was just right?
Special Week noticed the hidden communication between some examinees. Perhaps those who had come with friends would cooperate in the mock race later.
No, not perhaps.
They definitely would cooperate.
As long as they did not want to be eliminated.
...
Tracen Academy's back grounds.
Before the entrance to the training field.
Special Week looked at the track, identical to the ones on television, and was once again shaken by Tracen Academy's wealth.
They even reproduced the viewing platform like a proper racecourse?
Special Week looked toward the stands. At this moment, there were television station staff carrying cameras and newspaper reporters holding cameras. It was clearly only an exam, yet it received the treatment of a live television program.
Special Week noticed some examinees becoming uneasy in that instant. It seemed that even those with inside information had not expected a television station to come and broadcast this exam live.
"This way. Don't pay too much attention to that side. Once you become Tracen Academy students, you will grow more and more used to this kind of thing."
Air Groove spoke in a joking tone. Although she seemed to be trying to help the examinees relax, it did not appear to have much effect.
"..."
They arrived at a changing room in the training field.
All the examinees' sportswear and standard racing shoes had already been prepared. Of course, Air Groove also said that if examinees wanted to use their own racing shoes, they could, provided the academy inspected them to ensure they complied with regulations.
Special Week looked at the examinees around her raising their hands one after another to indicate they had their own racing shoes and horseshoes, and felt how out of place she was among these people. Because racing shoes and horseshoes were consumables that wore out quickly, even with affordable brands, she had not used them back in the countryside.
It was not that she could not afford them, but that she felt there was no need. Cheap racing shoes cost nearly ten thousand yen, and cheap horseshoes were around three thousand yen. That price was not actually expensive.
But if used in training, even with careful use, a set of racing shoes and horseshoes could only last about half a month.
And if she used them in her usual training environment, they would probably be damaged in less than two days. Calculated that way, the expense became high. So even when her adoptive mother had bought her a pair of racing shoes, Special Week had forced her mother to return them.
That was why, when she saw that Tracen Academy allowed them to use training racing shoes for free, along with the basket of horseshoes beside them that could be freely replaced, her determination to enter Tracen Academy grew even stronger.
The examinees nearby changed their expressions when they saw Special Week go to receive racing shoes. They had not expected Special Week to lack even her own racing shoes and horseshoes. For an umamusume to not even have her own equipment was simply a joke.
This person...
Was she really an examinee?
"I was so stupid to think this person might be a powerful rival. Has she never even worn racing shoes before? In the mock race later, will she fail to adapt to the feel of racing shoes fitted with horseshoes?"
The examinee beside Special Week looked like her world was collapsing. Earlier, she had been charmed by Special Week's aloof and cold presence. Now that she saw Special Week acting like a country bumpkin, she suddenly felt the sky falling.
On Special Week's other side, an examinee with hedgehog-like hair, earrings and a nose ring, and heavy eye shadow approached and provoked her:
"A country bumpkin is a country bumpkin. You should hurry up and crawl back to your hometown. This isn't a place for someone like you. In the mock race later, I'll prove that to you!"
Special Week froze.
When had she offended this person?
Forget it.
It was not important.
She should think about how to run the mock race later. This would be her first time racing together with other umamusume. To be honest, she was still a little nervous.
But now that it had come to this...
There was no need to worry anymore.
Because...
Hadn't she prepared long ago?
Now changed into sportswear and racing shoes, Special Week and the other examinees of her cohort arrived on the training field's track. The moment she stepped onto the turf, Special Week seized the time to adapt to the weight of the shoes and the softness of the ground.
Although the turf was indeed a little hard, it was much better than concrete. Moreover, this hardness was similar to some roads in the mountains, so she felt she could adapt.
The remaining issue was the shoes.
Racing shoes fitted with horseshoes were indeed heavier than ordinary shoes. Even if she could adapt to that weight, she could not be certain there would be no effect during the race. She would only know the actual situation once she started running.
Special Week frowned and pondered while looking at the shoes.
Could she run without wearing them?
No. With this turf's hardness, if she ran the whole race barefoot, her feet would definitely be ruined.
Troublesome...
"It looks like you are all ready. I will now explain the details of the mock race. This mock race will take place on the track before you. The distance is 2,000 meters on turf..."
The examinees listened seriously while carefully observing the track before them.
A 2,000-meter middle-distance race, with left-handed turns. It matched the standard of Tokyo Racecourse, and was also the classic course every umamusume knew best, because the Classic-grade Satsuki Sho used this standard.
The Satsuki Sho, the first GI race of the Classic Triple Crown, was a stage every umamusume who wanted to race in Central wished to stand upon. The same was true for these examinees.
After confirming that all examinees understood the mock race's standard, Air Groove turned and walked toward the viewing platform. The examinees entered the gates as the horn announcing the start of the race sounded.
In the stands.
A reporter with a newspaper intern watched the scene below and could not help muttering:
"Seventeen runners. This can already be called the scale of a fairly intense race. So this is Tracen Academy's entrance trial? This elimination system really is cruel."
"Senior, which umamusume do you think will win? Surely it will be that genius from the Tokyo Umamusume Training Institute, right?"
"Mm... perhaps."
Over by the television station, the director who had personally come to film looked at the young examinees below on the track and proudly said:
"As expected, I really am a genius for coming up with this project!"
The broadcast had already begun.
There were quite a few viewers online.
People's interest in these rookie umamusume was not low at all. Even if they currently had many technical shortcomings and mistakes, no one could ignore the light these raw stones might one day release.
And now that the examinees had entered preparation, they had no extra mental capacity to think about the television broadcast.
Because everyone wanted to win.
Although they were uncertain how many spots were available, everyone knew one spot was already certain: the winner of this mock race.
On the viewing platform, a host was commentating on the race, but right now, their minds could no longer hear the commentary. Amid nervousness and unease, the closed gates before them suddenly opened.
"They're off!"
"Runner No. 7 unfortunately had a late start!"
One examinee was eliminated right from the beginning because of nerves. Although a late start was not rare even in official races, for these examinees, having a late start at this moment was a devastating blow to confidence.
Special Week, who had also started late, silently thought this.
Correct.
Although the host had not noticed, Special Week, currently lagging at the very back of the pack, knew very clearly that she had started late. Because she was unused to the narrow space inside the gate, and because she was not adapted to her new racing shoes, she had failed to bring out her strength at the start.
The issue of being unused to the racing shoes had still appeared.
She looked at the opponents ahead, who had already opened a gap of three or four lengths from her, and her expression became ugly. She could not accept such a pathetic version of herself, and she could not accept the possibility of losing. This absolutely could not be her ending.
Was she going to be eliminated here for such a ridiculous reason?
Although she had vaguely anticipated this before the race began, she could not truly accept losing in such a clownish way.
How could she lose?
How could she be allowed to lose?
That was not permitted!
As anger rose, Special Week's eye color changed in that instant, shifting into a deeper shade.
"Hm?"
Outside, Symboli Rudolf seemed to sense something and looked uncertainly toward the training field.
"The mock race over there should have begun by now. Although it might only be my imagination, I should still go take a look."
The corners of [The Emperor]'s mouth lifted into a pleased arc, as though she had discovered treasure.
...
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