The race was ongoing and had reached the first bend.
"Currently leading is No. 5, Penco Pioneer!"
"Following right behind are No. 4, No. 16, No. 8..."
"No. 9, Choco Anne, is here! Right in the center!"
"Special Week... is still at the very back!"
Penco Pioneer charged at the very front with wide arm swings and long strides. At 180 centimeters tall, she possessed outstanding power and burst.
What? This is easy.
I led everyone in one move!
"Haa..."
Penco Pioneer could not help gasping heavily.
After passing the first bend, they entered the second straight.
As a Runner, Penco Pioneer had already begun sweating.
Although she currently seemed to hold a large advantage.
"Damn it. Did I rush too far ahead?"
Penco Pioneer wanted to lower her speed, but then she noticed runners behind her sticking closely to her rhythm.
"Tch! Forget it!"
"Even if I consume more than usual, I can't lose!"
In the end, not only did she fail to slow down, she increased her speed further.
The expressions of the runners behind her immediately became extremely ugly.
What was wrong with this person?
"She's so fast!"
"Damn it! Even going all out, I can't catch up!"
"This is bad. These people are being too reckless and messing up my rhythm right from the start."
"What are the people at the front doing? Are they trying to kill themselves? I can't keep following their rhythm."
The pack changed noticeably.
Although some runners were still competing with Penco Pioneer for first place, more runners began choosing to lower their speed.
After all, they were all examinees who had made it through the first exam to get here. Once they cooled their heads, they could still make the correct judgment.
At this moment, Penco Pioneer and two other Runners were leading the fourth-place runner by a full ten lengths. One had to admit, at first glance, the scene looked beautiful.
In the viewing platform's stands, the newspaper intern saw this scene and shouted excitedly:
"Senior, this umamusume called Penco Pioneer is so fast! This is already close to the burst speed of a GI umamusume, right?"
"Hoo."
The experienced reporter exhaled smoke and looked at the figures currently pulling a distance away from the central pack at the front of the race. He helplessly said to the intern:
"Huh? No, this won't do. You could say those people are already finished."
"Eh?"
"Idiot! Look at how they are now! That's what it looks like when someone is sprinting with everything she has. Even if they still have stamina later, they won't have the strength to perform a final sprint."
The veteran reporter guided the intern.
"You need to know that the race is only halfway through. The true battle for victory usually happens after this!"
As the race entered the second straight, the runners in the central pack and the rear group all began accelerating at the same time.
The front runners, Penco Pioneer included, were now visibly slowing. Seen from the stands, their current appearance looked comically like they were running backward.
By the second half of the course, the distance the front runners had opened from the central pack early on had completely lost its advantage. The pack had begun gathering together.
The leading Penco Pioneer saw the entrance to the bend ahead and revealed an excited smile, declaring:
"I won!"
"No!"
"This race belongs to me!"
Choco Anne suddenly rushed out from the central pack. She had conserved her stamina from the beginning while waiting for the right moment. Like a model from a textbook, she perfectly grasped the timing to launch her sprint.
Along with a flash of light, Choco Anne slipped out from the crowd and advanced at high speed toward Penco Pioneer in first place.
"The runners from behind are launching their sprint all at once! No. 9! Choco Anne has rushed out at this moment! So fast! She has completely shaken off the others! She is aiming right at the front and launching her challenge!"
"What kind of joke is this?!"
Penco Pioneer had only just entered the final bend when the sound of wind and footsteps rushed in. Choco Anne's shadow had already caught up first. At this moment, both could hear the other's breathing.
"You bastard-"
Penco Pioneer's face twisted fiercely.
She had never imagined that she would be caught here.
In past races, she had always been able to easily blow away every opponent. She had dominated everyone in the regional races back home. Yet now, she was being caught by this young lady who looked weak at first glance?
"Die!"
Penco Pioneer's head heated with anger and she charged toward Choco Anne. Although this was unsportsmanlike, as long as she did not deliberately use her hands, this level of body contact was allowed under race rules. She was very confident she could knock this short girl flying.
"I knew you would use this move, savage."
Choco Anne's body dropped in an instant. Then, under Penco Pioneer's incredulous gaze, she shook her off in a flash as if teleporting. Not only did she avoid the attack, she also completed the position reversal.
"Hey, is this some April Fools' prank?"
Penco Pioneer lost focus.
She had clearly prepared herself for everything, even using an immoral move like intentionally colliding with someone. So why was this the result?
She could not understand why she was so lame.
"That child is already out."
The sharp-eyed reporter snapped a photo of that scene.
"This is reality."
"Reality is cruel. Talent, luck, opponents you absolutely cannot beat right now, these things all objectively exist."
Penco Pioneer did have talent. Her sprint speed was fast, her will to win was strong, and even the fact that she was willing to use any means to win was not bad. As long as it produced victory, that could actually become a shining point.
But in this race, Penco Pioneer had made a fatal mistake from the very beginning. Her mentality had not yet left her past environment. The regional races back in Penco Pioneer's hometown were not even proper races. One could imagine the strength level of that kind of race.
This race, although also unofficial, was a Central-level mock race. Penco Pioneer's opponents were elites of her generation.
And the opponent before her now was a genius from the Tokyo Umamusume Training Institute. The opponent's level was far above her experience.
Wild, self-taught running styles and tactics could never work against this young lady. Rather, this young lady had been waiting for her to destroy herself.
Even if Penco Pioneer had not made a mistake in this race, she probably would have had little chance. To her, Choco Anne's current strength was the kind of opponent she "absolutely could not defeat right now."
The reporter casually watched Choco Anne's figure.
"As expected of someone from the training institute. Her running is pleasing to watch."
It was an extremely standard textbook style.
One could tell that Choco Anne had a veteran Trainer supporting her behind the scenes, because this was the standard tactic of the Central region.
"She leads! Runner Choco Anne has successfully broken through!"
"Could this be where victory is decided?"
No. 9, Choco Anne, occupied first place with a two-length lead.
At this time, the final bend was already more than halfway done.
The runners could even see the finish line ahead.
At this moment, Symboli Rudolf arrived at the scene.
"Whoa... a big name actually came to the scene personally. Is this for real?"
The reporter looked at that figure with burning eyes.
If he could do an exclusive interview with the Emperor this time, it would earn far more than reporting on a rookie mock-race exam.
Symboli Rudolf looked toward the race taking place below.
"It seems I arrived just in time. The child currently leading is this one? As expected of an honor student from the training institute. But she is not the presence I felt just now..."
Although she was surprised that she did not immediately see the owner of that presence, she began searching for the "source" that had drawn her here. She did not believe someone with that presence would lose this race. At this stage of the race, that person should be about to appear.
"Found her."
"How interesting."
Symboli Rudolf looked at the other party's current position and felt somewhat surprised.
She was hiding that far back?
"That is quite a lot of confidence."
"Then let me see it, your light."
Symboli Rudolf looked at that figure with anticipation.
At the very rear of the race.
Special Week was still lying in wait.
"Good. I'm almost used to it."
Her steps were no longer as stiff as they had been at the beginning.
Although she still could not bring out all the strength she normally had, it was already enough to handle the race before her.
Special Week looked toward the crowded inner lane ahead.
"It's time."
There was not much distance left in the race.
Special Week looked toward the open space on the outside of the track.
The final bend was halfway done.
At the very back of the pack, a powerful aura suddenly surged.
A deep-purple flame with a crimson gradient ignited in the air. In an instant, it drew everyone's eyes.
"That is?!"
The reporter widened his eyes.
He had seen such a sight before.
His expression now was devout and fanatical.
Boom!
The sound of footsteps.
Her long hair came loose, revealing Special Week's current sharp gaze.
With one step, along with a roar and tremor like air being torn apart, Special Week's figure rushed out in an instant.
Broken grass and flying dirt were left in the air.
"This farce ends here."
"That belongs to me."
"Victory belongs to me!"
Along with a fierce gust of wind, Special Week began charging from the very back of the pack toward the front. When the runners ahead looked back and saw her current appearance, they did not dare face the current Special Week directly.
"What terrifying eyes."
"It feels like I'll die if I get close!"
"There was still an expert hidden here?"
"Damn it, why are all these people so strong?!"
The eyes of the trailing examinees had already gone bad.
The spectators on the viewing platform were all shaken by Special Week's final leg. The television station director shouted:
"Cameraman! Hurry! The camera! Turn the camera over there and stay on her!"
"Special Week!"
The host slammed the table and stood.
"At this moment, Special Week has rushed out!"
"This is a truly unexpected figure!"
Because Special Week had trailed for the entire race, no one had paid attention to her earlier. Even No. 7, who had a late start, had performed better than her afterward. Yet under these circumstances, at the very end of the race, the one hidden deepest was actually her.
"So fast!"
"She's still accelerating!"
"Is she a monster?"
One overtake after another.
The sight had enormous impact, enough to make the blood boil.
The host practically sprayed saliva into the microphone.
"Here she comes!"
"No one ahead can stop her rampage!"
"In one breath, she has charged from last place into the front group!"
"Fourth!"
"Third!"
"Second!"
"She's latched on!"
"Special Week!"
"In the blink of an eye, she has completed an astonishing chain of overtakes!"
Penco Pioneer, who had threatened Special Week in the changing room earlier, was overtaken by Special Week like roadside clutter before she could even react.
After coming back to herself, Penco Pioneer murmured:
"What the hell? You really are arrogant... and really cool."
When she first saw Special Week at the gate, she had noticed it. This person dressed like a country bumpkin possessed eyes different from all of them. That was why she wanted those eyes to look at her, even if only for a brief instant.
"I'm already done."
So...
"Let them all see it!"
The umamusume I took a liking to-
Your strength!
"Go!"
Penco Pioneer shouted.
Although this caused her speed to fall even faster, she no longer considered such things.
She only wanted to shout out the voice in her heart.
Special Week's ears twitched ahead.
Confusion flashed in her eyes.
Did she mishear just now? Why did it sound like an opponent in this race was cheering for her?
But no matter what...
I received that support.
Special Week looked toward the final opponent ahead.
"You should make way for me now, first place!"
"Special Week is closing in on Choco Anne!"
Choco Anne heard the host's commentary and tightened her nerves.
Dead legs, hurry up and run!
She's going to catch me. Sad!
She could feel that terrifying gaze.
"So scary!"
The pressure increased dramatically.
Choco Anne's instincts as an umamusume were frantically warning her brain, making her clearly understand the threat of the person behind her.
Special Week's footsteps rapidly approached. To Choco Anne's ears, they sounded as terrifying as a signal of death.
"As expected, my intuition was right. You are the greatest opponent I have in this exam!"
She had been careless.
Because Special Week's performance at the beginning had been too amateurish, she had not left any backup plans against her at all. Her skill had already activated just now, and her speed had entered a stable zone. This had all been calculated.
But she had failed to calculate that Special Week would catch up.
"I refuse to accept this!"
Suppressed by Special Week's pressure, Choco Anne's eyes filled with anger.
"I also have a reason I absolutely cannot lose!"
"I can't let you pass me!"
Along with an eruption of will, Choco Anne broke past her own limits during the race, extending the skill effect that had been about to fade.
"Victory is already within reach. How could I hand it over to you? I will absolutely take it!"
The two completely separated themselves from the other opponents.
"The final straight!"
The host's shout rang out.
"This is a fierce chase duel!"
"The race has become a stage for Special Week and Choco Anne alone! Will the one to take victory be Special Week? Or Choco Anne?"
What nonsense are you saying?
Wasn't something like that decided long ago?
"I will win!"
"I will win!"
Time seemed to freeze in that moment.
Both of their faces revealed hunger for victory.
The number of viewers watching the television broadcast grew larger and larger.
Outside an electronics store, passersby stopped one after another and focused entirely on the television screens inside.
On the screen.
The gap between Choco Anne and Special Week was less than one length.
The finish line was not far ahead of them.
At this moment, did it seem like the two were evenly matched?
"Of course not."
The reporter raised his camera excitedly.
If Special Week had not fallen too far behind earlier, and if Choco Anne had not led by so much, then Choco Anne would absolutely not be Special Week's opponent. This was a fact that almost everyone could now see.
But races had no what-ifs.
Even if a difference in strength existed, victory was still victory.
As long as Choco Anne could win this mock race, then no matter what her professional results were in the future, the result of this mock race would become a huge topic later.
Everyone would remember that Choco Anne had once defeated Special Week.
"But the condition is that she wins."
The reporter raised his camera and spoke with some regret.
If Choco Anne could win, then the photo he took later would definitely be valuable. From his professional perspective, the runner called Special Week was an umamusume who could rise to prominence.
A GI umamusume?
"No. She should be more than that level of umamusume!"
As the reporter's words fell, before the finish line, Special Week finally overtook Choco Anne.
Mercilessly.
That was the strong trampling the weak underfoot.
Special Week's eyes did not leave even a trace of the defeated behind. Her gaze simply stared at the finish line and victory as a matter of course.
"Across the line!"
The host announced the result.
"The protagonist who wins this race is Special Week!"
"What a splendid race!"
"I look forward to her performance in official races!"
"Second place, Choco Anne!"
"She was only a little short of victory. What a pity..."
The two who crossed the finish line were both breathing heavily.
Choco Anne was so exhausted that she bent over and supported herself on her knees.
Special Week, meanwhile, stood in place and raised her head toward the sky. Sweat slid down her cheeks and neck, and her sportswear was completely soaked.
She had won.
She had won by the narrowest margin, almost losing by just a little. She had made far too many mistakes in this race. Even she felt that her performance in the race must have looked very rough.
But...
"It feels amazing."
"This is going all out."
"This is victory."
Her brain felt slightly numb. Her hands and feet trembled. The scenery before her eyes was brighter than ever before.
Once one tasted this feeling, one would surely become addicted.
There was no going back anymore.
Special Week, me, your life from now on will surely run down this track and never turn back.
...
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