A/N: Daily check-in... You know what to do... hand out your powerstones and uma pic, hurry. I'm not asking nicely cuz this is a robbery.
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Although Silver Tear had gained a massive six-length lead, she felt the pressure begin to creep back in, slow but unmistakable.
Behind her, Oguri Cap adjusted.
The disruption from Silver Tear's sudden surge in the middle of the race had forced her hand earlier than planned.
If she didn't respond now, she would definitely lose.
Oguri Cap's breathing deepened, rhythm tightening as she lengthened her stride, no longer content to wait in the pack.
Her posture dropped further, center of gravity sinking, legs coiling with restrained force as she made her decision.
Bang!
An explosive sound tore across the track as Oguri Cap drove her hooves deep into the ground, throwing herself forward in a burst of acceleration that shattered the air between her and the rest of the pack.
"Oguri Cap is responding."
The commentator said, voice sharpening.
"She's starting her move!"
Silver Tear's ears twitched at that heavy sound. It was undoubtedly that Oguri Cap was the only one behind her who was capable of such a feat.
The Monster was coming.
The gap she had carved out began to shrink, not all at once, but with terrifying consistency.
Each stride Oguri took devoured the distance between them, the pressure bearing down on Silver Tear's back until it gnawed at her nerves.
There was no way Silver Tear could ignore it.
Stride by stride, Oguri Cap reeled her in, the six-length gap bleeding away under her charge.
The crowd rose with every meter she closed in, the roar climbing as the impossible began to become reality.
"She's closing fast!"
That is it!!
That's why they became fans of Oguri Cap!!
Out on the track, Silver Tear pushed back, demanding more from her legs as the ground she had claimed vanished beneath Oguri's acceleration.
Her lungs burned, heat ripping through her chest, sweat streaming down her face, while her muscles screamed on the edge of tearing apart. Her breathing grew ragged, each gasp sharper than the last.
Then, in mere seconds, a shadow slid into her peripheral vision.
'Already?'
Oguri Cap slipped past one runner, then another, cutting in from the far outside with frightening accuracy.
Her form remained composed, her eyes locked forward, her expression sharpened into a fierce beast. There was no hesitation in her eyes.
The Gray Monster would not yield the victory into someone else's hands!!
And with every stride, Silver Tear could sense that presence drawing closer.
"Oguri Cap is coming!! The distance between them is down to five lengths–"
"No, it's four now!"
The commentator's voice cracked under the strain.
"How will Silver Tear respond?! Will her early lead be enough to suppress the Gray Monster?!"
He wasn't the only one on edge. The audience held its breath with him.
Oguri Cap drew closer, the space between them growing dense once more.
Silver Tear could feel her presence without turning her head, a shadow pressing in from behind, threatening to drag her into a fight.
Her jaw set.
So this was how it is.
Not at the final corner but right here! Right now!
Oguri Cap was declaring war through her run alone, and as the one being challenged, Silver Tear understood the meaning perfectly without a single word needing to be spoken.
"You want the first place?! Then come and take it, Oguri Cap!!"
Silver Tear leaned forward, hooves digging in, knowing one thing with absolute clarity–
Oguri Cap had successfully forced her hand, and the realization grated on her nerves.
Silver Tear glanced briefly at the translucent system panel, her smile sharpening into a fierce, knowing smirk.
The system had never said she needed to use the skill at the start of the race.
The hidden condition of 45% bonus for 4.5 seconds on a late start was only that.
It was just a bonus, nothing more, nothing less.
The skill itself didn't care about timing.
Thus, it could be activated at any point in the race.
That was something Silver Tear had discovered over the past month of training, through repetition and quiet experimentation.
Used correctly, and it wasn't just a tool for openings.
It could also be seen as a great finisher move.
If she could hit the timing during the last spurt—
And if the rolls paid off—
It would create a terrifying final stretch, one that could shatter everyone's expectations.
But if she failed, the price itself would be devastating.
Her momentum would shatter, rhythm collapsing under its own weight, and the opening she had carved would vanish in an instant.
The Monster would swallow her whole until it stood alone at the front.
Silver Tear exhaled slowly.
There was no safety net this time.
Three coin tosses, made under the weight of the chase of a beast, with the finish line still out of reach and the pressure at her back growing heavier by the second.
Her smile returned, sharp and unwavering.
'But that is fine.'
'Because this was the kind of race that made my blood pump.'
'I'm starting to understand why they keep betting everything.'
She suddenly thought about it, laughter edging into her breath.
'This is so exhilarating.'
This time, it was her first true 50-50 gamble in a desperate situation.
"Start the roll!!"
Silver Tear shouted with everything she had, voice tearing out of her chest as her will snapped into focus.
In that moment, there was no crowd, no track, no monster bearing down on her back–
Only the three coins, spinning endlessly in the air.
They whirled before her vision, their edges flashing under the sunlight.
Each rotation felt painfully slow. In Silver Tear's perception now, the roar of the stadium was gone, replaced by the suffocating silence of the toss.
Heads or tails.
Win or lose.
All in 3 coins.
"The runners are entering the final 200 meters!! This is the home stretch!!"
"Silver Tear?! Or Oguri Cap?!"
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But to the crowd, nothing had changed in that moment. They only saw two runners locked side by side, legs churning, the outcome still uncertain.
But to the Uma Musume–
Whether watching from the stands or running on the track themselves, they saw it clearly.
The track beneath Silver Tear fractured, pale lines of light threading through the turf like cracks spreading across glass.
The air around her grew dense, warped, as if the reality itself had been distorted.
The invisible chains binding her legs shattered in that instant, as though her true form had finally been allowed to surface.
Each step she took left behind a faint afterimage, a ghosted overlap that lingered for a heartbeat before dissolving, proof that she was no longer running on the same plane as before.
Oguri Cap felt it the moment it happened.
Her eyes snapped wide, pupils tightening as something utterly foreign slammed into her senses. Her rhythm vanished without warning, replaced by a pace that no longer followed the logic of the race.
"…Another gear?!"
The pressure that had once been hers flipped in an instant. Silver Tear's aura surged outward, heavy and overwhelming, forcing Oguri to dig deeper just to keep contact.
Her breathing sharpened, muscles screaming as she responded on instinct, dragging more power out of herself than she had planned to use.
"But I will not lose!!"
Oguri Cap gritted her teeth, the grin on her face twisting into something feral.
She pitched her body forward, abandoning any restraint. Her stride stretched past its natural limit, hooves hammering the track as she tore after Silver Tear with everything she had left to give.
"OGURI IS COMING?!! SILVER IS COMING!?! OGURI IS COMING?! SILVER IS COMING!?!"
The commentator shouted on top of their lungs, their eyes stuck on the track without blinking.
Everything happened too fast.
Every time Oguri thought she had matched the rhythm, it got disrupted. Her timing was being mercilessly torn apart by Silver Tear as if she could read her mind.
Her lungs burned.
Her muscles shrieked in protest.
She forced more out anyway.
The Gray Monster refused to yield.
She dug deeper than she ever had, dragging power from somewhere raw and painful, chasing simply to stay in reach. To prove she was still part of the same race.
And yet–
Why did Silver Tear feel so distant?
As though the Uma Musume running ahead no longer existed on the same plane of the track. Oguri Cap, monster as she was, had been left behind in a world bound by rules, while Silver Tear had stepped beyond them.
Still, despite her stamina failing her due to the constant disruption from Silver Tear, Oguri ran.
Desperately.
Tears started to form in her eyes, blurring her vision as she realized the difference between herself and Silver Tear.
Be it strategies, power, stamina, or even the last spurt that she was proud of, she was being outplayed in every aspect.
Oguri Cap refused to accept a reality where all she could do was watch from behind. Her gaze stayed locked onto Silver Tear, unblinking, even as her body screamed for mercy.
Then she saw it.
Silver Tear's lips moved, shaping a single word.
"Jackpot. Oguri-san."
[Skill Runner from Another World Activated]
[Rolling Results: H-H-T]
[Effect Granted: +100% in Speed, Stamina, Power for the next 5 seconds.]
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A/N: I already prepared the losing the coin toss route, but didn't have the chance to use it. Press F for the Fatty.
Should I make that route as chap 15.5?