Don't worry, I will definitely update the one on Webnovel as well. Especially, thanks to the people who sent stones; when the stones reach 100+, it means I will unlock the chapter on Patreon to match what has already been updated on Webnovel to view the 'illustrations'.
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The announcer's voice boomed across the stadium as Seiun Sky stepped out from backstage onto the red carpet platform. With a playful flip of her racing uniform's tail, she turned to face the crowd, flashing the brightest smile she could muster.
"Hi! Hi hi hi hi!"
Her cheerful energy captured the attention of many spectators, earning her a solid round of cheers and applause. She was absolutely adorable up there, showing zero signs of nerves. If anything, she looked like she was having the time of her life.
After wrapping up her greeting, Seiun Sky grabbed her uniform and bounced off the platform. Since she wasn't exactly a household name yet, her popularity ranking put her at fifth among the competitors.
One by one, the nine Uma Musume began making their way onto the racing grounds. From where he sat in the stands, Hayato could now clearly see the data for all nine competitors displayed in front of him.
Seiun Sky's stats showed:
Seiun Sky
Stamina Condition: 90/100 Excellent
Speed: 150+22
Stamina: 149+19
Power: 141+23
Guts: 133+20
Wisdom: 155+22
Turf Aptitude: A | Dirt Aptitude: G
Distance Aptitude: Sprint G, Mile B, Medium A, Long A
Running Style Aptitude: Front Runner A, Pace-Chaser B, End-Closer D, Late-Surger E
Skill 1: Corner Adapt - Slightly increases speed when entering corners
Skill 2: Straightway Acceleration - Slightly increases speed on straightaways
Skill 3: Concentration - Becomes proficient at gate starts
Skill 4: Corner Recovery - Passes through corners on the optimal path, slightly recovers stamina.
Hayato stared down at the track, his mind racing through everything they'd accomplished this past month. A month of training that honestly wasn't even that brutal. He'd given Seiun Sky one rest day per week, weekends completely off. She could go out, chill at home, watch other races if she felt like it. Whatever she wanted, really.
"You're worrying too much, Trainer." King Halo's voice cut through his thoughts. She was leaning back in her seat, looking completely at ease.
"Yeah." Hayato ran a hand through his hair. 'The next highest speed among them is only 138. So there's a massive gap there.'
"So what's the problem?"
Hayato spent the entire month watching races whenever he could, studying the differences between Uma Musume, trying to understand this world that still felt so foreign to him. One thing had become crystal clear through all that research. General-purpose skills were significantly more challenging to develop compared to specialized ones.
Take Silence Suzuka. Everything she had revolved around leading from the front, which made her skill development almost natural. But general skills like the ones he'd been drilling into Seiun Sky? Fifth day minimum. Sometimes even longer, depending on how long it took for her body to really internalize the technique.
At least Corner Recovery and Straightway Acceleration hadn't been complete nightmares. Those were skills Uma Musume picked up naturally through practice, grinding corners and straightaways until their bodies just understood the movement.
Hayato let out a slow breath, watching the other Uma Musume warm up on the track below. The gap in raw stats was enormous, sure, but stats weren't everything. He'd learned that much from his month of research. Skills could change the entire flow of a race, and Seiun Sky had four solid ones ready to deploy.
"She's got everything she needs down there," King Halo said, following his gaze. There was something almost wistful in her tone, like she was imagining herself in Seiun Sky's position. "Four skills for a debut race? That's borderline unfair for the competition."
"Yeah, if everything goes right." Hayato's grip tightened on the railing. "But there's a catch with those skills. They can't all fire off at the same time."
King Halo turned to look at him properly now. "What do you mean?"
"When you activate a skill, it changes how you run, how you breathe." He gestured vaguely at the track. "If two skills need completely different breathing patterns, they clash with each other. You can't use both at once."
"Her corner skills," King Halo said, catching on immediately.
"Exactly. Corner Adapt accelerates her through the turn, Corner Recovery conserves stamina. Completely different techniques, completely different breathing rhythms. She can't use both at once in one turn." Hayato watched Seiun Sky stretch down below, looking as carefree as ever. "I told her to use Corner Adapt when she enters the turn, then switch to Corner Recovery as she comes out of the final corner. Should get the most out of both that way."
"Sounds like you've covered all your bases." King Halo leaned forward slightly, resting her chin on her hand. "She's trained for a month straight, her stats blow everyone else away, and she's got those four skills ready to go. There's no reason she should lose this."
Hayato's jaw tightened. "I know."
"Then why do you look like you're about to pass out from stress?"
Despite everything, Hayato couldn't shake the worry etched across his face.
"Trainer, relax a little. That's Seiun Sky down there, my rival. There's no way she's losing a race at this level." King Halo tilted her head back confidently, gazing down at the track below.
She added as an afterthought, "And seriously, you need to be more careful about your appearance. You're my trainer, so your words and actions need to reflect a certain standard. What you're wearing today is a bit..." Her eyes flicked over Hayato's professional academy uniform with obvious disdain, like she wanted to drag him to a fitting room herself.
They weren't at the academy right now, so he really should be wearing casual clothes instead.
"You're right, that is Seiun Sky down there. The Uma Musume I trained. Her debut race should be a piece of cake, shouldn't it?" Hayato lifted his head and stared straight ahead at the track.
Then he shouted down toward Seiun Sky below, "Seiun Sky! I'm giving you a mission! Win this race by ten horse lengths!"
His voice carried loud enough that quite a few people heard it, though most of them just glanced his way briefly before turning back to the track.
The Uma Musume with sharper hearing all caught what Hayato said, too.
Seiun Sky looked up toward him and flashed a smile, murmuring to herself, "What a pain. Guess I can't just cruise through this one after all."
She glanced around at the other Uma Musume who were now looking her way and wandered over casually. "Well, I'll just run through it anyway."
Seeing Seiun Sky's apparent lack of fighting spirit, those lesser-known Uma Musume pulled their attention away from her and turned to focus on the other competitors instead.
The Uma Musume were all still doing various warm-up exercises, making sure their bodies were in peak condition. They'd initially thought she might be a serious rival, but it seemed like they'd worried for nothing.
The announcement came that competitors could now enter the starting gates.
Even after entering her gate, Seiun Sky kept that relaxed vibe going, which prompted an annoyed "tch" from the Uma Musume in the gate beside her, her face full of contempt.
Inside the starting gate, Seiun Sky genuinely felt uncomfortable. Her face showed clear distaste, like she really didn't want to be running at all. She couldn't understand why running had to involve cramming into these gates. They were cramped and narrow, and the whole thing felt completely pointless to her.
However, thanks to the Concentration skill, she couldn't hear any sounds around her anymore. Her entire focus had narrowed down to one thing: the moment those gates would burst open.
Hayato had made them practice gate starts for six whole days to learn this skill, so there was no way she'd get distracted now. From the moment she entered the gate, she found that her eyes could only look straight ahead.
"This is kind of nice, actually. I'm looking forward to it. What kind of race is this going to be? Are there any opponents worth reeling in?"
"You..." The Uma Musume beside her was just starting to speak when the gates exploded open.
CLANG!
"AND THEY'RE OFF! The gates have opened, and our nine talented fillies are bursting onto the track!"
The Uma Musume all shot from the gates at almost the same instant.
"We've got a clean start from most of the field, but oh! Number 6 and Number 7 both stumbled slightly at the gate! That's going to cost them early on!"
Ten seconds into the race, Seiun Sky had already taken the lead and opened up a gap of one and a half horse lengths over second place.
"And look at this! Number 2, Seiun Sky, has shot to the front! She's already opening up daylight between herself and the rest of the pack!"
"All the Uma Musume began pushing toward the inner rail, establishing their positions for the race."
"Seiun Sky was still in the lead; the girl who had seemed so laid-back just moments ago had suddenly snapped into focus, coming alive the instant the race began."