Tracen Academy.
"Help, help, HELP! I'm about to die of embarrassment! What do I do?! Wuuuu!"
Ritto Dormitory.
A girl with jet-black hair cascading over her shoulders was squatting on a chair, typing furiously, her slender fingers flying over the keys like wild bees.
As she typed, her expression kept shifting dramatically, perfectly matching her inner turmoil. One moment her face showed indignation and confusion; the next, it sagged into despair, mouth hanging open, blankly spacing out.
"Everyone thinks I'm super strong! They're all waiting for me to stun the world...but the truth is, I'm not strong at all! I'm literally bottom-tier! My debut race is next Thursday, and soon I'll be completely exposed! Instant social death incoming! What do I do? I don't wanna die of embarrassment!"
"Help me—I'm TERRIFIED!!"
This was the question the girl, named Garden Gale, an Umamusume, had posted online.
[MySniperDumpedMeFasterThanSheDid]: Just give up! That's right, giving up is always an option. Find a cozy spot under a bridge, curl up under a tiny blanket, and cry your eyes out.
[GenshinFishBlaster]:Let Klee tell you—Klee doesn't know anything, tee-hee!
[SunnyRoad]:OP, this is your fault. If you knew you weren't good enough, why didn't you say something? You enjoyed the sense of superiority your vanity brought, but now you're scared of being exposed. That's not cool.
Garden Gale stared at the replies, pouting unhappily.
Her whole face was gloomy.
But the problem was... she'd only just transmigrated here! She was literally just the scapegoat!
...
Rewind to an hour ago.
To start from the beginning, Garden Gale had woken up groggily, realizing everything around her—including herself—had changed. When she saw her reflection in the mirror, black hair elegantly draped over half her face, she couldn't help but think, Wow, that's some real "pitiful beauty" vibes. Immediately, the word "transmigration" popped into her head.
Then, noticing the diary and sleeping pills by her bedside, she pieced together what had happened.
The original owner had committed suicide—not murder, but suicide.
Why?
Exactly because of the issue she'd just posted about.
Originally...
Garden Gale had been a perfectly ordinary Umamusume at Tracen Academy. Her performance was average at best, speed subpar—even leaning towards the bottom tier. But that wasn't the main problem. The real problem was her personality: a socially anxious freak who was always alone, day and night.
Forget teaming up with trainers; she didn't even have classmates she could chat with because Garden Gale didn't dare socialize.
She couldn't even approach others.
The only thing she was good at was being socially anxious—completely ignoring anyone who talked to her, a trait that people misunderstood as the pride of a strong genius. And since nobody had ever seen her train or run clearly, her true level was a mystery.
Because this weirdo trained when nobody was around! She sometimes got up at 4 AM just to run in peace!
Ever seen Tracen Academy at 4 AM?
After being spotted like that several times—combined with her divinely gifted face—who knows what sort of crazy story people imagined about her?
As Aristotle once said (probably wrong): One who isolates herself from society is either a beast or a god.
Everyone thought Garden Gale was the shit.
They believed she was a lone genius who needed nobody. Her face, considered one of the most beautiful at Tracen Academy, her dedication to training at 4 AM—everyone was convinced these were the Three Goddesses' meticulous efforts in crafting a monstrous talent.
Even the other Umamusume debuting alongside her—upon seeing that their rival was Garden Gale—thought they might as well prepare for their second debut race instead.
Even Garden Gale herself, right after transmigrating and seeing her reflection, had sighed deeply at her own face.
Then—WAIT A MINUTE!
Enough reminiscing! Because, in reality, none of this was true.
Garden Gale was an absolute noob. With her speed, forget winning high-stakes races; even in local amateur races, she'd need luck to clinch victory. Let alone here, at the fiercely competitive Tracen Academy—the battleground for elite Umamusume, home to legends like the undefeated Emperor and the miracle-making Cinderella Gray...too many legendary stories.
Under all this overwhelming expectation, the original owner had crumbled completely.
She wrote down her confessions, took sleeping pills, and ended her own life—because once you're dead, you don't have to face anything anymore.
From this, one could see just how twisted and fragile her personality had become.
She was worried, terrified, anxious about losing her debut race and proving she wasn't the genius everyone imagined. What would everyone think? They would surely mock her mercilessly, right? Ridicule, insults, contempt, anger...
Even the current Garden Gale got goosebumps just thinking about it.
To be honest... she was just as socially anxious! Only marginally better than the original owner. She, too, was scared to death of the upcoming debut race in seven days.
Just imagining all those disappointed stares...
Garden Gale felt sick. Embarrassed, she froze like a puppet on strings, head hanging down in guilt—as if she'd committed some horrible crime. Even if they were just strangers she'd never interacted with, and their opinions shouldn't matter—
She couldn't do it.
She just couldn't.
Maybe...
She should find an excuse to withdraw?
Jump out the second-floor window and break a leg... or claim she'd trained too hard and injured herself. Or take cold showers for three days straight with the air conditioning on full blast, catch a cold, and get a medical exemption—
Yeah.
Seriously.
Garden Gale was genuinely considering it.
But then… another issue popped up. Could she hide temporarily—but could she hide forever? There was no escaping. Maybe she should follow the original owner and commit suicide again. Just pretend she'd never transmigrated. If she died, she'd never have to face any of this.
Her gaze shifted to the small bottle of sleeping pills left on the table...
[Ding! Selas System unpacked! Loading now!]
[Loading progress: 1%... 15%... 64%...]
Garden Gale froze for a moment.
Her face instantly switched like a Sichuan opera mask, from deep anxiety to absolute joy!! Even if the scenario was horribly cliché—straight out of a Chinese web novel from ten or twenty years ago—it didn't stop Garden Gale from sliding across the floor on her knees, popping champagne in celebration!
Champagne sprayed everywhere!
Woohoo! I'm gonna take off!
Hey, how do you say "take off" again? Transmigration plus golden cheats!
Little old me... I'm about to hit the peak of life~
Socially anxious people all share one trait: excessive internal drama.
Calm down, calm down.
Garden Gale tried calming herself despite her ecstatic excitement, the corners of her lips twitching upwards uncontrollably. She told herself to stay calm, but the harder she tried, the more smugly she grinned. Tiptoeing around like she was dancing a tango, she waited patiently for the system to finish loading before turning her attention back to the message.
[Selas System fully loaded!]
[The following is the system user manual... Please read carefully.]
Ah.
How thoughtful, a newbie tutorial! Is there a beginner's gift package too? Since I'm cheating already, might as well cheat to the max.
With this thought in mind, she looked further down—and then... saw clearly written instructions on how to use the system.
Garden Gale's bright smile instantly froze.
Truly, honestly, it disappeared in a heartbeat.
A long, deathly silence filled the room.
Along with one extremely confused thought—
What the hell kind of requirement is THISSSSS?!?!?!
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T/N: btw hehehe its UMAMUSUME not UMA MUSUME yeah, i was stupid :sob: hopefully i didnt mess anyone up and have them using Uma Musume ....>.>