Training time flew by in the blink of an eye.
After a day of exhilarating training, Barbatos and her crew departed, leaving only the members of Team Rigil behind at the training grounds to question their very existence.
"Is that why Barbatos can maintain full coverage of her Zone?"
Narita Brian gazed thoughtfully at the now-empty track. If they had caught glimpses of Barbatos and the others training in the past, today they had witnessed the entire process from start to finish.
Were all the Uma Musume of this generation training to such a punishing degree?
If so, it seemed only logical that King Halo's leg had ended up fractured.
Under such high-intensity training, the body could easily break down, yet the results were undeniably real.
Brian remembered back to the Dream Cup; Barbatos had suffered a severe loss of speed in the latter half after activating her Zone. Now, it was clear she had patched up those weaknesses.
She had become a true "Japan's Best" with no openings whatsoever.
"Hey, Brian. Want to go for a round?"
Hishi Amazon's voice rang out beside her. Usually, during training, the two of them were often paired up to run side-by-side.
"Feeling a bit restless because of Barbatos's training?" Brian asked.
"Nah, it's just that watching B-chan train today gave me an interesting idea. I want to test it out."
Fuji Kiseki watched Hishi Amazon and Brian from a distance and let out a deep sigh. They'd had plenty of time to run with Brian earlier, but Amazon just had to wait until Barbatos left.
Fuji had a sneaking suspicion that Amazon was just using a race as an excuse to skip out on her tutoring session later. Well, it wasn't like any of them would be able to focus on studying now anyway.
She strolled over, curious to see the showdown between these two long-time rivals.
The rest of Rigil—excluding Grass Wonder, who had left with Barbatos—gathered around as well, taking up their roles as spectators, judges, and referees.
"Ready... Go!"
The moment the signal dropped, a wild, overbearing aura swept across the track.
Hishi Amazon, who usually favored a "Chaser" style and was never particularly fast out of the gate, used the empowerment of her Zone to seize the lead immediately.
Even if there was a slight gap in raw ability between her and Brian, they were still fundamentally on the same level.
With her Zone fully covering the first half of the race, Amazon hit the final stretch with her ultimate finishing kick. Even Narita Brian, who had also activated her Zone, found herself unable to keep up.
"Huff... huff!"
At the finish line, Hishi Amazon was gasping for air.
As expected, maintaining full Zone coverage wasn't something just anyone could handle.
Even though she felt completely winded, she realized that if the race was 2,400 meters or less, she could actually pull off a full-coverage run.
"Amazon, what were you thinking?!" Narita Brian couldn't help but ask after her loss.
How could she use her Zone like that? The strain on the body in that state was immense!
Even for a Legendary Uma Musume blessed by the Three Goddesses, there was no guarantee of a full recovery from that kind of tax.
Fuji Kiseki looked at Amazon at the finish line and suddenly realized that the "interesting idea" Amazon mentioned before the race was exactly this: full Zone coverage.
"What was I thinking? I just wanted to go all out and have a spectacular run," Amazon said, hands on her hips and a wide grin on her face.
"Ever since I became a Legend, I felt like I'd hit my limit. But Barbatos's method might actually let me get a bit stronger. If B-chan can do it, does that mean I can't do it as her senior?"
Once an Uma Musume becomes a Legend, their physical stats are essentially locked in.
In exchange, their bodily functions remain at peak condition indefinitely. Through daily training, the only things that usually improve are experience and technique—or perhaps a slight growth in stamina.
After years, or even a decade of this, she could finally manage what Barbatos was doing during her active career.
"Rather than just carrying on like this... I'd rather have a few spectacular races. If my body can't take it, then I'll just retire," Amazon declared with a grin.
It had been a long time since she had felt the thrill of running at full power like this.
Brian's mouth hung open slightly, momentarily speechless.
In truth, after seeing Barbatos's full-coverage Zone, Amazon wasn't the only one with such thoughts—Amazon was simply the first to act on them.
They were all the most outstanding Uma Musume of their respective eras. Even if they had lost to Symboli Rudolf, they never stopped thinking about how to get stronger.
The Zone had always been a final trump card for the home stretch; it was like a boundary these Legends had drawn for themselves. Barbatos had shattered that boundary and stepped outside the circle.
"I give up... you're something else," Narita Brian sighed, a confident smile—the kind belonging to a "Shadow Monster" and a Triple Crown winner—spreading across her face.
Full Zone coverage wasn't a trick only Barbatos could pull off.
"This is my beautiful way of running, too," another voice chimed in.
"Full Zone coverage, huh?"
One by one, the Legends of Rigil began to sink into deep thought.
Meanwhile, Barbatos and her group, who had already met up with Special Week, had no idea that their trip to the Rigil training grounds had triggered an "Epic-tier" buff for the legendary Uma Musume.
They were currently at a restaurant in the village that wasn't very well-known. The atmosphere wasn't exactly high-end, but it came as a top-tier recommendation from Maruzensky.
Plate after plate of food—none of it particularly pretty, but all of it smelling heavenly—was brought to the table. The server couldn't help but steal glances at Barbatos's face every time they came by.
Even Barbatos wasn't sure if the attention was because she was Japan's Best, because of the "car-blocking" incident from that morning, or because the five of them had ordered enough food to feed a dozen grown men. Who could say?
"I don't know why, but I felt so sleepy during tutoring, and the moment it ended, I suddenly felt wide awake," Special Week mumbled, her mouth full as she kept reaching for more food.
Barbatos nodded in agreement. "Hehe, that's totally normal. You might even find yourself so wired tonight that you can't sleep without the background noise of a lecture."
It wasn't just Special Week; Barbatos felt the same way during tutoring.
The only difference was that Barbatos had powered through and actually learned something, while it had all gone in one ear and out the other for Special Week.
"You all look like new faces. Is this your first time in the Summer Training Camp?" the shop owner came over to greet them. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in a contest we're running here?"
"What kind of contest?"
"An eating contest! We call it the Summer Training Camp Derby! Would you ladies like to enter?"
"An eating contest?" Special Week's eyes lit up instantly.
Barbatos looked at the owner's honest, square-jawed face and suddenly felt the urge to ask: Is this your first time hosting one of these? Aren't you worried about us eating you into bankruptcy?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.