"Twin Stars of a New Era! The Arrival of the Chestnut Express and the Pitch-Black Assassin!"
In just half a year, these two debuting newcomers had made quite a name for themselves on the racing circuit.
In six months, Mihono Bourbon had:
Won her debut race by 8 lengths. Won her GIII championship by 7 lengths. Even when challenging the G1 Asahi Hai, she dominated with an 8-length lead.
Though still just a newcomer, Mihono Bourbon's overwhelming victory at the Asahi Hai had proven her reputation was well-deserved.
After winning the Asahi Hai, Mihono Bourbon even declared in interviews that she would be challenging the Classic series next.
No one had imagined that just one year after "Tokai Teio" claimed the undefeated Triple Crown (with "McQueen" having debuted a year earlier), another genius of this caliber would appear.
And Rice Shower, whom no one had expected anything from before her debut, had surged ahead from behind.
She debuted smoothly with a 6-length lead, then immediately challenged the GII Daily Hai and claimed victory. She then entered the G1 Hopeful Stakes and won by a razor-thin margin of a head.
Though both were G1 races, the Hopeful Stakes carried more weight in people's hearts than the Asahi Hai.
There was one simple rule to remember about real-world race rankings:
Long distance was supreme. Mid-distance came second. Mile was third. Sprint was last.
Then there was turf versus dirt—turf racing was considered higher class than dirt.
This was why many Uma Musume who were naturally better suited for dirt racing were trained by their trainers to develop turf legs.
Because if you wanted fame, you couldn't run dirt races.
Dirt racing was already considered inferior to turf. Add the officials' lack of emphasis, the fact that most dirt races were mile or sprint distances, and prize money far below turf races.
This was where the gap between Rice Shower and Mihono Bourbon lay.
Rice Shower's debut race was mid-distance. The G1 she won was also mid-distance.
Though Mihono Bourbon's race results looked more impressive, all her victories were in mile and sprint distances.
This had created a polarized debate online.
Many believed that while Mihono Bourbon was fast, she was clearly a specialized competitor better suited for mile and sprint distances. They weren't optimistic about her chances on the Classic route.
Meanwhile, Rice Shower had gone from being completely overlooked before her debut—with her small, slender frame—to matching Mihono Bourbon's fame after winning the Hopeful Stakes.
Three months until the Satsuki Sho.
People were eagerly anticipating that day. Many had already pre-purchased tickets for this year's Satsuki Sho.
The first clash between the Chestnut Express and the Pitch-Black Assassin—and on a Classic Triple Crown race, no less. Such an intense competition couldn't be missed.
...
At Central Tracen Academy, Mihono Bourbon's trainer had returned to the school and was putting Mihono Bourbon through special training in preparation for the upcoming Satsuki Sho.
Many students were shocked when they saw Mihono Bourbon's daily training volume—that intensity was absolutely abnormal.
This wasn't ordinary special training. This was true hellish training, designed to push someone to their breaking point.
Many trainers had raised objections to the Student Council.
As trainers themselves, they found Mihono Bourbon's trainer too extreme. Even if he was their senior, they couldn't tolerate this.
If the Director and Secretary hadn't been on an overseas business trip, plenty of trainers would have already asked the Director to intervene.
But these complaints were ultimately suppressed.
Because the academy's senior trainers all believed this training had no problems. As long as Mihono Bourbon herself was willing to accept it, there was no need to interfere.
"How terrifying."
"Tokai Teio" and "Mejiro McQueen" were also observing Mihono Bourbon's training.
They weren't intentionally spying.
It was just that the training grounds were only so large. They could see Mihono Bourbon's special training every day during their own sessions.
"I heard Mihono Bourbon recently stopped attending classes entirely. She trains from morning to night every day and will apparently continue until the training plan's goals are achieved."
"Gold Ship" shared the information she'd gathered.
"Will that training intensity really be okay? When the trainers had their meeting about it, how did they even approve that training plan?"
Daiwa Scarlet looked terrified. Their useless trainer wasn't going to follow this training plan with them later, was he? Absolutely not!
She couldn't handle it.
She would literally die.
"Relax. Okawa would never do that to us. Otherwise, this Gold Ship-sama would be the first to make him pay!"
"Gold Ship" wore a serious expression. If Okawa really dared have such twisted ideas, Gold Ship would make sure he learned which taboos should never be touched.
...
In another team, Taiki Shuttle looked horrified.
"This is the opponent I'll be facing?"
What a joke!
Could someone like her really challenge an Uma Musume who'd emerged from such hellish training?
Plus, she'd heard that the child called Rice Shower was training just as intensely.
Someone had seen Rice Shower frequently training near the shrine until very late before returning.
These two were already far ahead of their peers in ability. And now they were grinding this hard in training? Taiki Shuttle was already sweating before the race even began.
Seeing Taiki Shuttle's terrified expression, Fine Motion nearby deeply sympathized. She'd felt the same way when she was in the same class as "Tokai Teio."
Already a genius, yet still working so hard in training. It left "ordinary people" like them with no chance of victory whatsoever.
And the result was unsurprising—"Tokai Teio" had easily defeated all her contemporaries.
Now "Tokai Teio's" opponents weren't her peers anymore, but the previous generation's strongest "Mejiro McQueen" and even more senior veterans.
Fine Motion had deeply realized the gap between herself and geniuses. And now Taiki Shuttle's situation was so similar to hers back then.
Even if she wanted to comfort Taiki Shuttle, facing this cruel reality, she truly didn't know what to say.
Should she tell Taiki Shuttle to face reality sooner and just give up? That wasn't comfort—that was twisting the knife.
Fine Motion shook her head helplessly.
Twin Turbo raised her hand and patted Taiki Shuttle's back.
"Shi-chan, don't be so nervous! Just give it your all! As long as you run with everything you've got, there's definitely hope of winning!"
"No way. I can't win..."
Taiki Shuttle had completely lost confidence.
Twin Turbo tilted her head, then shouted loudly, "Okay then! Let me defeat them instead! Shi-chan, you can just watch my back!"
Fine Motion and the others nearby: "..."
No, no, no.
Twin Turbo, you're nowhere near qualified to challenge the Classic races.
Taiki Shuttle exclaimed in surprise, "Since when can you enter G1 races, Twin Turbo?"
"Huh? I can't enter?" Twin Turbo looked equally surprised and called out to their trainer.
The trainer said helplessly, "That's right. Twin Turbo, your current results aren't enough to enter G1 races. You need to keep working."
"But wait! Hasn't Shi-chan only won one debut race? Why can she enter?"
"That's not true! I got third place at the Hopeful Stakes, okay?! Don't act like third place doesn't count!"
Taiki Shuttle couldn't take it anymore. What did she mean, "only won one debut race"? Twin Turbo, if you can't speak properly, just don't speak.
The trainer explained, "Exactly. Though it was only third place, that result is enough to let Shuttle enter the Satsuki Sho."
"Third place counts as a result?" Twin Turbo looked shocked.
The trainer thought for a moment before saying, "Twin Turbo, stay after training ends. I'll give you a refresher on basic race knowledge."
"Huh?" Twin Turbo was stunned.
...
Meanwhile.
At the foot of the shrine mountain, Rice Shower was conducting special training on those stone steps.
Though she currently had the advantage in stats, Mihono Bourbon's four other attributes besides stamina were incredibly close to hers.
Add to that her disadvantage in skills, and she needed to learn more skills before the Satsuki Sho began.
Her current two mastered gold skills were Determined Descent and Professor of the Arc. Their effects were acceleration boost on downhill and speed boost on curves, respectively.
Her inherent skill was Kiss of the Rose—absorbing opponents' stamina while boosting her own speed. A three-in-one skill combining interference, recovery, and speed boost.
But these were only the skills she'd truly mastered. It didn't mean her skill panel actually only had these few skills.
In fact, her skill panel was absurdly extensive—far more terrifying than even the inflated character panels in the game.
But because there were too many skills and her proficiency was insufficient.
Rice Shower couldn't use these skills at will during races. They might as well not exist.
In game terms, this meant her Intelligence was too low to trigger skill activation.
The Intelligence on Rice Shower's stat panel had basically been raised by her other personality. Her main personality's Intelligence was still at the initial baseline.
After all, her Training Mode had been handled by her other personality. Rice Shower hadn't really grown much during Training Mode—her stat panel was just impressive on paper.
So it was natural she lacked confidence.
Because she knew clearly that her actual ability wasn't this strong.
Especially since this world's level had risen once again—even higher than Teio's world. This was a consequence of Teio working as a trainer in the original world.
However, the increased world level didn't mean System-enhanced competitors like them couldn't win. Rice Shower's current problem was mainly that she wasn't in peak condition.
She'd not only restricted her own ZONE usage but also hadn't accepted her other personality. She'd essentially sealed away seventy to eighty percent of her own power.
Facing a genius Uma Musume like Mihono Bourbon in this state naturally made her feel tremendous pressure.
But Rice Shower herself hadn't realized this. Right now, she was still just a little girl with big dreams.
Still, pressure could also be motivation.
Especially for someone with Rice Shower's personality.
The most obvious sign was that Rice Shower's recent training efficiency had improved dramatically. Though that tension certainly put great strain on her mind.
But the improved training efficiency made Rice Shower sink even deeper into it. She simply didn't want to stop, so the training intensity gradually increased bit by bit.
And it was at this time that Rice Shower's true talent emerged—incredible stamina and determination.
Even though her training intensity had long surpassed Mihono Bourbon's hellish training, Rice Shower still hadn't felt her body's limits.
This was only natural. Her innate talent was ultra-high stamina, and her current body was in an all-SS-stats state from Training Mode.
Mihono Bourbon's hellish training wasn't her limit. It was nowhere near enough to touch the limits of her current body.
...
Before the Satsuki Sho began, Mihono Bourbon—having completed her hellish training—chose to compete in the Spring Stakes, a preliminary race before the Satsuki Sho.
Though this race was officially classified as a mile race, its distance was 1800 meters—only 200 meters short of the Satsuki Sho's 2000 meters.
It was the best stage to verify training results. Most importantly, Rice Shower—whom Mihono Bourbon's trainer had been specifically watching—wasn't competing in this race.
If Rice Shower were competing, Mihono Bourbon's trainer might have hesitated. But since she wasn't participating, there was nothing to consider.
As for why not directly challenge the 2000-meter Yayoi Sho, which matched the Satsuki Sho distance?
Because he wasn't completely certain Mihono Bourbon's special training had truly succeeded.
This training method was something he'd devised himself. Though he believed it was perfect, whether it actually worked remained unknown.
Therefore, 1800 meters was the best choice—it would best reveal Mihono Bourbon's current condition.
If she struggled to win even at this distance, it meant the training had failed.
But if she could win comfortably, then challenging the 2000-meter Satsuki Sho afterward wouldn't be a problem.
"You can win, right, Bourbon?"
"Yes, Master."
Mihono Bourbon's face was expressionless, her condition showing no problems.
"Good. Then go win for me."
Mihono Bourbon's trainer also appeared to be a cold, unapproachable type—offering no encouragement or pep talk to Mihono Bourbon before her race.
But Mihono Bourbon was long accustomed to Master's cold personality.
She'd stopped being angry at her trainer the moment he'd been willing to follow her to Tracen Academy.
The reason she'd run away alone.
Was because her trainer had said she couldn't possibly win the Classic Triple Crown if she couldn't complete that enhanced training plan. That she was a failed creation.
To prove she wasn't a failure, Mihono Bourbon had run away from home.
In fact, even now Mihono Bourbon still hadn't completed that enhanced training plan. Her trainer still didn't believe she had any hope of claiming the Triple Crown.
The first two crowns might be manageable. But the final crown—the Kikka Sho...
That 3000-meter long-distance track absolutely couldn't be overcome with training at this level. But he now knew Mihono Bourbon's resolve, so he wouldn't say such things anymore.
Going forward, he would improve the training plan and elevate Mihono Bourbon to a level capable of winning the Kikka Sho.
But if she couldn't win the Satsuki Sho and Japanese Derby now, all those future plans would be meaningless.
So right now he wouldn't show any acknowledgment of Mihono Bourbon. Since you chose to run away from home to prove you're the most perfect creation, then show me.
Mihono Bourbon's trainer hid all his emotions behind his sunglasses.
When he separated from Mihono Bourbon and arrived at the spectator stands, he noticed a small figure in training clothes, fresh mud still clinging to her outfit.
"Rice Shower..."
With one glance, Mihono Bourbon's trainer sensed the aura emanating from that Uma Musume, and his entire body froze.
What is this? This aura that seems to have crossed over from the depths of hell—just how much training did she go through in private to forge this kind of presence?!
Shock and unease filled Mihono Bourbon's trainer's heart.
He'd originally thought that after Mihono Bourbon completed the initial phase of enhanced training, she'd pulled ahead of Rice Shower. But he hadn't expected the gap to have widened in the opposite direction.
What was this trainerless child relying on to reach this level? He couldn't understand it. He even felt the whole situation was absurd.
...
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