Her beautiful feet had a faint pink hue, and when she curled them up, wrinkles appeared on the soles. Because she had just finished running, Tokai Teio's feet were still sweating. They felt slick to the touch and had a pungent, sweaty smell. Even though she was in game mode, Tokai Teio said, "The little Trainer is hurt." Her playful expression, half-serious and half-teasing, was so vivid it seemed like reality. But Luo Cheng couldn't talk to her. She just went about her actions on her own.
Half an hour later, Tokai Teio, with flushed cheeks, put on her socks and shoes and took out a wet towel from the infirmary's stock to place on Luo Cheng's head. After completing her character's fixed action, Teio left the room. Huh? You're just going to leave like that? Incredibly, Teio didn't even clean up. She had training later; was she really going to run like that? Luo Cheng swallowed. These horse girls were getting bolder and bolder. Or maybe not bolder. Luo Cheng wasn't sure if they had their own thoughts. If they did, why wouldn't they talk to him? If they didn't, their actions were truly unexpected.
What she just did wasn't something a game-state horse girl could do. Not even the old Tokai Teio could do it. She couldn't receive such commands; she could only simulate similar behaviors through training. For example, standing with her feet together, or moving up and down. A game-state horse girl could only receive such instructions, which was why Luo Cheng's most frequent command to Teio was to do squats. A horse girl's physique could maintain a squatting motion for nearly forty minutes. After that, either they would give up, or Luo Cheng would.
However, recently, their behavior had changed. The horse girls' movements were becoming more refined and vibrant. The prime example was Agness Tachyon, who would do whatever he asked. Luo Cheng had ordered Agness Tachyon to do something like this before, and she had performed it perfectly. It felt no different from the real world, especially the faint smile on her face that made Luo Cheng feel that Agness Tachyon was conscious. Of course, Teio was still better in this regard. Both her cute appearance and the feel of her soles were superior. Teio's soft, tender feet seemed to have a natural suction. The feeling of them sweating, pressing together, and then slightly parting was even better. As expected, a horse girl's feet are powerful weapons in every way.
Luo Cheng sat up. He now knew that items purchased outside had special effects. Whether it was food, or clothes, as long as it was bought in a story, it would work. This included items bought in the main story, random stories, and Support Card stories. If that was the case, his next goal was clear: buy food, medicine, and clothes. Food would increase stamina and mood, clothes would provide varying stat boosts to the horse girls, and Luo Cheng guessed that medicine would be used to treat horse girls.
Luo Cheng hadn't bought any medicine yet. The only time he was injured was in the Cafe story, and he used the medicine from the infirmary. It had no special effects, just like the food in the cafeteria. It didn't increase stamina and only served to keep the game world running. However, items had their good and bad points. The effect of scallops was nowhere near as good as chocolate, and some food and clothes had negative effects. For example, Teio and Sky's [Drunk] status. It couldn't really be considered a negative effect. Luo Cheng felt they were more human when they were drunk. If he could, Luo Cheng would even want to keep them in a drunk state, but then he would be licked by Seiun Sky and have his feet worshipped by Tokai Teio. Even with his body resetting every day, he couldn't handle it. Not to mention Agness Tachyon and Manhattan Cafe. When can I get an infinite buff?
Wait... Luo Cheng suddenly thought, Can I also use these items? If the horse girls could use them, there was no reason he couldn't, right? Thinking this, Luo Cheng took an energy bar from his pocket and ate it. He closed his eyes and felt his body for any changes. Nothing happened. He didn't feel any stronger, nor did he feel any discomfort. It was just a very ordinary energy bar; it tasted a little sweet.
It makes sense. Luo Cheng stood in front of the mirror. He had no stats, no status prompts. Nothing. He was just an ordinary person, completely out of place with the horse girls. He wasn't a character; he was the 'player'. Things that had an effect on the horse girls might not have any effect on him. Luo Cheng once again felt his difference from others. He looked at himself in the mirror, a self-deprecating smile on his soft face. Luo Cheng touched the corner of his mouth and shook his head.
When Tokai Teio left earlier, her mood had already risen to [Good Condition], so it wouldn't affect her training. Instead of thinking about the uncertain future, he should focus on the next race. Before he knew it, the race date was approaching. The next race was Tokai Teio's second race, the 2000-meter [Wakaba Stakes], an OP event. Currently, Tokai Teio's speed was nearly 500, stamina over 300, power over 300, and guts and intelligence were both above 200. Her stats were very unbalanced. Luo Cheng didn't want to raise Tokai Teio into a perfectly balanced horse, but if her stats were too skewed, Luo Cheng was afraid there would be problems in the race, like her skills not activating or her stamina running out in the final stretch.
Now, Luo Cheng wasn't just raising the horse girls to win. He also wanted to create a famous, powerful horse. Of course, Luo Cheng couldn't say something as grand as 'I'm doing everything for the horse girls.' Everything he did was for himself. He did it to make himself feel better. Raising them and winning races were the goals of Luo Cheng's life. It was his way of staying sane. The feeling of jumping back and forth between different worlds was truly draining his sanity. Luo Cheng was trying his best to tell himself not to worry about it and to just do what he had to do.
After wiping his face with a towel, Luo Cheng returned to his office. Seiun Sky and the others had already left. After a long period of idling without a command, they would return to their character roles. Since no one was around, Luo Cheng planned to arrange Tokai Teio's training plan. When he was in the real world, he wouldn't have the convenience of stats, so he had to rely on his experience and knowledge. A month wasn't too long or too short; it was enough to boost Teio's stats quite a bit. So before triggering the story, Luo Cheng decided to record the relationships between training programs, mood, and stamina. He was directly analyzing the inner workings of the training system.
Just as Luo Cheng was engrossed in organizing his data, there was a knock on the door. A green-haired office lady walked into the room. Seeing her, Luo Cheng put down his pen.
"Tazuna?"
"Good morning, Trainer Luo Cheng." Hayakawa Tazuna bowed her head. "The VR equipment has been debugged. Trainer Luo Cheng can use it freely from now on. The [Master's Cup] race will also be open."
Master's Cup... Hearing that, Luo Cheng's eyes lit up. I can finally see the Three Goddesses.