"First pick! Number twelve! Tokai Teio!"
The female commentator's passionate voice was muffled by the relentless rain, yet Dream Weaver could still feel the overwhelming anticipation for her rival through the thunderous cheers of the crowd that pierced through the walls.
She leaned against the cold concrete, her dark ears drooping weakly beneath her black hair. Her eyes, hidden beneath her bangs, were fixed on the ground as if searching for answers in the dull flooring.
"Facing a genius like this in my very first debut race?"
Dream Weaver let out a soft sigh, a bitter smile tugging at her lips—a silent acknowledgment of her own powerlessness.
"First, Mother suddenly fell gravely ill and slipped into a coma, forcing me to take on part-time work to help cover the medical bills."
"Then, after pushing myself to the limit to get into Tracen Academy, I didn't even have the energy to celebrate before learning that our family's savings were nearly exhausted."
"I entered the debut race without even having time to find a trainer, hoping that by some miracle I might place in the top three. If I could just win some prize money, the financial pressure would ease, even if just a little…"
"But I was so busy working that I didn't even check the list of competitors. Not until now did I realize I'd be up against a prodigy like that…"
Muttering to herself, she kicked the wall behind her in frustration. The metallic echo reverberated through the empty entrance tunnel, lingering in the air far longer than she expected.
"Even in a second life, I'm still so useless."
She took a deep breath, forcing all her frustration and pressure back down into the depths of her heart. This much venting was enough—any more complaining would only add unnecessary weight to the race ahead.
Dream Weaver pushed herself away from the wall, standing firmly on her own once more. With deft movements, she tied her signature red ribbon back into a ponytail.
No time for self-pity. It was time to go.
As if responding to her resolve, the commentator's voice rang out across the field.
"Number thirteen, Dream Weaver!"
Answering the call, the black-haired, dark-eyed horse girl stepped out into the rain.
What she didn't notice was that, as she focused entirely on the track ahead, an inorganic voice whispered in her ear.
[Detection... successful…]
[Uma Musume... re-production... initiating…]
[Script... constructed…]
[Worldline, overwritten.]
Behind her, a vivid red circular clock suddenly appeared in the entry tunnel, its ticking pendulum echoing through the empty passageway.
[Initial task successfully established.]
[Objective—win the debut race!]
The moment Dream Weaver stepped onto the turf, she truly understood what the name Tokai Teio meant.
Without concrete walls to block it, the booming cheers of the audience flooded into her ears unimpeded. Under this fierce, fiery passion, even the grey curtain of rain seemed to evaporate.
A hazy mist enveloped Dream Weaver the instant she appeared, and an unbearable heat washed over her, making her feel as though she were being roasted over an open flame.
But... it was raining. Wasn't it?
This sensation, so contrary to common sense, vanished the moment she became aware of it—the scorching feeling fading like an illusion.
Yet something in her instincts whispered that those abnormal seconds hadn't been mere imagination.
Maybe this was what every horse girl experienced when stepping onto the track.
Competitive spirit, the will to win, reasons you absolutely couldn't lose, outcomes you could never accept—all these emotions and thoughts, combined with visibly powerful rivals, created a space that existed for only a few minutes yet was utterly real—
A battlefield for Uma Musume.
Dream Weaver lifted her gaze toward the source of that intense heat and saw a petite horse girl with a white crescent-shaped fringe, standing with her back turned, waving enthusiastically toward the cheering stands.
"So that's... Tokai Teio."
She stared, mesmerized, at the small figure nearly swallowed by the rain, unable to look away for a long time.
"Such cheers, such passion... Is this what the audience expects? A true star of tomorrow?"
She narrowed her eyes. The rain fell like a curtain, blurring her vision, yet somehow it made the fervent cheers surrounding Tokai Teio feel almost tangible.
"Pretty amazing, isn't she? Tokai Teio."
An unfamiliar voice spoke near Dream Weaver's ear, pulling her back to reality.
She turned to see a horse girl with dancing reddish-brown hair twirling a strand around her finger while gazing toward Tokai Teio in the distance.
Noticing Dream Weaver's attention, the girl smiled warmly and introduced herself.
"I'm Nice Nature. Though the name sounds impressive, I'm not really all that talented. You can just call me Natchan."
Nice Nature blinked her brown eyes cheerfully at Dream Weaver.
"And you? I don't think I've seen you before. Are you a new student this year?"
Just as Dream Weaver opened her mouth to respond to this kindness, the commentator's voice echoed across the field, cutting her off.
"All contestants, please take your positions!"
Nice Nature mimed "let's talk after the race" with her lips, waved, and dashed off toward her own lane.
"Not really all that talented... huh?"
Dream Weaver watched the retreating figure of the friendly Uma Musume, murmuring to herself.
She shook her head, patted her cheeks lightly, and stepped into her own position—lane thirteen.
Within the narrow starting gate, all she could see was the green path ahead.
The cheers of the crowd, the voice of the commentator—every sound around her seemed to sync with the rhythm of her heartbeat.
Bang!
With the crack of the starter pistol, the gates flew open. pent-up energy exploded forth in that instant, and Dream Weaver burst onto the track. The world around her blurred with speed, turning into a frosted glass-like haze that separated the racers from the spectators.
Here on the track, it was a battlefield.
Gritting her teeth, Dream Weaver pushed forward with all her might. Even at a speed that allowed her to slice through the rain, she still couldn't break free from the pack.
Because on this field, everyone was an Uma Musume.
Because every single one of them here possessed that same blistering speed.
Squinting unwillingly through the crowded gaps between runners, she watched a white streak—a lone figure cutting through the rain—pull further and further away, until eventually disappearing from view entirely before the next turn.
For Uma Musume, a race is over in a flash. But for Dream Weaver, it felt agonizingly long. She had known the outcome was defeat from the moment the race began, yet she had no choice but to be swept along by the crowd until she crossed the finish line.
Only when she passed the endpoint did this bone-deep torment finally cease.
Standing breathless among the other horse girls, she stared at that figure with the white crescent-shaped fringe already basking in the crowd's adoration. In the grey rain, only one person could be the main character.
"Is it over...?"
"But... I really can't... accept this."
Her vision grew hazy as she looked out at the cheering crowd. In the next instant, the world before her eyes suddenly inverted into rushing white streaks. Dream Weaver's eyes flew wide open, yet nothing changed.
This wasn't some illusion born from her dazed state—it was truly happening.
"What—"
Before she could finish her exclamation, a cold, mechanical tone sounded in her mind.
[Initial task failed... commencing reset.]
[Current failure count: One]
The sound of turning gears echoed, like some industrial machinery being fueled. A blast of scorching steam, as if from steel thrust into a furnace, clouded her vision.
When Dream Weaver opened her eyes again, she was back in the athlete's entrance tunnel.
A circular red clock stood at her feet, ticking rhythmically.
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T/N: The MC's name, Xiu Xingmeng translates to Embroidered Stardream. However, the name's too long for me, so I shortened Stardream to just Dreams and Embroidered into Weaver. So Dream Weaver. maybe Weaving Dreams might have been better... but too late!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 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.