The Training Ground.
Thin layers of snow piled up on either side as Barbatos, dressed in Tracen's sports short-sleeves, jogged slowly along the track.
Unlike her usual training sessions, her pace wasn't fast—it felt less like an Uma Musume's sprint and more like a human's leisurely run.
White puffs of breath escaped her lips, vanishing before her eyes.
After a week of adjustment, Barbatos had grown somewhat accustomed to the intensity of these workouts.
Training from six in the morning until eleven was an exceptionally brutal regimen even for an Uma Musume, whose physique differed from humans. It was the kind of schedule that would never cross the mind of someone who'd failed their trainer's certification.
Under this kind of routine, most Uma Musume would likely collapse well before their debut race.
But Barbatos was different.
She had [Heal], and thanks to the remaining essence she'd spent on unlocking the ultimate ability of the new champion [Dr. Mundo], she could restore her body—preventing injuries and maintaining her condition.
That was the only reason she could sustain this level of training long-term.
Even so.
Barbatos could feel her ragged, hurried breaths, her lungs burning as if about to burst. Her steps felt heavy, dreadfully heavy, but her legs kept moving!
An Uma Musume's innate love for running naturally urges them to go faster.
But right now, all she could manage was this slow, deliberate jog—using it to grind up her endurance.
Already carrying weights, these prolonged slow runs offered noticeable gains in a short time.
This was tempering her stamina and her grit. Before losing the Dream Cup, even if she'd whimsically tried something like this, she probably would've given up quickly.
Even now, especially during those first couple of days.
She'd thought about quitting more than once. She had other ways to improve herself, could keep playing League of Legends, could simply avoid middle and long-distance races in the future.
If she stuck to sprints and mile races, she could remain queen of those distances and keep winning.
At those lengths, even facing legends, within a year she wouldn't be worse than Symboli Rudolf—she might even surpass her.
But.
She wasn't willing to accept that. She wanted to win fairly, squarely, at middle distance.
The Dream Cup's track length varied each year; maybe one year it would be a sprint.
But she wanted to beat Symboli Rudolf at middle distance. She never wanted to feel that powerlessness again—the exhaustion, the system skills fading, leaving her helpless.
She would use the system's power to make herself stronger.
The resolve after the Dream Cup, and the feelings she shared with Seiun Sky, kept her going. She wouldn't lose next time! This year's target was the Spring Tenno Sho!
Others had to worry about their bodies holding up under hard work, but all she had to do was grit her teeth and keep running!
As someone once said, 'When I was young, I believed that hard work always pays off. But when I entered society, I realized that's just a lie they sell you.'
That sounded reasonable enough.
But applied to herself right now—she was in a phase where every bit of effort truly did bring results. It was the beginner's dividend every Uma Musume goes through.
It wasn't like she hadn't trained before the Dream Cup, but those efforts only accounted for a small part of her actual strength.
The larger share came from the results of grinding away in League of Legends.
Now, turning her focus to this aspect, she naturally entered a phase of rapid, dramatic improvement.
She didn't know how much time had passed.
Her phone's ringtone sounded from nearby—it was eleven, time for lunch.
Barbatos gradually slowed her pace a little more but kept jogging until she completed another full lap before finally stopping. She braced her hands on her knees, breathing heavily.
Sweat trickled down her face, the back of her sports shirt long since soaked through.
The warmth and fatigue spreading through her body made it hard to believe this was the middle of a cold winter.
After catching her breath, reluctantly steadying her ragged gasps, she took the water bottle from Seiun Sky—who had finished training earlier to help her grandfather prepare lunch—and gulped it down.
"Whew~ I'll go shower first then."
Taking the towel from Seiun Sky, she wiped the sweat off and turned toward the bathhouse.
But Seiun Sky stopped her.
"Hold on."
"Your friends from China are about to head back. They're asking if you want to meet up in person."
Seiun Sky pulled Barbatos's phone from her pocket.
For them, there wasn't anything on each other's phones they needed to hide. No passwords necessary—their social circles overlapped significantly anyway.
So while Barbatos was training, Seiun Sky had noticed the messages and checked them. If something urgent came up, she could have called Barbatos over right away.
"Teacher Piao and TripleWildMing and the others?"
"Mhm."
Barbatos took the phone thoughtfully. Since the Dream Cup, she'd taken a temporary break from her League of Legends fans.
She hadn't streamed at all since, and aside from an initial message in the group chat saying she was okay, and replying to a few friends who'd privately messaged her, she hadn't interacted further.
Meeting up with Teacher Piao and the others was a must.
They'd flown all the way from China to Japan to watch her race, and she hadn't even had the chance to play host properly.
At the very least, she needed to thank them properly.
It would also be a good chance to stream again after so long and connect with her other fans in China.
After all, when a group of League players meet up, the obvious plan is a five-stack at an internet cafe.
Well, there were more than five who'd come to Japan, and with a lineup like theirs, it's not like they'd end up on a losing streak.
A stream of several big-name League streamers playing together at a cafe would probably draw quite a few viewers.
Plus, since they were heading back to China via Narita International Airport, it was close to home—only about a ten-minute drive.
After coordinating the time and place with Teacher Piao and the others, a thought struck Barbatos.
"I'll miss tomorrow's training."
"It's fine to take a break once in a while," Seiun Sky said casually.
--+--
The next day, the winter sun hadn't fully risen yet. A few minutes before six, the body clock forged by days of consecutive training woke Seiun Sky naturally.
She noticed Barbatos was already gone from beside her.
Rubbing her slightly messy hair, she got up and walked to the window.
Outside on the training ground, a thin blanket of snow covered the earth. Under the dawn light, Barbatos's figure was still running.
The meet-up was at noon. No need to cancel the morning's training plan.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, 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!
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If you guys wanna check it out.