Watching Zero being taken to the hospital, members of team Spica plus Teio also looked grim at the situation unfolding before them.
They didn't know what led to the situation but they saw the end of it and felt it clear as day.
In that final moment, the radiance that burst from her body, and the terrifying pressure that followed.
If it weren't for Oguri Cap, who stood at the forefront, and Tamamo Cross, whose tail stood on end from fright, releasing their own Zones temporarily, Spica and co might have been left with some psychological trauma.
The strength that Zero had displayed before was already incredibly terrifying, but now, after this limit break, what would she be like now?
Yet, the question now was, with what had just happened, could she still run?
Among the group, Tokai Teio was the most shaken of them all.
Teio knew who the collapsed Uma Musume was. They had met in the Student Council Room a few days ago. From what she remembered, Absolute Zero was a very easygoing senior and also someone who achieved the famed title of Undefeated Triple Crown that Teio longed for greatly.
She didn't know what spurred Zero on to run so recklessly, to such a dangerous degree to the point of guaranteeing irreversible damage to her body.
Despite being strong as she was, she still sought to break whatever roadblock, determined to rise higher than the self of the past.
In that moment of wonder and fright, Teio asked herself: "Could I do that as well?"
Would she perhaps become complacent after achieving her goals? Because while she did love running, she would still occasionally stay up all night to play games with Mayano Top Gun.
Every time she asked the president when she could debut, the president always said, "You're still missing one thing."
Was the determination and resolve that was shown before her that missing piece?
Contemplation silently raged in her mind, but before her thought could spiral into something else it was broken by Oguri Cap.
"Don't worry, Zero's fine. She'll be bouncing back in no time." Oguri Cap, seeing the heavy atmosphere, felt she should fulfill her responsibility as a senior.
"Ah, I remember that she has a rather strong recovery ability. This level will at most keep her bedridden for ten days to half a month." Tamamo Cross quickly added, never once having the thought of anything stopping that particular Uma Musume from running.
Okino also understood one of the many miraculous aspects of Zero. So with a simple clap of his hands, it drew the attention of all the present Uma Musume
"Alright, the track is still barely usable as is, since the outer lane is mostly normal. Get ready for today's training. These two are Spica's assistant trainers whom Zero worked hard to bring over. Do you want her efforts to go to waste?"
Everyone immediately shook their heads and their gazes met the two Uma Musume.
Watching the gazes focus on her, Tamamo Cross felt a bit nervous, thinking she needed to find a way to get Super Creek and Inari One to help share the pressure, otherwise, with Oguri Cap's cluelessness plus the teaching pressure, she might faint from anger.
Meanwhile, the Emperor, having received news of Zero's hospitalization, quickly arranged for the news to be sealed, then pushed her work to Air Groove and Maruzensky before heading to the hospital.
She used the excuse, "I will have to arrange for a better doctor." With that, Rudolf brought Zero to a private hospital at home and sealed off any chance for news or gossip to leak out.
Rudolf was somewhat prepared for Zero to get herself into this state, especially if it was someone like her. It wouldn't be wrong to say that this was just the predicted conclusion of the stubbornness held by the other Uma musume.
She could already guess the scenario: the other Uma Musume, knowing she didn't have enough time before the race, went to Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross to get a feel for their perspective Zones, then after having gained insight, would not waste to miss the opportunity while the iron was hot, so she trained relentlessly, finally breaking through and collapsing at the last moment.
Similar incidents had happened many times before but this one a fair bit more severe then the ones after the gate crash incident.The staff at this private hospital were people she had specifically arranged, accustomed to handling such matters.
Sure enough, the moment she placed Zero onto the hospital bed, the other Uma Musume's eyes immediately opened, looking terrifyingly alert.
"Say, didn't you promise me last time that you wouldn't do this again?" Even while scolding the other, Rudolf still let out a sigh of relief, seeing that the other was okay.
"I did it, you know?"
Rudolf stopped mid scolding, eyes going wide and mouth hanging as a bewildered "Impossible…" left out from her mouth.
She knew what Zero had meant. It wasn't difficult to piece together what exactly Zero had said, just that the thought of someone awakening their Zone THIS FAST.
If it was anyone else, Rudolf wouldn't have believed them, but Zero wasn't just anyone else. She knew the person's talent was beyond exceptional, but even this level of growth was unexpected, a fairly terrifying existence if she had to admit.
Zero had only asked for knowledge of Zones this morning, and yet, in the span of an afternoon, had fully awakened and mastered it. It was simply awe inspiring yet also terrifying.
While Zero may look severely injured, but having been here so many times, how could she not know the other Uma Musume's incredibly strong recovery ability?
To be honest, the other Uma Musume made Rudolf internally envious of her, the level of monstrous growth.
"And, you know what? I saw it."
"What?"
"The 'goal' I am reaching for."
"...Then you are truly fortunate." Sitting on a chair nearby, the Emperor's face couldn't help but show a look of envy. After all, she may have been the undefeted Triple Crown, plus other crown she had won, never once had she glimpsed at the Goddesses. How truly envious it was to be jealous of such talent.
Don't get her wrong, it was but a fleeting eny, for Rudolf wishes the best for all Uma Musume and gladly accepts those that show great talent. After all, it's only a matter of time until hidden gems such as Zero are born, stars that will shine brighter then Rudolf herself.
"Although it's a bit different from the statues, I'm sure it's them." Hearing those words brought Rudolf out of her thoughts and an amused expression made itself known on her face.
"Oh? Are you so certain?"
"The clothes they wore were very old-fashioned, nothing modern about the style they wore."
"Pfft, that's certainly your style." The Emperor, who had intended to scold the other Uma Musume, was amused. Only someone like her would be bold enough to say such brazen, if not to some disrespectful, words towards their Three Goddesses.
The conversion died with that, the room falling silent. Rudolf wanted to wanted to scold her more but her back hairs rose as Zero spoke first, breaking the silence with a straight face, intense eyes directed towards Rudolf.
"Do I now have the right to challenge you?"
Faced with such eyes, Rudolf stared back with her own intensity as a challenging grin made itself known on her face.
"Heh, according to our agreement, you will have to run all the major races this year undefeated, and only then will I accept the challenge. If you lose any of them, however, then per agreement you will have to stop pursuing that goal of yours."
Zero let out her own grin, unbothered by The Emperor's gaze.
"Don't act as if you're the final boss, Rudolf, you're just a stepping stone that just needs to be crushed."
Both let out a hardy laugh and idle banter took root into the conversation and Rudolf can't lie that she enjoys rare moments like this.
"Alright, I still have work. You stay here alone."
"Go on, go on. It's not like I need you to keep me company."
With a light chuckle, the Emperor left the room, gently closing the door behind her.
Seeing that she was finally alone, Zero breathed a sigh of relief.
[This time, something really serious almost happened!]
[If we hadn't noticed you in time, you would have been gone, do you understand!?]
[Although the treatment is effective, if you die, then you're truly gone!]
[We will definitely make you change this personality of yours, just you wait!]
Looking at the screen filled with angry and caring words, Zero smiled wryly with helplessness.
She knew about the issue. She was normal, in her way normal to clarify, but once on the track, she completely transform mentally, like being an entirely different person. Only after leaving the track would she reflect on her mistakes, only to repeat them next time.
[But congratulations, you really did it, and so quickly too!]
What kind of Zone do I have?
[Here, see for yourself.]
She was naturally curious about the effects of her zone, so without any delay she quickly made the screen appear before her, looked at the specific section and read out the description.
[Zone — (In the Name of Absolute): With motivation to run ahead with unwavering resolve, show them why you are called the Absolute. The Zone covers the entire field, suppressing all Uma Musume, while clearing all negative status effects and restoring a large amount of stamina. It also ensures that no Uma Musume will be injured during this race. Furthermore, upon activation of the Zone, the skill (Monstrous Whirlwind – Speed That Will Reach The Divine) will evolve into (The Zenith - Absolute Godspeed)].
[The Zenith - Absolute Godspeed:
Push through the mortal shackles that binds you and ACCELERATE FORWARD WITHOUT ANY LIMITS! RUN TOWARDS THAT DISTANT HORIZON AND MAKE YOUR EXISTENCE BE KNOWN!!
The level of increased velocity is based on the number of skills possessed.]
I see, so the my personal skill that I had used at the end was in fact not it, but rather its evolved form afrer partical Zone activation.
[Exactly! You could have taken it step by step, but you, girl, wanted to get fat in one bite!]
"Well, I promise, there really won't be a next time! I'm sorry! I made you worry!"
[No! This time, you absolutely must wear a backless outfit and dance Umapyoi for us!]
Eh!? Is that thing really meant for people to wear!? It's too embarrassing!
[And you can't wear anything underneath!]
That's too much! How can that be! The embarrassment level is off the charts!
[Then we will stop the treatment. If you rely on self-recovery, you'll most likely miss the Osaka Cup.]
I'll dance, isn't that enough!?
Watching the other party end the call with satisfaction, Zero could only sigh, Life is not easy.
Noticing that Rudolf had also brought her phone, Zero opened it. Her face was plasted with notifications, some being various forms of greetings in her inbox.
Looking out from the window near her bed, it seems that night had fallen already, letting her know roughly how long she was actually unconious. It seems that this particular injury was the most severe one she had ever sustained.
Although Zero can't lie, the feeling of being cared for was quite nice. Thinking this, she replied to each message one by one.
After replying, she secretly logged into a fake account created with hacking techniques, an account with Trainer privileges.
And the purpose of doing so... was, of course, to access the Trainer-exclusive communication forum.
Ah, it seems that just like most days, the main forum was still filled with countless strange fanfics. Seeing the number of new posts, Zero's expression immediately crumpled.
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I'm a newbie translator and wanted to add more uma fics for more people to read. if there are any errors, multiple of the same text or sentence, let me know.
The credits and orginal story is: 传奇马娘想好好谈恋爱 and belongs to: 起始之