The days of training were starkly monotonous: stamina and foundational strength, day in and day out.
As Rokuhei put it, Stardust Phantom lacked basic attributes. No matter how strong a technique might be, it required fundamentals to support it. Right now, Stamina and Power were paramount.
On this point, Stardust Phantom agreed wholeheartedly.
One glance at her status panel told the story: without baseline numbers, she'd never stand on the Classic Triple Crown stage.
Agreeing was one thing; every day she was still trained to the point of collapse by Rokuhei.
These looked like impossible sessions—but with Oguri Cap there, routinely doing more than twice her workload, Stardust Phantom couldn't bring herself to refuse.
Through these days, she glimpsed a fraction of Oguri Cap's true strength.
After just two joint-run sessions per day, Oguri had a preliminary grasp of Holy Night Runner in three days. Thereafter, she displayed extraordinary closing speed and other skills.
Even in mere joint runs, Stardust Phantom gained tremendously—in fact, by the end it was basically her learning techniques unilaterally from Oguri Cap.
Off the track, Rokuhei discovered another problem: she needed to cram basic knowledge of racing.
"If the start puts you straight into a bend, and your gate is in the extreme outside, how do you run?"
"I'll use my best method—cut straight in from the outside and turn the curve into two straights!"
Hearing that, Rokuhei saw black.
If she really tried a huge diagonal cut from the outside at the break, the consequences would be far worse than a simple suspension.
Horsegirls can hit 60 km/h almost instantly after the start. If someone forces a diagonal cut into the rail, those who can't avoid it could trigger a chain collision and pileup.
In the worst case, some might suffer irreparable injuries—an outcome she would regret forever.
Not only Stardust Phantom would pay; as her acting trainer, Rokuhei would be bowing on the floor to every other trainer too.
"Go study the rules of horsegirl racing properly!"
It was the first time Rokuhei had yelled at her in anger. Frightened, she obeyed, cramming every night after training.
Also, while she'd initially asked Rokuhei and Oguri to "handle training matters," she discovered he'd covered her room and board and all training gear as well—using Oguri's terrifying prize money.
Oguri Cap: No objections here.
Outside running and eating, Oguri never seemed to have other opinions about Rokuhei's arrangements.
Beyond the two daily joint runs, the remaining items emphasized short sprints and frog jumps, supplemented with tire drags, bounding, and more.
These didn't just raise basic attributes; they would reforge Stardust Phantom's body—trained barely a month—into one that could truly run, coordinating foot, leg, hip, waist, torso, shoulders, arms, even finger joints.
Many think running is all about those powerful legs, but to chase peak speed, your whole body has to assist each stride.
Even your arms must swing in rhythm, channeling the body's power into every footfall.
By the second week, she'd largely adapted. With huge meals after training to replenish, her physique climbed.
In short sprints, she could steadily keep her gap to Oguri under a second.
Ten more days passed—just over two weeks total—and her sense of bodily control reached a new level.
Her system panel no longer looked like a second-rate runner's:
[Time remaining until Year 2, January 27 — G3 Kyoto Himba Tokubetsu: 37 days.
Entry requirements: Completed debut; cumulative prize money over 10,000,000.
Objective: Enter Kyoto Himba Tokubetsu and place Top 2.
Stardust Phantom — Base Stats:
Speed 428
Stamina 250
Power 184
Grit 181
Intellect 170
Growth Rate: Speed +30%; others +0%.]
Everything had risen, with Stamina and Power (aside from Intellect) growing the most—precisely why she could shoulder the training volume later on.
Counting Intellect gained from studying rules, she had increased a whopping 184 total points in these 17 days.
In the time it takes to complete a single training cycle in the game, she'd turned herself into a competent runner for current races.
That was the chemistry of Rokuhei Ginjiro—trainer to a legendary horsegirl—paired with a newcomer who'd only just begun running.
Of course, she also knew these early surges were because she'd never had proper training before.
After the initial spike, she noticed diminishing returns across the five stats—only Intellect kept a steady climb thanks to rules study.
The stat growth brought other changes.
She looked taller overall; flowing lines of muscle appeared on her arms and legs, giving her a healthier beauty.
Her weight had climbed by around twenty jin, but it was all core strength tucked away inside her—ready to explode when needed.
Rokuhei said it was the final stage of becoming fully "true-form," and one reason for the stat boom.
But what impressed him most wasn't that.
In those 17 days, she never once quit over the hardship. No matter how Rokuhei increased the load, she bit down and finished.
If it were only about desire to win, fine—but every night, no matter how wrecked she looked, she bounced back by morning; injuries never lingered. That, above all, baffled Rokuhei.
"Stardust Phantom's a born Hall-of-Fame candidate," he murmured.
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