The next day.
The chrysanthemums bloomed.
King Halo followed the original body's Trainer to the racecourse.
With a calm expression, she looked at the building before her.
Even outside the gate, she could hear the roaring voices coming from within. Although this world did not have her as a variable, the birth of the Golden Generation had indeed lifted Japan's umamusume industry quite a bit. The crowd on site was truly bustling.
Entering the backstage area from the rear gate on the other side, King Halo checked her equipment once more. Although this equipment was not as good-looking as her own, it was at least the craftsmanship of a major brand. Its quality could still be trusted.
Unfortunately, this world's version of her probably had no way to obtain the race outfit made by Mother.
"Hey, is there really no way?"
The original King Halo was still hesitant and uncertain.
Although yesterday she had witnessed the power of another version of herself, that was, after all, power belonging to another person.
King Halo ignored the original body.
If she had a way to return control, did the original body really think she wanted to use this weak body to run a race? If the original body could take back even a fraction of control, King Halo promised she absolutely would not resist.
Just as King Halo was about to prepare to enter the field, the Trainer beside her suddenly could not help speaking.
"Um..."
He had noticed that today's King Halo was somewhat strange. But he had not imagined something like possession. He only thought this proud young lady could no longer hold on.
He felt that he ought to say something at this moment, but when he saw King Halo's calm eyes, he felt a wave of immense pressure.
What was he supposed to say? What could he say?
Was he supposed to only now advise King Halo to give up the race?
Thinking of this, he remained silent for a while, then said very stiffly, "Do your best."
King Halo did not respond. She only turned and walked toward the racecourse.
Not only did the original body lack talent, her eye for people was poor too. This Trainer was not even as good as Nishizaki Ryuya. No wonder the original body was so foolish.
The original body's level originally might not have been enough to break into Japan's top tier, but if she had been developed properly, she could have rushed into second-rate. Of course, that was speaking by Japan's domestic standards.
If one looked at the world, then even Special Week and the others, who were first-rate in Japan, were far from first-rate by world standards. Looking at the world, one had to at least possess strength like El Condor Pasa and Gold Ship to be first-rate.
The threshold for challenging Japan's first-rate was actually quite low. As long as one's average stats were at rank A and one mastered a single Flash Skill, one could squeeze in.
But the original body still did not have this strength, because she had run an entire path of middle-distance and long-distance races, which she insisted on despite the mismatch. She had not gained any effective race experience, and her skill learning progress had slowed quite a bit.
King Halo felt that the original body's starting level should have been about the same as Special Week and the others. After all, the original body's talent was at least enough to run GI races, and she also worked hard enough.
But after debuting, the gap grew larger and larger. True geniuses were growing steadily and quickly, while the original body chose to clash stubbornly on tracks that did not suit her. If the original body's Trainer had been someone like Trainer Ashikabe, then fine, but she had happened to find a useless Trainer too.
Thus, that gap only widened more and more throughout her racing career. Other people were geniuses, worked hard, and found the correct direction. The original body had no talent and worked hard in the wrong direction. Of course Halo kept losing.
"Next to appear is the third most popular runner, King Halo. Although King Halo's condition has declined all the way since the Yayoi Sho, she looks fairly good today. We hope she can recover her form and deliver a brilliant performance."
Third in popularity. That was entirely relying on her debut results, plus the bonus from her family background.
The second and first in popularity were Special Week and Seiun Sky. Unlike King Halo's own world, this world's timeline followed the anime plot and no meaningless intruders had rushed in. Her opponents today were mainly Special Week and Seiun Sky.
What made her feel somewhat relieved was that this world's Special Week and Seiun Sky showed no signs of awakening.
"Whew..."
Good.
At least her chance of victory was around eighty percent.
If this world's Special Week had the kind of strength that the one in her world had, then her chance of victory today would only be sixty percent.
But even with an eighty percent chance of victory, King Halo still felt somewhat uneasy. This was her first time running a race with less than a hundred percent chance of victory. But there was no time, and she also did not want to awaken ZONE in this world. Her chance of victory was indeed difficult to raise.
After entering the field, King Halo saw many runners show friendly attitudes toward her. As expected, although the original body appeared on the surface to be a difficult young lady to get along with, she was actually delicate-minded and very good at taking care of others. Her popularity in the academy was truly not low.
Even though her recent race results were poor, no one came to mock her coldly. King Halo did not need to worry in this regard.
Because she had never been very willing to spend time socializing, even though her results were very good and she had friends like Haru Urara to help speak well of her, King Halo's own reputation at school was not very good. Although her popularity was high, many people still felt that her proud attitude was unpleasant, and there were plenty of bad things said about her on the campus forum.
After nodding in response to the gazes of the runners who looked toward her with concern, King Halo began to warm up.
If this were her own body, she naturally would not need to make such preparations, because her control over her own body was perfect. She could enter her best racing condition anytime and anywhere. But this body could not.
Seeing King Halo's focused appearance, the runners who had originally wanted to come up and encourage her were all held back.
"As expected of Miss Halo. That willpower is admirable."
Many people had originally thought that after King Halo suffered a crushing defeat in the Japanese Derby and then several consecutive losses afterward, her performance in this Kikka Sho might be even worse. But now that they saw King Halo's composed appearance, respect immediately grew in their hearts.
The second most popular Seiun Sky and the most popular Special Week were also introduced. The former was the Satsuki Sho winner, and the latter was the Japanese Derby winner.
While warming up, King Halo also swept a glance over the stats of those two and discovered that her estimate from yesterday had been somewhat too high. The stats of these two had only reached S in speed, while the rest were around A. They were not as strong as the versions from her own world.
Although the world level was equal, because this world lacked her as a variable, Japan's Golden Generation had not fully developed its potential.
In that case, her chance of victory could rise by another five percent.
After assessing her two greatest opponents and looking at the stats of the other runners, King Halo had a clear idea in her heart.
"Come. This is a good chance to test my limit."
King Halo had already treated this race as a rehearsal.
After all, the gap between her own self and White McQueen and the others was not a bit smaller than the gap between the original body and Special Week's group. It might even be a little larger. A hard-level challenge race could indeed bring her a tiny bit of growth.
However, King Halo did not hold much expectation for this.
After all, leaving aside the differences on the stat panel, race experience and Wit were worlds apart. Once one reached that level, even a tiny gap was the difference between heaven and earth. It was not that easy to win.
While King Halo was gathering data on the field, the original King Halo, standing behind her as a ghost, also sensed the change in vision. She looked at the numbers appearing over each runner and did not quite understand what they meant.
After all, someone who did not know the relevant information truly would not think that these data represented each physical stat. She looked at herself in surprise. She had heard that some umamusume and Trainers had special abilities. She had not expected this self-proclaimed King Halo from another world to have one too.
But having this kind of ability meant this person was definitely a genius, right? Then could she really be King Halo from another world?
Yet this person truly did know some of her secrets.
For a moment, the original King Halo felt anxious and uncertain.
Who exactly was she?
Just then, the race was about to begin.
King Halo entered the gate.
Along with the signal, the gates opened, and the runners began their starts.
The commentator shouted at this moment, "The race has begun. The runners have left the gates smoothly, and there have been no accidents."
At this moment, Seiun Sky suddenly activated a skill. Under the shocked gazes of the runners beside her, she rushed out all at once.
In this world, Seiun Sky was using this tactic for the first time. Therefore, not only the runners on the field, but even the spectators outside were very surprised.
"How astonishing. Seiun Sky has begun her burst very early. This appearance truly makes one unable to help thinking of that Silence Suzuka."
The commentator's voice rang out from the speakers.
At this moment, everyone reacted.
That's right.
Seiun Sky's action was precisely a huge early move.
As the ghost behind her, the original King Halo was very restless. After seeing Seiun Sky's performance, she shouted in shock, "Is she crazy? How could she run like this in this race?"
King Halo ignored her noise.
She simply swept her gaze silently over the expressions and auras of the other runners, analyzing their current psychology and gathering data.
Originally, I was still worried that with the original body's strength, I would not be able to use aura to influence the situation on the field. But it looks like Seiun Sky's tactic really has shaken them.
At this moment, her chance of victory rose to ninety percent.
King Halo thought silently.
However, her expression did not look good. Because as the race advanced, she could feel waves of weakness coming from her body, a sense that it would not obey her heart. Because her running-style aptitude was mismatched, her stamina and speed were affected and reduced quite a bit.
If her mental strength were not strong enough, allowing her to forcibly control the body with her spirit, this race's chance of victory would have fallen by about ten percent from here.
But I will not lose.
And a problem of only this degree is not enough to make her feel that she might lose the race.
"The race has now reached the straight of the second lap!"
The commentator's voice had just sounded.
Suddenly, King Halo released her aura.
It was an unreserved, world-strongest aura.
In an instant, that terrifying aura was like an azure dragon emerging from the sea, making every runner subconsciously feel mental tension.
The nearby runners involuntarily looked toward King Halo.
They saw King Halo swiftly change position with elegant steps. Under the shocked gazes of several runners beside her, she flowed like moving clouds and running water, switching to the outer lane.
Facing such magnificent footwork, even if they wanted to interfere, they had no way to act.
Because by the time they reacted, King Halo had already completed the entire series of operations. It was practically art.
"What is she trying to do?"
As they thought this, a sense of urgency also rose in their hearts.
Because King Halo's behavior was too unusual.
They had all raced together along the way. They knew the original King Halo's strength thoroughly. Now, King Halo's sudden artistry made them feel astonished, and even more uneasy.
The current King Halo was too unfamiliar, like an unknown mystery. Added to that terrifying aura, it was impossible not to feel nervous.
"Step forward, Special Week."
King Halo's cold eyes swept over Special Week.
Special Week, who had originally still been hesitating, was stimulated by that gaze and immediately became controlled by the original body's instinct.
Although this was Special Week from a different world, when King Halo saw the fluctuations in her Wit stat, she knew this girl was also someone who raced by instinct. Such a person only needed the slightest inducement to burst out ahead of time.
Driven by King Halo and Special Week, the other runners could no longer afford to think about anything else. Since Special Week and King Halo in the rear had already started moving, they naturally could not do nothing.
Thus, everyone began bursting at this moment.
And King Halo's aura quietly disappeared at this time.
But the runners who had entered their burst states no longer had many people paying attention to her. After all, although her performance just now had been somewhat stunning, the fixed impression left by the original body could not be broken by one or two moves. Right now, she was still the ignored weakling.
The original King Halo looked at herself in confusion.
To be honest, although she was not misled from her spectator viewpoint, she still could not understand what this version of herself was trying to do.
Hadn't she just been about to burst?
Why did she suddenly withdraw again?
At the front, Seiun Sky felt her stamina being consumed. She was just showing a satisfied smile and preparing to slow down according to plan to recover her stamina when she suddenly heard footsteps chasing from behind.
She could not help turning her head and glancing back. With only one glance, her expression changed.
No. Why have they followed me?
Was my tactic seen through?
But even if it was seen through, not everyone should have caught up. It couldn't be that everyone saw through my tactic!
Seiun Sky turned back. The smile on her face could no longer hold. She even looked a little as if she wanted to cry.
She could not keep this up.
And while Seiun Sky was still thinking about how to solve the problem, Special Week's footsteps suddenly appeared behind her. She was far too familiar with this girl's presence. After all, the only one who could be her opponent today was Special Week.
But no. Special Week's condition today was clearly not good. How had she reacted so quickly?
Special Week looked at Seiun Sky's back with some surprise.
Eh?
She had clearly only charged up subconsciously, but now, didn't this situation look as if she had a chance to take this race?
Thinking of this, Special Week's eyes became incomparably bright.
Could this be luck?
It looked like she was going to take today's race.
Special Week thought excitedly.
"The rhythm of the race has suddenly changed. Seiun Sky's stamina seems to be unable to hold, while Special Week has successfully caught up at this moment. Could the outcome be decided here?"
They entered the second turn.
Seiun Sky was still gritting her teeth and enduring.
But Special Week was growing more and more urgent.
Soon. It was soon. Ahead was her winning point.
Special Week thought confidently.
At this moment, the runners catching up from behind were also emotionally excited. Although Special Week appeared to have the greatest chance of winning, it was not that they had no chance. Although they had no way to calmly think through what had just happened, the opportunity to seize victory was now before them. They could not afford to think too much.
And at this moment, a pair of cold eyes of the azure heavens watched them from behind.
In her heart, King Halo thought silently, All right. One hundred percent.
By the final turn, everyone began to burst.
But no runner noticed the original body's presence in the outer lane. Some runners even seemed blind, as if they did not see her. Their attention was all drawn by Special Week.
And just as they were about to exit the turn, a flash of light extended across the ground, laying down a shining road of light before their eyes. Immediately afterward, the sound of footsteps suddenly appeared beside their ears.
King Halo's figure burst out.
Special Week had only just overtaken the exhausted Seiun Sky when, in the next moment, she heard the cry of a dragon. A gust of wind blew past her side, and she watched with wide eyes as King Halo's figure ran past her.
"?"
At that moment, Special Week's eyes opened as wide as they could.
...
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