"Well, since it's your choice, I won't stop you. But it's ultimately just a data entity. If it's you, there's a chance you can win." Absolute Zero's voice came from the surrounding speakers.
And Suzuka was now standing inside the suddenly appearing starting gate.
"Alright, get ready. It's about to start."
"Okay."
The field suddenly became silent.
Click, the gate opened, and two figures burst out simultaneously, then... "Pfft!! Cough, cough, cough..." Suzuka choked on the spot, and Absolute Zero, watching from the other side, wasn't doing much better.
It turned out that the data entity of Absolute Zero's body seemed to have disappeared due to a bug, with only a head running... Uh... Judging by the way the head was bobbing, it was indeed running, if it had a body... Absolute Zero quickly turned off the projection display device, then notified Suzuka to wait a moment before starting to fix the bug.
After that, the bug was adjusted intermittently several more times. Each time a bug appeared, Absolute Zero felt like her heart was stopping. This was the pain of a programmer.
Like running and suddenly flipping upside down with her head on the bottom, or running and twisting into a pretzel shape while still running, or her skin disappearing, leaving only a skeleton running... It scared Suzuka quite a bit.
Suzuka, on the other hand, was quite tired from being scared by various bugs and having to repeatedly exit and re-enter the gate. She was now eating lunch with Absolute Zero.
Apparently, Absolute Zero had set up a kitchen here, saying she was too lazy to go back and forth between two places.
But it didn't matter. For Suzuka, although the events of the morning had given her quite a few scares, looking back, it was still quite interesting.
However, at this moment, Absolute Zero's ears were folded down. Although it was cute, it was probably better to comfort her, right?
"Um... Z-chan? It's okay, you know?"
"No, I'm not worried about that, but..."
"But?"
"I suddenly remembered that each model has independent code..."
"Which means..." Suzuka also understood a bit, a cold sweat dripping down her face.
"If all of these have bugs, they all need to be adjusted..." The more she spoke, the darker Absolute Zero's face became.
To this, Suzuka could only express her pity.
At least she didn't understand these things, and even if she did, facing such black-tech level existences, she wouldn't dare say she could help.
"Forget it. What's important today is your training. After lunch, rest a bit and then continue..."
"Okay, if you need help, tell everyone, and they'll all help."
"Okay."
After lunch, Suzuka voluntarily went to wash the dishes, while Absolute Zero continued to fix bugs.
Thus, the two continued to be tormented by bugs for two hours until Suzuka finally ran the entire course without triggering any bugs.
Finally, after being tormented for so long, both of them felt exhausted, both physically and mentally. Then, Absolute Zero exchanged for two fatigue recovery potions and two clarity potions for them to recover their state.
"It's amazing no matter how many times I try, these potions," Suzuka exclaimed after drinking the mint-flavored beverage.
With such material support, any Uma Musume with enough ambition could achieve something.
Of course, this achievement was relative, and to be honest, although everyone took pride in G1 races, in reality, G1, G2, and G3 were all graded races. Therefore, any Uma Musume who could participate in a graded race was actually quite popular.
"Alright, Suzuka, if you're well-rested, let's do a proper run, shall we? I'll also set the AI level to maximum."
"Of course."
Because it was for testing, the AI level was set very low, making it not very challenging. This time, she could finally have a good run.
As Absolute Zero turned up the AI, with the help of the devices on her body, Suzuka began to feel some pressure.
She stood inside the starting gate, waiting for it to open.
Then, at the moment the gate opened, she saw her opponent sprint out.
Absolute Zero made a classic lightning-fast start. Except for her first debut race, which she couldn't complete due to hitting the gate, every one of her starts was incredibly smooth, so smooth that it even felt unusually elegant.
Of course, Suzuka didn't slow down either, performing as she usually did in races, though her start was slightly slower compared to Absolute Zero's, it was still an excellent start.
================
As expected of Z-chan... No, as expected of Absolute Ruler.
Separating the everyday Absolute Zero from the Absolute Ruler on the track, Suzuka probably wasn't the only one who felt this way.
Not long after the run began, her opponent had already opened up a considerable distance. Even when she tried to catch up, her opponent would continue to pull away to maintain the gap.
Opening up a lead at the start and maintaining the distance, continuing to open up the distance in the middle, and maintaining the opened distance while sprinting in the final stage – this was Absolute Zero's Great Escape. It felt different from her own escape strategy, which involved accelerating hard at the beginning, then maintaining distance while recovering stamina in the middle, and sprinting in the final stage to ensure she wasn't caught up.
And not having opened up a lead at the start meant she was now at a significant disadvantage.
Her Late Charge couldn't compare to those Uma Musume who favored the "chaser" or "sustainer" strategies. This was also why her performance was always less than ideal when she used to run as a chaser at Rigil. Later, under the guidance of Trainer Okino, she ran the Great Escape and came to terms with her inner self.
She loved running, truly loved it, especially running at the very front, stepping into the realm of [Silence].
There, no one blocked her, no one could enter, and she could wholeheartedly enjoy the scenery ahead.
But now, she once again returned to that feeling.
There was a figure ahead, and... the devices on her body became slightly heavier, seemingly simulating what it felt like when her opponent used interference.
Having furiously pulled ahead at the start all year, she hadn't experienced this feeling in a long time. Even when Absolute Zero usually conducted interference training for everyone, she wouldn't use interference on her, saying that with her running style, it was better to focus on how to solve the problem of weakness in the final stage, and only after resolving that should she consider other issues.
She understood this principle, and so she had been repeatedly adjusting her stamina consumption and recovery in the middle stage, but she always felt something was still missing.
Inevitably, she felt some anxiety.
Precisely because her opponent was Absolute Zero as a data entity, and Absolute Zero herself had said that if it were her, she could win, she didn't want to lose. She wanted to show her best run to her.
The more she thought about it, the heavier the pressure on her felt, as if she were a sponge being squeezed dry in someone's hand.
"She's lost some of her composure…" Zero frowned slightly, looking at Silent Suzuka.
But the most important thing this time was to help her untie the knot in her heart, and it wasn't her turn to speak yet.
If possible, she wanted to see Silent Suzuka discover the flaw to break through the current situation on her own.
The race reached the mid-stage, and the distance was already widening, but her usual habit at this point was to slow down slightly to recover stamina.
But now, she had to accelerate; this was her only chance.
A chance not to lose too badly.
Zero's Late Charge was witnessed by countless people; that incredible speed, like dimensional travel, was hard enough to chase, let alone maintain in front of her. When racing with her, if one didn't have the determination to gamble everything on a final burst of speed, victory was impossible.
This was the realization Silent Suzuka gained from that Tenno Sho.
Heavy Gun's near-suicidal sprint at the end of that race shocked many, especially the fact that even with such desperate effort, she was still outdistanced by Zero.
This showed that Zero's true strength had never been fully pushed out by anyone.
And this data entity, though described by the other party as significantly weaker, was by no means an opponent that could be defeated by conventional methods.
Overexerting herself in the mid-stage would inevitably lead to a lack of power later on, possibly even a loss of speed, but even so, she had to maintain the lead.
"As expected, she's starting to accelerate, isn't she?"
Only during a race could Silent Suzuka forget everything and run freely, but at this moment, with someone blocking her path and the view she yearned for, what was she thinking?
Silent Suzuka was different from Special Week; if she were to have a real confrontation like Special Week and lose, she would feel a great sense of disappointment even if she didn't express it.
Silent Suzuka was too delicate.
Her legs were like that, and so was her spirit.
She had always looked after Special Week, naturally feeling the affection of an older sister watching over her younger sister, but at the same time, she also feared the other party leaving.
She had always been alone; it was like that at Rigil, and in her daily life. Later, after moving in with the naive and needy Special Week as a roommate, she experienced for the first time a bond that seemed to connect their souls. But at the same time, she feared losing this bond, especially after everyone so easily accepted her, this fear had always lurked in her heart.
Therefore, she was gentle with everyone, longing for them to focus more attention on her, and even a tiny bit more would make her joyful.
"But, Silent Suzuka, oh Silent Suzuka."
"Between people, even Uma Musume, there will inevitably be a day of separation, but even so, the bond that has been formed will never be severed by time and space. What you need to do is transform that bond into your own strength, not be limited by it."
"Finally, she pulled away."
Perhaps the data entity judged that she would inevitably lose speed in the final stage, so it wasn't in a hurry to catch up, but rather maintained a certain distance from her as much as possible.
But even so, after pulling away a certain distance, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Zero had changed her running style multiple times in a single race, so even when relaxing, she couldn't completely let go. Now, she had to seize the opportunity to recover more stamina.
[Promising Future: Slightly less prone to fatigue when leading in the middle of a race]
[Straight Recovery: Slightly recovers stamina on a straightaway]
Stamina recovery takes a bit of time, but she doesn't have much time left now.
She was about to enter the fourth corner, and she had spent too long trying to get into this leading position.
Near the middle of the fourth corner, Zero's data entity would begin her overtake, then display her usual astonishing Late Charge the moment she entered the final straight.
And at this moment, she must accelerate with all her might, absolutely not… Uh!
A strange sensation suddenly came from the device on her, as if… she was being targeted by something.
[Scorching Gaze]
[Domineering Stare]
Overworked-like golden-red skills, at this moment, could give her the maximum pressure.
Silent Suzuka was still persisting, now running entirely on grit; the data entity behind her had already started to accelerate.
"Haa…" Sighing, Zero still opened the microphone.
"Silent Suzuka, think carefully, what are you running for?"
What was she running for?
A familiar voice came, but her severely pressured brain had no time to consider where this voice came from or who uttered it.
However, it made her feel very at ease.
Naturally, she chose to obey, but… what was she running for back then?
Memories flashed through her mind like photographs, finally settling on a small path.
It was a small path in a park at sunset. Because the park wasn't usually crowded, she loved to run there. At that time, she hadn't even thought about enrolling in Tracen Academy; she simply enjoyed running there.
And that day, because she had an exam in the afternoon, she ran much later than usual, and at that moment, she saw a sight she could never forget.
Facing west, the sun was about to set, and golden light spilled across the Sky, across the treetops, and across everything as far as the eye could see.
For some reason, she thoroughly enjoyed such a scene.
Beautiful? Very beautiful.
And… she wanted to see more.
But after joining Tracen Academy and being scouted by Trainer Tojo Hana of Rigil, the strongest team, and joining them, she always felt something was missing.
She knew that Tojo Hana was concerned about her physical condition.
She herself understood very well that although she also had well-proportioned muscles, her bones were much more fragile compared to other Uma Musume, so she chose to obey the other party's instructions.
However, when running, she no longer felt that same thrill. The dense crowd (herd?) in front of her made her feel uncomfortable.
Then, the day before that race, Okino Koji approached her.
"You have a talent superior to anyone else. How about trying an Escape?"
She knew this was a Trainer from another team, who had always been at odds with her Trainer at the time and seemed to have some ambiguous connection.
"But…"
"Don't make that face. Think about it, is it fun to always be blocked at the back?"
Of course not; she really wanted to burst out of the crowd from the start, but as an honor student, she couldn't do anything that didn't fit the trailing tactic or went against her Trainer's orders.
"That's why A-Hua…" The other party complained about her Trainer with a hint of dissatisfaction.
"How about this, I'll explain a tactic to you, and then give you the choice."
"Give… me?"
"Yes, at that time, you choose which tactic to use."
In the race the next day, as all the competitors (you didn't specify, but no one would think this is a sensitive word, kora) burst out of the gate and were about to adjust their positions according to their respective tactics… I didn't want to be blocked at the back anymore.
What I wanted to see was the scenery ahead.
Perhaps it was greedy, but if possible, I wanted to see more, a view that belonged only to me.
I would never give it to anyone. If they wanted to take it, they had to defeat her.
So, she chose Okino Koji's tactic and led all the way to the end, showcasing a grand Escape.
At that time… it was like that.
But now, the ideal scenery, has it become a little different?
The data entity had already entered her silent domain, or rather, she had never left it, constantly interfering with her, always preventing her from concentrating.
"Adjust your breathing, adjust your rhythm."
The voice still came, and her body still obeyed.
From the corner of her eye, she could see the other party's figure beside her. In a few seconds, the other party would completely overtake her and run ahead of her.
The scenery in her eyes was like shattered glass, cracking apart, and it would completely shatter once the other party fully surpassed her.
In that scenery, besides the sunset she saw back then, there were also several people… Daiwa, Vodka, Gold Ship, Teio, McQueen… all her good friends.
Trainer Okino, Trainer Tojo, these two Trainers had influenced her.
And… Special Week, who made her experience the bond of friendship, and the senior she had always admired, who now appeared beside her as an opponent, even if it was just a virtual data entity.
Everyone looked back at her in the sunset, seemingly waiting for her to come.
"So Silent Suzuka, what are you waiting for?"
Waiting for what?
What am I waiting for?
Who am I waiting for?
Why wait?
Yes… what exactly am I waiting for… Her steps continued with more force, taking larger strides, lowering her center of gravity and posture, reducing more wind resistance.
She was an Escape Uma Musume; she didn't need to wait for anything.
It wasn't her who should be chasing others, but others who should be chasing her.
The scenery at the very front… she wouldn't give it to anyone!
"As expected, I ended up playing the role of a sympathetic senior…" Zero smiled helplessly, looking at the other party's status bar.
[Scenery at the Very Front… I won't give it to anyone! Lv1 → Lv2]
[Intercept Preparation → Escapist]
[Straight Recovery → Good Turn of Breath]
After all, it was a weakened version of a memory body, possessing only regular skills and none of her exclusive skills, so its Late Charge in the final stage was still very limited, not as outrageous as in reality.
Watching Silent Suzuka's figure gradually pull away, the hand she had placed on the enter key earlier also left that position.
It seems that the real experience illusion where she had to play the emotional card at the end wasn't needed after all.
In Zero's eyes, a sharp sword extended from the top of Silent Suzuka's head, cutting off the gaze from the data entity behind her and clearing the interference from the rear.
This… could be considered an unexpected gain, right?
A slight smile played on her lips; having experienced it once, she naturally understood what that thing was.
It seems that the true [Silent Suzuka] is about to be born.
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