More than that, Hayato wanted to know whether Oguri Cap had awakened her inherent skill yet. Logically speaking, having been active on the racetrack for many years, Oguri Cap should have awakened it long ago. It would be stranger if she hadn't.
But that wasn't necessarily true. The conditions for awakening could be unpredictable in this real world. And even if she had already awakened it, Oguri Cap definitely wouldn't use it casually.
Because her ultimate skill activation was the same as King Halo's, triggering only in the final 200 meters. This significantly increased the difficulty of developing the skill properly.
This 200-meter requirement was fixed and unforgiving. Accelerating one meter too early wouldn't work. One meter too late wouldn't work either. On top of that, there were placement restrictions, plus some special factors that needed to be present during development for the skill to successfully activate.
"You all should have a simulation race."
"Huh?" Seiun Sky and King Halo's mouths fell open almost simultaneously, identical expressions of confusion spreading across their faces. Question marks might as well have been floating above their heads.
King Halo recovered first, gesturing toward Oguri Cap. "Hold on, hold on. She's not on the same level as us, right? That's not exactly a fair race."
"Indeed, she's not." After responding to King Halo with brutal honesty, Hayato looked at Oguri Cap. "You'll use a pace-chaser running style later. Wait until the final 200 meters, then give it your all. Full throttle."
"Understood." Oguri Cap clenched her fist in response, her expression sharpening with focus.
"If you run well, I'll treat you to a feast afterward." Hayato painfully added that line, already feeling his wallet crying out in protest. He was bleeding money at this point.
This should be good motivation, right?
"Mm!" Oguri Cap's eyes lit up as someone had just offered her the world. She nodded enthusiastically.
At the training grounds, Hayato clapped his hands once to get their attention. "Alright, the course is 2000 meters on turf. Unlike before, this time you're allowed to use your full strength. No holding back."
After they entered the starting gates one by one, Hayato set the gates to open on a timer. Then he turned to address Seiun Sky specifically. "Seiun, I hope you understand that if you still want to win the Tenno Sho Spring, you need to aim for Oguri Cap's level. This race will show you exactly where you stand right now."
Seiun Sky's mouth moved slightly but made no sound. Of course, she knew this logically, but just thinking about her opponent being Oguri Cap made her throat go dry. She swallowed nervously, trying to steady her breathing.
"King Halo, the same goes for you." Hayato's gaze shifted. "If you want to win the Kikka Sho, you also need to aim for Oguri Cap's level of performance."
"I understand!" King Halo's voice came out strong and determined, though her ears betrayed a slight tremor.
"Good. I'll be waiting for you at the finish line." As Hayato spoke, he began backing away from the starting gates, giving them space.
The simulation race started quickly. Oguri Cap's starting posture had an extremely high forward lean, every muscle was coiled and ready. Her form was textbook professional, the kind you'd see in training manuals.
CLANG!
The gates burst open with a metallic crash.
Four uma musume exploded out one after another, hooves thundering against turf.
Golden light flashed around Oguri Cap's body like an aura. Her start was explosive, shooting out with a force that felt like a gunshot had just fired. Her speed was even faster than Silence Suzuka's legendary acceleration.
Concentration-activated x4.
This forced Silence Suzuka, who'd wanted to claim first place from the start, to use her full strength immediately. Her speed shot up to 180, surpassing Oguri Cap through sheer determination.
It wouldn't be difficult for Oguri Cap to catch up if she wanted to. But since she was only aiming to secure a pace-chaser position right now, she didn't pursue it. She held back, settling into a comfortable rhythm.
Very quickly, Seiun Sky also surged past Oguri Cap, her breathing already coming hard.
You couldn't tell much from average speed alone. Only acceleration revealed the true differences in ability.
With Oguri Cap's stamina and speed combination, if she ran at 60 kilometers, she could maintain that pace for at least a minute and a half without breaking a sweat.
What kind of concept was that? Hayato watched from his position, mentally calculating.
An average uma musume running at that same speed could only maintain it for one minute before their body started failing them. This was the gap in pure ability. Some legendary Uma Musume can run at maximum sustained speed and run 30 seconds longer than others. That was the difference between legend and ordinary.
King Halo, positioned directly behind Oguri Cap, was the most shaken by what she felt. She could already sense an ominous aura emanating from Oguri Cap's body, something that sent chills racing down her spine.
Like an unshakable polar mountain of snow. Ancient and immovable.
Was this the power of a legendary Uma Musume? Her mind raced. How could anyone possibly defeat such a monster? What strategy could even work?
When she concentrated harder, focusing her senses, she could even see white vapor rising from around Oguri Cap's body. This white vapor gave her a very bad feeling, like warning bells going off in her head.
What was this phenomenon?
The others were burning through their skills whenever they could activate them, but the pressure Oguri Cap gave them was still incredibly intense.
Seiun Sky didn't dare fall too far behind Silence Suzuka. Her entire body was already drenched in sweat, the fabric of her uniform clinging to her back. She felt that if she wasn't serious enough, if she let her guard down for even a second, Oguri Cap would easily overtake her.
This meant Silence Suzuka could only open up a two-length gap at most. Her skill activation condition required being at least one horse length ahead of second place.
This distance was still within the safe zone.
The race quickly entered the final straight. The crowd noise would have been deafening in a real competition.
"I won't give up this lead…!"
Silence Suzuka's pace suddenly quickened, her stride lengthening as her speed climbed. She opened up a small gap, trying to create breathing room.