Chapter 6 – Life of Kaiya Sora Left Behind
When the part of me that became Marzensky was pulled into the phone, I thought my life was over. My human body was stuck in a small, empty room. No races. No cheering crowds. No training. Just… waiting.
The fridge was the first thing I unlocked when Marzensky's run began. I'd stared at that silver rectangle for a long time, amazed. Cold milk, ice cream, and sandwiches. Luxuries I had taken for granted in a past life. It became my lifeline. Every day, I ate, drank, and rested, because even living in this room required energy.
The first shimmer appeared while I was rifling through the fridge. I reached for it, and my phone vibrated. "New Run Available."
I had no idea what it would be. I braced myself and tapped.
Run One – The Beginning
The shimmer expanded into light, and I felt that familiar drain in my chest, like every nerve and fiber of me had been pulled out and rearranged. My body sagged, so I grabbed a sandwich, shoved a granola bar into my mouth, and gulped water before trying again.
The reward wasn't furniture this time. It was… access. Access to the Uma Musume world. The world where Marzensky ran her races. I could walk around, see the environment, hear the distant tracks, and feel the flow of the wind through the fields. It wasn't full control, I couldn't race yet, but I could explore by day, observe from afar, and learn the layout of tracks, training grounds, and racing circuits. At night, I could return to the room, rest, and eat.
Reward Unlocked: Connection to the Uma Musume world. Walk, explore, observe, and survive outside the room.
I wandered through grass that shimmered unnaturally, past stables and training grounds, hearing distant hoofbeats and cheering. I couldn't see Marzensky yet; she was still in training mode, locked in her run. All I knew were names: Marzensky, Tokino Minoru, Mr. CB, Katsugi Ace, Northern Taste, Rodolph, and I could only see their forms after training mode ended.
By the time my stomach growled, I would always return to the room. Eat, drink, rest. Energy management became my life.
Run Two – Observation and Rewards
The next shimmer appeared a few days later. I tapped it after a long snack, my stomach full, water bottle at my side.
Another run opened. I didn't know what the goal was. I didn't know the stakes. I only knew the name blinking in front of me: Marzensky Run.
Watching her training mode play out from this side was exhausting. Every sprint, every corner, every skill activation drained energy as if I were running myself. My hands shook while I scribbled notes about pace, stamina use, and skill timing, even though I had no real way to apply it yet.
The reward for completing this observation? A small boost to the room, a new desk appeared, better lighting, and a computer interface that let me check timelines, stats, and progress for all runners once they finished their runs.
Reward Unlocked: Computer interface for monitoring completed runs and accessing statistics.
I sank into a chair, exhausted, and watched the world outside the window glow with late afternoon sun. I could wander through the Uma Musume world again, but only as a ghostly observer, limited to exploration, learning track layouts, feeling the wind, and noting patterns.
Run Three – Energy Management Becomes Routine
After the first two runs, I realized I couldn't sustain a day in the Uma Musume world without careful energy planning. Every new run drained me further. My routine became obsessive:
Eat – snack or meal, usually something from the fridge.
Drink – water, juice, sometimes milk.
Rest – back on the bed, eyes closed, muscles relaxing, brain digesting what I'd seen.
Tap the shimmer – unlock a new run.
Each new run was a single, complete event. The runners' goals were still vague, sometimes implied by their style, pace, or the way the system narrated their progress. I couldn't interfere. I could only observe and survive.
The third run brought the reward of a small apartment-like upgrade, a better bed, bookshelves, and a soft chair. Functionality, not extravagance. Every unlock reminded me that I had agency in the room, even if I wasn't racing yet.
Reward Unlocked: Room upgrades improving comfort, mental recovery, and energy regeneration.
Run Four – Watching Marzensky and Tokino Minoru
I began to notice patterns. Each runner's training mode had a style, a pacing rhythm. Marzensky's bursts and skill triggers were sharp and precise, front-runner efficient. Tokino Minoru's was calmer, slower, patient, her recovery and stamina pacing meticulous.
I could only see her after she finished the run, but even her finished replay drained me. Watching her stride, noting her balance and timing, I felt the burn in my arms and legs as if I had sprinted myself.
The reward for this run was subtle: a fully stocked pantry. Energy no longer became a limiting factor. I could eat, drink, and recover before each new run. I finally had the human resilience to survive multiple unlocks per day.
Reward Unlocked: Pantry and food stock for sustained observation sessions.
Run Five – Northern Taste
A new shimmer appeared. I groaned. My legs ached from pacing the room. My stomach reminded me it was time for fuel. Sandwich eaten, water gulped, notebook ready.
Northern Taste Run unlocked. I didn't know his goal. I didn't know the stakes. Only his name glowed in front of me. Observing his run was like watching a subtle storm: skill triggers balanced against stamina dips, pacing near-perfect, acceleration only when needed. I had to pay attention constantly.
By the end of his run, a small system reward appeared: a limited timeline tracker. Now I could check each runner's progress sequentially after they finished a run, who triggered which skill, who conserved stamina, who fell short of expectations.
Reward Unlocked: Limited timeline tracker for completed runs.
Run Six – Rodolph
The shimmer appeared again. My body groaned. Energy was dropping. I ate a protein bar, drank water, and rested for five minutes. Tapped the shimmer.
Rodolph Run unlocked. His completed replay revealed a fast, dominating style, front-runner surges, perfect corner navigation, Red Shift timing flawless. Watching him nearly exhausted me.
Reward: access to "Rising Period Data". Now I could check online-style rankings in the Uma Musume world, see leaderboards, fan reactions, and track Rodolph's climb in real time.
Reward Unlocked: Online access to leaderboard and rising period progression for all runners.
Observing the World
Day after day, I followed the same cycle: eat, drink, rest, unlock, observe. Each run gave me a tangible reward, but it was never just furniture or objects. It was connection, data, and insight. The Uma Musume world unfolded around me like a living map.
By walking around during the day, I could explore tracks, training grounds, and race locations in detail. At night, I returned to the room to recover, eat, and plan for the next observation.
I didn't know the goals. I didn't know the stakes. I only knew names, stats after training, and replays. But the more runs I unlocked, the better I could understand timing, pacing, skill triggers, and stamina management, all crucial for the trainer career I would eventually start.
And through it all, I survived, slowly, methodically, carefully, learning the rhythms of this strange world, one reward at a time.