August 13th, 1984.
The Lineup for the Niigata Sansai Stakes has been confirmed.
On September 2nd, the race will begin, and who do you think is going to win?
According to the popularity polls, Echo Eclipse has a massive lead in popularity. Currently in 1st place, will she win the race with a landslide once again?
Well, here's what I think…
..
.
Kazuo puts down the newspaper, not planning to read anymore. He knows the current state of Echo right now, so that is why he doesn't need to stake out Echo's opponents for the race. He tugs on his tie and lets out a deep sigh before glancing at Echo Eclipse's school report card.
"I wonder why her smarts are only available during academic time…" Rubbing the bridge of her nose, he thought back to Echo's airhead personality. He wonders how Echo managed to get straight A+'s on all of her grades when she is like that most of the time.
"Truly one of the greatest wonders of the world." Symboli Rudolf responded to his murmurs, sitting across him while reading the same newspaper he had put down. She enjoys reading about what other people think about the second coming of Eclipse.
"When did you arrive?" Her trainer asked in confusion, he would've noticed if she arrived or not.
"A few minutes ago, I knocked twice too. Not my fault." She shrugged before continuing to read the newspaper column.
"What's wrong?" Kazuo isn't a stranger; he had known Symboli Rudolf when she was still a baby at the Symboli's household. He even taught Sirius Symboli when they were both 10 years old, so that is why he can pick up the minor discrepancies in Rudolf's behaviour.
"Was it easy to tell?"
"You usually never come to me unless it requires my input."
"Mh…"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"It's about Echo."
"Her? She should be perfectly normal, right?" Kazuo responded in confusion before crossing his arms. The only thing that happened to Echo Eclipse was the incident on July 23rd, and he made sure that there would be no serious aftermath or side effects on Echo Eclipse, too.
"She reached her limit." Symboli Rudolf folded the newspaper and put it back on the table before picking up a cup of black tea while sipping and leaning back against the sofa.
"You meant that she reached her biological limit in her first bloom?"
Symboli Rudolf nodded at that.
"She sure is a late bloomer, huh."
"A late bloomer, imagine once she finally blooms."
"Horrifying, isn't she? She's this monstrous already when she isn't even finished growing." Kazuo chuckles before staring at Rudolf. And before Rudolf could respond, her trainer spoke once again.
"You want me to find a way to awaken her second bloom early, do you?" Rudolf stared for a moment in silence before letting out a deep exhale.
"You sure know me well, trainer."
"Hahahaha! I knew you when you were in your diaper after all!"
"Ahh…" Rudolf stared back with a deadpanned expression, as if asking, "Are you serious?"
"Ahem. Joking aside, there is nothing we can do to trigger her second bloom early." The tone of the conversation shifted; it is now serious and tense. He gazed back at his student with a sharp look, warning her not to try anything.
Symboli Rudolf stayed silent as Kazuo spoke once again.
"Doing anything just to trigger her second bloom early will be detrimental to Echo Eclipse. You remembered about the case a few years ago?"
"..." Symboli Rudolf naturally knows which case her trainer is talking about; it was a distant cousin of the Mejiro family. Has 5 wins under her belt, too, then her 2nd blooms came too early.
"A trainer triggered his racer's 2nd bloom while the girl was only 14 years old. She died a week after, and the cause was skeletal 'bucking'."
Skeletal 'bucking' is what happens when a girl undergo their 2nd blooming, and their skeleton hasn't grown enough to deal with the intense pressure of their new muscles. When one undergoes 2nd blooming, their muscles change as a whole, making them denser, powerful and flexible, but if their bones aren't strong enough to withstand it, they will crack.
Their ribs, their legs, and their skull will crackle under the intense pressure of the muscle until the heart eventually stops beating. That was the case of a 14-year-old Uma of the Mejiro family.
So, can you imagine what would happen if Echo Eclipse, with already monstrous muscles, levelled up? Just the thought of that made Symboli Rudolf clench her hands, just imagining a world without that airhead is something she is unable to imagine in such a scenario.
"Enough about depressing stuff, let's talk about you." He pulls out papers of information he gained about her opponent, their strong suit, their weakness, their strategy, etc.
"Your race is on September 30th; everyone will be planning to stop you."
"Not much difference from before."
"So, here's the new training plan you will be doing-..."
..
.
"Fuh… Fuh… Fuh…" Echo Eclipse panted as she stepped off the treadmill, she been running for the last 20 minutes at 68km/h. Constantly trying to ensure that she kept running at the same speed.
Picking up a bottle of water and drank it, savouring the coolness of the water as it slid down her throat.
"Paaah… That feels heavenly…" She murmured before moving to the stretching part of the gym. Ever since she discovered that it has become even more difficult to gain 1 SP in her stat, even after a few training sessions, she is trying her best to improve her stats, but it seems more and more impossible each day.
She is now realising how reliant she is on the status board, being able to see changes to your own stats made her happy and excited.
'Status'
[Name: Echo Eclipse
Track Affinity: [Dirt: A] | [Turf: S]
Running Affinity: [End: E] | [Late: C] | [Pace: A] | [Front: S]
Distance Affinity: [Sprint: A] | [Mile: A] | [Medium S] | [Long: B]
Speed: 397 (D: Intermediate)
Stamina: 376 (D: Intermediate)
Power: 359 (D: Intermediate)
Guts: 349 (D: Intermediate)
Wits: 358 (D: Intermediate)
Zone: —
SP: 50]
"Aw… Only 6 stat point increase in stamina this last 2 weeks?" She lets out a deep breath while stretching; she knows that she still hasn't undergone her 2nd bloom while she is relaxing the tension in her muscles.
"At this point… I can only rely on winning my next race to increase my stats…" She hummed before closing her eyes.
I just have to keep winning.
"For now… Let's focus on getting my speed to C-rank before my next race."