The day of the Preakness Stakes arrived in the blink of an eye.
The racecourse was abuzz with a deafening roar, and the air thick with the unique scent of soil, sweat, and frantic anticipation.
In the pre-race preparation area, the competing Uma Musume were performing their final adjustments and warm-ups.
Myriad Dreams moved her ankles, habitually scanning the crowd for her familiar rivals.
When her gaze landed on a particular corner, her movements suddenly stiffened— it was Silver Charm!
She had shown up, as expected.
However, the Silver Charm standing before her was a completely different person from the one at the Kentucky Derby.
She stood there quietly, performing simple stretches, yet her body seemed enveloped in an invisible barrier, radiating a cold, distant aura that warned others not to approach.
What caught Myriad Dreams' attention most was that under the glow of the stadium lights, Silver Charm's silver hair seemed more dazzling than usual.
There were even faint, stardust-like flecks of light flickering and drifting around her.
Though puzzled, Myriad Dreams wore her usual friendly smile and took the initiative to walk over.
"Silver Charm! Long time no see! Where have you been these past few days? I didn't see you at the training grounds at all." Her tone carried sincere concern.
However, Silver Charm only slowly turned her head.
Those eyes, once filled with overt fighting spirit but now as calm as a deep pool, swept over Myriad Dreams.
She didn't return the greeting. There wasn't even a ripple of emotion.
That icy gaze, combined with the faint silver light flowing around her, created a powerful and heart-pounding sense of pressure.
"..."
The smile on Myriad Dreams' face froze, and her hand, extended for a greeting, stopped awkwardly in mid-air.
The moment her eyes met Silver Charm's, she felt her heart contract sharply.
An inexplicable chill climbed up her spine.
'Just now... I actually felt a pang of fear?'
Myriad Dreams was shocked to her core.
'This feeling... what is it? Just what has she gone through?'
The Silver Charm before her was no longer the opponent whose rhythm could be disrupted by chewing gum or who wore her emotions on her sleeve.
She had transformed into a drawn sword. Sharp, exposed, and filled with unknown danger.
Ignoring Myriad Dreams' astonishment, Silver Charm retracted her gaze as if the other girl were an insignificant presence and returned her focus to her pre-race preparations.
Myriad Dreams slowly lowered her hand and took a deep breath, forcing down the shock in her heart.
She lightly slapped her cheeks, her blue eyes refocusing and turning sharp.
"Now isn't the time for doubt... No matter how she's changed, I must win this race!"
Myriad Dreams took one last deep look at the figure shrouded in silver radiance, then turned and walked toward her gate with firm steps.
She closed her eyes, adjusting her breathing, and transformed the abnormal pressure from Silver Charm into an even more blazing fighting spirit.
The gates were about to open.
This Preakness Stakes was destined to be extraordinary. Silver Charm's metamorphosis had caused the scales of victory to begin a subtle shift.
Bang!
The gates snapped open, and over a dozen figures surged out like a multi-colored torrent, instantly igniting the feverish atmosphere of the Preakness track!
Myriad Dreams activated her signature End Closer mode right from the start.
At the moment of takeoff, she didn't rush to the front. Instead, acting like a precise computer, she followed the optimal initial path planned by her internal system.
She deftly yielded to the opponents fighting for the Pace Chaser and Front Runner positions, gracefully sinking toward the back of the pack.
Her gaze pierced through the flying dust, focused on a single target— the figure leading the way, shimmering with a silver glow.
"Myriad Dreams chooses to hold back at the start! Her position is very far back!"
On the other side, Silver Charm's strategy was the exact opposite.
She started as swift as lightning, without a shred of hesitation.
Relying on her exceptional explosive power, she decisively cut into the inner lane right from the start, firmly occupying the core position of the leading group.
Her eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, completely ignoring the interference and positional shifts of other opponents throughout the race.
All her attention, all her fighting spirit, was locked onto the area behind her.
She knew Myriad Dreams was there. From start to finish, her only opponent today was that one girl!
"Silver Charm with a powerful start! She's holding the advantageous inner rail position with a clear objective!"
The race flew by, the first half spent in a fierce struggle for positioning among the Uma Musume.
Myriad Dreams' running style was a textbook example of an End Closer. She drifted through the back of the pack as fluidly as a phantom, always maintaining the optimal following distance and sprinting angle.
The system in her mind constantly updated the most efficient and threatening routes to overtake. Every tiny adjustment to her path was precise enough to leave observers in awe.
Meanwhile, Silver Charm displayed terrifying dominance at the front.
Her running rhythm was frighteningly stable, like a tireless machine.
Every step was firm and powerful, and those faint silver specks of light around her seemed to disperse the air resistance for her.
She wasn't merely leading, she was using her own tempo to pull the entire pack along, forcing everyone into her domain.
"Halfway through the race! Entering the final turn!"
At that moment, Silver Charm moved!
Without any warning, her speed suddenly surged!
Like a silver meteor streaking across the sky, she broke away from the leading group.
With an incredibly clean acceleration, she instantly shook off all pursuers and charged to the very front alone, establishing a clear lead!
"Silver Charm! She makes her move at the end of the turn! A beautiful acceleration! She's leading solo! The gap is widening!"
The fans in the stands supporting her erupted instantly!
Positioned in the rear, Myriad Dreams' pupils constricted slightly.
'That decisiveness and fluidity in her acceleration... she really has grown stronger!'
But there was no panic in her heart, the system's instructions remained clear.
"Now is the time. Start the counterattack!"
Myriad Dreams' gaze sharpened as she stopped holding back.
She first activated a series of minor skills— [Dirt Dexterity] made her steps lighter and swifter on the soft soil, [Final Leg Prep] adjusted her muscle state, storing power for the ultimate burst.
Her figure became like a blue ghost, rapidly climbing from the outer lane.
One, two, three... she overtook her opponents one after another, her rank rising at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"Myriad Dreams is making her move! She's chasing from the outside! Incredible speed! She's rapidly closing in on the leading Silver Charm!"
The 600-meter mark came into view! The moment of the final showdown had arrived!
Myriad Dreams took a deep breath and activated her crucial finishing skill—
[Power Conversion]!
Speed: 620 → 970
In the past six months, Myriad Dreams had certainly made a lot of progress.
A strange power flowed and restructured within her body.
She felt a portion of the muscle power used to maintain extreme explosive force being skillfully "extracted" and injected without loss into the muscle groups and neural reflexes that drove speed.
It was a high-risk, high-reward choice: Sacrificing a portion of sustained explosive power in exchange for a short-term, limit-breaking speed surge.
In an instant, Myriad Dreams' speed jumped another level!
The distance between her and Silver Charm shrank drastically. The blue figure, carrying an unstoppable momentum, bore down on that solitary silver light.
"Myriad Dreams! Her speed has increased again! What technique is she using?! The gap is shrinking fast! The final straight will be the ultimate showdown between these two top Uma Musume!"
The hearts of the entire audience leaped into their throats.
The tactical execution of the early phase and the patient following in the middle phase were all preparations for this final sprint on the straight.