Through simulation after simulation, Xingyun Liuge discovered something:
The targets on the list were, by default, ranked in descending order of strength. If she wanted to find some less overwhelming horse girls, she needed to scroll all the way to the bottom.
She had also realized something else: horse girls wore special shoes, and she did not have a pair. Their running forms differed from one another as well, and that seemed to be tied to their racing styles.
Sitting cross-legged on the grass with one hand at her chin, Xingyun Liuge let out a soft sigh.
"As expected of athletic competition… there really is a lot to learn."
But she was smiling as she said it.
She was full of anticipation for the future, and she could still wholeheartedly lose herself in the comfort of the wind brushing against her face.
Running.
It felt amazing.
Because Indestructible could restore all the stamina she spent in simulated battles, she could train like mad for seven hours straight, then get up early to watch four-in-the-morning Kasamatsu—
and still be bursting with energy.
Of course, if she kept that up for too long, even she would eventually collapse from exhaustion. Xingyun Liuge had no desire to work herself into an early grave, so she used a cautious mindset to draw up a proper training plan for herself.
As for injuries?
Sorry, there was no such thing inside Realm of Death.
So all she had to do was grind.
What Xingyun Liuge did not realize, however, was that her habit of holing herself up in the dorm all day was giving the other horse girls staying at Kasamatsu Tracen the wrong idea.
The hardworking girls assumed she was some scrub with no interest in training and simply ignored her existence.
As for the horse girls who had no intention of stepping onto the track and competing for placements, they treated her as one of their own. But even among "bottom-tier horse girls," there was still a strict hierarchy. Someone like Xingyun Liuge, who spent all day cooped up in her room, naturally got classified at the very bottom—among the shut-in horse girls.
Some people even said behind her back:
"A horse girl like that is just going to drive up Kasamatsu Tracen's rice bill!"
And because of that, when the official school term at Kasamatsu Tracen began, not a single horse girl came to inform Xingyun Liuge.
She simply went on living her two-point routine between the dormitory and the cafeteria, contentedly staying in her room and becoming a war god inside Realm of Death. She trained the full seven hours in there every single day, plus the occasional outing to watch Kasamatsu at four in the morning.
But without actual race experience, Xingyun Liuge truly had no idea what level her own strength was at.
Because the horse girls ranked near the top of the simulation list were absurdly powerful—so overwhelming they felt almost godlike. No matter how hard she pushed herself, she simply could not beat them.
No joke: Xingyun Liuge genuinely suspected they were cheating.
She had seen explosive bursts of speed, and she had also felt inexplicable, crushing pressure—like her legs were sinking deep into mud.
Because of that, she specifically started using Clarity.
This summoner spell allowed her to enter a subtle, almost mystical state. Whether she used it to review a race afterward or to plan out her daily training, it worked wonderfully.
One day, after finishing her meal in the cafeteria, Xingyun Liuge watched the horse girls who, for some reason, kept avoiding her, and muttered to herself again:
"Come to think of it, our shoes are really different. Are those the kind of shoes horse girls are supposed to wear?"
Buy the kind of running shoes a horse girl ought to have?
Unfortunately, her pockets were emptier than her face. How was she supposed to buy shoes?
Her cheat ability did come with a built-in shop, but the only things it sold were League of Legends items, and its currency was completely separate from real money. Sure, it automatically gave her one gold every day, but just a pair of Boots of Speed cost 300 gold!
That was the standard virtual reward for winning an ordinary race.
Winning a GIII gave 500 gold. Winning a GII gave 800. Winning a GI gave 1000.
But if she came in second, she got nothing.
It was, frankly, brutally strict.
In response, Xingyun Liuge could only say:
Why are there so many professional terms I don't understand?
Maybe the localization was just too good?
In the end, Xingyun Liuge had no choice but to borrow the computer room at Kasamatsu Tracen and cram some racing basics. And then she discovered a very serious problem:
Without a trainer, a horse girl could not register for races.
On top of that, horse girl races had extremely strict age requirements and prize-money requirements. It was not as simple as signing up and going.
"…?"
Xingyun Liuge's dream of being a lone wolf shattered instantly.
At that moment, she suddenly remembered a stupid line internet users loved to repeat:
"Capitalism wins."
Originally, she had planned to keep training until she could beat that five-character horse girl, Symboli Rudolf, without even using skills, and only then make her debut.
Now it looked like that was not going to happen.
Without a good performance, she could not find a trainer.
Without a trainer, she could not enter races.
Without entering races, she could never produce a good performance.
It was a pure vicious cycle.
Why did she want to race so badly?
Wasn't that obvious?
She had come to another world, and she possessed a special power that was obviously incredible at first glance. Of course she wanted to make a name for herself.
As the old saying went:
"When poor, cultivate yourself alone. When successful, help the world."
Even if it were only for the sake of fully collecting every champion, she should still go race.
Not to mention, races brought smiles to people.
And she liked smiles more than anything.
"So troublesome… where am I supposed to find a trainer?"
Xingyun Liuge had a headache now.
The image of that pink-haired girl flashed through her mind.
But after that kind-hearted girl had brought her to Kasamatsu Tracen, she had left without leaving behind a phone number. Xingyun Liuge herself did not even have a phone, so there was no way to contact her.
Which made things even more troublesome.
Just then, an elderly woman walked into the computer room.
"Hm? Do we have a horse girl like you at Kasamatsu Tracen? A transfer student?"
Seeing that the old woman was dressed like a staff member, Xingyun Liuge explained her situation, then asked about trainers.
She could hardly wait to get onto the track and amaze everyone.
Use running—
to bring smiles to people.
"Ah—you're that sickly shut-in… ahem."
The old woman hurriedly corrected herself, then delivered a piece of very bad news.
"The school's new student event ended the day before yesterday. The horse girls and trainers have already made their selections. You didn't know?"
The old woman had heard that Xingyun Liuge had arrived at the school in a wheelchair, so she gently tried to persuade her:
Stepping onto the track was not the only path open to a horse girl. She could become a support horse girl and contribute her strength to racing that way. She could also live as an ordinary person and spend a peaceful, ordinary life. A very small number of horse girls had even passed the trainer exam and become trainers themselves.
In short, there were countless roads in life.
Safety came first.
The old woman had no wish to see a frail horse girl run herself to death on the track. That would be an act of irresponsibility toward the girl herself.
Xingyun Liuge got quite a lot of information from the old woman, but she almost blacked out on the spot, because this news was just that terrible.
Even so, she still thanked the woman, then decided to go outside and try her luck.
Who knew? Maybe if she was lucky, she would run into a wild trainer.
After heading downstairs, Xingyun Liuge stood at the main entrance and quietly gazed at the training grounds.
There were only a few people scattered here and there, but the horse girls who had already found trainers were all practicing seriously.
Seeing that, she softly sighed:
"How nice…"
Unexpectedly, a horse girl who happened to be passing by heard her and shot back:
"Hah? What's so nice about it?"
Xingyun Liuge turned around.
It was a girl dressed like a gyaru.
Xingyun Liuge had no prejudice against gyarus at all, but the other girl's tone was distinctly unfriendly. At first glance, she gave off the vibe of a delinquent girl, which made for a rather poor first impression.
The two of them should have been complete strangers.
But Xingyun Liuge had seen her before in the simulations.
So while the other girl did not know her, Xingyun Liuge knew her name.
Norn Ace.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 150)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter100)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 60
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 50
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 50
The Way the Umamusume Look at 31
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 26
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