If there was one thing that drew the most attention after the Tenno Sho (Autumn), it was undoubtedly the unprecedented fact that Offside Trap did not perform on the winner's stage.
Silence Suzuka, the runner-up, had instead been placed in the center position, which gave that center spot an oddly ironic air.
As for Offside Trap's record-breaking, dominant victory and the remarks she made in her post-race interview, those topics were hot enough in their own right, but compared to something that so thoroughly shattered tradition, they still lacked a little impact.
Rumors had also spread after the race that Offside Trap might have used banned substances brought back from certain countries. Shinji was not worried about that in the slightest. For one, the rumors had no basis and no evidence. For another, the post-race testing had already proven Offside Trap's innocence. To him, the wild things people were saying online were almost funny.
He looked out the window at the moon.
It was already well past midnight, yet he felt no sleepiness at all.
His mind was filled with the image of Offside Trap gazing up at the moon earlier, as though she had been yearning for something far away. Whatever changes had taken root in her seemed to appear only when facing the outside world. When she was with him, she was still the same Offside Trap. Beneath that beautiful night scene, she had shown him an expression so lovely that even he had found it beautiful.
Shinji did not know whether, after returning to her room, she had simply gone straight to sleep or taken a look at the online chatter instead.
The Tenno Sho had only ended that afternoon, and yet by now, countless voices and arguments were already spreading across the internet.
That was the difference between a G1 and a G2.
Though only one grade apart, the difference in attention between the Kyoto Daishoten and the Tenno Sho was obvious even from the change in Offside Trap's popularity.
At a moment when she had practically become a public enemy to the fanbases of countless horse girls, Offside Trap's fan count had still surged past 400,000.
That alone said everything.
He withdrew his gaze from the moonlit window and slowly sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard. His eyes, now fully accustomed to the darkness, stared clearly at the blank white wall in front of him.
There was nothing decorating it.
After a moment's hesitation, Shinji muttered inwardly,
"Maybe I should finally look at the blessing system now…"
The system had already alerted him after the race that blessings had appeared. But back then, Shinji had needed to keep an eye on Offside Trap while also preparing for the post-race interview, so he had set it aside for the time being.
Now happened to be the perfect time.
He was not sleepy, and tomorrow was a rest day.
The idea suddenly appealed to him.
"Are you sure you want to do this now?" the system asked. "Blessings are also tied to luck. If your luck's bad, you might roll a pile of utterly terrible blessings."
There was a note of warning in its voice, as though it felt Shinji was not taking system blessings seriously enough.
"System blessings stand above the rune system," it continued. "How about you look at the new runes first? If the overall quality is poor, then you can decide whether or not to check the blessings. After all, the Tenno Sho probably cost you quite a bit of luck, didn't it?"
"That was skill," Shinji retorted inwardly, indignant. "And if you want to put it that way, the post-race disaster clearly soaked up a fair amount of bad luck too."
Still, though he bristled, he obediently chose to look at the newly refreshed runes first.
The options appeared before him:
(Mad Craftsman) Witty Black Stockings
A horse girl's figure becomes incredible, making her overwhelmingly attractive.
Each increase in popularity grants a chance to max out one skill.
Requirements for activation:
10,000: once
100,000: once
500,000: twice
1,000,000: twice
5,000,000: five times
10,000,000: five times + two evolved skills
— 1300 Emotion Energy
(Superstar) Akiba Breeze
During the final corner, greatly increases acceleration and speed, slightly increases stamina; duration scales with Guts.
— 1200 Emotion Energy
(Battle Maniac) (Abyssal Bard) Toxic Outer Garment
Each collision reduces the other party's stamina by 10 during the race.
Five-second cooldown per target.
— 850 Emotion Energy
(Territorial Lord) (Ground Keeper) Deep Sea Rhapsody
On good track: lowest stat +200.
On bad track: highest stat +200.
For every base stat more than 50 points away from all others, that stat gains an additional +50.
Track condition penalty reduced by 10%.
— 1800 Emotion Energy
(Noble) (Mystic) Quiet Orchid
If there are no other runners within one body length during the race, skill activation chance rises by 25%.
— 900 Emotion Energy
"Hm?"
Shinji had originally intended this to be nothing more than a luck test. But the moment he saw Deep Sea Rhapsody, he nearly sprang up.
Both the linked trait category and the effect itself made him want it desperately. If he had enough Emotion Energy, he would have bought it on the spot.
"Looks like your luck isn't bad," the system said sourly.
Shinji, rather pleased with himself, did not boast out loud. He simply rubbed his palms together and took several deep breaths.
"Alright," he said inwardly. "Show me the system blessings…"
This time, the system did not object.
The five runes vanished from view, replaced by a magnificent backdrop like a vast landscape painting. Within it, four framed silhouettes emerged, and Shinji could already make out the colors glimmering inside them.
"To put it simply," the system began, "the four blessings you're about to see will be divided by color into upper, middle, and lower tiers. Rainbow is top-tier, gold is premium, silver is standard…"
As it spoke, the four blessings resolved into a distribution of two rainbow, one gold, and one silver.
"In the blessing system, every blessing exists in rainbow, gold, and silver variants. Their strength differs based on color, but their core effects remain similar.
"A horse girl can possess at most two system blessings. System blessings cannot be changed or transferred, and their refresh mechanics differ from runes."
Shinji's expression sharpened.
That likely meant his horse girl would not necessarily be able to obtain two blessings perfectly suited to her.
"The refresh system for blessings rerolls all options at once," the system continued. "Across these two blessing selections, you have a total of two refreshes. That number is fixed. Nothing can increase or decrease it."
Shinji's face grew more serious.
"Of course, while blessings have different rarity tiers, that does not necessarily mean two rainbow blessings are always better than anything else. Because their effects vary wildly, many blessings simply won't suit a horse girl who already has a clear direction and build. So I do not recommend prioritizing blessings by color. Prioritize them by effect, then decide whether to reroll or select."
"System blessings cost nothing. All you need to do is choose carefully, Shinji. Prepare yourself!"
Shinji straightened unconsciously as the system's voice faded away and the contents of the four blessings became clear.
(Gold) Self-Reflection
After reviewing a race, the horse girl enters a state of enlightenment that very night.
At most twice every three months, chosen by the trainer.
(Silver) Silent Tampering
Enhances one designated rune's effect by 50%.
(Rainbow) Chosen by Runes
Randomly grants one top-tier rune (1500–2200 Emotion Energy value) with sub-runes,
or two strong runes (800–1300 value) with sub-runes,
or four standard runes (400–700 value).
(Rainbow) Supreme Lord
You are treated as possessing one Territorial Lord rune.
You may select two existing runes and treat them as having Territorial Lord linkage.
All Territorial Lord rune effects are enhanced by 10%.
Shinji froze, staring at Supreme Lord for a long time.
Then he felt a wave of frustration.
This would absolutely be an excellent blessing for a horse girl focused on Territorial Lord synergy.
It had just come too late.
He only needed to save a bit more Emotion Energy to complete five Territorial Lord runes anyway. At that point, much of Supreme Lord's front-loaded value would become redundant.
His eyes shifted to Chosen by Runes.
Under normal circumstances, that was clearly the best blessing in the lineup. If he had not seen Supreme Lord, he would have selected it immediately without a second thought.
But...
The fact that Supreme Lord had appeared here seemed to imply something.
A blessing with no specific synergy leaning was probably not the true optimal choice.
For Offside Trap, there had to be something better.
"Want to gamble?" the system asked.
It had sensed his hesitation.
Shinji's expression flickered uncertainly, but the system did not press him.
"I want to try," he admitted inwardly.
His voice was low.
He knew full well that this blessing choice might determine Offside Trap's upper limit. If he followed his gambler's instinct here, the result could just as easily veer in a very bad direction.
"Refresh."
The four blessings began to dissolve and reform.
Even in the quiet dead of night, Shinji could feel sweat in his palms.
The first appeared.
(Silver) Loyal Retainer
Every ten rune refreshes, by any method, guarantees one Territorial Lord rune.
The very first blessing being silver filled Shinji with foreboding.
He immediately recognized it as the downgraded version of Supreme Lord, and his anxiety deepened.
Then the second appeared.
(Gold) Rune Envoy
Grants two additional rune slots.
Shinji let out a sudden breath.
Though still tense, he knew this was at least a solid fallback option. Its strength would depend entirely on how strong the runes placed into those two extra slots would be.
The third blessing appeared.
(Gold) Noble Scion
Your Noble runes can activate simultaneously with other rune synergies.
This was clearly a blessing designed for horse girls centered around Noble synergy. Shinji's gaze dimmed slightly. In terms of overall rarity, this batch was already worse than the previous one.
Then the fourth blessing appeared.
(Rainbow) Mother of the Realm
For every Territorial Lord rune, all stat caps increase by 10%.
You may choose one non-Territorial Lord synergy; its count increases by +2.
"Take this one!"
Shinji shot a finger out instinctively, only to realize after swiping through the empty air that he could not physically touch the interface at all.
"You really did luck your way into something absurd," the system exclaimed, sounding openly annoyed.
Shinji narrowed his eyes at the tone.
As the partner fighting beside him, how could it possibly be rooting for his bad outcomes?
"This one," he said firmly. "This one."
"I know, I know. Stop rushing me."
The system grumbled unhappily.
Everything before him began to dissolve. A pure, prismatic energy appeared in midair, then streaked out through the window in a flash, shooting straight toward the horse girl dormitory.
Shinji stared at the dazzling rainbow light in surprise, but his heart was already brimming with energy.
The speed stat that had previously been shackled by its cap now finally had room to keep growing. The thought alone made him eager for the training session after tomorrow's rest day.
…
In the horse girl dormitory, the energy shot directly into Offside Trap's body.
Still fast asleep, she frowned in her sleep.
She was dreaming of Shinji.
But it was not a dream that made her happy.
In the dream, he was grinning foolishly at some horse girl whose face she could not make out, and the sight was utterly unbearable.
She wanted to march up and yank him away, only to realize that in the dream, she could not move at all.
"Bad trainer…"
The sleepy murmur left her lips softly, drifting through the small room before fading away into the night.
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 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 95
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 89
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 61
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 65
Uma Musume: From Beginner 61
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 37
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