Nearly four days was not a very long time.
At least, not for Zhigaotian. If anything, she would have preferred time to pass a little more slowly.
But there was no helping it. If the girl did not want to withdraw from the race, then the best option was to rely on her own power—
even if it might be a little risky.
She took a small mirror from inside her clothes and began talking to the self inside it.
"How are you feeling?"
"Uh... what exactly are you asking about?"
"Your condition, obviously. You've been coming to see me a lot less these past few days." The Zhigaotian in the mirror did not sound resentful at all; if anything, she seemed rather pleased with the other girl's state. "And even when I do see you, you always look half-dead. A busy lifestyle like this might actually be good for your health."
"Ah..." Painful memories of the past few days surfaced on Zhigaotian's face. "Lately it's basically just been running, or being on the way to go running, every single day... I swear I'm never cramming at the last minute again."
If not for how naturally gifted this body was, Zhigaotian genuinely felt she might have dropped dead from overwork already.
"Anyway, I'm heading in to report now."
"Mm. We'll talk again once you're inside."
She tucked the mirror away into her pocket and strode confidently into the racecourse.
There was nothing particularly special about check-in. After all, she was neither undocumented nor some antisocial menace. You could say she was a model transmigrator who caused the Three Goddesses absolutely no trouble.
In fact, because she knew how to cooperate with the staff, she even got praised by one of the big sisters working there.
Ah... being a cute girl really was wonderful, nya.
Her purple eyes, like stars reflected in a night sky, kept darting around, taking in the other horse girls.
Granted, from the outside, the way she was staring made her look basically like a creep. But since she was pretty, it was fine.
Ah... they were all such adorable little horse girls. Completely different from the ones she used to poke at on a brick-sized phone in her previous life...
Was this entire species just born beautiful or what?
Especially that lively little brown-haired horse girl over there. She looked exactly like Tokai Teio...
Wait.
No way.
No... seriously?
Whoa! It really is you!
Hang on...
Could it be?!
As the saying went, bullying Teio in a debut race was an absolute must for every transmigrator into the Uma Musume world.
And since she was one of the great transmigrator legion herself, there was no reason she should miss out.
That was right, kids. In every world, Teio suffered because she got beaten up by all sorts of protagonists and ended up turning into the losing heroine.
I forgot the beginning, forgot the middle, forgot the end—
anyway, I must be the reason why...
Among a bunch of horse girls whose names she could not even remember, Tokai Teio stood out like a little sun.
She was undoubtedly the strongest opponent in Zhigaotian's debut race.
And just imagining it made Zhigaotian feel a little excited.
At that moment, Miss Social Butterfly Tokai Teio—who had been chatting away with the other horse girls—noticed a gaze directed at her from somewhere nearby.
When she turned around, she saw a purple-haired girl.
"Are you a fan of Teio-sama too? Even if you are, staring at me like that is still rude, you know..." Her voice was soft and slightly babyish, yet full of the kind of cocky swagger only a bratty little gremlin could have. "But Teio-sama is always very generous to her little fans, so I'll let it slide!!"
Seeing Teio like that, Zhigaotian's expression brightened with delight.
Ah... so at this point she was still a pure, authentic little brat.
Honestly, that had its charm too.
"Tokai Teio, huh?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." The cocky little menace rudely cut her off. "Not 'Tokai Teio.' You should be calling me 'the Invincible Teio-sama,' okay?"
Faced with that in-your-face taunt, Zhigaotian only smiled until her eyes narrowed.
Who could possibly get mad at a cute little horse girl?
"Waaah..." Mimicking the tone of a certain spirit medium from memory, the girl played along as the straight man. "I don't really know what that means, but it sure sounds cool—'the Invincible Teio-sama.'"
"Mhm, that's right." The one-and-a-half-meter-tall little brat planted her hands on her hips, clearly very satisfied with the reaction. "You can praise me even more if you want!"
But very soon, Miss Teio realized something was off...
This girl was being sarcastic, wasn't she?
She was just about to fire back when she realized the other girl had slipped away at some point without a care in the world.
"What the heck...?" The Invincible Teio-sama puffed out her cheeks in irritation. "I'm definitely going to make that girl see just how amazing Teio-sama is."
Too cruel.
Teio-sama decided to use the finest comeback she could think of—
which was to beat the other girl fair and square.
...
Meanwhile, if there had been a way to display Miss Zhigaotian's status right now, it would definitely have read:
Excellent Condition.
Really, who wouldn't enjoy teasing a cute little thing like Teio?
Slipping away from the waiting area, the girl followed the signs into the restroom.
Looking at the huge mirror above the sinks, Zhigaotian was very pleased.
There was still a good amount of time before the race officially began, which made this the perfect chance to get in touch with the mirror again.
She splashed a little water onto her face, bent down, and gave herself a quick wash to look more awake.
Then, when she raised her head once more, the self in the mirror was already there, quietly waiting for her.
"I can tell you're in a good mood... Did you meet a horse girl you recognized?"
"Heh-heh. It was Tokai Teio~"
"Teio, huh... Next time, I definitely want to see that little brat personality for myself. But judging by your tone... you're going to project, aren't you?"
What they called personality projection was Zhigaotian's other trump card.
She could project another possible version of herself from a different reality onto her own body, gaining that other self's memories, strength, and knowledge.
Of course, it was hardly an ideal ability.
If abused, it could very well damage her memory and personality. After all, even if those other versions were still technically "herself," they would inevitably differ in temperament and habits.
Use it too much, and she might lose her mind—
or even become distorted.
"Mm... I want to give her a proper surprise."
If it had been anyone else, Zhigaotian might have hesitated more.
"Then let's begin..." The self in the mirror turned back into an ordinary reflection, yielding the space for Zhigaotian's observation.
The scene within the mirror began to shift and change, while only the reflection directly facing the girl remained the same.
Then, with the sound of glass shattering, the scene settled.
In a drizzling rain, a black-and-violet-haired girl holding a red umbrella walked across a stone bridge.
[Torrential rain pounds the streets; footsteps scatter the roar of the downpour, hurrying on in restless haste... and now, at last, those footsteps have come to a stop.]
When Zhigaotian opened her eyes again, there was a trace of stillness in them—
and beneath that still lake of calm, an invisible killing intent.
Personality synchronized:
Zhigaotian — Shi Association, East Section 3, Section 4.
The Zhigaotian in the mirror glanced at her real-world self and slowly spoke.
"So you transmigrated into the world of horse girls? How nice. But as for me... I'm already used to drawing a bow and carrying out assassinations. I probably wouldn't suit a place like that anymore."
"I'm glad my power can help you..."
"I'll be going back to enjoy the rain now..."
The scene in the mirror returned to normal, and the "Zhigaotian" inside asked curiously, "How does it feel?"
"Not bad... way better than I expected, actually. It's just..."
"Just what?"
"The personality I observed feels kind of strange... Also, why was it the Project Moon world?"
"And you're the one who said you'd kill yourself if you ever ended up in the Project Moon setting." The Zhigaotian in the mirror sighed. "But I guess it makes sense. Since you're a transmigrator, naturally there's a chance that other versions of you also transmigrated into other worlds. Still, it feels kind of plain... Aside from your eyes changing a little, there doesn't seem to be much else."
"You mean this?"
A shattering-glass effect rippled over the girl's body, and when it faded, she was already dressed in the same outfit as the synchronized personality, a longbow in her hand.
"I can do this too... but there's no victory outfit in a debut race, and the bow's useless anyway, so I put it away."
"So convenient..." the Zhigaotian in the mirror muttered in admiration.
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
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin