After that farce ended, everyone went back to chatting while Tang Han continued playing the invisible man.
And so another ten-odd minutes passed. Once all the new trainers had arrived, Tazuna raised her little flag and led the group into the academy.
As she guided them along, she introduced the various facilities:
"This is the academic building, where the horse girls take their regular classes. Male trainers are advised not to come here alone."
"Over there is the academy cafeteria, where the horse girls eat. Trainers may dine there as well, but again, male trainers are advised not to come alone."
"That area is the training ground, where the horse girls practice running. Male trainers are advised to bring their assigned horse girls here only after other trainers have already arrived."
"And over there are the horse girls' dormitories. Right next to them are the female trainers' dormitories. Male trainers are strictly forbidden from entering either area. If you do, the consequences are your own responsibility."
"..."
Tang Han broke out in a cold sweat.
Why did every corner of this academy seem to be a place male trainers were not supposed to go alone?
One of the new trainers raised a hand and asked, "Then where are the male trainers' dormitories?"
Tazuna replied, "To avoid accidents, the trainers' dormitories are built quite far away from Tracen Academy. You have to take the academy shuttle bus to get there."
Tang Han: "..."
The "accidents" she was talking about... would not happen to be horse girls launching nighttime raids on the trainers' dorms, right...?
"This way, please," Tazuna said, continuing the tour.
Along the ճանապարհ, they passed many beautiful horse girls. Youthful, lively, full of energy, they laughed and played with one another, radiating all the brightness and beauty of Tracen Academy.
From time to time, they also ran into senior trainers out for a stroll. These veterans warmly greeted the newcomers and enthusiastically told them all about the benefits of joining Tracen.
It would have been even more convincing if their faces were not wearing such obvious looks of schadenfreude.
"Ooh~"
The new trainers gazed at the beautiful campus and its "harmonious, friendly" atmosphere, letting out sounds of admiration.
But Tang Han saw something deeper beneath the idyllic surface.
"Twenty... twenty-one... twenty-two..."
Silently, he was calculating the injury rate among the senior trainers.
Within the academy, fifty percent of the male trainers were in wheelchairs.
Another twenty-five percent were using crutches.
Almost all of them had injuries to their lower bodies.
As for the female trainers, upper-body injuries were more common: seventy percent had bandages or medicated patches on their faces, while twenty percent had both arms wrapped in bandages.
And those were only the trainers still healthy enough to come outside for a walk.
There might well be others already locked in basements somewhere, beyond Tang Han's ability to count...
"This is bad..."
Tang Han had thought the number of trainers injured by horse girls would be small.
He had not expected the actual casualty rate to be this high.
Was this academy really not some kind of battlefield?
Just as Tang Han was continuing his grim calculations, a petite horse girl up ahead caught his attention.
"Hachimi hachimi hachimi if you drink the honey special"
The horse girl walked toward the group while singing her own self-made honey song.
She wore Tracen Academy's student uniform, and her small frame made her look almost like a middle schooler.
Her steps were light, as though she had springs in her shoes. Holding a cup of honey drink, she bounced past Tang Han with cheerful little hops.
Under the effect of the Doctor's Outfit, as long as Tang Han did not speak first, horse girls should not be able to notice him at all.
But what terrified him was that this cute horse girl seemed to sense someone looking at her.
And instead of being shy, she spun around and struck a triumphant pose in Tang Han's direction.
"Yeah~"
"Hiss..."
Tang Han sucked in a sharp breath and quickly took several steps back.
He knew this horse girl.
Knew her very well.
Tokai Teio.
The heroine of Uma Musume Season 2.
Cheerful, kind-hearted, always eager to help others, fond of super-rich honey drinks, and blessed with the kind of body that never got fat no matter how much she ate.
She was extraordinarily gifted. The softness of her knees gave her greater spring and allowed her to run faster with less effort. She even had her own signature Teio Step. A one-in-ten-thousand genius.
Her dream was to become, like the "Emperor" Symboli Rudolf whom she admired most, an undefeated Triple Crown horse girl.
But of the three things needed for success—strength, talent, and luck—luck was the one thing she lacked.
After winning her second crown, the Derby, while still undefeated, she was diagnosed with a fracture. She failed to recover in time for the Kikuka Sho, the third crown race, and was unable to compete. Her Triple Crown dream was shattered, and she could only shift her goal to remaining undefeated as a horse girl.
But later, in the spring Tenno Sho, the undefeated Teio lost to the reigning champion Mejiro McQueen. With that, not only was the Triple Crown gone, her undefeated record was gone as well—and then she suffered another fracture, sinking into confusion and despair.
After finally regaining her spirits with the help of her friends and setting a new goal, she fractured herself yet again during training. This time, she was even told she might never recover more than seventy percent of her former ability, driving her into utter despair.
And yet, in the end, so as not to betray the hopes of her friends and fans—and to prove to her dear friend Mejiro McQueen that miracles did exist—she resolutely entered the nationally watched G1 Arima Kinen.
And she won.
It was a miraculous comeback, setting the record for the longest layoff before a G1 victory.
The undefeated prodigy was gone.
In her place stood the unyielding Teio.
If this had been a normal Uma Musume world, Tang Han would absolutely have reached out to Tokai Teio and helped her achieve her dream of an undefeated Triple Crown.
But do not forget:
This was the world of cursed fanfic.
And Tokai Teio was one of the most dangerous existences in all cursed fanfic lore.
The kind of character who practically came with her own ominous theme music.
Once you became Tokai Teio's trainer, it did not matter what you did—pamper her, encourage her, or neglect her.
There was only ever one ending:
She would max out her possessiveness and drag you into the basement.
That was where the infamous name Teio Basement came from.
And if your team also happened to include Mejiro McQueen, then your trip to the basement would come even faster.
Though there was also another possibility—
You might instead be locked away in an even more luxurious basement by the Mejiro family's young lady.
So when Tang Han saw Tokai Teio here, only two words remained in his mind:
Run!
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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