From Secretariat to Dahlia, Bully, and Route, not to mention a few foals whose names he could barely remember anymore, he'd told them all!
After all, there were only a handful of Uma Musume in the entire world who could be called the strongest. The nobodies he knew couldn't possibly make it, so he'd told every last one of them.
"I-I think so..."
"There's no problem, right? It won't have any effect?"
Lin Anran's voice grew quieter.
For some reason, the unscrupulous young doctor had a faint premonition that something wasn't right.
In the end, he closed the computer page and shifted his attention elsewhere.
"Forget it. I'll stop looking. I should check the treatment rewards first."
"I'd only treated my big-money sponsor Teio halfway before, and the rewards were already pretty generous. What will the remaining rewards be now that she's fully healed?"
Lin Anran decided to check the system rewards he'd earned from treating the foals during this time.
He needed to earn money from medical fees and system rewards alike. That was the only way to be truly sound!
Open Treatment Rewards Panel
Note: The more Uma Musume a doctor treats, and the better the treatment, the more their Full Bloom progress and Inherent Skills will gradually improve.
Treated: Katano Shoko (minor injury)
Treatment Reward: Horse Mint +1% (before transformation)
Treated: Kanamori Reiko (minor injury)
Treatment Reward: Horse Mint +1% (before transformation)
Treated: Kanazawa Yuki (minor injury)
Treatment Reward: Horse Mint +1% (before transformation)
Treated...
After skipping over a whole bunch of unimportant Horse Mint boosts, Lin Anran finally found the line with "Tokai Teio" on it.
Treated: Tokai Teio (severe fracture) (fully healed)
Treatment Reward: Platinum Progression +10%, Platinum's Core Relic (can unlock potential)
Current total Platinum Progression: 15%
After reading the final treatment reward, Lin Anran froze in place.
Huh?
Besides Full Bloom, what else had dropped?
Platinum's Core Relic—what the heck was that?
Even when Lin Anran used to play Arknights, he'd always skipped whatever came up in the story, and whenever he saw a stage, he'd immediately open Bilibili and copy a guide. He'd given up on thinking and using his brain at every opportunity...
But he still knew a lot about the games' contents and key items. He hadn't completely turned into a brain-dead Doctor.
"Relics" were items in Arknights that enhanced Operators and could be used to unlock their potential.
Potential, in turn, reduced an Operator's deployment cost, increased their attack, reduced their redeployment time, and enhanced their talents...
Usually, Lin Anran only saw those things when a pull went wrong.
How had he turned into Platinum himself... and gotten a relic, too?
Puzzled, Lin Anran immediately clicked to check it.
Platinum's Core Relic
Effect: ...
29. Tachyon, want to go see Doctor Lin?
Platinum's Core Relic
Description: Used to unlock the true potential of Heavenly Horse Platinum.
Lin Anran clicked to use it at once. He wanted to see what Platinum, as an Uma Musume rather than some sniper Operator, could improve.
In the game, the first potential upgrade usually reduced deployment cost. But in the world of Uma Musume... surely that wouldn't be the boost here?
The unscrupulous young doctor gazed at the new line that had appeared before him, full of curiosity and confusion.
Potential Unlocked
Current Potential: Stage 2
Effects: Slightly improves Heavy Track aptitude, slightly increases stamina, and improves long-distance aptitude.
Evaluation: You have taken a step toward becoming the true Heavenly Horse of ancient legend. This unprecedented "atavistic return" begins here!
There wasn't much to it; the description was even a little brief. After reading it in a few seconds, Lin Anran's pupils suddenly contracted.
This relic...
It was so simple and straightforward—and so useful?
Even Lin Anran, who focused on making money and farming Uma Musume gold but knew little about their abilities or racing, could tell how incredibly valuable these improvements were.
Improved Heavy Track aptitude!
And increased stamina and long-distance aptitude!
Next, Platinum would challenge the Triple Crown of Transformation. She'd have to endure an incredibly grueling series of Experienced Battles within a single week.
First, she'd compete in the 2,400-meter GI Oaks, then face the monster that was Agnes Tachyon in the 2,400-meter GI Japanese Derby just seven days later!
That added up to a whopping 4,800 meters in just eight days!
Even the American Triple Crown, famous for its grueling races, involved three GI races over the course of more than a month, with at least two weeks of rest and recuperation between each.
Compared to that, the Triple Crown of Transformation covered a similar distance, but with only eight days to run 4,800 meters...
Even the past champions of the American Triple Crown would have given a thumbs-up and praised its sheer brutality, wouldn't they?
Originally, Platinum's long-distance aptitude on her stat sheet had been B, a weakness compared to her middle-distance aptitude.
So Lin Anran had been worried that the consecutive races in the first two rounds, followed by the long-distance Kikuka Sho for the third crown, might prove too much for her.
Now, his beloved big-money sponsor Tokai Teio had not only dropped a pile of gold coins but also a relic. Had she successfully made up for Platinum's weakness?
The unscrupulous young doctor couldn't help sighing. His affection for the useful Miss Teio suddenly went up by one!
"This drop rate... is really high."
Then Lin Anran quickly opened the character panel to check the improvements.
Real Name: Centaurea
Codename: Platinum
Species: Kulantta (?)
Current Full Bloom Progress: 15% (standard Uma Musume skills unlocked)
Track Aptitude: Turf (A), Dirt (B)
Distance Aptitude: Sprint (B), Mile (A), Middle Distance (A), Long Distance (B changed to B+)
Running Style Aptitude: Escape Horse (B changed to B+), Leader (A), Mid-runner (A), Late-runner (A)
Inherent Skill: ??
After reading it, Lin Anran couldn't help blinking. His expression immediately turned strange.
"Eh? Why's there a question mark after the Kulantta species?"
Species: Kulantta (?)
Along with the increase in Full Bloom progress and the relic's activation, the inexplicable question mark left Lin Anran baffled.
Could she... really be evolving into a Heavenly Horse?
More than some vague, legendary Heavenly Horse, what delighted Lin Anran was that Platinum had gained a visible improvement!
After all, prize money was real. You could see it and touch it.
Usually, no one was perfect. The same went for Uma Musume in racing.
That was because most Uma Musume specialized in a single distance, such as middle distance. Only a few could excel at two distances, like Mejiro McQueen, who was good at both middle and long distance.
So even the top Japanese competitors of the day, Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio, would probably have had only one or two A's at most if their stats were listed on a panel.
The same went for running style aptitude. Uma Musume usually only excelled at one or two styles.
But now, the weakest of the aptitudes for Centaurea, the Platinum Grand Seat he'd transformed into, was at least B. Her long-distance aptitude and Escape Horse running style aptitude had even risen to B+!
Almost perfect!
If he managed to get one or two more relics, Platinum might even achieve the astonishing, incredible 4A aptitude spread of A, A, A, A!
"Now... the chances of her not being able to endure the races probably aren't that high, right?"
"And what's a little unexpected is that her Full Bloom progress is at 15% now, and she's already unlocked standard Uma Musume skills?"
"If she keeps improving, what kind of nonstandard things will she unlock?"
Lin Anran felt reassured. The stats of a stat monster really were comforting!
It was like the peace of mind of Hatsumon in Uma Musume or Wet Ch'en and Alter W in Arknights!
The odds of winning the Triple Crown of Transformation had just grown!
The next day.
Tracen Academy, a sprawling campus, was thrown into quite a stir by the latest race-entry announcement.
Because—
The entry list for the Fillies' Triple Crown, set for two weeks later, had suddenly gained a new name: Platinum, a super rookie who had just made a name for herself across Japan.
That wasn't all. The official entry list for the Japanese Derby, the most influential race in the Classic Triple Crown, also featured the name Heavenly Horse Platinum!
The regular registration period had already closed. Anyone who wanted to join the entry list now had to pay a hefty additional fee.
For a rookie Uma Musume who had only ever won one lower-tier graded race, that would be a serious financial blow!
More importantly—
This meant Platinum had completely given up on the so-called Baby Cup—that was, the Hopeful Stakes—and had chosen to make this year her Classic Year!
Platinum wasn't joking around. She was sure to enter either the Oaks or the Japanese Derby!
And the news and its impact weren't limited to Tracen Academy, a prestigious school of its caliber. Countless Uma Musume racing fans were shaken by it at the same time!
Meanwhile, in a classroom at Tracen...
Agnes Tachyon, this year's Satsuki Sho champion and the acknowledged frontrunner for the Japanese Derby, had a look of surprise in her crimson eyes—and...
Madness!!
"Just as I thought~"
"That girl didn't disappoint me. She's a lunatic just like me."
Agnes Tachyon's lips curled slightly. Her barely concealed smile was full of anticipation for the upcoming Japanese Derby.
"Come on, Little Heavenly Horse."
Beside Agnes Tachyon, a black-haired girl dressed in black from head to toe held a cup of coffee and took a calm sip.
"Calm down, Tachyon."
"You... haven't seemed to be in great shape lately. Want to go see that Doctor Lin?"
Before you continue