Then, almost every Uma Musume burst out of the gates at the same time!
Only the delicate white-haired girl in the outside eighth gate was half a beat slow. She was so adorable she looked like a porcelain doll, and her movements suggested she was completely unprepared—or perhaps... careless? Inexperienced?
The favored Daiwa Scarlet noticed that one of the Uma Musume had gotten a late start, but she didn't pay Platinum much mind. She assumed she was just another ordinary racer who had made a mistake at a crucial moment and fallen behind.
Daiwa Scarlet's exquisite face was alight with excitement. She accelerated as soon as she left the gate and charged forward with powerful strides.
"Good! Nothing unexpected happened!!"
The buxom girl with crimson hair gazed at the view ahead, her heart surging with excitement.
Daiwa Scarlet wasn't very good at thinking up tactics. Her forte was holding a position near the front, then sprinting all the way to the finish!
Why would a true powerhouse need tactics? She should simply take the lead openly and race straight to the finish line!
As Daiwa Scarlet saw it, in a mere debut race, the only way she could lose was if she got trapped at the back after a bad start and couldn't show her true strength.
But now that was impossible. She had charged to the front and taken the lead, and she would keep running until she reached the finish line and claimed victory!
"Teio-senpai and that Vodka girl are watching! Just winning first place and qualifying for my debut isn't enough in front of them!"
"I have to... win in style!"
Full of fighting spirit, Daiwa Scarlet had made a smooth start and secured a place in the top three. She kept up her momentum without slowing down!
Behind Daiwa Scarlet, most of the other competitors had their attention fixed on her, seeing her as the most fearsome opponent in the debut race.
In an unnoticed corner at the very back, a white-haired girl had no experience racing or even starting from the gate. She hadn't reacted at all!
By the time Platinum began to move, she was already late off the mark, visibly trailing behind every other Uma Musume.
"In an instant, the Uma Musume burst out of the gates and began to sprint."
"Daiwa Scarlet, the favorite to win in gate four, is living up to her reputation as an honor student. She's already secured an excellent second place!"
The commentator on the platform was visibly surprised.
"But Platinum, the number-eight runner at the back, seems completely unprepared for the start. She's had a clear late start, and only moments into the race she's already fallen half a beat behind and dropped to last place!"
"Platinum is on the outside, and with that late start, her prospects aren't looking good."
This was a debut race. Only the winner would qualify to become a professional Uma Musume, so its importance went without saying.
Even in a debut race, it was rare to see such a clear late start. To the professionals, the rookie filly named Platinum looked like an outsider who had wandered into a professional race by mistake.
The commentator had to remain neutral, and usually chose their words carefully. If even the commentator said that her prospects weren't looking good, the situation was clearly dire.
Yet Platinum's pretty face showed no sign of panic. She remained perfectly calm, keeping up a steady pace behind the middle of the pack.
(Was... that a late start?)
(I remember the total boss from the first season of the anime had a late start, too.)
Platinum looked ahead at the many Uma Musume, watching the race favorite, Daiwa Scarlet, take the lead before the first turn.
She hadn't been ready and had started late. Did she really stand a chance against the exceptionally talented honor student Daiwa Scarlet?
No doubts arose. Instead, Platinum felt calmer than ever, and her legs felt lighter than she had imagined before the race.
For her, a race was probably like going to work. Compared to working on Terra Continent, this job was so much easier it wasn't even close!
So she should at least take it seriously and test her strength a little, right?
Besides, she could only get the big prize money by winning. Even if it was just for the money, she couldn't slack off too much.
The Kulantta girl stopped hesitating. She felt her heartbeat gradually quicken, and a flicker of fighting spirit rose within her.
"Then—"
"Get ready, honor student. I'm... about to speed up!"
Daiwa Scarlet was leading in first place. As she approached the second turn, the race was nearly halfway over.
The atmosphere grew more and more heated! Then, in the next instant—
Despite her late start, the white-haired girl at the very back suddenly erupted into an incredible burst of speed!
Several Uma Musume in the middle of the pack immediately looked astonished. From where they stood, they could see the late-starting Kulantta girl closing in from behind.
That meant the gap between them had become almost nonexistent!
"Ugh... She's a late-starting Late-runner, of all things."
"Is this girl crazy? Daiwa Scarlet's a monster, and she's still speeding up this early?"
"She can't even start properly. She'll run out of stamina and slow down. We can't let her throw off our pace."
"Didn't her trainer teach her how to start or pace herself on the track??"
The several Uma Musume wore different expressions, but they were all clearly shaken.
They were all rookies who had yet to make their official debuts, but even among all the races they'd heard about, they had never seen a runner like this!
After all... she was running as a Late-runner!
5. The Showdown! Platinum vs. Daiwa Scarlet?!
Uma Musume had four different running styles: Escape Horse, Leader, Mid-runner, and Late-runner.
An Escape Horse raced out in front, shining as one of the leading runners. Daiwa Scarlet was doing just that.
The Leader ran in the first group right behind the Escape Horse, staying near the front and waiting for a chance to surge ahead.
The Mid-runner stayed in the middle of the pack and needed a powerful burst of speed. She had to conserve some of her stamina until the final moment, when she could unleash a powerful Final Burst and overtake every opponent ahead in a very short time.
These first three styles were the most common, sensible, and conventional. The vast majority of Uma Musume chose one of them.
The last style, the Late-runner, was the rarest and most unusual. Late-runners started even farther back than Mid-runners!
As a result, Uma Musume who got a poor start or were late out of the gate usually had to run as Late-runners. They took last place, and their style put enormous demands on their burst speed, stamina, and strength.
It was an extremely challenging style, one that made victory difficult. But it also made for the most spectacular races: only a complete reversal of the standings could bring a win! It was a wild, thrilling style that no spectator could resist.
Now the top favorite, Daiwa Scarlet, had taken the lead as an Escape Horse and claimed the throne of first place. Meanwhile, the late-starting, overlooked Kulantta girl Platinum had finally begun to accelerate as a Late-runner from the very back.
As the Mid-runners in the pack stared in shock and disbelief, Platinum kept picking up speed. The next moment, she had reached their side!
She was too fast! They didn't even have time to react!
The seemingly frail white-haired girl, who looked like she might shatter at a touch, overtook the entire group of Mid-runners in the blink of an eye.
A dazzling radiance that seemed capable of tearing through everything ahead began to shine on the racetrack under the name Platinum!
And she kept pressing forward, heading straight for the leader, Daiwa Scarlet!
"Incredible! Simply incredible!"
"Despite her late start, Platinum is undaunted as she races from the back as a Late-runner!"
"Before the third turn, she's already overtaken the Mid-runners and reached fifth place, and she's still accelerating!"
"Platinum doesn't seem worried about losing stamina and slowing down. She's got her sights set on Daiwa Scarlet at the front!"
The commentator's voice rose, turning excited.
Late-runners were already rare and unlikely to win, yet Platinum had started accelerating so early!
She'd started late and was at the very back of the track. As the only Late-runner, she was a long way behind first place—so why had she sped up so early?
The debut race was over a thousand meters long, often a serious test for rookie Uma Musume. Accelerating this soon would inevitably burn through a lot of stamina!
The commentator and most of the spectators shared the same questions. Their curiosity and excitement were growing.
At last, they were willing to take their eyes off Daiwa Scarlet, who was setting the pace at the front, and turn their attention elsewhere.
Was Platinum the Kulantta girl about to have her moment...?
"Huh? She's really... daring to speed up this early?"
Vodka, seated near the front of the stands, glanced to the side. Even she, who was keeping an eye on her rival Daiwa Scarlet, couldn't help watching Platinum closely.
After all, a Late-runner who sped up this early was incredibly rare.
"Could she have enough stamina to handle a middle-distance race of two thousand meters?"
Beside her, Tokai Teio couldn't help wondering.
If Platinum couldn't handle two thousand meters, there was no way she'd have started so confidently after a late start in a debut race of over a thousand meters.
But could a rookie Uma Musume this young really have that kind of ability?
Was this confidence born of strength, or the arrogance of someone who didn't know what she was doing? Her opponent was Daiwa Scarlet, one of the stars of the next generation.
"Platinum... just who is this little one?"
"She looked like an amateur from the start, to her stride, even her pacing, yet she dares to speed up like this?"
Even Tokai Teio, a senior who had already made her debut and wasn't usually interested in the next generation, found herself wearing an intrigued expression.
Was this some monster who had lain in wait for ages, ready to amaze everyone in a single moment? Or was she simply an idiot who had no idea what she was doing?
"This is... surprisingly easy."
After the third turn, Miss Heavenly Horse was already feeling a little surprised.
Though it was unexpected, it was like enjoying dessert on a scorching summer day. Her mood had turned cheerful, relaxed, and calm.
Ahead of her were the Leaders, and the gap between them was shrinking by the moment!
Platinum had thought that, as a first-time racer with no training, she'd struggle against her professional, well-trained opponents. That was why she hadn't been very fired up at the start—or even bothered to take the start seriously.
But she hadn't expected the speed she'd maintained after her late start to carry her past so many opponents. If she kept accelerating, the only formidable opponent left would be... Daiwa Scarlet at the very front!
Most importantly, even as she kept accelerating, Platinum didn't feel as though she were pushing herself to the limit. Her body wasn't overburdened, her lungs didn't hurt, and her legs didn't feel heavy! Could the strength and stamina in this body of hers really be that incredible??
It was only her second day as Platinum. She knew so little about racing and had started running recklessly... yet she still wasn't tired. If anything, this was surprisingly easy?!
Could it be that the Kulantta girl she'd transformed into, Platinum David Centaurea, was actually amazing?
As an archer skilled with the Bow and Arrow, she apparently had tremendous potential as a runner, too!
For the first time, a trace of excitement appeared in the lazy white-haired girl's heart. She wanted to get serious and see just how far she could run.
Her rare enthusiasm had been stirred. After all, her opponent was the formidable Daiwa Scarlet, a character with plenty of screen time in the Uma Musume anime and undeniable potential.
If she really could beat Daiwa Scarlet...
Then the so-called unprecedented Triple Crown of Transformation, a feat worthy of an epic legend, might not be out of reach!
Platinum stopped thinking and focused on the final stretch ahead. Her clear, tranquil green eyes sharpened as she locked onto the crimson figure at the very front.
In the next instant, the girl named Platinum seemed to transform into an arrow loosed from its bow! With unstoppable momentum, she charged straight ahead!
Even more astonishingly, a remarkable Aura burst from the seemingly petite, soft, and adorable white-haired girl—an Aura beyond description.
It was as if a monster forged from pure Aura had taken human form and was racing wildly around the track!
Though she was supposed to be an assassin who used a Bow and Arrow, she unleashed an Aura and speed that seemed too powerful for this world. The Leaders ahead gritted their teeth and struggled with all their might to keep her from closing in, but it was no use!
A raging flood seemed to be bearing down on them from behind!
"Good grief... Why is a monster of this caliber showing up in a debut race?"
"She's so strong! Is it just me, or has her pressure become every bit as intense as Daiwa Scarlet's?"
"She's the kind of opponent you'd only expect to see on TV in a graded stakes race. Why are there two of them here at once?!"
"My legs are getting heavy. It feels like a raging flood is right on my heels—good grief!!"
The Leaders stared wide-eyed. No matter how unwilling they were to give in, they could only watch as that silver-white radiance reached their sides... then swept past without a moment's hesitation.
In an instant, the vast racetrack erupted. Even the spectators who had come to watch Daiwa Scarlet had fully recognized the strength of the late-starting Platinum!
Then—
Even the commentator's voice grew louder and more fervent as they exclaimed in astonishment.
"It's incredible! I never expected a debut race to be this intense."
Before you continue