At Tracen, I Excel at Being Imprisoned

In the world of Uma Musume, broken bones weren't fatal for an Uma Musume, but they had a huge impact on her career.

It just doesn't happen in the game.

Broken bones definitely wouldn't happen in the game. As for whether the Silence Suzuka of this world would break a bone according to fate...

That would depend on the trainer's ability.

"Everyone can see that Silence Suzuka's running style is Front Runner A, while all her other running-style aptitudes are terrible. If she chose another running style, she'd probably be screwed."

That was because her ultimate skill only worked with Front Runner, though it wasn't particularly ideal.

Her ultimate skill, The View from the Front Is Mine, was jokingly called Everyone, Come Take a Look at the View from the Front.

After other powerful Front Runners appeared, Silence Suzuka was briefly left on the bench.

It wasn't until the Big Escape skill was unlocked that Silence Suzuka rose to prominence. Then, after the skill-evolution mechanic appeared, she found a place in both mile and middle-distance races.

The only question was...

Zhou Yuang turned his head toward the Three Goddesses beside him.

"She has the Big Escape skill. You get it by winning a certain race."

Hearing that definite answer, Zhou Yuang immediately raised both hands.

"Yay!"

Tamamo's! With Silence Suzuka having Big Escape right from the start, what was there to fear? Just charge ahead and be done with it!

But then Zhou Yuang froze.

If Big Escape was available, then was skill evolution available too?

"It is."

After asking that question, Zhou Yuang turned toward Silence Suzuka on the screen, waiting for the order to start.

I lost big.

"My Tamamo, I lost big!"

If skill evolution was available, then among the choices he definitely had to choose the one that made Tokai Teio a number-one Rudolf fan.

That Uma Musume, the protagonist of season two of the Uma Musume anime, could stand toe-to-toe with the game's god-tier transformed Oguri Cap after gaining her evolved skill.

Still, in terms of utility, Silence Suzuka was a little better.

After all, Silence Suzuka could serve as a support even if she wasn't the main carry.

She could suppress other powerhouse Front Runners and prevent his Chaser and Late Surger characters from failing to accelerate past them.

As a worker character, she was perfectly competent.

Besides, Silence Suzuka's personality is much better than Teio's in the game. The Teio in the game isn't the hero who grew through hardship like the one from the second anime season. She's just an annoying brat who hangs around Rudolf in the first season.

Zhou Yuang consoled himself and continued explaining.

"Here, we can just blindly use Front Runner and be done with it. We're sure to win."

"Just blindly using Front Runner is enough to win?"

Silence Suzuka, in front of the screen, instantly got the urge to give it a try after hearing that.

She stood up excitedly, her body tense with anticipation, but remembered that she was on a livestream, so she sat back down and stared at the screen, blinking.

In reality, only a small number of Horses could win their Debut Races.

After all, not everyone was a genius, and even professional competition had its own threshold.

They first had to reach the highest tier before anyone would discover them.

But in the game, losing even one race was the player's mistake.

Zhou Yuang immediately opened the race. Before the Uma Musume race began, there was a runway-show segment.

It displayed the competitors, introduced their popularity, and gave them a chance to show themselves.

It let everyone see how imposing each competitor was.

Silence Suzuka, wearing her Victory Outfit, stood on the runway. Her stats and aptitudes appeared beside her.

Her aptitudes were just like her figure—they were covered in A's.

[Skipping Genius Girl]: Come to think of it, isn't this Suzuka's Debut Race? Why is she wearing her Victory Outfit?

[Uma Musume Fan]: Normally, Victory Outfits are only worn in G1 races.

A Victory Outfit was clothing reserved for important races. Normally, for G2 races and below, they could only wear Gym Uniforms.

"But this is a game. Unless you set it otherwise, they'll race in Victory Outfits the entire time."

There was no need to understand game logic too clearly. Games also frequently had all kinds of random intrusions.

Zhou Yuang immediately clicked Start Race.

The view shifted to the track. Zhou Yuang clicked rapidly, and then the view switched to the stadium.

Then Zhou Yuang discovered that he was actually standing in the spectators' stands.

Does the Debut Race count as part of the story?

Zhou Yuang swept his gaze around. The sparse audience failed to stir his interest.

His position was mostly empty, and besides, the Uma Musume were much better-looking.

The Starting Gates along the track were filled with Uma Musume.

As the gates flew open, all the Uma Musume charged out.

Silence Suzuka, the Uma Musume wearing a Victory Outfit, was especially striking.

After she burst ahead and seized the strongest front position in the Fifth Pack, she became even more eye-catching.

Her expression was solemn as she charged seriously at the very front.

As she ran, her beautiful long hair streamed in the wind.

At that moment, the gazes of every spectator and Uma Musume in the stadium focused on this Uma Musume who was single-mindedly moving forward.

"Silence Suzuka starts her escape the moment the gates open! Has she chosen to go all-out without a care? Is this the result she and her trainer chose?"

The commentator tried to use his words to stir up the audience's interest.

In truth, even without the commentary, the spectators were fascinated by Silence Suzuka's reckless behavior.

The orange-haired Uma Musume streaked across the track like a meteor, creating a dazzling visual impact.

As a standard middle-distance track, 2,000 meters was neither particularly long nor particularly short.

But while everyone focused on Silence Suzuka and admired her dashing Big Escape, it wasn't until the commentator shouted that the race was about to enter the Fourth Turn that they realized this quiet, unremarkable-looking girl was going to win by leaving everyone else in the dust.

Among the Fifth Pack behind her, the frontmost Uma Musume was separated from Silence Suzuka by an astonishing distance.

Without a doubt, this was an overwhelming victory.

Some people in the stands widened their eyes and enjoyed this unexpected Debut Race.

Others took out their phones and began filming, hoping to capture some good footage.

Of course, some people were especially excited and began cheering her on.

Some even stood at the railing of the stands and cried out in amazement.

"Wow! Is this Uma Musume?"

You're right, but once Silence Suzuka learned Big Escape, she left everyone in the dust, won six major races in a row, cut down every opponent in her path, slaughtered the 1,800–2,200-meter range, farmed points like crazy in the arena, and served as a cover in Champions Meetings by suppressing other Front Runners so they couldn't use their Angler skills. After her skill evolution, she took off, appeared frequently in Champions Meetings, and was even called the strongest Uma Musume by extreme fans—the Invincible Uma Musume who reigned over every Arc de Triomphe! That was Silence Suzuka, the Suzuka Bell! Aaaaaah!

"That's right. I forgot the beginning, and I forgot the middle too. Anyway, being imprisoned every day without end—that's Uma Musume!"

Triggered by the keywords, Zhou Yuang crossed his arms and delivered a short combo.

But then he thought about it and realized something was off.

Doesn't that sound like someone seeing Uma Musume for the first time?

What a joke. As idols of this world, Uma Musume were known everywhere. Although only 7,000 Uma Musume were born in Japan each year (the same number as Horses born in reality), Zhou Yuang had heard people discussing Uma Musume since he was an infant.

Uma Musume promotions were everywhere. In crowded plazas, programs about Uma Musume were broadcast from time to time.

Unless someone lived in the Countryside, it was impossible not to encounter Uma Musume.

Wait a second. That silly comment sounds familiar.

That excited voice felt extremely familiar to Zhou Yuang. If he looked at it from the perspective of the anime...

Zhou Yuang turned his head and saw a silly girl who had rushed out of nowhere and was now leaning over the railing.

She was also an Uma Musume, with short black hair, white bangs, and white braids resembling twin princess braids, woven from both sides and tied together behind her head.

She had appeared—the number-one Silence Suzuka fan in the Uma Musume world, the protagonist of the first anime season, Special Week.

Like Silence Suzuka, she lived actively in the racing world as Sunday Silence's daughter.

She herself had also been a powerhouse who dominated her era. Besides holding the title of Derby Winner, she had also achieved the outstanding feat of winning both the spring and autumn Tenno Sho in succession.

As a Horse, she was practically a protagonist with cheat-like abilities.

She just wasn't as legendary as Oguri Cap.

[Uma Musume Fan]: This Uma Musume who suddenly ran out... Her outfit is rather old-fashioned, like a country girl's, but she's incredibly cute!!!

Another name was about to be added to the list of Uma Musume exclusively supported by some die-hard fan.

[Side-Eyeing Lewd Manga Teacher]: This girl charged over like a cannonball. It feels like no one could pull her back... A little annoying.

"Someone should accumulate a little virtue with their words."

You were one of the few Chestnut Horses Special Week didn't dislike.

Zhou Yuang understood but didn't say it aloud. What he said belonged to the Horse-racing world, not the world of Uma Musume.

It would sound too strange if he said it.

"Who are you?"

Turning to look at Special Week beside him, Zhou Yuang asked her a question.

Judging from the comments, he had been standing here peacefully, and then Special Week, that silly country girl, had suddenly run out.

Fortunately, this was a racetrack and not a pier. Otherwise, this girl might have charged straight into the water.

Come to think of it, this was somewhat like the situation in the first anime season.

Special Week had just arrived in the city, but had taken the Train to the wrong station. She had then decided to run there and take a look at the racetrack along the way.

That was how she saw Silence Suzuka's race and became her little fan.

But in reality, when Special Week was born, she was an orphan who had neither a loving father nor a mother who could care for her.

A fire on the ranch had burned her mother and elder sister to death. As a newborn foal, Special Week had no milk to drink, so the ranch found her a Chestnut Horse wet nurse with a bad temper who often refused to feed her.

As a result, Special Week would get angry whenever she saw a Chestnut Horse after growing up, becoming especially fierce.

If she encountered a Chestnut Horse like Silence Suzuka, she might well have started a fight on the spot.

Incidentally, Grass Wonder, who got along well with Special Week in the anime, was also a Chestnut Horse.

In reality, however, Grass Wonder's real-life counterpart was scolded every time she encountered Special Week. The only time she wasn't scolded was after a race, when both Horses took a walk to relax their tense bodies.

Considering the relationship between a poster girl and popularity, Special Week, who should have been aloof, had been turned into a silly country girl.

"Ah! She runs so amazingly!"

Special Week gazed blankly ahead, her pink fists clenched as an excited smile spread across her face.

She hadn't heard a word Zhou Yuang said.

[Tracen Cold-Joke Master]: An Uma Musume who's extremely passionate about races? But that behavior isn't very polite.

[Motherly Demon]: Maybe she didn't hear because the voice was too soft?

[Side-Eyeing Lewd Manga Teacher]: She might simply be a very airheaded Uma Musume.

[Tracen Cold-Joke Master]: Come to think of it, this is an Uma Musume I've never seen before. Judging by that speed and enthusiasm, she seems capable of entering Tracen Academy as an Uma Musume.

There were quite a few Uma Musume like that at Tracen, so such a situation wasn't unusual.