The game contained two track surfaces: turf and dirt.
Dirt racing was most strongly favored in America.
Europe and Japan preferred turf.
Races were divided into four distance categories.
Sprint: 1,000 to 1,400 meters.
Mile: 1,600 to 1,800 meters.
Medium: 1,900 to 2,400 meters.
Long: 2,500 to 3,600 meters.
“Silence Suzuka specializes in mile and medium-distance races.
Sprinting doesn’t suit her running style very well.
As for long-distance races… her effective range simply doesn’t extend that far.”
Based on the original horse’s record, Silence Suzuka performed best between eighteen hundred and twenty-two hundred meters.
Zhou Yu’ang remembered a story event specifically stating that twenty-four hundred meters was too long for her.
To prevent confusion, he opened the aptitude screen.
Silence Suzuka
Surface Aptitude: Turf A / Dirt G
Distance Aptitude: Sprint D / Mile A / Medium A / Long E
Running Style Aptitude: Front Runner A / Pace Chaser C / Late Surger E / End Closer G
There were two surfaces and four running styles.
An End Closer remained near the rear before unleashing explosive power during the final stretch.
It was an extremely difficult strategy that demanded tremendous physical ability and acceleration.
But watching a closer overtake numerous rivals in rapid succession was magnificent.
A Late Surger remained around the middle or rear of the pack, conserved strength, then searched for opportunities to advance.
A Pace Chaser occupied the front-middle of the pack.
It was the most conventional style.
A Front Runner took the lead immediately and attempted to remain there until the finish.
The strategy looked magnificent when successful.
However, it placed tremendous strain upon the body and could cause the runner to lose speed from exhaustion during the final stages.
Silence Suzuka was a famous Front Runner.
Not merely a Front Runner.
A Great Escape runner.
From the moment the gate opened, she charged into the lead and created an enormous gap between herself and the entire field.
At the peak of Silence Suzuka’s career, she sprinted away immediately and established such a huge advantage that the television crew could not fit her and the trailing pack into the same shot.
When they tried, every horse behind her appeared mosquito-sized.
The desperate broadcast director eventually split the screen in two.
One half showed Silence Suzuka.
The other showed everyone else.
Her spectacular Great Escape style astonished an entire generation of racing fans.
The more beautiful her Front Runner style was, the worse every alternative became.
In his debut race, Silence Suzuka used the Front Runner strategy.
He immediately opened a seven-length lead over second place.
One length measured roughly 2.4 meters.
It was a stunning victory.
Afterward, however, Silence Suzuka suffered repeated defeats following the Japanese Derby.
His natural talent as a Front Runner had always been visible.
Yet those caring for the horse feared that allowing him to run without restraint might lead to disaster.
They adopted conservative tactics.
The results were poor.
Silence Suzuka changed jockeys.
When the next jockey also failed, they tried a third.
The third was Yutaka Take, often called Japan’s greatest jockey.
He had never ranked among the world’s absolute top ten, but that did not prevent him from remaining Japan’s strongest.
Still a young genius at the time, Take immediately recognized the horse’s potential.
He volunteered to become Silence Suzuka’s primary jockey and trained him alongside the stable staff.
The following year, he unleashed Silence Suzuka’s Great Escape style.
The horse’s magnificent performances made him famous throughout Japan.
He achieved six consecutive graded victories.
Then came the Autumn Tenno Sho.
Before the final turn, Silence Suzuka suffered a catastrophic fracture caused by running at extreme speed.
He had to be euthanized.
Even after the injury, the horse gradually slowed while limping.
Perhaps he feared throwing his jockey onto the track.
Silence Suzuka had always been affectionate.
During the previous year’s Yayoi Sho, he had refused to separate from his groom and attempted to crawl out beneath the starting gate to follow him.
In a world with ordinary horses, a fracture could be fatal.
In the world of horse girls, broken bones were not directly lethal, but they could still destroy a racing career.
At least that won’t happen in the game.
The game would never depict a catastrophic fracture.
Whether this world’s Silence Suzuka would suffer the same fate depended upon her Trainer.
“As you can see, Silence Suzuka has an A rating as a Front Runner.
Her other running styles are terrible.
Selecting anything else would probably end in disaster.”
Her unique skill also required the Front Runner strategy.
Unfortunately, it was not especially powerful.
The skill called “I Won’t Surrender the Scenery at the Front” was mockingly nicknamed “Everyone, Come Look at the Scenery at the Front.”
After stronger Front Runners appeared, Silence Suzuka spent considerable time on the bench.
Then the Great Escape skill was finally introduced.
Suzuka rose again.
When skill evolutions arrived, she gained a stable place in both mile and medium-distance events.
The only question was…
Zhou Yu’ang looked toward the Three Goddesses.
“The Great Escape skill exists.
You’ll obtain it after winning a certain race.”
Hearing the confirmation, Zhou Yu’ang raised both arms.
“Yes!”
Tama-dammit!
A Silence Suzuka with Great Escape available from the beginning had nothing to fear.
She could simply run away from everyone!
Then another thought struck him.
If Great Escape existed, what about skill evolution?
“That exists too.”
After receiving the answer, Zhou Yu’ang looked at the Silence Suzuka waiting for instructions.
He had lost value.
“Tama-dammit!
I’ve suffered a massive loss!”
If skill evolution existed, he should have selected Tokai Teio, the world’s number-one Symboli Rudolf fangirl.
The protagonist of the anime’s second season became powerful enough after evolution to challenge the god-tier alternate Oguri Cap.
Still, Silence Suzuka offered greater utility.
Even when she could not serve as the primary carry, she could function as support. New chapters come out on g.com first.
She suppressed opposing Front Runners and prevented them from activating Seiun Sky’s powerful unique skill before his own Late Surgers and End Closers accelerated.
She was highly qualified for a supporting role.
Besides, Silence Suzuka has a much better personality than the game version of Teio.
The game’s Teio was not the heroic girl forged through suffering in the anime’s second season.
She was the brat from the first season who constantly circled around Rudolf.
Zhou Yu’ang comforted himself and continued explaining.
“We’ll simply use Front Runner and charge forward.
Victory is guaranteed.”
“Charge forward without thinking… and win?”
Silence Suzuka’s eyes brightened.
For an instant, she wanted to stand and try it immediately.
Her body was already prepared to move.
Then she remembered that this was a broadcast.
She sat down again, eyes fixed upon the screen.
In reality, only a minority of horse girls won their debut races.
Not everyone was a genius.
Even entering professional competition required reaching a high standard.
Only then could someone be scouted.
In the game, however, losing the debut race was entirely the player’s fault.
Zhou Yu’ang started the race.
Before each race, the game presented the runners upon a stage-like introduction screen.
Their popularity ranking and condition were displayed.
The purpose was to show each competitor’s presence.
Silence Suzuka stood there in her racing outfit.
Her stats and aptitudes appeared beside her.
Like her figure, her aptitude panel was filled with the letter A.
[Grade-Skipping Genius Girl]: Isn’t this Suzuka’s debut race?
Why is she wearing her racing outfit?
[Horse Girl Enthusiast]: Racing outfits are normally reserved for Grade 1 races.
Racing outfits were intended for important competitions.
In Grade 2 and lower events, horse girls generally wore standard athletic uniforms.
“This is a game.
Unless you change the settings, the characters wear their racing outfits in every race.”
There was no need to overanalyze game logic.
Games often contained strange inconsistencies.
Zhou Yu’ang started the race.
The view moved to the track.
He clicked quickly.
Then he discovered that he was standing among the spectators.
Does the debut race count as an important story scene?
Zhou Yu’ang scanned the surroundings.
The sparse crowd did not interest him.
His section was almost empty.
Besides, the horse girls on the track were far more appealing.
Every stall in the starting gate contained a runner.
The gates opened.
All the horse girls surged forward.
Silence Suzuka stood out brilliantly in her racing outfit.
She became even more eye-catching after claiming the front of the field.
Her expression was serious.
She ran with complete concentration.
Her beautiful long hair streamed behind her.
At that moment, the eyes of every spectator and horse girl focused upon the runner pursuing nothing but the road ahead.
“Silence Suzuka launches her escape immediately after the gates open!
She’s choosing an unrestricted Great Escape!
Is this the strategy selected by her and her Trainer?”
The race commentator attempted to stir the audience’s excitement.
In truth, no commentary was necessary.
Silence Suzuka’s reckless charge had already captured everyone’s attention.
The orange horse girl crossed the track like a shooting star, delivering a brilliant visual impact.
Two thousand meters was neither especially long nor especially short.
The spectators watched her magnificent Great Escape.
When the commentator announced that the runners were approaching the fourth turn, everyone finally realized that this quiet, unassuming girl was about to win by an overwhelming margin.
The closest horse girl in the trailing pack remained an astonishing distance behind.
Without question, it was a complete rout.
Some spectators widened their eyes and admired the unexpected brilliance of the debut race.
Others pulled out phones and cameras, hoping to capture the moment.
Several began shouting encouragement.
One person even rushed to the rail and cried out in astonishment.
“Whoa!
So this is an Uma Musume!”
You are correct.
Silence Suzuka is a horse girl who, after mastering Great Escape, runs away from the field, achieves six consecutive graded victories, cuts down Grass and drives off Condors, dominates between eighteen hundred and twenty-two hundred meters, farms Team Stadium points, serves as a pace suppressor in championship events, prevents rival Front Runners from activating Angling x Scheming, ascends after skill evolution, appears constantly in tournaments, and is worshiped by extremists as the strongest horse girl.
She reigns over every Arc.
This is Silence Suzuka!
The Church of Suzuka!
Aaaaaaaah!
“That’s right!
I forgot the beginning and forgot the middle, but the prison sentence never ends.
This is Uma Musume!”
The keyword triggered Zhou Yu’ang’s conditioned response.
He crossed his arms and completed the meme.
Then he realized something was wrong.
That voice sounded as though its owner had seen a horse girl for the first time.
Impossible.
Uma Musume were the idols of this world.
Roughly seven thousand horse girls were born in Japan every year, matching the number of racehorses born annually in the other world.
Zhou Yu’ang had heard people discussing them while he was still an infant.
Horse-girl advertisements covered the country.
Programs about them played regularly across crowded public squares.
Unless someone lived deep in the countryside, avoiding all contact with horse girls was impossible.
Wait.
That foolish voice sounds familiar.
Viewed from the perspective of the anime…
Zhou Yu’ang turned.
A country bumpkin had appeared from nowhere and thrown herself against the railing.
She was another horse girl.
Her hair was short and black.
A white fringe crossed her forehead.
She had arrived.
The greatest Silence Suzuka fan in the Uma Musume world.
Protagonist of the anime’s first season.
Special Week.
Like Silence Suzuka, her original horse had been a son of Sunday Silence and a major competitor of his era.
He had won the Japanese Derby and achieved the exceptional accomplishment of winning both the Spring and Autumn Tenno Sho.
As a racehorse, he was a classic overpowered protagonist.
His life was simply less legendary than Oguri Cap’s.
[Horse Girl Enthusiast]: That horse girl who suddenly appeared… Her clothes are rustic and she looks like a country bumpkin, but she’s incredibly cute!
Another name joined the obsessive multi-oshi viewer’s growing list of sole favorites.
[White-Eyed H-Manga Sensei]: She charged over like a cannonball.
It feels like no one could stop her… I dislike that.
“Someone should watch what she says.”
Special Week considered very few chestnut horses tolerable.
Zhou Yu’ang recognized the reference but did not explain it.
The matter belonged to the world of horses rather than horse girls.
Speaking aloud would sound bizarre.
“Who are you?”
Zhou Yu’ang looked at Special Week and asked.
Judging from the comments, he had been standing peacefully when the country girl suddenly rushed over.
Fortunately, this was a racecourse rather than a pier.
Otherwise, she might have launched herself directly into the water.
This strongly resembled the first season of the anime.
Special Week had only just arrived in the city.
She boarded the wrong train, then decided to run the remaining distance and visit a racetrack along the way.
There, she witnessed Silence Suzuka race and immediately became a devoted fan.
In the real world, however, Special Week’s childhood had been miserable.
A fire at the breeding farm killed his mother and older sister.
The newborn foal was left without milk.
The farm found him a foster mare, but she possessed a terrible temperament and often refused to nurse him.
As a result, Special Week grew up hating chestnut horses and became particularly aggressive around them.
Seeing a chestnut like Silence Suzuka might have caused an immediate fight.
As another side note, Grass Wonder, who was close to Special Week in the anime, was also chestnut.
In reality, Grass Wonder’s original horse was often threatened whenever Special Week encountered him.
The only time he escaped hostility was after races, when both horses were being walked to relax their bodies.
For the sake of protagonist appeal, the aloof real Special Week had been transformed into a foolish country girl.
“Ah!
She’s running so fast!”
Special Week stared ahead with sparkling eyes.
She clenched her fists and smiled with excitement.
She had not heard Zhou Yu’ang at all.
[Tracen Pun Master]: Is she simply extremely passionate about racing?
Ignoring someone who speaks to her is rather impolite.
[Maternal Demon]: Perhaps his voice was too quiet for her to hear.
[White-Eyed H-Manga Sensei]: I think this horse girl is simply very stupid.
[Tracen Pun Master]: I don’t recognize her, but judging by her speed when she arrived and her enthusiasm, she may have the potential to enroll at Tracen Academy.
Tracen possessed no shortage of horse girls like this.
Such encounters were inevitable.
Understandable, but still rude.
Zhou Yu’ang remembered that in the anime, while Special Week was staring excitedly at Silence Suzuka, a certain perverted senior with several screws loose had suddenly appeared beside her…
“She’s not here.”
Zhou Yu’ang swept his gaze across the surroundings.
After confirming that the pervert was nowhere to be seen, he stopped paying attention to Special Week.
Setting aside the possibility that she might follow them once he took Silence Suzuka away, she clearly could not hear anything he said in her current state.
He would either have to raise his voice considerably or reach out and poke her.
Neither was something Zhou Yu’ang would do to a complete stranger.
Compared with this country girl who had appeared from nowhere, Zhou Yu’ang cared far more about his own Silence Suzuka.
How could some random intruding horse girl be more attractive than his own trainee?
Unless, of course, that horse girl happened to perfectly match his preferences.
He estimated that the reason he had been drawn into the story was because this was Silence Suzuka’s debut race.
No matter who you were, the first time you experienced something would always remain particularly clear in your memory.
For both the Silence Suzuka before him and Zhou Yu’ang himself, this was an exceptionally important moment.
Later, he might become just like he had been in the original game—too lazy even to watch another horse girl’s debut race.
Zhou Yu’ang still remembered raising his very first horse girl.
He had not skipped a single line of dialogue.
But after playing for long enough, even when he finally obtained a new horse girl, he no longer bothered reading her new story scenes.
He turned toward the final straight.
Silence Suzuka maintained her elegant running form, her expression filled with complete concentration.
The Silent Shooting Star was announcing her arrival with her very first race.
No one behind her could catch up.
Because this was the domain of the Front Runner.
Seeing the empty finish line ahead, Silence Suzuka smiled.
Without reducing her speed, she charged across it.
“She’s across the line!
Silence Suzuka leaves every other horse girl behind by an astonishing margin!”
The commentator roared with excitement.
Cheers erupted from the grandstand.
There had been no explosive closing kick.
No desperate, hard-fought struggle.
Only one horse girl leading from beginning to end, leaving every other runner in her shadow.
A horse girl like this had now begun to reveal her brilliance.
Perhaps one day, she would become a star that no one could possibly ignore.
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