21: Chapter 20: One Length!
21: Chapter 20: One Length!
[Pace Chaser Restraint] The familiar skill panel appeared before her.
The flashing information indicated successful activation.
Li Ze could see black aura continuously leaking from her body.
Like some snarling monster, it reached toward Symboli Rudolf and caught her.
The skill that had tormented Nice Nature…
Lasted less than a second after reaching Symboli Rudolf.
Then it shattered.
For an instant…
Li Ze saw golden light flash.
Was that…
Aura?
The thought immediately appeared in her mind.
There were many rumors online.
Some claimed races between powerful Uma Musume weren’t merely contests of physical ability and willpower.
They were also battles of aura.
A truly powerful Uma Musume could crush weaker opponents with presence alone.
Others claimed top-tier Uma Musume possessed something resembling a “domain.” Once a domain opened…
Any Uma Musume without one would find it nearly impossible to move.
Then what…
Was the golden light?
Li Ze had no time to consider it.
Now she finally understood what “Emperor” meant.
The legendary Uma Musume who had suppressed an entire era.
Symboli Rudolf remained exactly one length ahead.
No matter how hard Li Ze pushed…
She couldn’t change that distance.
Even when Li Ze intentionally slowed down…
Rudolf slowed too.
She deliberately maintained that single-length gap.
It reminded Li Ze of a terrifying species known as the academic god.
During school, students who performed exceptionally well were called top students.
They monopolized the highest rankings through broad knowledge and superior intelligence.
In the social food chain called “classmates,” it seemed impossible for anything to stand above them.
But legends spoke of something beyond.
The world was vast.
Among seven billion people, geniuses inevitably existed.
If conditions like hyperthymesia—near-perfect autobiographical memory—could occur…
Then exceptions beyond ordinary top students were also possible.
One might call such people academic gods.
They could deliberately maintain specific scores during ordinary mock examinations.
Precisely.
Perfectly.
Then, during the actual national entrance examination…
They suddenly revealed their full power.
Ordinary students chased high marks.
Top students treated high marks as possessions already in their pockets.
But academic gods…
Controlled their own scores with precision.
To accomplish that, they had to understand every tested concept thoroughly enough to manipulate exactly how many points they gained or lost.
Uma Musume racing was similar.
When runners were constantly chasing and overtaking one another, maintaining an exact distance like this was incredibly difficult.
It required absolute superiority in technique and physical ability.
[Trick (Rear)] [Pace Chaser Panic] [Whisper] The race entered the middle phase.
More skills activated.
Her aura again transformed into tendrils that wrapped around Symboli Rudolf.
This time…
Rudolf didn’t even make a symbolic attempt to resist.
She simply allowed Reiko’s aura to affect her.
And then…
Destroyed the effect in some way Li Ze couldn’t understand.
It was completely beyond her comprehension.
Like a failing student watching a mathematical genius solve an advanced problem.
Utterly incomprehensible.
The Emperor.
So this…
Was the Emperor.
One horse leads, ten thousand are eclipsed.
Li Ze couldn’t imagine the pressure experienced by Uma Musume who had raced against Rudolf in her prime.
Even while practically strolling, her dominance was terrifying.
It almost made Li Ze want to stop running entirely.
During the first race of her life…
The instant her foot struck the turf and feedback traveled through the sole of her shoe…
She had seen the Goddess of Victory.
That gave Li Ze confidence.
She knew she could take first.
But this time…
The Goddess of Victory wasn’t watching her.
The track itself gave the same answer.
Defeat was unavoidable.
And not merely defeat.
A crushing loss.
Would she surrender?
But once she stepped onto the racetrack…
There was only victory or defeat.
No surrender.
Failure wasn’t frightening.
Becoming a deserter was far worse.
Surrender once…
And you might surrender again.
She shouldn’t fear failure.
From childhood to adulthood…
The man named Li Ze had experienced failure his entire life.
So why be afraid now?
“Is that all?” Symboli Rudolf’s voice reached her.
“Can you continue?” Compared to Li Ze’s increasingly disordered breathing…
The Emperor remained completely at ease.
Of course.
Who got tired strolling through their own garden?
Li Ze didn’t answer.
Talking now would only make things worse.
In front of action…
Words were often pale and powerless.
Skill activation might not be under her control.
But her legs…
Her arms…
Still obeyed her brain.
Everyone…
Cooperate with me.
Her brain issued a command.
Thought became electrical signals traveling instantly through her body.
She accelerated.
“Oh?” Symboli Rudolf sounded mildly surprised.
But this acceleration was little more than a child’s game to her.
She adjusted effortlessly.
The distance remained one length.
Then…
[Pace Chaser Hesitation] [Binding] [Whisper] Skills activated again.
These effects stacked together with the previous ones, winding around Symboli Rudolf.
Any ordinary young Uma Musume would have lost control of her pace and slowed down.
But Rudolf…
Still maintained that despair-inducing single-length lead.
“Is that all?” Symboli Rudolf could feel the pressure on her body.
Now she understood why Nice Nature had behaved so strangely near the end of the debut race.
For a young Uma Musume, resisting pressure like this would indeed be difficult.
But against her…
It still did nothing.
Time passed quickly.
Under Rudolf’s suppression, Li Ze could already see the finish line ahead.
Only one option remained.
Her finisher.
Her ultimate.
It had lit up.
She could activate it.
But…
Would it even matter?
[Tyranny of the Unyielding] This red unique skill greatly reduced one opponent’s speed.
The amount reduced scaled with the number of runners whose morale was lower than Reiko’s.
The larger the morale gap…
The stronger the effect.
When Li Ze first examined the skill, she’d felt a powerful sense of déjà vu.
But after careful investigation…
She discovered its effect depended on one particular stat.
The stat even dogs refused to invest in.
Guts.
According to the stupid system’s rigid explanation…
“Morale” was related to Guts.
The lower an Uma Musume’s Guts…
The easier she became fuel for Reiko’s skill.
Essentially becoming an accomplice to tyranny.
In a one-on-one race…
This skill’s effect would be terrible.
But it was the only thing Li Ze could still do.
So…
Activate!
Darkness erupted from her again.
If the previous aura had been limbs reaching outward…
Then this time…
The entire body of darkness emerged.
What exactly was aura?
Li Ze didn’t know.
The only thing she knew was that Symboli Rudolf, now engulfed by darkness…
Was completely unaffected.
Instead, within that darkness…
Li Ze saw golden brilliance.
Natsume Reiko crossed the finish line— Exactly one length behind Symboli Rudolf.
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