[Pace Chaser Restraint] [Late Surger Restraint] In an instant, two red skills activated.
Li Ze felt something invisible spread outward from her body.
It expanded across the track…
And enveloped every other Uma Musume.
So everyone besides me chose either Pace Chaser or Late Surger?
Before the race even began, Li Ze had already decided on his strategy.
End Closer.
Given that his technique, racecraft, and physical qualities were all inferior to everyone else’s, choosing Pace Chaser or Late Surger would have amounted to a slow death.
Without the power or route selection needed to break out of the pack, he’d simply get trapped among the other runners.
As for running as a Front Runner…
He had no confidence he could maintain that pace for the full two thousand meters.
Only after seeing every Uma Musume ahead of her begin to slow did Li Ze have the leisure to inspect her own stat panel.
She had read it countless times since that first night.
Yet every time the interface appeared, she still couldn’t help studying those values.
All five core stats were question marks.
That made Li Ze unable to judge her own capabilities.
It was also why she didn’t dare choose Front Runner, Pace Chaser, or Late Surger.
As for aptitudes…
Turf and dirt were both A.
And all four running styles—Front Runner, Pace Chaser, Late Surger, and End Closer—were also A.
That gave her absolutely no clue which strategy suited her best.
In the end, she’d simply chosen the safest one.
End Closer.
If those unknown stats were her weakness…
Then the skill list below them was her greatest weapon in this race.
An entire page of red skills.
Even her unique skill was still grayed out, but from its outline alone she could tell…
It was red too.
For some reason, it hadn’t unlocked yet.
So even my unique skill needs to be unlocked?
Did something like this ever happen in the Uma Musume game?
Li Ze couldn’t remember.
But then again, someone capable of switching freely between a human and an Uma Musume was already a special case.
So she stopped worrying about it.
Looking at this panel, she couldn’t help wanting to curse.
What kind of Trainer could possibly create an Uma Musume like this?
But now that she stood on the racetrack, she understood one thing.
This was the foundation of her victory.
If you wanted to win, then you had to use every means available and give everything you had.
Lose?
Then you could only blame yourself for not being good enough.
Her brown eyes fixed on the runners ahead.
Every Uma Musume affected by her skills had already become a loser in her eyes.
Yes.
If you can’t even endure this much…
Then how much of what’s coming next can you possibly withstand?
We’ve reached the middle phase now.
Once again, the system interface flashed.
[Pace Chaser Panic] [Late Surger Panic] [Trick (Rear)] [Whisper] The shackles descended again.
Two layers became four.
Now that you’re running with four pairs of chains around you…
What can you accomplish?
I’m curious.
For some reason, even Li Ze himself failed to notice it.
The instant the boy named Li Ze stepped onto the racetrack…
He seemed to truly become the Uma Musume named Natsume Reiko.
His indifference…
Had transformed into her hunger for victory.
…
What…
Is happening?
Why do my legs feel so heavy?
Why am I slowing down?!
Nice Nature had noticed something wrong almost immediately after leaving the gate.
It felt as though someone behind her had grabbed the hem of her clothes and refused to let her run freely.
After she gradually adapted to the sensation, it seemed to weaken…
Only for it to return again.
As if the first person had grown tired and someone else had taken over.
She glanced around from the corner of her eye.
The others looked the same.
Everyone seemed to be restrained by something.
Their relative positions hadn’t changed…
But the speed of the entire field was steadily dropping!
What was happening?
Confusion filled Nice Nature’s mind again.
Then suddenly…
An icy gaze seemed to strike her back.
A face surfaced in her thoughts.
The long-haired chestnut girl…
Watching everything with calm brown eyes.
Is this you…
Natsume Reiko?
Nice Nature silently wondered.
Naturally, the abnormal behavior of every Uma Musume on the racetrack did not escape the commentators.
If a professional commentator couldn’t notice something this obvious, they had no business doing the job.
“Miss Hosoe, doesn’t this situation seem strange?” The younger play-by-play commentator sounded puzzled.
The middle phase was normally where different Uma Musume began showing their strengths.
Yet instead of accelerating, every scattered runner on the track was slowing down.
“Yes.
Something is definitely unusual.
They’re being restrained by something.
Look closely.
Number 1, at the very back of the field, doesn’t seem affected.
She’s starting to accelerate.” The older commentator immediately pointed out the crucial detail.
Even with all her experience, she couldn’t explain what was happening.
But she could identify the key anomaly.
“Number 1!
Number 1 is accelerating!
She’s continuously overtaking the runners ahead!
Number 2 has been passed!
Number 8 has been passed!
She’s now in second place, trailing only Number 3!” Prompted by her senior, the younger commentator finally noticed the Uma Musume who had started last.
Number 1 accelerated around the outside.
In one burst, she passed seven runners.
And settled directly behind Number 3.
Number 1 was Li Ze.
Number 3 was Nice Nature.
As expected of Nice Nature!
Li Ze could tell that even while carrying the weight of those shackles, Nice Nature was still maintaining a lead over everyone else.
Before Li Ze accelerated from behind, the race had effectively split into two groups.
Nice Nature at the front…
And everyone else far behind.
She’s a Late Surger, yet she’s doing the job of a Pace Chaser or even a Front Runner.
So this is what a famous Uma Musume looks like.
Whether in natural ability or technique, she was clearly a full tier above the others.
If I hadn’t appeared…
Nice Nature would’ve taken first place without question.
Nature-san…
You’re surprisingly capable.
While Li Ze admired Nice Nature’s ability…
Only Nice Nature herself understood how miserable her situation had become.
She could hear the commentators too.
Only now had she finally confirmed that the pressure came from the Uma Musume named Natsume Reiko.
Damn it.
And she had the nerve to tell me to go easy on her?
You’re the one who should be going easy on me!
Nobody understood this pressure better than Nice Nature.
Natsume Reiko’s gaze remained fixed on her back.
That cold attention felt as though someone were continuously pouring lead into her legs.
She remembered the beginning of the race.
The instant her stride had been restrained and her thoughts had grown restless, she’d decisively changed tactics.
Late Surger became Pace Chaser.
Not because she’d realized she was stronger than everyone else…
But because instinct screamed that she had to run this way.
If she remained trapped in the pack, darkness would swallow her completely.
And once that happened, even if she tried to break free later, the interference from everyone around her would make it impossible to burst out in one breath.
Outside the racetrack, Natsume Reiko had looked so calm and detached.
Yet on the track…
Her presence created pressure like this?
Nice Nature understood.
All of this was coming from Natsume Reiko.
It felt as if a vast army chased behind her.
Dark clouds rolled forward, carrying everything with them.
The slightest lapse…
And she’d be devoured.
She was like prey fleeing through a forest.
Leaping continuously.
Dodging the hunter.
Burning through her stamina until she was completely exhausted.
Eventually, surrender began to seem easier than continuing to suffer.
But— But!
“Even like this…
“I still can’t lose here!
“Even a nobody wants to win!
“I want to stand in the brightest place on that stage!” The instant an Uma Musume stepped onto the racetrack…
There was only one objective.
“To become the champion!” Nice Nature roared hoarsely.
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