After being educated by T.M. Opera O on facing fame head-on, Myriad Dreams still felt awkward, but at least she stopped trying to disguise herself as a suspicious individual.
However, the pressure of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe still hung over her head.
The attribute gap was an objective reality, she had to find a way to break the rules.
While she was aimlessly pacing the academy grounds, chewing gum and repeatedly pondering how to improve, an incredibly bold— even somewhat whimsical— idea struck her mind like a bolt of lightning!
'Wait! My Zone... my illusions, and Muteki's... what if we used them at the same time...?'
The thought instantly excited her, and she even forgot to chew her gum.
She immediately changed direction and sprinted toward the Team Spica clubroom— Yaeno Muteki was most likely there.
"Muteki! Muteki!" Myriad Dreams pushed open the clubroom door and, sure enough, saw Muteki sitting by the window reading a book.
Yaeno Muteki looked up at the panting, bright-eyed Myriad Dreams and set her book down in confusion.
"Dreams? What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry today?"
Without a word, Myriad Dreams stepped forward, grabbed Muteki's hand, and pulled her toward the exit.
"Quick, come to the training ground! I have something very important to try!"
Being half-dragged by Myriad Dreams to the empty training field, Yaeno Muteki grew even more puzzled.
"What exactly are we doing?"
Myriad Dreams stopped, turned around to face Muteki, her eyes full of excitement and anticipation.
"Muteki! Can you use your Zone right now?"
"Use my Zone?" Yaeno Muteki knit her brows slightly. "Here? Now? For what?"
She didn't understand why Myriad Dreams was suddenly making this request.
"I want to try something!" Myriad Dreams clenched her fists, her tone firm. "What would happen if both of us used our respective Zones simultaneously at close range? Would it create... some kind of resonance or... vibration?"
The idea was so novel that even Yaeno Muteki was stunned for a moment.
Using Zones at the same time? It was almost unthinkable in a race because a Zone is usually a trump card used to suppress an opponent— there was no logic in "resonating" with one.
But seeing the look of inquiry and hope in Myriad Dreams's eyes, even though Muteki found the experiment somewhat baffling, she still nodded.
"Alright, I'll try. But be careful."
The two stood facing each other on the track, about ten meters apart.
"On the count of three," Myriad Dreams took a deep breath. "One, two, three!"
As the word "three" fell, both of them activated the power within their bodies almost simultaneously!
Buzz!
Two completely different yet equally powerful Zone forces instantly radiated outward with them as the centers!
Around Myriad Dreams, an invisible wave that distorted light began to spread, while from Muteki's side, a deep purple aura with a scorching, oppressive pressure erupted.
At first, the two Zones repelled and squeezed against each other like fire and water, the air humming under the strain.
However, in the very next instant, a strange phenomenon occurred!
As if finding a peculiar frequency, the boundaries of the two Zone forces ceased their sharp confrontation. Instead, they began to vibrate and blend in an extremely subtle manner!
A strange sense of resonance emerged between the two, and the very air on the training field seemed to tremble along with it!
Zone Resonance!
Both Myriad Dreams and Yaeno Muteki simultaneously felt a majestic surge of power, far exceeding what they could exert individually, coming from the connected resonance area and pouring into their bodies!
Their various attributes— Speed, Power, Stamina— seemed to be temporarily stacked and amplified in this moment!
It was the wonderful experience of 1+1 being far greater than 2!
"This feeling...!" Yaeno Muteki looked at her hands in shock, feeling the surging power within her that was almost overflowing.
"It worked! It actually worked!" Myriad Dreams was beyond excited.
She could clearly "see" her attributes temporarily skyrocketing on her system panel!
However, this resonance power came as quickly as it left, and it was extremely unstable.
After maintaining it for less than five seconds, the resonance abruptly collapsed due to the fundamental differences in their Zones and minute desynchronizations in their energy fluctuations.
The two Zone forces receded like a tide, followed by a wave of intense exhaustion that left both girls panting slightly.
"As expected... it's hard to maintain."
Myriad Dreams held her knees, yet her face carried the joy of discovering a new continent.
"Besides, it's almost impossible to use on the racetrack... no opponent would be stupid enough to cooperate with you for a Zone Resonance."
But this successful experiment had opened another door in her mind!
'Resonance requires two different but resonant Zones... an opponent won't cooperate... but...'
She remembered how, in order to counter Silver Charm at the Belmont Stakes, she had once simulated Muteki's Zone and achieved a preliminary overlap with her own!
'Simulation... If I can more accurately and stably simulate another Zone that can resonate with my own... even if it's just a simulated, incomplete Zone...'
A wild idea gradually became clear in her mind!
'Is it possible... that I can resonate with myself?! Use my simulated Zone as a primer to create a resonance with my own true Zone?!'
The idea sounded like a fairy tale, but Myriad Dreams's heart pounded violently at the thought.
If this hypothesis could truly be realized... then perhaps she had found a shortcut, unique to her, that could bridge the gap in attributes!
"Muteki! Thank you!" Myriad Dreams suddenly lunged forward and hugged the still-recovering Yaeno Muteki, giving her a firm kiss on the cheek before spinning around to bolt.
Only her voice remained drifting in the wind:
"I have a new direction for my training!! Wait for my good news!!"
Yaeno Muteki touched her cheek where she had been kissed.
Watching the back of Myriad Dreams disappearing like a whirlwind, she shook her head helplessly, but a hint of a smile and anticipation flickered deep within her violet eyes.
'This girl... she's always coming up with such incredible ideas...)'