Watching Sakura Laurel bend down and start putting away her racing shoes, King Halo lowered her head slightly. Sweat slid down her face, swaying for a brief moment in the air before dripping onto the ground.
It vanished in an instant.
King Halo's breathing was rough and ragged. Her seniors' strength had made every training session painfully difficult. Even without any tactics specifically aimed at her, winning against them was already hard enough. Now that they were actively targeting her, even making the board had become a struggle.
She glanced to the side at Twin Turbo, who had collapsed flat onto the ground.
The mare's eyes were lifeless. Ever since getting involved with Terumi Shinji, she had never once escaped being "caught." In every training race, she got hunted down by one horse girl or another. At this point, she felt like she had completely disgraced the proud legacy of front-running racers.
What made it worse was that Shinji had actually told her that, if she wanted to defend the glory of the great escape style, she should call in a few more strong front-runners.
Did he seriously think she was a three-year-old? Did he think she couldn't tell he was just saying her strength wasn't enough?
The more he wanted her to bring in help, the less she wanted to do it.
Twin Turbo made up her mind then and there: she would train harder, get stronger, and one day, in one of these training races, she would escape successfully just once.
"Don't stop moving right after you finish running!"
Offside Trap crouched in front of Twin Turbo as she spoke. It sounded like she was talking to Twin Turbo, but her eyes were clearly on King Halo.
Halo understood immediately who the words were really meant for. She pushed herself upright with her knees and began walking slowly.
"I think your timing was pretty good that time."
Narita Brian offered that from the side, trying to comfort her. By the final stretch, King Halo had already managed to get into the clear. The only reason she hadn't caught up was that there was still a gap in closing speed. In a real race, people would probably just say her finishing burst wasn't strong enough.
King Halo nodded. She understood that herself.
After these past few days of constant simulation work, she felt she was finally beginning to grasp the rhythm. Shinji's training had not been simple mindless race reenactments. He had also added all kinds of restricted side-by-side runs over certain distances to help her find the proper feel. Because of that, she felt her understanding of rhythm and timing had deepened considerably.
She looked toward her trainer.
Terumi Shinji stood there frowning, writing rapidly in his notebook. He was obviously not satisfied.
King Halo walked over and stopped in front of him, waiting for his evaluation.
"In the middle stretch, you were still zoning out. Right after the break, you gave the impression that you were going for a forward position, but you still left yourself room to drop back and settle into a gradual good spot. That was a good decision. But while you were in mid-pack, you clearly saw the pace up ahead starting to tilt forward. Why did you keep your speed unchanged?"
As he spoke, his finger pointed toward the fourth corner.
"Look at where you ended up there. To get clear, you forced yourself all the way out into the fifth lane. Choosing to push from the fifth lane means you believe your strength in this training race is clearly a tier above everyone else's."
King Halo pressed her lips together.
A race was one continuous flow. A single misjudgment in one section could easily erase what had once been a winning chance.
"You need to understand this: before you become overwhelmingly strong, you have to consider your leg speed and your final burst. If those do not match your overall strength, the result will be failure."
King Halo nodded again.
Her gaze drifted toward the backs of Sakura Laurel and the others as they left. Only then did she suddenly understand why the mares ahead of her, when she had launched from the far outside, had shown no concern at all. Even the mares she was about to overtake at the front had felt no urge to accelerate.
If you wanted to launch a sweeping attack from the outside, you had to start building speed earlier. You had to give yourself enough momentum to overcome the limitations of the turn. But the mares on the inside did not need to do that. They could afford to wait, to hold back, to choose the most comfortable moment to accelerate.
"You can already find a decent acceleration point now. That's a very good sign. But just like textbook knowledge and experience, it's usually the latter that matters more in actual battle. You need to make the acceleration point that suits you best work more effectively."
As Shinji spoke, King Halo nodded. Compared to before, the biggest difference in this phase of training was that her body was no longer quite so exhausted. But from a mental standpoint, the strain had multiplied several times over.
"That's enough for today. Go prepare yourself properly for tomorrow's simulation race."
King Halo looked at the notebook in Shinji's hands as he closed it. Until now, he had not even told her when the simulation would be. Only now did she finally learn the date.
Today's training had been hard. In truth, all of these recent days had been hard.
"You don't need to worry about recovery. I already controlled today's workload for you. The reason I'm only telling you now is because I don't want you overthinking it."
Whatever Holy Halo might have started imagining once she heard the news, Shinji did not particularly care to know. He only knew that keeping her completely focused on training was enough.
As for the simulation race, if it was a simulation, then her mindset was naturally part of what was being tested. She had to get over that obstacle herself.
King Halo looked at the man's face. Beside her, Twin Turbo had finally managed to get back to her feet and walked over too.
These days of sparring had made the two of them somewhat familiar with each other, even if King Halo was not good at socializing. Twin Turbo simply talked too much for familiarity not to happen. They were not exactly close, but they were at least no longer strangers.
"Do your best tomorrow."
Twin Turbo's words made King Halo want to answer with all the confidence and force she could muster. In the end, though, she felt that victory would speak louder.
"...Mm."
"Even if you don't have the kind of shocking talent Offside Trap showed me back then, I do recognize your effort."
The words left King Halo feeling strangely conflicted.
All her life, she had been called a genius. Even when she had kept losing simulation races, even when she had clashed so badly with those trainers, what people criticized was usually her personality and attitude.
Goodbye Halo had indeed become the heaviest shackle on her body. But at the same time, she had also become a symbol. No one had ever been willing to believe that King Halo herself might simply lack talent.
Yet here was this mare, after only a few training sessions together, bluntly calling her the hardworking type, the same as herself, rather than someone blessed with exceptional natural talent.
It should have made her feel absurd.
For so long she had yearned for someone to acknowledge her effort, and now the first recognition she received came only after her talent had effectively been denied.
And yet, unexpectedly, it did not make her feel much resentment.
Perhaps because the "talent" people had always attached to her was just another shadow of her mother's. If what replaced it was effort that belonged entirely to her, then perhaps she ought to be happy.
She only nodded, then turned her eyes toward the training grounds outside.
Tomorrow, at one of those tracks, she would face another simulation race.
And this time, whether it was for her dream, or for proof, she could list any number of reasons. But in the end, victory was where all of those reasons converged.
She was going to win.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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