In short, Luo Cheng has transmigrated.
He went out to buy groceries, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was in an unfamiliar office. On a new wooden desk, still covered in a protective film, was a copy of the "Uma Musume Trainer's Manual."
He had clearly transmigrated to the world of Uma Musume, a world with no chakra or Oripathy, just a group of cute girls who want to race every day. Judging by the danger level of transmigration, Uma Musume should be one of the safest worlds.
However, while others transmigrated to a realistic world with a similar setting, Luo Cheng transmigrated to a game world—or to be more precise, a world that was half-real, half-game.
Every person had a status bar above them showing their [Mood], [Stats], [Affection], and [Skills]. This wasn't the only strange part. When Luo Cheng went to greet these beautiful girls with ears and tails, they would respond, "Good morning, Trainer." But when he tried to ask them anything else, they would act as if they hadn't heard him and just walk back to their classrooms. Everyone was like this.
Luo Cheng described it as half-real and half-game because he was the only player. He could only have simple interactions with the characters. When he said, "Good morning," they would react, but if he said, "You dropped something," they would be unresponsive. They couldn't understand anything outside of the system's settings.
Luo Cheng tried to see if it was the same outside the academy, but the world was sealed off; he couldn't take a single step outside. A transparent wall—an air wall—prevented him from leaving. He was trapped and forced to act as a "trainer."
"Trainer, what's today's training plan?"
A pony-girl with a ponytail entered the room. She had incredibly fair skin, cheeks so tender they looked like they could be pinched, beautiful sky-blue eyes, and a lively brown ponytail. A crescent-shaped white streak was in her hair, and her name, Tokai Teio, was displayed in a status bar above her head.
Seeing her in person for the first time, Luo Cheng was speechless; this pony-girl was much cuter than her game model. Unlike the others, Tokai Teio would respond to Luo Cheng's commands, but only if he started the command with, "Today's training plan is..." Just like an in-game command, as long as he added that phrase, Tokai Teio would do it.
But there were limitations. Luo Cheng could order her to do push-ups but not to solve Fermat's Last Theorem. He could order her to move her tongue but not to say what was on her mind. If anything involved language or thought, Tokai Teio would immediately short-circuit. She was like a semi-intelligent robot that only received commands.
After ordering Tokai Teio to run ten laps on the training ground, Luo Cheng pushed her down onto the sofa and took off her shoes. During this, Tokai Teio was like a doll, not moving at all.
Her green stamina bar decreased slightly, and her speed increased from [90] to [91].
However, none of this mattered. Luo Cheng looked at the sneakers in his hand. The heat from her feet had evaporated and circulated inside the shoes from running for so long. As he took them off, a puff of warm air escaped, enveloping his fingers. The white socks were soaked with sweat, leaving faint yellow marks, and a faint, sweet, and sour scent of sweat filled the air.
This only proved one thing: the people in this world had physiological reactions. They weren't just models; they were real people. They just followed the logic of a game.
Luo Cheng took off Tokai Teio's socks, revealing her rosy, delicate toes. When he touched them, her toes instinctively curled slightly. When he let go, Tokai Teio quickly stood up and, barefoot, left the room. Her status bar now showed [Hungry].
At mealtime, the Uma Musume would go to the cafeteria. They would chat and talk like normal people, but Luo Cheng couldn't join in. They wouldn't react to him; the same was true for the cafeteria staff. At that moment, Luo Cheng understood that he was an entity outside of this world, the "player."
Luo Cheng buried his head in his hands in disbelief, confirming it countless times, but this was the reality he was experiencing. Why was his transmigration different from everyone else's? He had no idea how long this situation would last.
With a mix of excitement and anxiety, Luo Cheng began his life at Tracen Academy.
Three months passed in a flash. Luo Cheng lay on the office sofa, using Tokai Teio's lap as a pillow. Teio, though young, had surprisingly shapely thighs—soft, supple, and perfectly contoured. Lying on them felt like his head was sinking into a cloud, and the taste was just as amazing. Sometimes, Luo Cheng would like to sleep on her lap, but it would make Teio's mood drop and her stamina recovery get cut in half the next day.
"Trainer, what's today's training plan?"
"Today's training plan is to sit here obediently."
"Yes."
Luo Cheng shifted his body, burying his face between Teio's thighs. A sweet citrus scent filled his nostrils. This wasn't from her clothes or laundry detergent; it was Teio's natural scent. He had already tested that beautiful girls smelled sweet, except after exercise.
After a workout, they had a salty and sour smell.
Speaking of exercise, he had to complain about the system's logic for these girls. If their underwear or clothes got dirty, they would clean them themselves. But if he hung something on them or stripped them naked, they wouldn't react. It seemed those actions were outside the system's scope.
He couldn't figure out the logical rules for these Uma Musume.
But it was convenient that they cleaned themselves, otherwise, they would definitely have a strange smell. Even beautiful girls emit a stale odor after exercise, which, combined with their natural scent, created a unique, indescribable smell. At first, it was a bit unpleasant, but over time, it became addictive. Luo Cheng had gotten addicted to it several times, which was a little frightening.
"Teio, talk to me for a bit..." Luo Cheng mumbled, stroking Teio's thigh.
After so much time, Luo Cheng found that only Tokai Teio was under his command. When he tried to command others, a semi-transparent dialogue box would pop up, saying, [Not currently assigned as your (trainer)]. But he didn't know how to sign a contract, and even physically forcing them to sign it didn't work.
What was the purpose of him being here? To play a real-life dating simulator and get cozy with beautiful girls? He had no purpose, so he just did whatever came to mind, training them like in the Uma Musume game. During this time, Tokai Teio's stats—speed, stamina, power, guts, and intelligence—had all grown significantly, all above 120.
Even in a dating simulator, he couldn't spend all his time on lust; his body wouldn't be able to handle it. In his boring moments, Luo Cheng would read the trainer's book. According to the manual, the main objective in this world was to win races, but Luo Cheng wondered what would happen if he lost—would he disappear or get to start over? Luo Cheng was used to expecting the worst.
According to the "Uma Musume Trainer's Manual" on the desk, the race was coming up soon. If he lost, maybe he would just vanish.
But perhaps it wouldn't matter even if he disappeared. This world seemed lively on the surface but was dead silent. Luo Cheng couldn't feel any "vitality" from these people. There was no conversation, no interaction, no reaction, no feedback. Nothing.
Looking at the darkening sky outside the window, Luo Cheng closed his eyes. Every day, he dreamed that he would wake up and the world would be normal again. He was sick of this life, confined to a narrow world like a bird in a cage. He was on the verge of a breakdown.
He planned to sleep on Teio's lap tonight. Although he had tried to find others, they would just lie on the bed like dolls, motionless. At least he could order Teio to do squats on him.
During his time trapped in Tracen, the academy's over 2,000 students had all become tools for him to pass the time. If it weren't for the constant novelty of a new student every day, Luo Cheng would have been driven insane by this world. There was no internet or electronic devices he could use. All screens were pure white, like untextured models. Luo Cheng felt he was being assimilated into this world, becoming a puppet with a body but no soul.
As the night grew late and the clock passed midnight, a bell rang in the dim world, and a dialogue box popped up in Luo Cheng's mind.
[Story Quest Triggered: Debut Race]
...
"Trainer... Trainer! Wake up, you lazy bum!"
He groggily opened his eyes, and various colors reassembled before him. Soon, Luo Cheng saw the pony-girl with puffed-out cheeks pushing on his shoulder—Tokai Teio.