At the training grounds, Luo Cheng was helping Tokai Teio adjust her posture. He held her arm, raising it high, while bending down on one knee to cradle her foot. Throughout, Tokai Teio held her body steady; her sense of balance was unparalleled among all horse girls of her generation.
By now, Luo Cheng could roughly discern which horse girls had good talent and which had average talent. It had been over half a year since he arrived in this world.
Conversations with Fumino Nase had informed Luo Cheng that becoming a trainer required at least two to three years of study, or about a year of non-stop, intense study. However, since arriving here, Luo Cheng hadn't just not studied intensely, he rarely had a quiet moment to read seriously, unless it was to solve a trainer-specific problem.
This brought to mind how he was when he first played the game—researching all sorts of information and taking notes to understand horse racing, more diligently than he ever did in class.
Could I be a natural-born trainer?
No, how could that be possible. He was merely using system privileges to forcibly dissect the training mechanics. If he were learning normally, he would have completely messed up Teio's training by now.
I'm just a half-baked trainer.
"All right, Teio, try it now."
Hearing Luo Cheng, Tokai Teio nodded, then quickly dashed off.
[Skill Acquired: Agile Stride (Contesting the track becomes slightly smoother)]
Luo Cheng had finally helped Tokai Teio acquire another skill. It hadn't been easy; he had studied with Fumino Nase for nearly half a month just to barely get Teio to learn one skill, a far cry from the game's efficiency. In the game, Luo Cheng preferred to save skill points and only spend them after the full training period, relying on the horse girl's inherent stats and unique skills to win.
Speaking of unique skills, Tokai Teio's Intelligence had reached 300, meeting the standard set by DaiLi for learning unique skills. After this training session, Luo Cheng planned to take her to the VR world to find DaiLi.
"Has she learned it?"
Fumino Nase walked up next to him, watching the distant Tokai Teio.
"Barely."
"Does that child have a trainer? Should I try to sign her?"
Luo Cheng realized then that Fumino Nase wasn't talking to him, but to herself. Even after spending so much time with her, she still couldn't perceive his presence in the game world.
"I'll go ask her later," Fumino Nase muttered.
Are you kidding me? You're trying to poach my girl.
Luo Cheng pinched Fumino's soft, springy butt, and her face instantly flushed red.
"Trainer Nase!" A frantic voice cried out as a pink-haired horse girl ran up. "Creek-senpai is hurt!"
"What?"
"Hurt?"
Hearing this, Luo Cheng and Fumino Nase rushed toward the eastern training field.
When they arrived, they saw Super Creek limping and sitting on the grass. She had taken off her shoe and was feeling her ankle.
"Creek!" Fumino Nase rushed to her side.
"Trainer..." Super Creek's eyes flickered upon seeing Fumino Nase.
"How is your foot?"
"It's fine, I just need a little rest."
Fumino Nase looked at her slightly bruised ankle and couldn't help but widen her eyes.
It's bad...
This didn't look like a recent sprain; it looked like she had kept running after the sprain, ultimately aggravating the injury.
"How long has it been?"
"What?"
"Your foot... how long has it been like this?"
Super Creek pursed her lips.
"Two weeks."
Two weeks?
Luo Cheng watched from the side. Super Creek's UI status bar showed several negative conditions, including [Severe Sprain], [Muscle Soreness], and [Pain].
I didn't even notice?
Luo Cheng had been preoccupied in the VR world playing with the AI's. He had let his guard down for a moment, neglected the outside world, and this was the result. Luo Cheng felt a pang of distress, if for no other reason than Creek was a horse girl who fit his preferences.
"Let's put some ice on it first. I'll take you to the infirmary."
No need for the infirmary, just come to my office.
Luo Cheng had some medicine in his cabinet. Applying enough of the ointment should cure Creek. Those items were cheat-level tools; Luo Cheng had already used them to instantly cure two other horse girls. This was the first time Luo Cheng had encountered multiple negative statuses, and he wasn't sure if he could cure it completely.
I'll try first.
Luo Cheng thought he had bought enough medicine, but now it seemed completely inadequate. Super Creek was one he found, but how many other horse girls were injured without him knowing? With over two thousand students at Tracen Academy, he couldn't possibly take care of everyone.
He could only prioritize the horse girls he cared about. Luo Cheng had never considered himself a good person; he was a selfish guy, doing whatever he wanted in this world. After defining himself as a "scumbag," he no longer felt pangs of conscience for anything he did.
I help these horse girls not because I'm kind, but because I treat them as my possessions. They align with my preferences, and that's all.
Luo Cheng bent down, placing one hand under Super Creek's thigh and the other under her back, lifting her up. His strength had increased significantly since he first arrived. Back then, he struggled to lift Teio, but now he could easily carry Super Creek.
Her two clean, white feet dangled in the air, and Super Creek instinctively hugged Luo Cheng's body.
"Let's go, Creek."
Fumino Nase, squatting on the ground, stared blankly at where Super Creek had been, seemingly unaware of what had just happened.
When they reached the infirmary, Luo Cheng placed her on the bed and retrieved the medicine from his office.
Holding Creek's smooth foot, Luo Cheng applied the ointment evenly to her ankle. The recovery time, which had been over half a month, quickly dropped. The [Muscle Soreness] negative effect disappeared, and [Severe Sprain] was reduced to [Mild Sprain]. Seeing this, Luo Cheng continued to increase the dosage. The recovery time changed to [168h], or seven days.
For a horse girl, this was already a very fast recovery time. Although he could shorten it further, seeing that he had used two tubes of the ointment, and not knowing when he'd enter the next story, he had to save some for emergencies. A seven-day recovery period was fine, wasn't it? All negative effects were gone, so a little training wouldn't be a problem.
Luo Cheng let out a long breath and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Trainer..."
A gentle hand embraced him from behind, circling his neck. A comforting bosom rested against his back. Turning his head, Luo Cheng saw Super Creek, who had closed her eyes peacefully and was stroking his head.
"You can call me Mama, you know~"