Dream Weaver opened her eyes in the darkness. It sounded strange to describe it this way, but she did feel a certain familiarity with this empty, all-encompassing black.
Having played out so many script missions within this space, the darkness and this cold, lonely void felt less like emptiness and more like a harbor of harvest and reward.
Returning here, Dream Weaver felt the relaxation of one who had just completed a journey.
Just as her thoughts began to drift in the dark, that ever-present mechanical system prompt chimed once more by her ear.
[Main storyline mission completed. Calculating rewards.]
As the cold voice faded, that semi-transparent blue screen materialized before Dream Weaver's eyes once again.
--+--
[Script Mission: The First Triple Crown Throne]
[Mission: Completed]
[Mission Evaluation: S+ Grade]
[Description: Dreams, passion, hope—these things that should exist on the racetrack, yearned for by countless Uma Musume and spectators, were replaced by a cold, utilitarian doctrine of victory.
This was a frigid world, a distorted one. If such cycles were allowed to continue, a true monster might one day be born.
But fortunately, that longing for dreams and hope was never truly killed. A single spark was enough to remind people why they stepped onto the track in the first place.
People's expectations of you were meant to be that spark.
Yet no one imagined you wouldn't be a fleeting ember, but a roaring blaze destined to change everything.
The old era burned in your victories. Within the fervor of dreams and hope, the gates of a new age swung open because of you.
Congratulations, Uma Musume who changed the world.]
--+--
[S+ Grade Rewards: 15000 SP + Skill Awakening Scroll × 2]
[Special Item Unlocked]
[Highest Evaluation Achieved]
[Hidden Item Unlocked]
--+--
Looking at the description, longer than any previous mission summary, Dream Weaver blinked in mild surprise.
She had expected a high evaluation for this script mission, but thought it would cap at an S grade, like her previous "Northern Family" run.
She never anticipated an S+ grade, even achieving the highest evaluation and unlocking a so-called hidden item.
After reading the description twice carefully, Dream Weaver rested her chin on her hand in thought.
'Reaching the highest evaluation was probably because, during the final Kikuka Sho, I didn't just stand by and let Shinzan hand me the victory, right?'
Based on her understanding of the summary, since her goal was to change the world, she naturally shouldn't leave anyone behind who was trapped by the old era's constraints.
Shinzan, bound by immense pressure, unable to pursue victory from the heart, forced to seek failure for a greater goal, was clearly someone she needed to save.
If Dream Weaver had chosen to ignore Shinzan's plight, she likely wouldn't have achieved the highest evaluation.
However, the cost of extending that help was facing an opponent of unprecedented strength.
At the thought, Dream Weaver let out a soft sigh.
'But I suppose that trial was necessary for the highest evaluation.'
'It'd be too easy if a few words were all it took to get the top rank.'
After all, just recalling the recently concluded Kikuka Sho sent a shiver of residual fear through her.
Shinzan was worthy of being the most powerful Uma Musume in that script world.
Even though Dream Weaver started with near-invincible inherited stats and later boosted her training efficiency with several items, she still couldn't reach Shinzan's level.
She had triggered every available item effect, used every usable skill, and even employed Kindling Flames to push herself to her absolute peak state.
Yet, Shinzan still opened up a despair-inducing five-length lead.
If the hidden effect of Nirvana hadn't triggered, the outcome of that Kikuka Sho would have undoubtedly been Dream Weaver's defeat.
Winning in such a manner was far too close for comfort. Even now, Dream Weaver could hardly believe she had gambled on and found the one and only solution.
Unconsciously, she murmured the name of the skill that had granted her victory.
"Nirvana… it truly lives up to its name."
Dream Weaver whispered, her tone laced with awe.
Such a powerful effect practically shattered her understanding of purple-tier skills.
Whether it was Tokyo Swift, Intuition, or Kindling Flames, none could come close to Nirvana's potency.
This exaggerated enhancement even made Dream Weaver wonder if there might be a tier above purple skills.
Like in those old fantasy games, where beyond Epic (Purple) lay Legendary (Gold).
Or if it were a mobile game, maybe there was a red tier? Like how above SSR there's UR and SP.
Her thoughts wandered a bit, but she quickly reined them back to focus on Nirvana's effect.
Resting her chin in her hand, she pondered.
'But thinking about it carefully, it's somewhat reasonable. The conditions to trigger Nirvana's hidden effect are just too harsh.'
'Pushing myself to the absolute limit wasn't even enough to trigger it. If I had been a few seconds later back then, I probably would have blacked out and collapsed. Yet even that state couldn't activate Nirvana.'
Perhaps only by brushing against death itself could the flames of Nirvana be ignited.
In fact, without Kindling Flames, the effect that traded vitality for power, Dream Weaver might never have triggered Nirvana's hidden effect at all.
After all, truly burning out on the racetrack isn't so simple.
If she hadn't trained with such self-destructive madness before facing T.M. Opera O in that first script world, the ending might have been different.
Given that she hadn't faced death again in the subsequent two scripts, it seemed genuinely difficult to achieve that complete burnout on the track.
'I must have a real talent for burning out,' Dream Weaver mused internally, a hint of irony in her own thoughts.
After all, others likely didn't have her... experience in accumulating such expertise. Could she already be considered a specialist in this field?
Completely unaware of how infernal such expertise was, Dream Weaver nodded with a touch of pride.
She probably felt she had discovered something she was good at.
But she didn't let herself linger in this self-satisfaction. She patted her cheeks, reminding herself there were more important matters at hand.
"System, show me the information on the item rewarded for this mission."
The sole item rewarded for the main mission of this script—it was one of the goals Dream Weaver had pursued across several script worlds, finally grasping it now.
The reward and proof for winning the Classic Triple Crown races—
The Proof of Triple Crown.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.