Tracen Central Academy is strange.
Not in any sinister way, nor anything that warranted any serious concern; this wasn't Silent Hill after all.
Rather, it was the fact that Tracen Central is, as its name implies, an academy. An institution dedicated to teaching the younger generation. It just happened to be that the school placed training and racing above everything else. Which meant that things here didn't quite work like a normal school would.
For one, there were no classes. Sure, we had homeroom class, and a few mandatory lessons here and there, but we had most of the day free to ourselves. Such free time would normally be negative, but this meant the students and their trainers could dedicate all that time to actually training for the races they would compete in.
With that in mind, it suddenly became clear why a few of the umamusume were…not the smartest. It was why girls like Special Week could remain enrolled despite her less-than-stellar test scores, or why a respectable school record wasn't a requirement for Team Kitahara to enroll in Tracen Central. I'm pretty sure Tracen Central would become a ghost town if that was implemented.
Honestly, it was a damn miracle that most umamusume wasn't intellectually challenged in some way. Aside from a few cases, most umamusume were actually rather smart, and there were even a few standouts. Even Gold Ship, chaos incarnate as she is, was noted to be incredibly smart in many aspects.
Maybe this was just the blessing of the Three Goddesses? To make sure this whole world didn't just collapse in on itself?
…maybe I should stop quoting the Three Goddesses for everything. They'd probably get tired if I kept going.
"Star-san?"
I blinked. "Ah, Belno." I smiled. "Are you done resting?"
Belno chuckled weakly. "W-Well, I think I've rested enough, at least." She pumped herself up. "I can't fall behind you or Oguri after all!" She said confidently, though she quickly deflated when I grinned and patted her on the head. "S-Star-san…"
I just shrugged, though her mentioning Oguri got me curious. "Where is she by the way?"
Belno hummed. "I think she's with Musaka-san right now." She tilted her head. "In Track 4, if I remember."
I nodded. Tracen Central had multiple tracks to make sure everyone could run without crowding into each other. Musaka was likely giving Oguri some pointers to prepare her for her upcoming [Pegasus Stakes], since unlike me, Oguri only had a couple weeks before her next race.
As for Belno and I, since Musaka was busy with Oguri and Kitahara was…somewhere, we were training on our own.
Normally Belno wouldn't be training with me. Not because we didn't like each other or anything, but rather because I was perhaps the worst opponent Belno could have. Her tactics relied on exploiting many of the common instincts umamusume relied on during our races, and I just didn't have those instincts. It also didn't help that I was a Frontrunner, making it even harder for her to attempt to drag me into her pace.
Still, that didn't mean we couldn't train together. We could still race against each other to build our strength. Belno might be a technical runner, but she still needed to run if she wanted to implement her infamous tactics against her competitors.
"Well then," I grinned as I began walking back to the starting line. "Why don't we have another race?" I winked. "And don't worry, I'll keep pace this time. Honest."
Belno looked entirely unimpressed. "That's what you said the last two times, Star-san."
"Tehe~"
Belno sighed before she followed me to the starting line. Once we were both there, I gave the turf below me a few good kicks. It was fascinating how different it felt to run on turf instead; unlike the dirt I was used to back in Kasamatsu, the turf here was hard. It wasn't quite like running on solid stone, but it was close.
It was only on tracks like this where Oguri could fully unleash her monstrous strength. Before, her foot would always sink into the dirt due to how much force she could put out, but here?
It was here where she would truly become the Gray Monster.
"Turf Track, 2000m in length. It's a sunny day, free of any clouds." I droned out, copying the usual script the announcers would always say before a race. "1st Bracket; No.1, Blossom Star."
"2nd Bracket; No. 2, Belno Light." Belno continued, taking a deep breath as she bent her knee, ready to leap forward. "All runners have entered their gates!"
I smiled.
One. Two.
Three!
I shot forward, rushing forward like I usually do and quickly settling in 1st place. Though this time, as I promised, I made sure to slow down just enough that I wasn't speeding off into the distance. Belno was just behind me, running with all her might to not let the gap between us widen even more.
Alas, this test race wasn't anything too draining, and so my mind inevitably began to wander.
As of now, my Speed had nearly caught up with my Stamina. I could likely stop focusing all my training on increasing it. Instead, it was now my Power that was lacking. It might not be as important as Speed—I was a Frontrunner after all—but I still needed Power if I wanted to take the lead during the first few seconds of a race.
And it wasn't just that.
The weather was unpredictable, and it was entirely possible for the track to be wet even days after a day of rain. Wet tracks were especially hazardous, since the inner corner of the track would always become muddy or outright flooded at times. It basically prevented anyone from running right next to the railing—the most efficient path on the track.
This hadn't mattered much back in Kasamatsu. I could fly so far ahead that I would still be in the lead even without using the most efficient path.
But this was Central. My future competitors would be much stronger, and I would have to leverage everything I could.
There was a Skill I could purchase from the SP Shop that'd help me with that, but considering I was already saving my SP for that {Mile Affinity Up}, it just wasn't feasible at this moment.
Hmm. I guess I could try and ask around once I had the time. Maybe someone had a strength routine I could follow.
"Star-san…!"
My ears flicked as I snapped out of my thoughts, and I only then realized that the booming steps that'd followed behind me were long gone. I quickly spun around in confusion, and a wry smile came onto my face when I saw Belno nearly a dozen lengths behind me.
I slowed to a stop and waited patiently until Belno caught up to me. And once she did, she gasped loudly before collapsing onto the track, entirely burnt out. "Aah, sorry 'bout that, Belno." I held my hand out towards her. "You good? Need any help?"
Belno glanced at me, tried to lift her hand, and then let it fall. "Y-You liar…" She complained as she weakly coughed. "You sped up again…"
"S-Sorry." I tried an apologetic smile. "But it wasn't that bad. I at least stopped-"
My words were quickly silenced when she glared at me. "We've…been running for thirty minutes."
"...sorry."
Thirty minutes of running might not be much for me, especially since I was barely running at half my maximum speed. But it wasn't so simple for Belno, who'd been running after my back at full throttle for half an hour straight.
Really, the fact that it took her this long to finally call it quite spoke volumes of her stamina.
After muttering another apology, I gently lifted her into my arms and carried her towards the stands. Belno seemed embarrassed by it, but since her tail was swaying like that, I assumed she wasn't going to kick me in the face. I set her down on one of the seats, and after buying her a can of tea from the nearby vending machine, I returned to the track to continue running.
This time, I charged forward at full speed, with {Front Runner Savvy ◎} guiding me through the most efficient path across the track.
The world around me blurred as I ran. The winds whistled as they passed me by. I felt weightless whenever I sped down a straight, before gravity would pull me back whenever I entered a corner.
It was a feeling I'd become used to, but it didn't diminish how giddy the euphoria made me feel.
Really, the more I ran as a Frontrunner, the more I came to understand why Silent Suzuka loved being in the lead like this.
And so I ran and ran. Sped across the track without care, knowing my stamina was more than enough to keep me going. The world around me had shrunk to only this turf I ran across and the winds that whistled by. Forced away all other thoughts until there was nothing in my mind but the urge to run.
Of course, it wasn't just because I enjoyed the feeling. Rather, this was something I'd been doing for a while now to try and see if I can make any leeway into unlocking the elusive [Domain].
[Domain], or also called the zone; a fairly understood concept for most athletes. It was basically a state of utmost concentration, the convergence when difficulty and joy meets the perfect cross, causing the mind to descend into a state of complete focus. It was during these moments when an athlete could perform their absolute best, forgoing any other thought that could interrupt them.
Though I don't think things were exactly the same when it came to umamusume. Perhaps a quirk of our unique biology, or a manifestation of our inner willpower, or maybe even a tangible blessing of the Three Goddesses. Whatever it was, it caused an umamusume's power to spike to levels that surpassed their previous limit.
Alas, this wasn't something explored by the manga. At most the author had mentioned that only umamusume who defined an era would possess a [Domain], though that basically meant nothing to me. So the next best thing I could do was rely on what little I already knew from my previous life.
I could also ask Symboli Rudolf or Maruzensky whenever I next met them, but they probably wouldn't share something so secret that easily.
Anyway,
I shook those thoughts away and returned my focus to the track. My legs were beginning to burn now—a sign that I'd run enough for me to exhaust most of my Stamina. Knowing that, I narrowed my eyes as I turned towards where the finish line was. I was in the third corner by this point, so it shouldn't take too long.
I maintained my pace as I ran, and the moment I barely left the fourth corner, I activated {Homestretch Haste} and quickly shot forward, speeding up into my new maximum speed. The ground below thundered with every step, and soon I crossed the finish line.
"And time!"
I blinked as I stopped, and turned to find Kitahara standing right next to the finish line. "Kitahara?"
"Took you a while." He grinned as he pulled down his cap. "Even Belno decided to go back some time ago."
I glanced at the sky. The sun was noticeably lower than it was the last time I noticed it. "Huh." I said, surprised I'd let so much time go by without even noticing it.
I wonder if…
"Star?"
I shook my head. "It's nothing." I smiled. "So? Finally freed from whatever you were doing?"
He laughed wearily. "Assistants have classes we have to attend, as it turns out." He sighed. "No wonder Roppei-san never told me. I would've ran for the hills if I knew about this."
I grinned. "So you would've left us behind?"
He grinned back. "I'll just take you all and run."
We shared a quick laugh after that, but Kitahara quickly composed himself as he cleared his throat. "Anyway, we should probably get going now. Roppei-san apparently has something he wants to talk about."
I nodded. "Lead the way then."