The Winter Dream Cup drew to a close with the Emperor's Winner's Stage performance.
It also marked the end of one year and the beginning of another.
Barbatos sat in the Tokyo Racecourse infirmary, gritting her teeth against the pain shooting through her legs.
Even with [Heal] used, pushing past her limits on that final stretch had made leg injuries almost inevitable.
Yet, even so, she had lost the Dream Cup.
Lost completely.
Compared to the sting of defeat, the pain in her legs seemed almost trivial.
Since they were still at Tokyo Racecourse, it was the same doctor who had treated her last time, the one most familiar with her condition.
"You're actually quite lucky, given the circumstances," the doctor remarked.
"Running at that speed during a race, I thought you'd need at least a year of rest."
After all, Barbatos had shown speed far greater than even during the Tokyo Sports Hai Junior Stakes.
"How long until I'm fully recovered, Doctor?"
"Depends on the individual. Usually, it takes about three to four months to heal properly."
"The right leg has a severe sprain, which won't take that long."
"But the left leg has a minor fracture. Three months of rest is mandatory."
The doctor smiled slightly. "Don't worry. If your rehab goes smoothly, you should make it in time for the Oka Sho."
As a specialist in treating Uma Musume and the resident doctor at Tokyo Racecourse, he understood their obsession with races all too well. The Oka Sho was one of the most important events in the first half of the next year.
It was the first leg of the Triple Tiara.
The Oka Sho, the Japanese Oaks, and the Shuka Sho—these were the tests that measured an Uma Musume's skill and the glory they sought.
A prime chance to grow their fanbase and secure tickets to the Takarazuka Kinen and the Arima Kinen.
Hmm...
The doctor glanced at Barbatos again. For an ordinary Uma Musume, that would be true. But Barbatos probably didn't need to worry about such things.
Even if her fanbase halved and halved again after the Winter Dream Cup, she'd still likely be guaranteed entry into both the Takarazuka Kinen and the Arima Kinen.
The real question was, how many more high-intensity races could she run?
As the doctor at Tokyo Racecourse, he'd seen plenty of Uma Musume retire due to leg injuries, their careers cut short.
There had even been cases where pushing too hard had led to fatal outcomes.
If possible, he wished no Uma Musume ever had to visit him, that they could all run their careers happily and injury-free.
But that was nearly impossible.
Even though Uma Musume were physically tougher than humans, their speed was also far greater, making accidents more likely.
"Three months, huh?"
The trainer standing nearby quickly analyzed the situation.
Next year's Oka Sho was in early April. Three months meant Barbatos wouldn't be fully recovered until at least March. One month for rehab—theoretically, that should be fine.
The main issue was that this was already Barbatos's second leg injury in a short span.
And yet, as her trainer, he felt utterly powerless.
He had witnessed Barbatos's efforts during the Winter Dream Cup, knew she'd been training off-campus with Seiun Sky, pushing herself with high-intensity workouts beyond her usual weighted runs.
And still, she had lost.
As her trainer, he couldn't offer any useful advice.
'It really is my fault as a trainer, isn't it? I can't give Barbatos any effective guidance.'
Even if this Winter Dream Cup loss wasn't directly his fault, even if swapping her trainer for someone like Toujou Hana wouldn't have changed the outcome, Minamizaka still couldn't help but blame himself.
"I understand."
"Thank you, Doctor."
Barbatos replied politely.
An injury like this wouldn't affect her much. She would definitely make it to the Oka Sho.
If she wanted to recover fully, it would only take two days—just two uses of [Heal].
Or she could buy a Mundo and heal all her injuries completely within a single day.
What she needed now was to reflect on what went wrong in the Winter Dream Cup, to grow stronger, so that next year she could face the Emperor and the others head-on, fair and square.
Once you've tasted victory, you never want to experience defeat again.
Right now, it felt less like a loss and more like she'd taken a massive fall.
Her classmates, friends, teammates, fans from both China and Japan—they'd all been there in person or watching live, cheering her on.
Online, countless supporters had rooted for her to defeat the Emperor.
She'd even told Seiun Sky she would beat one or two of the legendary Uma Musume.
And in the end...
Could she blame the system for failing? The system hadn't changed; she just hadn't noticed its limits before.
Or rather, after transmigrating to this world and awakening the system, even though she'd trained in secret, before specialized training with seniors like Tamamo Cross, she'd only done daily weighted runs.
Because her natural talent as an Uma Musume was poor, she'd poured more energy into League of Legends.
Relying on the system to improve, to become stronger.
But she had relied on it too much.
That was why, when the system "failed," she was instantly exposed. Even with [Spite] forcing her to persist, with her desperate desire to win pushing her past her exhausted limits to cross the finish line.
But what if the system vanished one day?
Would that mean she'd be completely exposed, with no trace left of the confident, spirited Barbatos?
This race had made her see clearly what she was lacking.
An Uma Musume's speed is limited by their innate talent. Those with average talent have a lower speed ceiling, incomparable to the dazzling legendary Uma Musume.
But there is one thing that remains the same for everyone.
And that's stamina!
Of course, there are exceptionally gifted Uma Musume born with monstrous stamina, showing extraordinary talent in long-distance races from a young age.
But stamina isn't restricted by talent!
If she had done more stamina training before the Winter Dream Cup, would the result have been different?
For other Uma Musume, excessive weight or overly intense training could affect their physical condition, and those unlucky might even suffer fractures or other injuries during practice.
But she didn't need to worry about that.
Using the system to improve herself—that way, even if the system one day truly "failed" or disappeared...
She would undoubtedly become much weaker, but she wouldn't be the same as she was at the very beginning.
Next year, she'd try challenging some middle to long-distance races!
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, 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.