Hearing that, Kuroha froze on the spot, still holding his phone up in midair.
Speak of the devil and he calls… and in this way, too?
Listening to the torrent of questions pouring out from the other end of the line, he once again confirmed his guess.
Teio's voice really had become a little clearer, a little brighter.
It had shed some of its childish tone and picked up a distinctly girlish quality.
"Teio, calm down first." Kuroha spoke softly, cutting off the barrage of questions that was almost excited enough to crack her voice.
"Deep breath. Say it slowly."
"Okay!"
A deliberately loud breathing sound came from the other end, and very soon Teio's voice rang out again.
"I'm calm now, Trainer, but! I really did get taller!"
"This morning when I got up, the legs on my pajamas were suddenly short! Mama measured me and, today, I'm a full three centimeters taller!! Three centimeters!!"
Three centimeters in one night?
Kuroha nodded slightly, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
Just like McQueen. Looks like True Blooming is pretty much guaranteed.
"And! And!"
Teio's voice went up another octave. "I feel like I'm overflowing with power! My legs feel super light!"
"Trainer, this is that 'True Blooming' you talked about, right? Is this finally the start of my undefeated legend?!"
The girl's voice was brimming with joy.
"…"
Kuroha stayed silent for two seconds, then couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle. "From the sound of it, the odds are very high, Teio."
"Right, right!" Teio all but flew from happiness after getting his confirmation.
"Alright, listen to me."
Kuroha's tone quickly switched into professional mode. "Are you in your dorm room right now?"
"Mm! I just got up."
"Good. I'm heading over to the training track now. Wash up and come over in about twenty minutes."
"Roger, Trainer! I'll be right there! Waaah—! The invincible Teio-sama is heading out!"
Click.
The phone was hung up in a burst of excitement.
"…"
Kuroha stared at the screen, at a loss for words. "That impatient streak of hers really is incurable."
He lifted his head to look at the cold morning sky and exhaled a puff of white breath.
"But now… things at Central are about to get lively again."
Teio's True Blooming.
It was the herald of the Golden Generation's arrival.
Starting from this, the powerhouses of Central Tracen Academy would appear in droves, and only grow ever stronger.
For the entire era, a brand-new chapter was about to begin.
At that thought, Kuroha stopped his leisurely stroll, picked up his pace, and jogged off toward the Mejiro training track.
The "new beginning" he had been quietly laying the groundwork for…
It seemed it would arrive earlier than expected, and hit far harder than he had planned.
…
A short while later, at the Mejiro training track.
The morning track was vast and quiet, a thin veil of mist still clinging to the air, and not a soul on the dirt.
When Kuroha arrived, the huge facility held only him.
He didn't rush to do anything. He simply stood by the rail of the track, quietly waiting.
Before long, a rapid, springy set of footsteps came nearer and nearer.
"Trainer—! I'm here!"
With a crisp shout, a small figure whirled into the training ground like a gust of wind.
Teio hadn't even bothered changing into her training gear. She was just wearing a set of casual sportswear that was easy to move in, her face full of barely concealed excitement.
The crescent-shaped forelock on her bangs seemed to be swaying more energetically than usual.
Kuroha turned around, his gaze falling on her. Starlight flashed in his eyes.
At the same time, the system panel opened in front of him.
[Tokai Teio]
[Track Aptitude: Turf A, Dirt C]
[Distance Aptitude: Short F, Mile A, Medium S, Long S]
[Running Style Aptitude: Front Runner A, Pace Chaser A, Late Surger D, End Closer F]
[Unique Skill: Ultimate Teio Step Lv 3]
[Domain: Awakening]
[Skills: Prudent Positioning, Thunderbolt Step, Shrewd Step, Technician, Go with the Flow, Concentration, Wet Conditions ◯, Corner Adept, Maintain the Lead, Hill Climber, Long-Distance Straightaways ◯…]
[Speed: 306, Stamina: 283, Power: 272, Gut: 362, Wit: 311]
…?
What kind of bugged out numbers are these?
Kuroha's eyes widened.
He had thought McQueen's numbers were outrageous enough at the moment of her True Blooming, but this… this was even more ridiculous.
Each of the five stats was about ten points higher than McQueen's at her own True Blooming.
So this was the advantage you got from grooming a Uma's athletic ability from childhood?
With a foundation like this to train on…
Teio would probably be able to match Inari One's attributes from the beginning of her Senior Year as soon as she set foot into her Classic year.
In other words, she would be starting from that level!
For reference, even McQueen right now only had just over seven hundred combined stats.
This was the highest-talent Uma Musume of the entire Golden Generation in the flesh…
Kuroha walked up to Teio.
He looked at the girl in front of him, her tiny fists clenched, leaning toward him in excitement.
The brown hair and blue eyes, the crescent bang she had inherited from her "Symboli Rudolf" bloodline.
And that subtly delicate height of barely 150 centimeters, even after her body had developed through True Blooming.
But just from a single glance, Kuroha's Body and Breath Perception told him everything he needed to know.
It wasn't just that her numbers had changed.
Something else, on a deeper level, was completely different too.
If the Teio from before had been a sword not yet drawn from its scabbard…
Then now, the aura befitting a true "Emperor" had begun to sprout from within her.
Her limbs looked longer and more balanced, her entire figure having shed the last of its childishness, like a finely polished blade on the verge of flashing out of its sheath.
"How is it, how is it?"
Teio took the initiative to grab Kuroha's hand and gave it a friendly shake, then asked with sparkling expectation, "Don't I feel totally different? Super cool, right? Super stylish, right?"
"…Yeah."
Kuroha looked into those eyes that seemed to shine with their own internal light and smiled. "Indeed… your aura and your posture are both completely different."
"Looks like the groundwork we laid really paid off. One night was all you needed to complete your molt."
"Hehe!"
Teio swayed her hips proudly. "Of course! I am Teio-sama!"
"Talk is cheap without proof."
Kuroha clapped his hands lightly, his expression turning calm. "Didn't you say you feel like you're full of power, and that your legs are really light now?"
He pointed toward the track. "Don't go too fast. Jog two laps. Let me see what your condition is like."
"Got it! Watch me!"
Teio didn't hesitate at all and bolted toward the track.
She hopped in place once, then looked down at her own legs in surprise.
"You feel like you can jump higher than before, don't you?" Kuroha said with a smile.
Teio nodded, stamping her feet on the ground. "I feel like I can run so, so fast…"
Hearing this, a hint of satisfaction rose in Kuroha's chest.
This was exactly what he had spent the past two years planning and cultivating for Teio and McQueen.
McQueen's training emphasized stamina.
Teio's, on the other hand, had focused on the toughness and strength of her ankles.
Now, after the baptism of True Blooming, that training was finally showing the effect it deserved.
Teio spent a short while familiarizing herself with her new, powerful body, then habitually finished her warm-up routine.
After that, she took her place on the starting line.
"Very good."
The girl's eyes were razor sharp and focused.
This was her first time running in her True Blooming state.
"Tokai Teio is about to sortie!!!"
At Kuroha's order—
Boom—!
The ground seemed to tremble for an instant.
Teio only pushed off lightly, yet her entire body shot forward like she'd been launched from a catapult!
Even though she was "just" jogging, her strides opened up effortlessly, every step infused with astonishing spring and coordination.
Her footwork was like a dance, growing lighter and smoother with each stride.
Like a fledgling eagle that had finally cast off all restraints to soar in the sky for the very first time.
"…"
Kuroha watched in silence, the shock in his heart impossible to put into words.
What a terrifying talent…
Her speed stat on the panel was only a bit over 300.
Yet even without going all out, and without entering Domain, just at this "cruising" pace she was already casually hitting something like 380 in practice.
Was this normal?
"No wonder that, in the original history, every time Teio ran a race that was too demanding, she'd end up injured afterward."
"Those naturally soft ankles of hers give her explosive power that's beyond imagination."
"When she goes all out without regard for bodily damage, I estimate her speed jumps by nearly 150 points in one burst."
Kuroha watched the figure flying down the track, thinking to himself.
What did a 150-point jump in speed actually mean?
Under normal circumstances, even after stepping into the second stage of Domain, most Uma Musume would only reach around 200 speed points in conversion.
In other words, Teio was born with an extra Domain-level burst of acceleration compared to everyone else!
"Stop."
She had only done one lap when Kuroha called her back.
"Eh? That's it already?"
Teio slowed to a trot and ran back over. Her cheeks were flushed red, but her breathing was still as steady as ever. "Trainer, I feel like I could run all day!"
"I believe you."
Kuroha drew in a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his chest.
"But now isn't the time for you to keep running."
He turned and walked toward the trainers' room at the side.
"True Blooming means your body's structure has changed at a fundamental level. I'm going to draw up a brand-new training program for you."
Kuroha chuckled. "This is the start of your undefeated career, after all. We need to treat it with proper seriousness."
"Undefeated…"
At that word, Teio's eyes lit up instantly. She practically glued herself to his side.
"That's awesome! Bring it on, Trainer! The invincible Teio-sama is already ready to conquer everything!"
In that moment.
The undefeated Emperor was logging into the world.
(End of Chapter)
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