Hearing the voice in her head, Chen Xing drifted for a moment.
Then a spark of excitement flickered in her eyes.
Ever since she crossed into this world, years had gone by. She'd lost count of how many times she'd tried to do something with her transmigrator edge—every attempt a failure.
At first she'd fantasized like a web-novel protagonist, riding one cheat after another all the way to the top. Reality beat that out of her, failure after failure.
Until now, not only had she achieved nothing, she'd worn her indulgent older sister down to the point of collapse—hospitalized and diagnosed with asthma—leaving Chen Xing no choice but to earn medical bills by racing.
But now…
"'Shine! Uma Musume System'? That name…"
A very familiar image surfaced in her mind: a mobile game she'd been playing before she crossed over, built on the very worldview of this world.
The system UI in her head was minimal. The style was almost identical to the old game, but the carousel of Uma Musume that used to fill the screen was gone, nearly every button grayed out and unusable. Only one figure stood in the center—one she knew better than any other in this world: herself.
Next, a virtual panel unfurled before her, apparently listing Chen Xing's stats:
[Current Host Panel:
Name: Chen Xing / Stardust Mirage
Surface Aptitude: Turf A, Dirt B
Distance Aptitude: Short E, Mile A, Middle A, Long B
Runstyle Aptitude: Escape A, Presser B, Mid-Pack Chaser B, Closer A]
The numbers matched her own feel for her body: decent at everything beyond sprints, best at front-running, with other styles workable if needed.
"Right—there's also a newbie pack."
Remembering, she said in her heart, "Open the newbie pack!"
The system prompted:
[The newbie pack can only be used during training. Begin training?]
A life she'd been disappointed in a moment ago now snapped into focus. She'd already decided to make money by racing; if she'd also awakened a training system for Uma Musume—what was there to hesitate over?
"Begin training!" she shouted inwardly.
The UI blurred, and as she ran, Chen Xing felt something change throughout her body.
Every footfall landed with flawless precision; her running posture adjusted itself in micro-corrections, as if her body had memorized the proper form for her style.
Then, lines of information scrolled through her mind:
[Days until debut: 0. First half of December.
Goal: Enter the Chukyo debut race.
Stardust Mirage base stats:
Speed 399 (D+)
Stamina 220 (E)
Power 130 (F)
Guts 170 (F+)
Wisdom 100 (E)
Growth Rates: Speed +30%, others 0.
Owned Skills: 777; Corner Recovery o.
Remaining PT: 573.]
Only Speed and Stamina were above 200. She frowned.
She hadn't had a clear sense of her level before, but one look at the panel—having played that game in her past life—told her she wasn't exceptional.
From a game perspective, these stats would be passable for a July debut. But it was already early December; by this point, most runners would have at least one or two stats above 300.
Her board fell well short. Speed was nearing 400, but she had no innate unique; even her growth rates showed only Speed was presentable—practically the definition of a run-of-the-mill, second-tier Uma Musume…
Right then, the system continued:
[Newbie gift opened. Drawing for an innate unique skill!]
[Congratulations. You have obtained the exclusive unique: Miracle Runner of the Holy Night.]
"'Holy Night'?!"
Her eyes lit up. A girl with gray-white hair sprinted around a ribbon-lit course wound about a Christmas tree—Oguri Cap's silhouette.
A distinctive sequence imprinted itself in her mind: a devastating finisher that could be triggered mid-to-late race—Miracle White Star Oguri Cap, the Santa Cap ultimate!
In her last life, people argued about who was strongest in Uma Musume—but no one denied the runner who dominated for a whole era: Santa Oguri Cap, a finisher with a full year of absolute control over top-tier PvP. The "Santa Cap," one of the franchise's Three Phantom Gods—and she'd drawn it as her unique?
Judging by the description, it corresponded to the inherited version from the game, not the base unique's sweep-the-field power—but still, it was Holy Night. Nothing to complain about.
"At least I've got some backbone now."
She exhaled, eased.
"What backbone?" a puzzled voice chirped at her ear—Tokai Teio—breaking her train of thought.
At some point Chen Xing had stopped. Teio had dragged the purse-snatcher off his motorcycle and marched him over, face full of reproach.
"Why did you stop halfway?" Teio asked.
"Uh… because you were already on him? I couldn't outrun you, so I… stopped."
She couldn't say she'd been distracted by an awakened system, so she offered that instead.
"Just give up because of that…" Teio's eyes went round. "We hadn't even decided who'd won!"
"No, it's just—you caught him, so I figured you had it covered… Anyway, sorry, that was my fault!"
Seeing Teio's reaction, Chen Xing hurried to explain. She felt genuinely bad about the off-the-cuff fib; clearly she'd annoyed the girl with her cavalier attitude.
"What? Why are you apologizing…"
Faced with a taller Uma Musume bowing to her, Tokai Teio, flustered, lowered her voice.
She glanced around, returned the bag to the tearful owner, handed the thief to the arcade security, and finally cooled off. Turning back to Chen Xing, she said:
"Let's let it go this time. It wasn't a real race anyway. But in the Chukyo debut—no holding back from me… Ah, right, you still haven't told me your name!"
"My name is Stardust Mirage."
Chen Xing—no, Stardust Mirage—answered earnestly.
"Stardust Mirage… Never heard it. Are you from a local program?"
Teio searched her memory and came up empty, but still waved goodbye with a bright smile:
"See you on the track, then.
Oh—your sporting-goods shop is about a hundred meters in and left. Make sure you change into proper racing shoes, or it'll mess with your race prep."
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