"Remember, no pulling your kicks. I want all of you to fall dead after this mock race."
"Please don't…"
With the summer camp ending tomorrow, the young man wants to know how far his trainees had grown during these 2 months of nonstop training. To satisfy his curiosity, the young man decided to hold a mock race for his trainees against the veterans.
"The losers have to drink five liters of kale juice while the winner will have an onsen holiday with me."
The young man casually flaunted 2 tickets for an all-paid onsen holiday he got from a raffle. The sight of the tickets gave the umamusumes the fuel to lock the fuck in.
"Now line up. I want a race where only the strongest win."
The umamusumes stretch their bodies and crack their joints to let the pain out. Since there are no gates to give a fair start, the young man is going to kick a ball since his kick makes the same noise as a gun makes.
"One… Two… Three…"
[Kaiser's Impact]
*BBBBBAAAAAAAMMMM*
The very instant the ball was kicked, Suzuka took the lead. She knows what she is best at, and she will make use of it. With the veterans in the race, Suzuka was not taking any chances. She will gain as many lengths as she could in the hope that no one has enough acceleration to catch up with her during the final stretch.
Silence Suzuka gained 1 hint for [Runaway]
She finally gained the golden green skill for Front Runner. I wonder if she can only gain those kinds of skills from a race rather than normal study.
Whatever it is, that skill is essential for a Front Runner like her.
Silence Suzuka gained 1 hint in [Dodging Danger]
Another essential skill for a Front Runner. I guess skill hints will come more often in a race.
The pack quickly separated based on their preferred running style and also experience. In order from the front to the back are Silence Suzuka, Air Groove, Tokai Teio, Symboli Rudolf, Mejiro McQueen, Mejiro Ramonu, Narita Brian, Haru Urara, and Goldship.
The fact that Urara can now keep up with them is a testament to her hard work. She would've gotten left behind several months ago even if Goldship were using the End Closer strategy.
"Pant!! Pant!! Pant!!"
But regardless, she is a Sprinter. She could never keep up with marathon runners like most of them are.
Haru Urara gained 1 hint in [Straightaway Recovery]
"Pant!! Pant!! Haah!! Haah!! Haaaah!!"
She gained a hint on how to take control of her breathing pace midrace, huh… Doesn't seem necessary for a Late Surger Sprinter, but what the hell… I wouldn't deny any advantage.
Haru Urara gained 1 hint in [A Small Breather]
Damn… She really is preparing herself for a longer race.
Mejiro McQueen gained 1 hint in [Prudent Positioning]
While the young man was focused on the smallest girl on the track, the Actress made her move to slip past Rudolf. The two of them have now switched their position on the temporary leaderboard. If this were a true race, the crowds would be rowdy from the move. Everyone would be saying that a new Emperor will be born, but the young man knows better than to underestimate the umamusume with that title.
In front of Rudolf are 4 umamusumes–a number that is more than enough to proc her ultimate skill on the last turn. And with it being at level 5, the boost she gets would be ridiculous.
She is quite the sly bitch. Letting her juniors believe that they have eclipsed her only for her to stomp those ideas into the dirt.
Her bag of tricks consists of a countable number of green skills, a few red skills, several blue skills, and a good amount of orange skills. All of it will supplement her Pace Chaser strategy and allow her to win her race skillfully rather than with raw prowess. I guess that's why she is called the Emperor and not the Monster.
Talking about the monster…
*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*
Each step of the Monster shook the ground. Her running style is Late Surger, a running style that emphasizes an umamusume's powerful kicks. Although End Closer emphasized it even more, End Closer strategy is far too risky since you will be at the bottom for most of the race, which is why most choose Late Surger if they have strong kicks.
"Huuuh… Huuuuh… Huuuh…"
There's another reason besides her raw physical prowess that earned her the title of the Monster. Her entire vibe during a race is just like a disgusting monster. During the early race and mid-race, the Monster prowls at the back of the pack and watches closely like an ambushing predator.
Poor Urara has to share the same space as that freak. I think the only reason she won is that people are afraid of what will happen to them if she doesn't.
"Since this is not an official race, how about we make it more interesting?"
Goldship gained 1 hint in [Subdued Front Runners], [Subdued Pace Chasers], and [Subdued Late Surgers]
"Oh boy… What is she planning?"
The young man dreaded while also looking forward to what Goldship was thinking. Since he was watching everything from the sidelines, he would get a front-row look at Goldship's infamous stupidity.
"Whatever it is that you are thinking of is not going to work, idiot."
Goldship activated [Anchors Aweight!] level 1
Stupid monster. The moment you answer Goldship's provocation, you already activated her trap card.
After the confirmation from Narita Brian, Goldship moved beside her with the biggest shit-eating grin on her face.
"Come on, now. Running away, are we? You act strong against those who are weaker than you but cower away like a chicken when someone strong comes knocking?"
Goldship gained 1 hint in [Subdued Late Surgers]
"Don't get too overconfident, brat. You're still weak to me."
"Oh~~? But you don't act like I am. Running away with your tails between your legs instead of answering to my call. I suppose the only reason you win the Triple Crown is that your entire generation is full of nothing but clowns."
"..."
"If I were born in your era, I would win every race with an advantage of ten lengths."
*Snap*
"Grr!"
Narita Brian activated [Shadow Break] Level 4
"Sigh… Here we go."
The Emperor's ears hear her left-hand umamusume snap. She knows very well how Narita Brian is and how short her fuse is if you say the right words.
Symboli Rudolf activated [Straightaway Acceleration] Level 3 and [Go with the Flow] Level 5.
Symboli shows McQueen and Teio that they never had the upper hand against her, as the former easily slips between the 2 and puts herself directly behind Air Groove.
Symboli Rudolf activated [Slipstream] Level 4.
She quickly took advantage of the Slipstream created by Suzuka and Air Groove, even though both of them had done everything they could to minimize the Slipstream area behind them.
There's a reason she is called the Emperor.
Mejiro Ramonu activated [Graceful Step] Level 4 and [Melt in Love's Embrace] Level 3
"You're not going to leave me alone with those brutes now, will you, Emperor? Quite harsh for the Emperor."
To put salt to injury for McQueen and Teio, the Femme Fatale sped past them and joined Rudolf and Air Groove behind Suzuka.
"Prepare to sink, Goldship."
Narita Brian activated [Preferred Position] Level 3, [Straightaway Adept] Level 4, and [Studious] Level 2.
The Monster turned Goldship into the Titanic as she effortlessly sped beyond the former's reach and made her eat the dust cloud in her wake. She then humiliated the rookies by flash-stepping through McQueen and Teio.
"Kuh…"
Mejiro McQueen activated [Hydrate] Level 1, [Slipstream] Level 1, and [Straightaway Recovery] Level 1
McQueen does lack skills to help her catch up, huh… I trained her to be able to keep her position at the front of the pack with the blue skills as the complement, but now I see the error of my ways. She has no actual technique to speed up mid-race besides the [Corner Adept] and [Corner Acceleration].
Mejiro McQueen gained 1 hint in [Tactical Tweak] and [Straightaway Adept]
If McQueen was in a bad position, Teio is in an even worse position. She doesn't have any meaningful skill she can use to help herself. She can use [Disorient], but there's only Haru Urara behind her, and what good would that do? Teio does the only thing she can do in the situation and positions herself behind McQueen.
Tokai Teio activated [Slipstream] Level 2
Tokai Teio gained 1 hint in [Go with the Flow], [Hydrate], and [Straightaway Recovery]
Did she… learn the hints from seeing others use those skills?
The young man couldn't believe himself. She swears she saw Teio's body disintegrate into thousands of puzzle pieces before reassembling itself.
"The Monster is coming, Emperor."
"Yeah… I could only thank you for being the last piece of my puzzle, Ramonu."
"Huh?"
"Ramonu!! Focus!!"
Air Groove knows very well Rudolf's tone changed and what it heralds. Ramonu was so focused on the incoming Monster that she took her eyes off the Emperor beside her, and when she returned her focus, Rudolf was already behind her. In doing so, there are now 3 umamusumes in front of her as they enter the last corner.
Symboli Rudolf activated [Professor of Curvature] Level 1, [Prepared to Pass] Level 4, [Corner Acceleration] Level 5, and [Pace Chaser Corners] Level 4.
Rudolf spams her orange skills and, with ease, passes the 3 runners in front of her and, in doing so, activates her ultimate skill.
Symboli Rudolf activated [Behold Thine Emperor's Divine Might] Level 7.
*THUMP*
Suzuka had the front-row seat to show how massive the gap between her and the best is. With one final kick, the Emperor gaped the distance between them to 5 lengths.
"Sorry, Suzuka, but I'm going!"
Air Groove activated [Go with the Flow] Level 5, [Corner Adept] Level 3, [Pace Chaser Corners] Level 3, [Prepared to Pass] Level 3, [Pace Chaser Straightaway] Level 3, and [Straightaway Adept] Level 3
Like her President, Air Groove spams her orange skill and easily overtakes Silence Suzuka. Suzuka can only watch as the bitch who prevents her from activating her ultimate skill easily ridicules the advantage the former gained with all her efforts.
"I won't be left behind just like that."
Mejiro Ramonu activated [Shrewd Step] Level 4, [Straightaway Adept] Level 3, [Straightaway Acceleration] Level 4, and [Pace Chasers Straightaway] Level 3.
Suzuka was devastated once again when her view of the lead was tainted by those who are faster than her.
"Don't forget about me!"
Narita Brian activated [Outer Swell] Level 3, [Hesitant Pace Chasers] Level 4, [Hesitant Front Runners] Level 2, [Sharp Gaze] Level 2, [Fighter] Level 5, [Corner Adept] Level 5, and [Corner Acceleration] Level 3.
Goddesses-damn Monster… Her finisher is really nasty.
Narita Brian activated [Straightaway Acceleration] Level 3 and [Straightaway Adept] Level 5.
The Monster quickly decreased the gap between her and the front of the pack. The veterans are now leading the pack as they run down the last stretch of the race, leaving their rookies in the dust.
"Teio, we would never win against them like this. For the purpose of getting at least one of us to the top, use me."
"McQueen…"
"I just want to see how far we are from the top. Suzuka!! Please team up with us!!"
"Yes!! Please get behind me!!"
"You wouldn't leave me out of this plan, now would you, McQueen?"
"You came at the right moment, Goldship! Let's do this!"
Mejiro McQueen, Tokai Teio, Silence Suzuka, and Goldship activated [Corner Acceleration] Level 1 and [Corner Adept] Level 1
Mejiro McQueen and Goldship activated [Slipstream] Level 1
The rookies team up and create a train of umamusumes with Suzuka at the front, Goldship behind her, then McQueen, and lastly Teio. At first, they wanted to preserve energy so they could run across the finish line, but that plan has changed. Their main purpose now is to be the boosters so Teio could reach the veterans.
Mejiro McQueen, Tokai Teio, Silence Suzuka, and Goldship gained 1 hint in [Dream Run]
"Haaaah!!"
Suzuka uses all her remaining stamina to run faster than her speed stats would suggest. The candle known as Silence Suzuka is burning at its brightest, but that also means…
"I'm done here…"
Suzuka limps to the side to allow Goldship to take the charge as the head. With her bigger body, she created a bigger slipstream area for McQueen and Teio, but it also means that she is expending more energy to fight the air resistance.
"Kuh!! Haaaaah!!!"
*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*
Goldship showcases why she is an End Closer as she accelerates with all her might, making it genuinely hard for McQueen and Teio to keep up. If Goldship was serious in training, then she might not need the help of Team Minaz to duel with the veterans, but alas…
"Gah!!! Damn… I'm spent… Go, you anime protagonists!!"
Mejiro McQueen gained 1 hint in [Your Smile Sparkles as the Waves]
Goldship jumps to the side to let the duo make their way forward. The sacrifice of the 2 Minaz members has allowed McQueen to lessen the distance between her and the veterans to only 1,5 lengths.
"Haaah!!!"
McQueen has the second-highest stamina stats in Minaz, which allows her to accelerate faster at the final stretch of the race. With the finish line moved to the pack of veterans, McQueen can dump everything she has in such a short distance.
"HAAAAAAHHH!!! KUUUH!!! TEIO!!!"
"Leave it to me!!"
Tokai Teio gained 1 hint in [Certain Victory]
Tokai Teio activated [Sky-High Teio Step] Level 1
"I'm here now!! Don't look down on us!!"
"Yeah… Thanks for the pressure, girls."
"Kuh!!"
"Wait!!"
"You predicted this?!"
"What's going on, Prez?!?!"
Symboli Rudolf activated [Arrows Whistle, Shadows Disperse] Level 4.
Isn't that her alternate costume's ultimate skill?!?! And at level 4?!?
The race ends–and with it, every excuse.
Every umamusume who chased her, every eye that watched her, and every heart that doubted her is awakened to one undeniable truth.
This was never a contest between equals.
They had run against the sovereign of an entire generation.
The Emperor.
The undefeated Triple Crown champion.
The Umamusume who redefined what greatness could look like.
The legend whose shadow still stretches across the era long after her final race.
She is not simply Symboli Rudolf.
She is THE Symboli Rudolf.