The race entered its middle straight.
Air Groove held a narrow lead.
Sensing danger, Special Week began to stir. The gap between her and Air Groove steadily shrank, and she looked ready to run the Vice President into the ground.
"I don't care what you're planning. If I pin you down first, you won't be able to do anything!"
Special Week kept her eyes fixed on Air Groove. She genuinely did not know where her premonition of danger came from, but that did not mean she would sit back and do nothing. She would never dismiss a threatening presence as her imagination merely to reassure herself.
She would give her opponent no opportunity!
Air Groove felt the pressure approaching from behind. She could not see Special Week's expression, but she could easily imagine how frightening the girl looked.
Air Groove gritted her teeth and murmured, "So this is a genius? How completely unreasonable!"
She had done nothing unnecessary.
She had merely reached a decision in her own mind. Yet even that tiny change in her aura had been detected by Special Week's instincts.
Air Groove did not dare relax. She had no room to do so. Only by facing Special Week personally could someone understand how frightening she was. Neither her strength nor her mentality resembled a rookie's.
Even with the race developing exactly as Air Groove wanted, she did not dare declare victory. Special Week had clearly noticed something. At this level, one could never rely on wishful thinking about an opponent's actions.
Air Groove had to take the next step.
She could not wait any longer.
Delay invited disaster.
Special Week's instincts were far too sharp. Concealing her intentions long enough to bring the race to this distance was already the most Air Groove could accomplish. If she continued waiting, she would be the one in danger.
One quarter of the middle straight had passed when Air Groove moved first.
The instant Special Week saw the change in her aura, she knew something was wrong. Her eyes had caught it, but her body could not respond in time. Air Groove had exploited her lack of experience.
"Damn it. I reacted one step too late!"
Special Week's expression darkened.
Even so, she did not panic and launch an immediate burst of her own. She merely watched Air Groove's acceleration with cold eyes. At a moment like this, haste was the last thing she needed. She had to remain calm. The race was still in its middle phase, so Air Groove could not sustain this burst forever.
Special Week stared at Air Groove's back.
In an instant, the air flowing around the Vice President turned pale blue.
[A Breath of Fresh Air!]
[Race Planner!]
The first restored stamina. The second granted a condition that made fatigue less likely!
[Orthodox Strategy!]
[Proof of Strength!]
Both of those skills raised her speed.
Footprints scattered golden fragments behind her. Air Groove's body instantly broke through the wind resistance, and she rode a blue wave of air down the track. In the blink of an eye, she left Special Week behind!
Special Week had prepared herself, but even she was startled by such a burst.
This was the skill usage of a senior-grade umamusume. A coordinated combination like this could not be compared to a rookie like El Condor Pasa, who simply triggered every skill at once.
Special Week finally understood. Unless she had committed to passing Air Groove in a single charge earlier, there was no possible way to respond to this combination.
But she could never have chosen that option.
Her caution had created the precise conditions Air Groove needed to unleash this burst. She had to admit that the Vice President had outplayed her.
Her mind had failed to keep pace with Air Groove's.
Of course, this was unquestionably the kind of gap one would expect between an ordinary rookie and the Vice President.
But that was racing. A move that killed an opponent on first encounter was a legitimate weapon. Special Week would not complain, just as she had not objected to racing on a course that clearly favored Air Groove. These were situations she would inevitably face in real competition.
The strong never complained about their environment!
Special Week observed Air Groove's explosive acceleration.
Powerful.
As expected of the Empress.
But...
"Is that all?"
Special Week's eyes grew grave.
Air Groove's burst had undoubtedly been powerful, but not enough to decide the duel.
If this was all, Special Week did not even need to worry much.
Yet something was still wrong.
Her instincts had not stopped warning her. The sensation had only intensified.
Special Week was puzzled.
Could the Vice President continue bursting even after that entire combination? Could any living body withstand the burden of repeatedly activating skills in such a short period?
Something was missing. Special Week felt that she should know the clue, but in the middle of the race she could not recall it.
While she forced herself to remember everything she knew about Air Groove, they cleared the middle straight and entered the penultimate section of the course.
"No way. Spe is actually being suppressed."
El Condor Pasa could hardly believe it.
She could see that Special Week had completely lost control of the race's rhythm.
Was this the Vice President's strength?
It was incredible that anyone could suppress Spe so thoroughly.
"No, honestly, Special Week's performance surprised me," Hishi Amazon said with admiration. "She managed to hold herself back at that moment. If she hadn't, the outcome would probably have been decided already."
She glanced at El and sighed.
"You really had no reason to feel wronged after losing to Special Week."
El was also a genius, but gaps existed even among geniuses.
Special Week's talent was terrifying for a newcomer.
Despite every disadvantage—the environment, her lack of experience, an unfamiliar tactic, and the fact that her opponent had studied her specifically—Special Week had maintained her fundamental rhythm without falling apart. She had even forced Air Groove to act first.
Honestly, if this had been an official race, Hishi Amazon thought Air Groove might already have lost. In a real competition, she could never have begun with so many advantages over Special Week.
Looked at that way, Special Week was practically a monster.
"But Spe is still at an absolute disadvantage in this duel," Grass Wonder said gravely.
Others might not recognize it, but she could not possibly be mistaken.
There was a concealed fluctuation in the Vice President's aura!
Spe had avoided the previous trap, but there was no way she could evade the next one. From this moment onward, the Vice President had complete control of the race's rhythm.
On the track, Air Groove looked at the entrance to the upcoming turn. The corners of her lips finally began to rise.
"I've won!"
At last, she could relax from the suffocating pressure.
Scheming so thoroughly against a rookie was somewhat embarrassing. But after genuinely racing Special Week, Air Groove felt grateful that Symboli Rudolf had persuaded her to accept every possible advantage.
Feeling the lightness produced by her current burst, Air Groove revealed a confident, composed smile. She had waited cautiously for this moment from the beginning. Now that everything had unfolded exactly as she envisioned, she knew the duel was hers.
"Special Week, you truly are strong—stronger than I imagined. A great future lies ahead of you. But you still lack experience, so go back and practice some more!"
[This Moment, Forever!]
The rainbow-colored skill covered Air Groove as the race entered its penultimate section—
Her speed continued increasing through the turn.
Special Week watched in disbelief. Did Air Groove intend to open an insurmountable gap here?
But this was only the second-to-last section. The final straight still remained. With Special Week's finishing kick, she could absolutely reverse the race there.
Air Groove could not possibly be unaware of that. Yet she had accepted the risk and accelerated anyway. After so many consecutive bursts, she would certainly be slower than usual on the final straight, but she showed not the slightest hesitation.
Special Week could not understand.
But...
"I can't let this continue."
Once again, she felt her intelligence being suppressed by her opponent.
It infuriated her, but she had to admit the truth.
Throughout this duel, the Vice President had played her completely. Continuing to think might only create more opportunities for Air Groove. But the race was already approaching its end. Special Week could no longer allow the gap to widen!
Here!
She would turn the race around at this very moment!
Special Week's aura began to rise. With a violent tremor, it erupted terrifyingly. Her speed now surpassed even Air Groove's while the Vice President was using top-level skills.
The gap shrank little by little.
They entered the final straight. Almost the instant they did, Air Groove's aura began to weaken, while Special Week's continued growing.
Less than two lengths had separated them.
Air Groove had expected this to some extent, yet every hair on her body still stood on end.
"What a monster!"
Every advantage she had calculated and fought to obtain was being erased by the brute stats behind that finishing kick.
No. If she did nothing, Special Week would not merely erase the gap. She would pass her!
This was Special Week's strength. At the most fundamental level, her stats belonged to an entirely different class. No wonder Symboli Rudolf had said Air Groove could never win a direct confrontation with her.
That was right. Even at her peak, Air Groove would have had little chance against this monster.
Who could imagine Special Week was an undebuted rookie?
Air Groove's face filled with shock.
Even now, however, she still declared, "This duel is mine!"
Watching from outside, El cried out, "Spe is going to pass her!"
She was the only person who could still say that.
Beside her, Grass no longer concealed her concern for Special Week.
"Spe, look out!"
Special Week needed no warning—and she could not have heard Grass anyway. There was no mystical bond connecting the two of them.
She recognized the danger because she had already been struck.
[Disorienting Distraction!]
The instant Air Groove activated the skill, Special Week's vision blurred. She was not completely blind, but her field of view shrank to a radius of three meters. Everything beyond it vanished.
Special Week's eyes widened.
Right now, she wanted to scream!
She had never expected this!
Heh!
Air Groove had concealed her trump card for so long, and it turned out to be a blocking skill! Who could possibly have predicted that?
DAMN IT!
Who saved a blocking skill until the final straight? Wasn't that the behavior of a pure blocker?!
She was rotten!
Special Week finally remembered. In an early version of the game, players had indeed trained Air Groove as a blocker for a while. Several generations of updates later, the skill-evolution system had made her less effective in that role, so she returned to orthodox builds except for occasional novelty setups. The older character had simply become too weak for it.
But—
That proved one thing.
Air Groove genuinely could be built as a blocker.
In reality, the Vice President clearly excelled in both orthodox racing and interference.
She not only possessed the improved skill values of later game versions, but had retained the blocking skills as well. Reality had none of the game's restrictions. It was absurd!
And a Vice President this powerful was supposedly among the weaker Student Council members. Special Week was now grateful she had not challenged Symboli Rudolf. She could already imagine how disgusting the Emperor's collection of skills must be.
So that was why they had selected a course with a relatively short final straight. The entire choice had been part of this trap!
Special Week's finishing kick was forcibly interrupted.
Anyone whose vision was restricted would instinctively slow down or even stop. Special Week's ability to stabilize herself at all showed her mental fortitude.
But the final straight was less than 400 meters long. At this point, losing even one second was disastrous.
She could not see.
Neither her opponent nor the finish line was visible. The impact of a blocking skill in reality was far more frightening than its numerical effect in the game.
What could she do?
Special Week's awareness began to sink.
Then she heard the sound of shackles breaking and the roar of a wild beast escaping its cage.
Yes. There was only one option left.
Use her trump card!
A different sense gradually returned to Special Week's unfocused eyes.
Instinct!
Wild instinct!
A sixth sense!
To Special Week, it seemed that some time passed. In reality, it was only an instant.
Air Groove had barely relaxed after feeling the pressure behind her disappear when a burning aura erupted at her back once more.
Her expression changed immediately.
Even the experienced Trainer and President rose from their seats. Events had escaped their control.
Symboli Rudolf looked utterly confused.
"No... this isn't ZONE?"
Special Week bared her teeth in a savage grin.
A blocker, were you?
Damn you!
Then get blown away!
...
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