Chapter 7: This Is a... Niko Style?
The air was filled with the scent of the turf. With every step on the grass, water splashed up. Stardust Mirage ran amidst this atmosphere, her data-enhanced body now demonstrating extremely powerful utility.
Every step she took, every swing of her arms, was in her most comfortable state. She didn't even need to worry about making any mistakes in her running form.
To be honest, Stardust Mirage didn't know much about horse racing. Although she had watched related anime and played games in her previous life, actually running was a completely different matter.
Right out of the gate, to avoid getting entangled in inner track battles with other horse girls, she chose to advance directly from the extreme outside lane.
Her A-grade front-running aptitude on her status panel ensured that even doing this, she could unleash a starting speed absolutely ahead of all the other horse girls, breaking out of the pack from the outside lane and snatching the lead right in front of Tokai Teio.
What she needed to do next was hold on through the first half of the distance.
As she ran, Stardust Mirage recalled her innate skill and made a mental plan.
Since the activation condition for "Festive Miracle" was the latter 50% of the race, she needed to secure a not-too-outlandish position in the first 1000 meters on her own, to prevent a situation where even activating Holy Night wouldn't be enough to catch up to the other horse girls.
However, just as she thought this, a somewhat familiar burning sensation suddenly came from behind—
—It was Tokai Teio!
"This feels like a continuation of this morning, doesn't it?"
Teio, running closely behind Stardust Mirage, showed no dissatisfaction or anger at having her lead taken. Instead, her face was filled with delight.
"..."
Stardust Mirage didn't reply.
Teio's leisurely manner, able to chat while running, clearly showed she wasn't going all out.
But even so, Stardust Mirage found she couldn't shake off this genius. Even increasing the gap seemed very difficult; pulling ahead by another length felt nearly impossible.
"Not talking? Then I'm going to start accelerating...!"
Teio grinned, the strand of white hair on her forehead gleaming in the sunlight. The stride of her powerful legs each time they step out was almost worrisome in its intensity.
Yet, in her eyes, a blazing fighting spirit burned so fiercely it seemed almost capable of igniting flames.
She was like an approaching lion gradually beginning to accelerate. In the second curve of the track, step by step, she closed the distance between herself and the leading Stardust Mirage.
Stardust Mirage, taking advantage of a brief moment during the turn to glance back, was startled by her terrifying, fully focused posture, feeling as if a sharp knife had been plunged into her chest.
What kind of eyes were those, so full of fighting spirit?
Don't tell me... she was going to be overtaken again, just like this morning?!
3 lengths...
No...
2 lengths...
With me...
1 length...
You must be kidding!!!
Deep within Stardust Mirage's heart, it seemed something had been loosened by the thorn of Tokai Teio's gaze. Gritting her teeth, she pushed her legs to their limit, forcefully stomping one foot onto the grass!
2 · Lengths!
In Tokai Teio's eyes, as that foot stomped down, mud splattered instantly, leaving a deep footprint.
The horse girl before her seemed to vanish for an instant. The next moment, Stardust Mirage had once again opened up the gap that Teio had worked so hard to close.
She vanished?!
Tokai Teio couldn't comprehend it immediately. Even with her rich experience of watching people run at Trecen since childhood, she had never seen such a long-striding running form.
That step the girl before her had just taken didn't even involve bending her knee; she kicked straight out and stomped hard on the ground.
Her slightly leaning-back body swung forward violently, as if she had teleported a full length ahead!
And Nice Nature, who was already following behind these two, forming a echelon with the other horse girls, felt her eyes almost pop out of her head.
What was she seeing?
The central genius horse girl—Tokai Teio—decided to exert her extraordinary ability and began to overtake the leading Stardust Mirage, but failed...
And how was that weird technique she just used even possible!
While running at full speed, stomping forward without bending the knee—whether it could forcibly increase speed was one thing, but one misstep could directly break a leg!
When she talked to this girl before the race, she didn't seem this crazy... Was she really not afraid of fracturing a bone and retiring right in her debut race!?
Indeed, who could have predicted it?
Stardust Mirage, from the local horse girl academy, the 13th favorite, who had only started learning about racing less than a month ago—this country runner was actually holding an advantage in a direct contest of speed against Tokai Teio, and had defended it!
This was undoubtedly another upset by a local runner, the kind of story all Japanese audiences loved most:
The underdog triumphs!
At this moment, the entire spectator stands were in an uproar. The horse racing enthusiasts present looked at this horse girl running with all her might to prevent Tokai Teio from passing her, and a thread of anticipation spontaneously arose in their hearts:
Could it be? Was another genius from the local tracks about to emerge?
"Hey! Aren't you afraid of getting hurt, running so recklessly?!"
Tokai Teio, chasing closely behind Stardust Mirage, shouted at her.
In that brief moment, this prodigy had already grasped the principle behind the move just executed:
Typically, when running at full speed, most horse girls need to slow down and take the shortest inner path to navigate turns safely and avoid dangerous situations.
Only a very few exceptionally gifted horse girls can maintain their speed through a turn, or even accelerate to overtake opponents.
For example, Super Creek, now known as one of the Heisei Three, or Maruzensky, another senior closely acquainted with Symboli Rudolf, are both masters of turn techniques.
And Tokai Teio is no exception. The unique running style granted by her flexible body has earned praise even from the "Emperor" herself. Her ability to forcibly accelerate in a turn to attempt an overtake moments ago was also thanks to this innate talent.
But Stardust Shimmer was completely different. Mid-sprint, she abruptly changed her movement, substituting a goosestep-like action for the usual turn, and combined it with a burst acceleration technique, effectively turning the curve into two straight segments.
This unorthodox move not only negated the speed loss typically associated with navigating a turn but also forcibly covered extra distance to pull ahead by a length—a true two-for-one.
However, this running style, while seemingly effective, places considerable strain on the knees.
Just think about it: at full sprint, the right leg stiffens like a spear, stabbing directly into the ground, and must then generate explosive power for a secondary acceleration—how could that possibly be easy?
Even amidst their competition, Tokai Teio couldn't help but call out, urging her not to be so reckless.
This horse girl before her had already earned her recognition. Tokai Teio didn't want to see her, lacking a trainer, act recklessly and get injured. Where else would she find such a worthy opponent?
"…"
Stardust Mirage still didn't respond.
No, it was more accurate to say she had no spare capacity to respond.
This was her first time running a 1800-meter race at full speed. Although she usually ran back and forth delivering newspapers in her hometown, that was utterly incomparable to an actual race.
To fight for the lead, she had burst into her top speed from the start and, pressured by Teio, had even performed a secondary acceleration to forcibly maintain her lead.
That technique just now was a product of quick thinking under pressure—using the goosestep to forcefully handle the turn was a method she'd discovered during her newspaper delivery runs, while the burst technique was a small part of the "Festive Miracle" that had flooded into her mind along with that inherent skill.
Now, having fused the two, Stardust Mirage, whose endurance was already her weak point, felt faint signs that she might not make it to the finish line.
How could she possibly have the spare energy to converse with Teio while running?
[As the race progresses, the leading group has basically formed. Entering the second turn from the first, let's see the situation.]
[Leading by over two lengths is number 7, Stardust Mirage.
Close behind is number 2, Tokai Teio.
Temporarily following them is number 3, Nice Nature, running on the outside is Hikari Snow...]
[Maintaining the lead triumphantly! Stardust Mirage, using an unorthodox running style to stabilize her advantage—how will she handle the prodigy close behind? Let's wait and see!]
In the observation room.
Hearing the commentator's voice echoing through the venue, the legendary horse girl, Symboli Rudolf, showed a hint of doubt for the first time.
She turned, somewhat startled, to look at her assistant, Air Groove.
Air Groove, equally incredulous, turned to meet her gaze simultaneously.
Despite the significant difference in the outward movement, both Symboli Rudolf and Air Groove recognized the power application technique embedded in that running style—it felt intensely familiar to both of them...
It belonged to a runner who had already been competing centrally for a year. Like Stardust Mirage, she also came from the local circuits, a legendary horse girl known as the Ashen Monster: Oguri Cap.
Her signature secondary acceleration technique was strikingly similar to the step Stardust Mirage had just taken!
(Author's Note: As the title suggests, the actual inspiration is drawn from the "Niko Style" from Kengan Ashura.
Essentially, it involves a sudden large stride combined with leaning the torso forward to execute an abrupt directional change, creating an instant closing of distance.
In the original manga, this technique is used to shift from retreating to advancing instantly.
Here, I've adapted this ability, changing it to a sudden directional shift during a turn. Using my own head to visualize it, it should be roughly similar.
However, this is actually a running method limited to front-running; you must be at the very front of the pack to execute such a sharp turn. Otherwise, irregular running could cause confusion for others and lead to accidents.
Consider it the protagonist's first self-created skill.)
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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