Before Echo realised, the New Year celebration had gone by, and she was currently kidnapped by Kincsem.
Which was weird, since she only remembered having fun partying with her friends and fell asleep after drinking tons of carrot juice.
Was the carrot juice laced? She really thought the carrot juice was super tasty last night.
A pool of saliva started forming in her mouth as she remembered the taste.
She turned her head to find herself tied up by ropes, and strangely enough. Is the rope strong?
She puffed her chest out and pushed her arms outward, but the rope showed no sign of creaking.
'Eh?' Her eyes widened slightly; even if her petite figure didn't look like it, she was capable of lifting 450 kg. So by that logic, her arms should be more than capable enough to rip any normal rope apart, yet she is incapable of doing so.
"Ywuannh..." A yawn was heard as Echo turned her head. Spotting Kincsem waking up from her sleep, Kincsem elegantly stretched before going back to sleep.
"Hey! Don't go back to sleep, you stinky, old grandm-" Her words cut off as she shrank into herself. Kincsem was glaring back coldly.
"What did you say?"
"Eep!"
Echo shrank into herself in fear. Where is Rudolf? She wants Rudolf!
And, as if a dream had come true, the cosy wooden hut she was in creaked open its door, and Symboli Rudolf strode in.
"Rudolf!" Echo's tail wagged like crazy. As long as Rudolf was here, she had nothing to worry about!
However, Rudolf only responded with a defeated and soulless gaze as she walked over to Echo and slumped to sleep right next to Echo, resting her head on her shoulder.
"Eh?"
"Stop yelling, filly. It's 4 in the morning..." Kincsem yawned once again, annoyed.
Kincsem proceeded to go back to sleep, ignoring Echo Eclipse's dumbfounded expression.
Echo could only blink in confusion.
"Eh?"
.
.
.
After Echo took a nap, despite being tied up, both Rudolf and Echo were woken up exactly at 9 in the morning.
Currently, Symboli Rudolf was explaining the chain of events that led to this while untying Echo Eclipse.
"So... She barged in, took me away to... Mt. Fuji?"
Rudolf nodded, and Echo responded, "Wait, wait! We're on Mt. Fuji right now?! Wasn't the mountain under the property of the shrine?"
Echo could only exclaim. The situation was so bizarre that Echo Eclipse was actually thinking critically.
Symboli Rudolf nodded again, "My grand-aunt is actually the owner of Mt. Fuji; she allowed us to stay on the higher level in this personal hut she built."
"No, no, no. How could I be taken away without realising something was off?!"
Symboli Rudolf could only glance away guiltily; the reason Echo Eclipse felt nothing was off in her sleep was because of the scent of Rudolf.
"So... Why did you return so early in the morning, and why were you exhausted?"
Rudolf proceeded to tell her that Kincsem said that she should clean her schedule for the next two months and tie up any loose ends, and Rudolf must arrive exactly here at 4.
Otherwise, Symboli Rudolf won't see Echo Eclipse for two months. That is why Rudolf was sleep-deprived when she arrived; she stayed awake all night to clean her schedule and had to make her way from the academy to the mountain in a short time.
Echo could only stare in shock, "So... You willingly enter into hell?"
"Hell?" Rudolf responded, confused. She came because she didn't want to be separated from Echo Eclipse for two months; who knows what may happen to her mental state if that ever occurred.
Then Kincsem returned, wearing snow-climbing gear.
"Good, both of you are awake. Come on, fillies. Dress up." She gestured to both of them, and without realising it, time went by, and they put on their snow-climbing gear.
Although it is called snow-climbing gear, it's actually not that much since Mt. Fuji isn't a hard mountain to climb.
They are wearing two layers: one internal layer for warmth and keeping out moisture, and an external layer to keep out the cold and snow. Also wearing hiking boots, a mountaineering helmet for Umas, and a portable ice pick.
Besides that, they aren't carrying anything else, only those items. The clothes don't really restrict their range of movement due to being made for Umamusume.
"Good, eat up and drink plenty of warm water. We'll climb the mountain while jogging in 15 minutes." Kincsem walked to the kitchen, and soon Echo and Rudolf snapped out of their daze and followed to eat.
After 15 minutes, the three girls were outside the hut.
"Brrrrrh! It's freezing!" Echo complained while shuddering; Rudolf didn't have time to notice the coldness in the morning, as she was more desperate to return to Echo.
Kincsem only smirked while putting on snow goggles.
"I will only climb this mountain today, but for you two, this will be your morning routine." Then she jogged forward at a mild 15km/h.
Both girls easily kept up with Kincsem; Rudolf asked about their schedule for the incoming days.
And the schedule goes as follows: The morning will be spent stretching and warming up for 25 minutes before climbing Mt. Fuji twice. Then the afternoon will be spent training their reflexes, stamina, and strategies.
The evening and night will be spent as their break and free time.
"On average, it will take you two at least around 50 minutes to complete climbing the mountain and 30 minutes to return." Kincsem exhaled sharply and faintly, trying not to inhale the icy air into her lungs.
"The incline of the ground is around 32% on average, and with thin air, this can replicate and train you both for 3000m races."
"Waah!" Echo slipped over the ground, managing to catch herself from rolling over and injuring herself.
"Another reason for climbing this mountain is to train your senses. The ground is usually volcanic gravel, but in the winter-"
"I-It's hard to find your footing, and the air. We need to breathe in a specific pattern and way for the cold air not to stop us from running..."
Rudolf replied while jogging, and this is without adding the extreme cold wind that comes without warning, the rock-hard ice ground, and more.
That means both Echo and Rudolf must factor in all conditions, their body position, their angle, and more while jogging.
"That's right, that is why both of you will hike this mountain twice a morning. Until you can do it instinctually without thinking," Kincsem replied in satisfaction.
Echo Eclipse could only whimper; it was literally only yesterday when they were having fun celebrating the New Year. Now she has to suffer jogging up and down a mountain?
"Be glad you're an Uma, fillies. For humans, it would take them at least 5 to 8 hours to complete a full hike."
They are only 15 minutes into the hike, and both Rudolf and Echo start to feel dizzy from the thin air. They aren't even halfway up the mountain!
Kincsem thought while jogging casually, not even feeling dizzy. 'There's another reason why I brought them to this mountain; it's to temper their minds. Up here, there's no distraction besides them, and they would be too tired to converse after hiking twice.'
'Welcome to the world of silence, fillies.'