The old driver's driving skills were excellent. He barreled along at one hundred and twenty kilometers per hour, and every time they hit a curve, a golden title called Professor of Curves seemed to appear over his head as he drifted through the turn perfectly.
After about six minutes, the shuttle bus drove into a pitch-black tunnel.
There was not a single trace of light inside, and the road ahead was completely invisible, but that posed no problem for the old driver. He simply kept going at full speed with zero visibility. About three minutes later, they emerged from the tunnel and arrived at their destination.
"Kid, we're at the dorms. Off you go."
Tang Han stepped off the bus and arrived at the so-called secret dormitory for male trainers.
The dormitory building was surrounded by dense green trees. The fact that one had to pass through a three-minute pitch-black tunnel just to get here made it obvious enough: the place was deep in the mountains, completely isolated from the outside world.
Though remote, it still had everything it needed—internet, vending machines, a small convenience store, a sports field, even an izakaya.
It was not perfect, but for male trainers whose main concern was staying alive, this place already counted as heaven.
The most popular spot here was the izakaya, which was packed nearly to bursting with senior trainers.
Outside, they never dared get drunk. It was entirely possible that if they passed out drunk on campus, they would wake up in a basement. So senior trainers never drank outside the secret dormitory.
But here, they had nothing to fear. They could finally let out all the stress and despair they had bottled up at the academy and pour liquor down their throats with reckless abandon.
"Drink more! Drink more!"
"Look at Binbin here. Just a few cans and he's already drunk. Pathetic."
"Binbin really is weak!"
The senior trainers were drinking themselves senseless, sprawled across the floor in every direction, looking very much as though they intended to spend the night right there.
"How nice..."
Tang Han felt a slight pang of envy as he watched these veteran trainers, able to share their secrets and misery with friends.
But he had no intention whatsoever of joining them.
First, he hated alcohol. It dulled the mind and made it harder to think clearly, which ran counter to his need to stay rational at all times.
Second, alcohol was a Group 1 carcinogen. It had no health benefits whatsoever and caused all sorts of problems. The whole "drinking helps blood circulation" line was just a lie pushed by people who wanted to sell more alcohol.
So Tang Han never drank.
Wasn't milk better?
And besides, it had already been proven that making friends at Tracen Academy could get you sold out. Just look at what happened in Chapter Two, when Trainer Tokugawa betrayed Trainer Ixiuyuan's location.
Tragic.
With his hands in his pockets, Tang Han passed by the izakaya and headed toward his room.
At the entrance to the dormitory building, an elderly attendant was checking IDs. Just like the bus driver, he would not let Tang Han inside unless he took off his hood, the purpose being to prevent horse girls from sneaking into the dorms in disguise.
So Tang Han had no choice but to take off the hood once again, making the old man blush furiously before finally granting him entry.
Tang Han found his room, swiped his ID card, and stepped inside.
The room was plain and unremarkable, with no décor worth mentioning, but it was still better than a university dorm—at least it was a single room.
Tang Han shut the door, locked it, then went over to the balcony and drew the curtains closed.
Only after all that did he finally let himself slump tiredly onto the sofa and take off the Doctor's Outfit he had worn all day.
"So tired..."
After relaxing a little, he pulled out Trainer: From Beginner to Basement and started reading again.
Tomorrow he was going to try to take charge of Urara. If he did not want to ruin her future by being an incompetent trainer, then he had to learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible.
How to Strengthen a Horse Girl's Bones
How to Judge the Running Style Best Suited to a Horse Girl
How to Help a Horse Girl Reduce Stamina Consumption
...
Halfway through, Tang Han also received a message from Urara.
Urara: Mr. Ninja, thank you for the gift! Mi-mi really liked it!
Urara: After getting the gift, Mi-mi was obviously much happier. She asked me to tell you that the next time she sees you, she wants to thank you in person.
Urara: Oh, right! Mr. Ninja, you're a trainer, right? I'm participating in tomorrow's selection race. Do you want to come watch?
Urara: I feel like I'm in really good shape! I'm definitely going to get first place!
Tang Han: I'll be there.
Urara: Yay!
Urara: If Mr. Ninja is cheering for me, I feel like I'll definitely get first this time!
Tang Han: Mm.
After replying simply and, like an old man, adding a few smiling emojis, Tang Han put down his phone and went back to reading.
After studying for several more hours, he started to feel tired. He took a shower, washed and dried the Doctor's Outfit, then lay down on the bed and kept reading. Before long, sleepiness overtook him, and he drifted off.
It was a peaceful night.
"Ring-ring-ring—"
The next morning, the default alarm tone on his phone dragged Tang Han out of sleep.
At this point, someone might ask:
Why wasn't his wake-up alarm Umapyoi Legend, the song trainers loved most?
Come on now.
Surely no adult actually used their favorite song as a wake-up alarm, right?
That was something children did.
Adults could not even be bothered to change it—they just left the default tone on.
After washing up, Tang Han put on the Doctor's Outfit, finished getting ready, and boarded the shuttle bus with the other trainers, heading back to Tracen Academy.
...
The bus arrived, and the trainers began to get off.
"Good morning, Miss Tazuna."
"Good morning, Trainer Hiroshima."
"Good morning, Miss Tazuna."
"Good morning, Trainer Goumon."
The new trainers all greeted Tazuna warmly as she stood at the gate, and she responded to each of them in turn. In only a single day, she had already memorized every new trainer's face and name.
The veteran trainers, on the other hand, did not even get the chance to say good morning before being wheeled away by the horse girls who had missed them all night.
Tragic.
"Good morning, Trainer Tang Han~"
Tazuna gave Tang Han a small wave.
Something about it felt a little odd, but Tang Han did not think too much of it and returned the greeting.
"Good morning."
Tang Han's eyes drifted to Tazuna's long legs in black stockings.
Tazuna noticed his gaze and smiled faintly.
"Trainer Tang Han, I did exactly what you told me to do last night, and sure enough, my left leg doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you very much."
"It was nothing. Just a small thing."
"If you have time, Trainer Tang Han, I'd like to treat you to a meal."
"A meal?"
Tang Han hesitated a little.
Though he had angrily declared yesterday that he was cutting ties with Tazuna, the truth was that being friends with her had plenty of advantages and no real downsides.
But then he thought about how much time was left on the Doctor's Outfit. If he failed to complete his task today, he was as good as dead tonight. He simply did not have the time to sit down and share a meal with Tazuna to deepen their friendship.
So he had no choice but to refuse.
"Thank you for the offer, but I've got some other things I need to deal with lately. Let's eat together some other time."
"I see... alright then..."
A faint trace of disappointment flashed across Tazuna's eyes.
Tang Han chatted with her for a little while longer, then noticed it was almost time for the selection race. After saying goodbye, he headed straight for the training grounds.
Tazuna watched his departing back and twitched her delicate little nose.
"That scent from last night... I'm definitely going to smell it again..."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 126)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter130)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter157)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 133
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 125
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 143
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 115
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 99
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 75
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 75
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 51
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
My Harem Is Indescribable 26
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