After several days of friendship training, Urara was already a very different girl from the one she had been just a few days earlier.
First, her control over her own body had improved. When she ran, her legs were no longer stiff like before. Her form had become much more flexible, cutting away a lot of unnecessary strain.
Second, thanks to a proper diet and the nourishment of S-rank honey drinks, Urara's physical condition was now strong enough to support higher-intensity running, which naturally made her faster as well.
And Tang Han had also observed that Urara's rate of improvement was even faster than he had originally expected—nearly twice as fast, or perhaps even by an astonishing 0.9 times!
It was time to properly test her strength.
But there was no point racing her against powerful horse girls like Tokai Teio. Urara was still a level below them, so Tang Han needed to find opponents who were more evenly matched.
Just then, his phone chimed with a new message in the Tracen 114th Class Trainers Group Chat.
Hiroshima Baozha: Hello, everyone.
Hiroshima Baozha: I'm sure you all know who I am already, so I won't waste time introducing myself. You can just call me Brother Baozha.
Hiroshima Baozha: The whole point of training horse girls is to help them win races. Sometimes, we need an actual race to verify whether our training has been effective.
Hiroshima Baozha: Tomorrow is Saturday, a day off, so everyone should be free. I'd like to organize a friendly race. Anyone interested?
Hiroshima Baozha: Of course, it's just a friendly race. I'll go easy on you.
Well now, talk about perfect timing.
Tang Han had just been thinking about finding someone for Urara to race against, and here came someone volunteering to organize one.
Although he knew full well that Hiroshima Baozha's real goal was to show off his own strength in front of the others, Tang Han did not care about that sort of superficial pride. The only thing he cared about was how many horse girls Urara could compete with.
Tracen 114th Class Trainers Group Chat
Kiryuin Aoi: That does sound like a good idea. I'm in.
Gangmen Guantong: I'm participating too.
Hiroshima Baozha: Anyone else?
New Trainer A: I'll pass. I still don't have a horse girl yet.
New Trainer B: My horse girl's condition isn't very good right now, so we're out.**
(...followed by a whole pile of rejections...)
...
Only three participants so far. Not bad.
"Urara, are you free tomorrow morning?" Tang Han asked, setting down his phone and turning to Urara, who was resting after training.
The moment he asked that, Rice Shower and Saint Royal, who were nearby, instantly perked up and began secretly watching him.
"Did something come up, Trainer-san? Urara's always free whenever you need me~" Urara replied with a bright smile.
"It's nothing major." Tang Han waved a hand. "There's a friendly race tomorrow, and I want to take you there. It'll also be a good chance to see how much you've improved."
The moment they heard that he was merely inviting Urara to a friendly race, Rice Shower and Saint Royal visibly relaxed and went back to enjoying their daily honey drinks.
"A race? Urara loves races the most!" Urara leapt to her feet, looking at Tang Han with shining eyes.
"This time, Urara's definitely going to get first place!"
"Good. Then it's settled."
Tang Han looked back down at his phone.
Tracen 114th Class Trainers Group Chat
Tang Han: I'm participating too.
Hayakawa Tazuna: !
Hayakawa Tazuna: Do you need a referee? I can handle that for you.
Hiroshima Baozha: Great! Then we'll leave it to Miss Tazuna.
Hiroshima Baozha: Including me, that makes four trainers, right? Good.
Hiroshima Baozha: Then tomorrow morning at eight, I'll be waiting for everyone at the training grounds.**
...
The next morning.
Tang Han arrived an hour early and sat alone on the slope, reading.
Yes—From Beginner Trainer to Basement Dweller.
Forty minutes before the agreed time, a cute young woman with short black hair, wearing a neat trainer's uniform, arrived with a white-haired horse girl.
It was Kiryuin Aoi, one of the race participants, together with her horse girl Happy Miko, who had taken first place in the selection race.
She did not notice Tang Han, so she went straight into pre-race warmups with Happy Miko, along with some mental preparation and last-minute instructions.
Twenty minutes before the agreed time, Gangmen Guantong arrived with his horse girl Daisy. After exchanging a few greetings with Kiryuin Aoi, he too began warming up.
Ten minutes before the scheduled time, Saint Royal arrived pushing a drowsy Urara along, and after Tang Han called out to them, the two finally found where he was sitting.
"Sorry, Trainer-san... Urara's still a little sleepy..." Urara mumbled, swaying groggily where she stood.
"If I hadn't woken her up, Urara-chan would've gone right back to sleep again," Saint Royal said with a helpless hand to her forehead, every bit the overbearing mother.
"Sorry..."
"It's fine. Let's do your warmup now. Once you're moving, you won't feel sleepy anymore."
Tang Han put away his book and led Urara through her warmup exercises.
Only then did Kiryuin Aoi and the others notice Tang Han. They greeted him, and he politely returned the courtesy.
Five minutes before the agreed time, Hayakawa Tazuna arrived as well, bringing a starter pistol, a life-sized cardboard cutout of Hishi Amazon to serve as the finish marker, plus drinking water and towels.
"Hello, everyone~"
"And hello to you too, Tang Han Trainer~" Tazuna greeted them all warmly.
Tang Han had a vague sense that something was off.
Everyone else had arrived on time, but the very person who proposed the race—Hiroshima Baozha—was nowhere to be seen.
It was only ten minutes after the agreed start time that Hiroshima Baozha finally came hurrying over with his horse girl Little Nankai.
"Sorry, sorry. The old driver's skills weren't great, so I ended up late. My sincerest apologies," Hiroshima Baozha said with an awkward grin.
"Heh." Everyone smiled without saying anything.
The old driver's skills weren't great?
What a joke.
From that one small incident alone, everyone got a much clearer picture of exactly what sort of person Hiroshima Baozha was.
But Baozha himself remained completely oblivious.
"All right, then let's begin today's friendly race!"
As he looked over everyone gathered there, he had already begun assigning labels to each one in his head.
He himself was obviously the protagonist. That much was beyond question.
Miss Kiryuin Aoi was cute, and also the only daughter of a prestigious trainer family. Surely she was the powerful rival that heaven itself had arranged for him. In time, the two of them would grow closer through competition, fall in love, and she would naturally become one of the women in his future harem.
The beautiful Miss Hayakawa Tazuna had volunteered to be the referee as soon as he suggested the race. Clearly, she must be secretly in love with him too—another future harem member.
Gangmen Guantong was just his sidekick, the kind of background extra who would trail after him shouting "Big bro is amazing!"
As for that fellow in black with no presence whatsoever—obviously a glorified extra among extras, there only to serve as a foil to highlight his, Hiroshima Baozha's, overwhelming strength and irresistible charm.
"Hahaha! In this friendly race, I'll show all of you just how strong I, Hiroshima Baozha, and my horse girl truly are!" Hiroshima Baozha declared with wild arrogance.
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 138)
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 (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
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 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
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 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
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