Niigata Racecourse. Rain lashed down in torrents.
The raindrops fell like strings of beads, hammering the turf until the blades of grass bent low and water splashed everywhere.
Fourteen Uma Musume of all different hair colors stood silently in the storm, waiting for the call to enter the gates.
They were spirits who had inherited the souls of legends in this world. Running was both their inborn duty and their deepest longing. All of them shared the same dream: to show their brilliance on the track and seize victory.
"The one drawing the most attention in this debut race has to be Orfevre, right? That commanding presence of hers practically screams that the championship is already in hand!"
The commentator's voice pierced through the curtain of rain.
At the center of the field, Orfevre's orange hair streaked with white had been soaked through, obscuring her expression. At the edge of the crowd, meanwhile, a chestnut-haired horse girl quietly clenched her fist, faint light leaking from her palm.
"Please... come on, just once, let the goddess of luck be on my side...!"
She whispered the prayer under her breath. Points of light gathered in her hand, then condensed into a single hard card.
She turned it over and saw the portrait printed on it—
Triumphal Ballet.
The Uma Musume in this race was named Shining Dyna.
But just two weeks ago, she had only been an ordinary person, someone who died of a stroke during a charity event at an orphanage.
When she opened her eyes again, she had found herself in this world filled with Uma Musume, now living inside a healthy body.
It felt like a dream, yet it was cruelly real.
That was right—she wasn't enrolled at Central Tracen.
As an unaffiliated horse girl, she could only enter debut races by applying on her own.
And she only had three chances to do it.
Thinking about it, the identity of "Shining Dyna" seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. An orphan, no social ties, as if someone had casually slotted her into this world.
But she had no time to dwell on that.
The most important thing right now was running.
She had to beat the other thirteen girls on the track—
Well, at the very least, she had to squeeze into the top five and scrape together some prize money.
Because she was already out of money for rent, utilities, everything.
According to the race rules, any Uma Musume who finished in the top five would receive prize money.
The payouts decreased by placement, of course, but since Shining Dyna was alone with no team to split it with, she could pocket at least seven hundred thousand yen herself—
That was, assuming she made the top five.
With that thought, she stared down at the card in her hand.
This was her one and only unique talent as an Uma Musume: an extra boost she could obtain whether during daily training or in the middle of a race.
But to activate it, she first needed a powerful surge of willpower. The effect it took on was like borrowing the strength of certain other Uma Musume... or so it seemed.
Of course, from what Dyna had pieced together so far, there was another way to grow stronger too—
By building everyday relationships with other horse girls.
Though, well...
Those relationships apparently had to be pretty twisted, so Dyna had temporarily decided to pass on that route.
Even so...
It was still awfully tempting...
As a side note, which Uma Musume's power she could borrow was determined entirely by luck. Otherwise, Shining Dyna would absolutely have chosen the likes of Frankel, Deep Impact, or Sea the Stars rather than ending up in a situation this awkward.
This debut race, one that might very well decide whether she lived or starved, included among her opponents the future "Tyrant," Orfevre.
And the strength Shining Dyna had borrowed came from Triumphal Ballet...
Triumphal Ballet... had faced Orfevre six times, and in five of those meetings Orfevre had won. In the one exception, Orfevre had still lost to someone else, not Triumphal Ballet.
It was... delicate, to say the least.
A complete punching bag, basically.
Shining Dyna could not help but shake her head with a bitter smile. Her fingers tightened unconsciously around the card, its sharp edge almost cutting into her palm, as her gaze swept through the veil of rain toward that radiant figure.
You really expect me to use Triumphal Ballet to beat Orfevre...? Seriously...?
And the moment Orfevre noticed that look, Shining Dyna immediately lowered her head like a startled little animal, hurriedly stuffing the card into the pocket of her athletic shorts.
After all, she couldn't exactly run while gripping something that hard in her hand.
Besides, the card would gradually dissolve once she started running anyway...
"Hey. You're... Shining Dyna?"
A clear, cold voice cut through the rain from behind her.
Dyna spun around and met Orfevre's scrutinizing gaze. In the downpour, her expression was as sharp and unreadable as a blade.
"Y-yes. That's me."
Dyna swallowed hard.
A face-to-face encounter between the number one favorite and the fourteenth?
Honestly, Shining Dyna felt like no one was really rooting for her at all. In the end, being "fourteenth favorite" only existed because there were fourteen runners in total. It couldn't go any lower.
Orfevre's smoky violet eyes narrowed slightly, her voice as flat and calm as before.
"In this race, you alone strike me as mildly interesting. I only hope that once the race begins, you can maintain that sense of presence."
Then she turned and walked away, leaving Dyna frozen where she stood.
So...
Could she take that as Orfevre acknowledging her, at least a little, in terms of ability?
Pulling the card back out of her pocket, Shining Dyna lowered her eyes to it.
Even if she somehow won, it would feel a little unfair...
But the real problem was that even with cheats on her side, she still might not be able to win!
There was no way Ballet-bro could elbow Orfevre into defeat!!
"But... even if I can't win, I still have to fight my way into the top five and get the prize money to survive this crisis! And if I do win, I'll use that money to fix up the shop and reopen it!"
Shining Dyna's home, just like in her previous life, was actually a bakery.
She had no idea how her former self had gotten it, but clearly, she did not have the financial means to cover rent and utilities in the area around Central Tracen.
Right now, Dyna's first goal was simply not starving to death.
Sure, going out onto the streets to beg would probably attract Symboli Rudolf's attention...
But if she did that, her dignity would be completely gone.
And there was no telling whether Symboli Rudolf might even start treating her like some kind of "special watch list" case...
Dyna's thoughts hadn't stopped racing, but the horn signaling gate entry had already sounded.
For now, she just had to get through the race in front of her.
If this body had an instinct for running, then she would trust that instinct and let it guide her...!
[You have been noticed by Orfevre. Current bond value: 0. Gained 15 points. Allocate points?]
A sudden voice rang out in her mind, exactly the same as the one from a few days ago that had told Shining Dyna she could condense the power of other Uma Musume and use it for racing.
"?"
Huh?
Just moments ago Dyna had been worrying that points like these might be difficult to obtain, but now it seemed they came surprisingly easily.
Having long since accepted her cheat ability, Dyna wasn't shocked. She simply committed this possible method of gaining points quietly to memory.
Then, if she wanted a future worth living for...
Now she had no choice but to put in some sweat!!
I, Shining Dyna, have made it this far and will reach the future through nothing but my own persistence and effort!
"Allocate points!"
Fifteen points might not be much, but they were the beginning of hope.
She was no longer the powerless ordinary person who could do nothing to change her fate.
This time, she would rely on her own legs—
And run her way toward a future.
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 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 31
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 27
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 26
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