Uma Musume Girl, I'll tell you about my Santa Hat special move too?

Just know one thing... and that is to win, and then shine!

Stardust Illusion shook its head and turned its gaze to the front of the corridor, watching the audience downstairs.

They gathered in small groups, waiting for the winners' stage to begin.

Stardust Illusion had a sudden thought and opened the system notification page to take a look:

[Host detected to have finished the career race in first place, reward 63 PT.]

[Host has received mission completion reward: Speed ​​attribute increased by 41 points; random item draw in progress...]

[The host has obtained a system item: Competition Alarm Clock x1, which has been added to the system inventory.]

【下一阶段生涯任务：第2年3月5日 G2级赛事中山弥生赏，要求名次：前2】

[Task Rewards: Random attribute boost of 20-60 points, 1 random item]

The system reward attributes weren't the strength and stamina she needed most this time, but the increased speed was still a good deal.

But what Stardust Illusion was most interested in was another reward after completing the mission: a competition alarm clock.

[Competition Alarm Clock: A one-time consumable. It can be crushed and used within 30 minutes after a competition in which the host participates, returning to the point before the competition began.]

[Additional Note: Each match can only use the match alarm once.]

hiss…

Upon seeing the item descriptions in the backpack, Stardust Illusion couldn't help but gasp.

This thing instantly gave Stardust Illusion a bad feeling.

As the saying goes, if a gun appears in the first act of a play, it will surely be fired in the performance.

Now that she's equipped herself with an item that can reset the game, it's practically like the words "You're going to lose the game" are written all over her face!

Lost the game? Me?

Could it be the Satsuki Sho?

Stardust Illusion lowered its head and looked at its own palm.

Although she hasn't truly mastered the field yet, the two experiences of starting it have benefited her greatly.

Even under these unfortunate circumstances, signs of defeat still appeared…

"Are you kidding me?"

A small alarm clock suddenly appeared in the open palm of the Stardust Illusion.

Without hesitation, she grabbed it, and the alarm clock instantly exploded into a shower of golden light, floating in the air for a short while, seemingly searching for something that could work.

However, several hours had passed since the Stardust Illusion competition ended, which did not meet the conditions for the alarm clock to work.

Thus, these golden lights could only helplessly vanish into thin air.

That's right, Stardust Illusion simply discarded the alarm clock, a process that went unnoticed even by Alice beside her; everything was completed quietly.

What omen? What alarm clock?

Stardust Illusion pursed its lips and continued walking forward.

For her, the competition was such a sacred thing, and every player was giving their all to compete against each other.

Even if she really lost in this confrontation, what's the point of bringing out such a prop?

Is it about denying yourself, denying everyone's efforts in the competition, going back to the past, and escaping failure to start over like a clown?

impossible.

"A mere victory... I'm good enough on my own!"

"What?" Suko tilted her head, puzzled.

"Ah—it's nothing, I was just trying to cheer myself up."

Having accidentally uttered his chuunibyou (delusional) thoughts, Stardust Illusion could only quickly offer a hasty explanation before swiftly changing the subject:

"By the way, Soko, my next match should already be the Yayoi Prize, right?"

"That's right, it's a prerequisite for the Satsuki Prize."

Alice nodded. Having participated in the Satsuki Prize competition before, she understood the ins and outs of it very well.

Suko took a page of information from her pocket and handed it to Stardust Illusion:

"As the first stop of the Classic Triple Crown, the Satsuki Award is only open to contestants from the Classic Year. Under this premise, the contestants who can participate are basically those who debuted at the end of the previous year or the beginning of the following year."

"Many players—like you, and like me back then—face the situation of not accumulating enough prize money."

"Therefore, the eligibility for playing in this match is the most important thing to understand."

"A total of 18 runners will participate in this year's Satsuki Sho competition, with the spots divided into three groups."

"The first group consists of contestants who have indeed reached the cumulative prize money limit. After registering, they can have priority to appear on stage. This group usually consists of about seven or eight contestants, who are usually contestants who debuted in June or July of the previous year."

"The second category is for participants who participated in the preliminary rounds of the Satsuki Prize and achieved corresponding rankings, including the top three in the Yayoi Prize, the top three in the Spring Special Tournament, and the top two in the Wakaba Special Tournament, for a total of eight fixed spots."

"The next third part is all the remaining slots. This part will count the runners who registered but did not have enough prize money, and fill the slots in order of their highest and lowest prize money."

At this point, Alice flicked her long sleeves and placed her hand on the Stardust Illusion's shoulder, behaving intimately:

"So it's clear now, isn't it? Your goal is to win the Yayoi Prize, and then just wait for the Satsuki Prize to begin."

"Huh, it seems like only about ten days have passed. Shimotoyama Hikari is definitely going to be cyberbullied by your supporters again."

Chapter 174 (plus 10.5) The Hero's Twilight

Lost.

We lost completely and undeniably.

no doubt.

Just thinking about this makes my nose sting with tears...

If Stardust Illusion hadn't left the ward in time, Qingzhu realized that she definitely wouldn't have been able to maintain that open-minded attitude, and might have cried out in pain right in front of her.

In the empty hospital room, Qingzhu could only helplessly look at the incandescent light on the ceiling, her body so tightly bandaged that even moving was difficult.

(My burning passion for racing...)

Feeling the sharp pain in her right leg caused by the torn ligament, she felt a pang in her heart and choked out a sob.

Sobbing where no one could hear.

Having been injured multiple times, Chun knew that, as she had just told Stardust Illusion, she would need at least several months of rest before she could recover to the point where she could train and compete again.

However, she doesn't have that much time left.

This year marks Qingzhu's fifth year in the Open, a remarkable achievement for most participants.

Even disregarding the length of the period of mastery, five years of training, competition, and even injuries would be enough to wear down the body to the point where it could no longer function.

Qingzhu clearly recalled her current condition; this injury was not just due to a sprained ligament in her right leg.

It was also because she had almost touched the edge of the field, and this extraordinary power caused her to overdraw her already limited potential.

Even if she recovers later, it will probably be difficult for her to regain her current condition.

In other words, today's defeat may... signal the end of her Open career.

When it comes to the pursuit of victory, Qingzhu recalls being able to proudly say: I am no worse than anyone else.

She has always been like this, maintaining the most passionate attitude towards running and regarding it as her everything.

But nowadays...

In this 1600m race, the girl fought until the very last moment, unleashing a running performance beyond her best, but was still defeated.

If it were a year ago, perhaps she would have already cheered herself up and worked hard for the next competition?

Since victory cannot be achieved by touching the edge of the domain, then step into the domain itself.

That's the only way I used to think.

However, whenever she thinks about training and competition, she recalls the figure that rushed past her and into the finish line just hours ago.

Stardust illusion...

That perfect running form, that last step that surpassed even the strongest.

Compared to her, how can I surpass her?

However... it was too late.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but before they could fall, they were absorbed by the gauze on her face.

Looking back now, there's not much to boast about in my competitive career.

They were constantly defeated by various opponents, and they regarded the strong as their nemesis without understanding the gap between themselves and their opponents.

Compared to those runners at the top, my abilities are utterly worthless and insignificant...

It has a beautiful ending.

Qingzhu recalled how much she also wanted to have a perfect ending like them.

"Um... Boss?"

The sound of the door opening was accompanied by the trainer's cautious inquiry.

The trainer, DouDing, peeked out from outside the door and looked inside. After confirming that no one else was in the ward, he quickly ran over and sat down next to Qingzhu.

She was also in poor spirits, but still forced a smile and said solicitously:

"Boss, I've already spoken with the doctor. If we're lucky, this injury should heal in just two or three months—"

"Alright, trainer."