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

Needless to say, Stardust Illusion, rather than running in its own way, learns techniques from various runners, memorizing and replicating the running styles of its opponents.

Is this instinct?

Indeed, her running techniques, such as Shrinking Ground, Phantom Steps, and even the true inherent skill she awakened at the Satsuki Sho: Stardust Illusion, are unique skills that she created through instinct.

However, in most competitions, she actually learns from others' running styles and adapts them to her own, constantly improving by perfectly replicating or even integrating others' running styles.

"This may not be a theory, but it is certainly not just instinct."

This was the judgment made by Qingyun Sky after running alongside Stardust Illusion for several days.

As a top-notch theoretical runner, especially adept at understanding the state of others, Qingyun Sky keenly noticed the impurities on Stardust Illusion.

No, it shouldn't be called an impurity, because it's also part of what helps her run.

But one thing is certain: Qingyun Sky has never seen any other contestant learn someone else's unique skill so easily.

Therefore, even someone as lazy as her couldn't help but become interested.

Is it possible for such stardust illusions to possess something that only theorists excel at?

Is it possible that she doesn't rely on calculations, but rather on that kind of "impurity" to grasp the rhythm on the track and do things that instinctive runners can't?

If such a stardust illusion could accomplish that, it would be entirely beneficial to her.

This not only enriches the athlete's running tactics, but also proves that she will have a completely different future than any other athlete, and that she has the potential to be even stronger, and even able to compete with the strongest athletes from other countries in the world.

A limitless growth potential, an insatiable and terrifying training intensity, a mental fortitude that will never be defeated by any failure, and a special domain that surpasses that of ordinary domain-level experts...

If we could add the running method that Nebula Sky has been researching all along, and use it as the final piece of the puzzle to make up for the weakness...!

So, Qingyun Sky was tempted.

In the days that followed, she no longer simply ran twice a day as she had said; in fact, she provided Stardust Illusion with sparring partners around the clock.

Instead of explanations and theories, she was repeatedly defeated by showcasing her best running style, forcing Stardust Illusion to memorize everything that required mastering this running style.

Time and time again, day after day, for a full half month, Qingyun Sky collapsed from exhaustion more often than Stardust Illusion himself.

Finally, it's done.

Stardust Illusion truly mastered the techniques derived from this theory.

It's not the brain that's needed to control the rhythm, but the body.

Show the enemy weakness, use disorder to shatter order, and crush all opponents in their illusory hopes.

This running style is called:

"It really is a case of willing participants taking the bait."

Qingyun Sky stood with his friends from Team Spica, quietly watching the players on the field rush after the Stardust Phantom.

"what?"

Zhou, who was nervously watching the arena, didn't hear Qingyun Tiankong's words clearly for a moment, so he turned his head and asked.

"No, it's nothing. Little Trump will find out as he continues watching the game."

Qingyun Tiankong revealed a fox-like smile, without giving a direct answer.

"By the way, where has Qingyun-chan been these past two weeks? Xiaoying and I wanted to ask you out for a meal, but we couldn't find you."

Zhou didn't pay much attention to what he heard, turned his head back to continue watching the game, and casually asked.

She, Shenying, Qingyuntiankong, and Silent Suzuka were all runners who debuted around the same time, so their relationship was naturally closer than that of the others.

After Silent Suzuka went to the United States, the remaining three female racehorses, as Special Week mentioned, would often meet up to go shopping and eat.

However, when I tried to meet up with Qingyun Tiankong a few days ago, I was surprised to find that he hadn't arrived. I asked my roommate, Saint King Aura, and learned that Qingyun Tiankong had left the academy almost half a month ago.

Normally, the other person would tell me beforehand if they went hiking or fishing, so Zhou asked about it strangely.

"Ah, that's true too. Little Te will find out as he continues to watch the game."

Qingyun Tiankong maintained his mysterious smile, gently patting TeBie Zhou's head as if he were coaxing his younger sister.

"You can tell by watching the game?"

Zhou scratched his head, not understanding what it meant.

[Stardust Illusion is accelerating! Has it sensed the pressure coming from behind?! Can it shake them off? Can it shake them off?]

[He hasn't shaken them off! Even as Stardust Illusion accelerates, he still can't completely shake off his pursuer! Is Shigebaba having such a significant impact on this overlord!?]

His attention was drawn back by the host's shouts, and he turned his head to look at the situation on the field again.

Stardust Illusion, who was racing at the front, also increased her speed, but for some reason, no matter how many strides she took, she could not increase the distance between herself and the runners behind her.

The difference in length between the two horses seemed to be completely fixed, remaining unchanged even as they both surged into the bend.

"kindness……?"

According to the host, the biggest reason for this situation is that Stardust Illusion is not used to the heavy racecourse, resulting in insufficient acceleration and inability to increase the distance, thus putting it in an unfavorable situation where it is forced into a corner by several runners.

But Zhou felt something was off. Although she couldn't see the problem with the stardust illusion before her, she had a vague feeling that she had seen this kind of running style somewhere before...

Where is it?

The initial escape disrupted the rhythm, and instead of pulling ahead, the player maintained a somewhat ambiguous distance, keeping pace with the other players...

[You'll find out as you watch the game.]

Suddenly remembering what Qingyun Tiankong had just said, Zhou abruptly turned to look at his friend beside him.

Feeling her intense gaze, Qingyun Tiankong also smiled, stretched, and yawned lazily:

"Sigh, teaching this wooden fish head is no easy task. I was almost exhausted, but thankfully... I finally succeeded."

----------

Now the first straight has been completely breached, and all the racehorses are rushing into the bend.

Logically speaking, when a horse girl enters a bend, she must slow down to prevent accidents. In addition, given the current poor condition of the muddy grass, going too fast could lead to an irreversible accident if she slips.

Unfortunately, none of the competitors currently racing ahead can be described in terms of what is "normally speaking" in this respect.

Without exception, these runners who can stand on this highest stage called the "Neon Derby" and compete with others for the glory of victory are truly extraordinary and cannot be judged by common sense!

[Stardust Illusion is in the lead! He's entered the first corner alongside Tosho Reform, Narita Shirohito, and Sky Shrine!]

The battle that began in the early stages is far from over. These contestants show no signs of slowing down; they're even accelerating. Are they planning to completely defeat the Overlord right here?

Amidst the host's exclamations and concerns, the magical girl Dong Shang Bian, hidden behind the stardust illusion, strode forward with unstoppable momentum, chasing after the runner who was right in front of her.

In order to catch up with the opponent completely and completely eliminate the gap of only two horse lengths in front of him, Dong Shang Bian Bian poured all his strength into the horseshoes with every step he took.

The fighting spirit surrounding Stardust Illusion was indeed incredibly dense, but it was much weaker than the overwhelming killing intent witnessed during the two previous Eastern Merchant Revolutions.

Even though she had just unleashed her power, her pace was still slower than his.

The powerful push made Dong Shang's feet sink deep into the mud. Although it would take extra effort, this way of stepping ensured that the girl would never slip or lose her balance.

(Saber... I will defeat you here no matter what!)

The current state of Dongshang's transformation is not pleasant; in fact, it would be more accurate to say it is extremely unpleasant.

To unleash such a level of speed, she needs to completely integrate all the muscles in her body. Her perfect figure as she runs around the corner is as unbelievable as magic.

(Only two horse lengths left... I still have some speed to spare!)

The true magic ritual to achieve victory is to defeat the Stardust Illusion before this bend, overtake it, and completely suppress its escape!

(We're almost there! We'll catch up soon! Only two horse lengths left—)

"—?"

The girl unconsciously let out a sound of astonishment.

At this moment, she looked at the figure striding forward at the very front of the track, watching her stride, which was not particularly strong.

While this stance is perfect in terms of control for cornering, ensuring that Stardust Illusion doesn't waste any energy, its speed should be a few points slower than mine.

But—why?

From the moment I started chasing her relentlessly on the first straight, I've already covered most of the curves ahead, yet I still can't catch up!

Two horse bodies, two horse bodies... still two horse bodies!

Even though I was constantly pushing my speed to surpass the Stardust Illusion, and I should have been faster, why was the distance of only two horse lengths still there?!

Did I misjudge the speed?

No, it's definitely not that simple.

Dongshang Reforms rallied again, their eyes fixed on the strides of the Stardust Illusion, trying to find a flaw in them.

The figure that tore through the rain and ran at the very front of everyone had a different running posture from the other runners. She kept her waist straight and raised her legs slightly higher than the other runners, keeping her body at an angle of about 70 degrees to the ground as she ran forward.

This posture is undoubtedly a special running technique used for cornering, and it's the skill that Dongshang Biange secretly praised earlier.

However, if you stare closely at her legs, you can see that the seemingly slow steps of the Stardust Illusion are actually an illusion!

Stardust Illusion's running style was a complete departure from her usual method of increasing speed through stride frequency. Although the frequency of each step was not fast, it propelled her body forward a considerable distance.

This is……

Shrinking the earth?

Dong Shang recalled the techniques he had learned about Stardust Illusion.

However, it differs from shrinking the earth.

Although the legs, which are not fully straightened, cannot provide the terrifying forward burst of speed as the Shrinking Earth technique, Stardust Illusion's rare height and leg length allow even its light steps to mislead people about its speed...

Therefore, Stardust Illusion was never slowing down from the very beginning, nor was her condition affected by the muddy track at Shigemuro.

This guy is just faking his weakness, pretending that he can make people speed up and surpass him at any time.

By using this deceptive stride, they continuously tempt runners behind them to waste their energy trying to overtake them!

Having finally come to terms with this fact, Dongshang felt a wave of dizziness, as if he could hear the voice of stardust illusions in his ears:

What gave you the illusion that you could surpass me?

(No, we can't keep pursuing them like this!)

Trying to outrun and outpace a stardust illusion here is definitely not a rational idea.