Uma Musume, do I have to tell you that I know how to use the Santa Hat special move?

Yes, how great would it be if I could compete with Oguruma again?

She couldn't help but nodded.

"Both Oguruma and I are runners of this type, but you are different...Can you beat Oguruma with that explosive running style?"

"If it was her, how would she deal with an opponent like you? I really want to see this with my own eyes."

Seeing the nodding Stardust Illusion, Qingzhu Huiyi also became happy. She continued to talk incessantly, completely without the domineering attitude she had when they first met:

"Although I don't know what Oguruma is thinking, but if you can keep winning, then I think you will be able to fight her sooner or later."

"So...you must keep winning, Stardust Illusion!"

Listening to Qingzhu's recollections which were beginning to sound tearful, Stardust Illusion did not say anything more.

She just nodded, packed her things in silence, and walked out with Soko.

Another contestant said this to himself.

[You must continue to win. ]

Stardust Illusion couldn't remember how many times he had heard such earnest words.

Since her debut without a win, every victory she won also shattered the expectations of many people.

So these contestants placed their feelings and even ideals on her, which made Stardust Illusion feel very uncomfortable.

She runs for herself and doesn't want to be bound by anything.

Correspondingly, she found it difficult to understand why these people would choose to give up just like that.

No one can achieve victory for you.

Such a simple truth, yet they can't understand it?

Or... am I too arrogant now that I own the system?

Forget it. These assumptions are meaningless to think about, and I am not the type who is good at philosophical thinking.

Just know one thing...win and shine!

Stardust Illusion shook his head and cast his gaze to the front of the corridor, looking at the audience downstairs.

They gathered in groups of two or three, waiting for the winner's stage to come.

Stardust Illusion's mind moved, and he opened the system prompt page to look at it:

[It is detected that the host has completed the career battle in first place, and the reward is 63PT. 】

[Host obtains the mission completion reward, speed attribute increased by 41 points, random props are being drawn...]

[Host obtains system item: Competition Alarm Clock x1, which has been placed in the system backpack. ]

【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 Reward: Randomly increase one attribute by 20-60 points, and a random item x1]

The attributes rewarded by the system this time were not the strength and endurance she needed most, but being able to increase speed was not a loss.

But what Stardust Illusion paid most attention to was another reward after completing the task: the competition alarm clock.

[Competition Alarm Clock: A disposable consumable. It can be crushed and used within 30 minutes after a match in which the host participates, returning to the time before the match started.]

[Additional note: The competition alarm can be used at most once per game. ]

hiss…

Seeing the description of the items in the backpack, Stardust Illusion couldn't help but take a breath.

This thing instantly gave Stardust Illusion a bad feeling.

As the saying goes: If there's a gun in the first act of a play, it's going to be fired during the performance.

Now that she has been given an item that can reset the game, it's like writing the words "You will lose the game" on her face!

Lose the game? Me?

Could it be Gaoyue Shang?

The Stardust Illusion lowered his head and looked at his palms.

Although she has not yet truly mastered the field, she has benefited greatly from the two opening experiences.

Even in this situation, there are still signs of losing...

"What a joke."

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

She grasped it without any hesitation, and the alarm clock instantly exploded into a sky full of golden light, floating in the air for a while, as if looking for something to work on.

However, several hours had passed since the Stardust Illusion Competition was completed, which did not meet the conditions for the alarm to work.

Therefore, these golden lights could only dissipate into thin air helplessly.

That’s right, Stardust Illusion directly discarded the alarm clock. Even Alice Tako who was standing next to her didn’t notice the process. Everything was done quietly.

What omen, what alarm clock?

The Stardust Illusion curled his lips and continued walking forward.

For her, competition is such a sacred thing, and every player is trying their best to compete against each other.

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

Deny yourself, deny everyone's efforts in the competition, go back to the past, and start over like a clown to avoid failure?

impossible.

"It's just a victory... I can do it on my own!"

"What?" Suozi tilted his head in confusion.

"Ah - it's okay, I'm just cheering myself up."

Having accidentally spoken out his second-year thought, Stardust Illusion could only hastily explain it and quickly change the subject:

"By the way, Soyako, my next match should be scheduled for the Yayoi Sho, right?"

"That's true. This is the prerequisite for Gaoyue Award."

Airihako nodded. As someone who had participated in the Gaoyue Sho, she knew the ins and outs of it very well.

Tachyon took out a page of information from his pocket and handed it to Stardust Illusion:

"As the first stop of the Classic Triple Crown, Gaoyue Sang will only be open to contestants in 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 next year."

"Many players - like you, and me at that time - will face the situation where the accumulated bounties are not enough."

"So the qualification for this game is what we need to pay the most attention to and understand."

"This year, there will be a total of 18 runners participating in the Gaoyueshou, and the places are divided into three parts."

"The first list is for contestants who have indeed reached the cumulative bounty limit. They will be given priority to appear after registering. This list usually consists of about seven or eight people, and most of them are contestants who debuted in June or July of the previous year."

"The second group is for players who participated in the Gaoyue Sho pre-tournament and received the corresponding rankings, including [Top 3 in the Yayoi Sho], [Top 3 in the Spring Special Tournament], and [Top 2 in the Wakaba Special Tournament], a total of eight fixed places."

"The next third part is all the remaining places. This part will count the runners who registered but did not have enough bounty, and fill the quota in order from the highest to the lowest."

At this point, Elly Speed ​​shook her long sleeves and placed her hands on Stardust Illusion's shoulders, behaving intimately:

"So it's clear now, right? Your goal is to win a move at the Yayoi Sho, and then just wait for the Gaoyue Sho to begin."

"Eh, it seems like it's only been about ten days. Now Toyama Scarlet will definitely be cyberbullied by your supporters again."

Chapter 10.5 (Gal ) The Hero's Decline

Lost.

Completely and irrefutably lost.

no doubt.

When I think about this, my nose gets sore...

If the Stardust Illusion had not left the ward in time, Qingzhu would have recalled clearly that she would definitely not be able to continue to maintain that open-minded attitude, and might even have cried out in pain in front of her?

In this deserted ward, Qingzhu Huiyi could only look helplessly at the incandescent light on the ceiling, as it was difficult for him to move due to the bandages all over his body.

(My burning blood competition...)

Feeling the stinging pain in her right leg due to the strained ligament, her heart ached and she choked with sobs.

Sobbing where no one can hear.

Having been injured many times before, she knew that, as she had just said to Stardust Illusion, this time she would need to rest for at least several months before she could recover enough to train and compete.

But she no longer has that much time.

This year marks the fifth year of Qingzhu Memory Open, a very long time for most of the contestants.

Even without considering the length of the period of transformation, five years of training, competition, and even injuries are enough to wear out the body to the point where it can no longer function.

Qingzhu recalled his current condition very clearly. This injury was not just due to a strained ligament in his right leg.

Moreover, it was because she almost touched the edge of the field. This extraordinary power made her overdraw her already limited potential.

And even if she can recover later, it will probably be difficult for her to get back to her current state, right?

In other words, today's failure may...have declared the end of her open tournament career.

If we talk about persistence in victory, Qingzhu Huiyi can 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 mile race, the girl fought until the very last minute, running beyond her best, but was still defeated.

If she were the same person she was a year ago, perhaps she would have cheered herself up and worked hard towards the next competition?

Since there is no victory even if you touch the edge of the field, then step into the field.

This is the only way I used to think.

However, at this moment, whenever she thought about training and competition, she would remember the figure who rushed out from her side and reached the finish line a few hours ago.

Stardust Illusion...

That perfect running posture, that last kick that surpasses the strongest.

Compared to her, how can I surpass her?

然而… …已经晚了.

Tears welled up in his eyes, but before they could flow out, they were soaked and absorbed by the gauze on his face.

Looking back now, there isn't much to praise about my racing career.

Constantly being defeated by various opponents, he regards the strong as his enemies, without even figuring out the gap between himself and the other party.

Compared to those runners at the top, my abilities are so useless and insignificant...

There is beauty in the end.

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

"That... Boss?"

The sound of a door being pushed open was followed by the trainer's cautious questioning.

Trainer Douding stuck his head out of the door and looked inside. After making sure that there was no one else in the ward, he quickly ran to sit next to Qingzhu Huiyi.

She was also in a bad mood, but she still forced a smile and said earnestly:

"Boss, I've talked to the doctor. If I'm lucky, this injury will heal in two or three months—"

"Okay, trainer."