Author's Note: I am not an editor or a pro writer. I will write this the best I can and edit it the best I can. I also do not own Uma Musume, for it is owned by Cygames. Watch the animes, and read the mangas for they are pretty good. Finally, please enjoy.
Edged Lily POV
We gathered back at the hotel, and I was in the shower getting ready for the meeting. As the hot water ran, my thoughts drifted to my teammates. Every one of them is impressive in their own way—especially when it comes to racing.
People call me toxic. They say I don't know how to "baby" others when giving advice, or that I lack sympathy. The truth is simpler: I don't sugarcoat reality. Most people only hear you suck or quit the sport, when in reality I'm giving the same advice I use on myself every day. I've even listened back to recordings of my own words. It's obvious—people assume instead of actually listening.
All I want is for people to get better. Stronger. I love facing strong opponents, challenging legends, and testing myself against the best. Because what's the point of being dominant—of being undefeated—if you've never been pushed to your limits? Victory without resistance is hollow.
My teammates are different. Some are mature enough to listen without assuming—Vic, Mama, Rose, Great Wonder, Norn, Steel, Jo, and BlaD. Others hear my words and don't take them as insults at all—Gray, Rain, ImP, Sweets, Spice, and KiWi. They treat it as what it is: advice.
If I'm being honest—brutally honest—about the team's current ability, this is how I see it.
Steel sits at the top. One day, I will defeat her, but right now she's on another level.
Then there's me, Rose, and Vic, tied just below her.
Norn and Spice follow after that.
ImP, Mama, and Sweets come next.
Jo, BlaD, and Gray are right behind them.
Then Rain, KiWi, and finally Great Wonder.
But rankings don't tell the whole story. We're all close in ability. Strategy, terrain, and circumstance could flip those placements in an instant—everyone except Steel, who remains absurdly hard to beat. Still, this team is exceptional. Either we conquer the world… or it crushes our expectations and makes us eat dirt.
I shut off the water, got dressed, and headed straight to the meeting.
Leadership was already there—I was the first from my group to arrive—but the rest soon followed. When the meeting began and I heard what was next, I couldn't help but feel excited.
Freestyle Running.
Short sprints. Long-distance races. Obstacle courses where parkour, strategy, and even sabotage mattered. Relays that demanded teamwork. Mixed races that combined everything. It was exactly what everyone wanted.
But what excited me most wasn't just the format—it was the global scene. A long, rich history that wasn't popular in Japan, but thrived everywhere else. That meant stronger competition. That meant the world would see us as underdogs from a "weak" nation.
Perfect.
A new world of legends to kill. New monsters to slay.
I've always loved competition more than training, running, or even winning. Games. Sports. Martial arts. Chess. Every loss to a strong opponent only made me work harder to beat them next time. People used to call me a rival-seeking missile—I hunted strong opponents just to face them.
I feared running out of rivals, so I tried multiple sports. I tried pushing others to grow into threats. Instead, most of them quit—and blamed me for it.
The sport I stuck with the longest was cross country. It was the perfect middle ground between track and marathons. It taught me how to run anywhere—any terrain, any condition. Faster than marathons, more varied than track, and always competitive. That's why I relish the chance to challenge the elites of this world. That's where I belong.
After the unanimous vote to enter the freestyle racing scene, we returned to training. Jo's insight into improvement was frighteningly sharp. Rain had training methods that actually worked. If you hit a wall, those two could find a thousand ways to break through it.
Combined with Gray's tactics, Vic's leadership, and everyone else's strengths, we improved rapidly. And when people actually listened to me—really listened—everything changed.
ImP shocked me most. She asked why I said what I said. When I explained, the rest of the team finally understood my intentions—and who I really was.
Now I'm treated with more respect.
And now, for some reason, every time I look at ImP, I find her unbearably adorable. It's embarrassing. I doubt my counterpart, Rudolf, ever looked at Teio like this—but here I am.
Later, we were called in for tryouts with a scouting company. Switching approaches made sense: instead of hunting for an organization ourselves, we'd get paid, trained, and represented while someone else did the searching. The downside was losing control over where we landed—but right now, that was better than nothing.
When we met her, she shook hands with leadership. What no one else noticed—but I did—was High Spice's reaction. Attraction. Whether it was lust or something deeper, I couldn't say. I chose not to think about it. I don't need those images in my head.
The tryouts went smoothly. I could tell immediately what she thought when she saw me: high expectations.
I don't blame her. My look-alike is Symboli Rudolf—the most dominant racer in URA history. But my goal isn't to live in her shadow. It's to prove that everyone on this team surpasses the URA—including Rudolf herself.
The data already supports it. Her prime times are public. I'm faster than that now.
All that's left is proof.
She was impressed by all of us—our dominance, our expertise, our potential. By the end, I knew she wanted to sign us. She introduced herself as Ayana Hiraga, and just like that, our business relationship began.
While Ayana searched for an organization, we received temporary instructors. Singing and dancing—something Norn and BlaD enjoyed. Training theory—Rain and Gray devoured it. World history—Vic and Great Wonder loved it. Horse-girl anatomy—Jo and Rose found fascinating.
I paid attention to all of it.
We learned fast—too fast. Eventually, the instructors ran out of material. Armed with new knowledge, we evolved. Some enhanced their physical abilities—Rain and Steel especially. Others refined their strategies, realizing they could be even rougher—Gray and Sweets.
Jo even began spiritual studies, exploring the interaction between the Uma soul and our own.
Every day we discovered more. Every day we grew stronger.
Then Ayana finally found a place willing to give us everything we wanted.
With limitations.
Now it was time to find out what the catch was.