On the cold electronic screen, the giant word [FAILED] felt like a poisoned dagger plunged directly into Myriad Dreams' heart.
Six! Six blindingly brilliant rainbow rings! A fifty percent success rate!
Other people's 1% miracles play out every day, yet his 50% "miracle" had plummeted steadily into the abyss of failure.
"Gold— Ship—!"
This was the final wail squeezed from the depths of Myriad Dreams' soul before his consciousness faded.
A powerful resentment and unwillingness swallowed him whole. He felt as though he had been drop-kicked into endless darkness by that godforsaken "Gold Ship."
After floating in the void for an unknown amount of time, Myriad Dreams suddenly felt a wave of suffocation.
Cold air rushed greedily into his— or rather, her?— lungs, stimulating the first cry upon entering this world.
"Waaaaah!"
Immediately after, a voice of extreme tenderness sounded by her ear.
"Oh my, she's opened her eyes. What a spirited child."
Myriad Dreams struggled to blink her blurry eyes until her vision gradually cleared.
Two extraordinarily beautiful faces came into view. One had silky long blonde hair and a gentle temperament, while the other had sharp, short hair and a gallant gaze.
Both wore the iconic, unmistakable ears of an Uma Musume, looking at her with eyes full of love and surprise.
"Look, she's looking at us." The short-haired Uma Musume smiled, carefully touching the infant's cheek with a fingertip.
"Yes, she's truly a lovely child." The blonde Uma Musume held her tenderly and turned to her partner.
"Have you thought of a name? I hope her future is filled with infinite possibilities, like a myriad of dreams, capable of transcending everything and defeating countless enemies."
"Myriad... Dreams? That sounds beautiful. Let's call her Myriad Dreams! Little Myriad Dreams, welcome to this world!"
'Wait... Uma Musume? Giving birth? Myriad Dreams?'
A massive amount of information trampled through Myriad Dreams' brain like a stampede.
He... no, she now understood completely: Not only had she been frustrated to death by Gold Ship, but she had actually transmigrated.
She had reincarnated directly into the world of Uma Musume as a newborn Uma Musume!
Just as she was beyond shocked, a soft but unignorable light flashed before her eyes.
[Ding! Uma Musume Support System bound!]
[Host soul traits and strong obsession detected. Core Inheritance Factors loading...]
[Legacy inherited: Gold Ship!]
'A System! The standard-issue System for transmigrators! And the Gold Ship factor!'
'Truly, the heavens have not abandoned me!'
Immense joy instantly washed away the confusion and fear of arrival.
Her love for Uma Musume, her obsession with training, and especially her intense longing for that elusive 9-star Stamina factor took over her entire mind.
'The last one! The last Gold Ship I trained must have succeeded! Nine stars! My 9-star Stamina Spark!'
She screamed inwardly, impatiently using her thoughts to open the System's personal status panel.
Her gaze locked directly onto the [Inherited Factors] column. There, a line of text was clearly written:
[Stamina Spark Inheritance: ☆×8]
It wasn't the dazzling golden nine stars, but a piercing, almost mocking eight silver stars.
'Eight stars... It was still eight stars!!'
'Even after crossing the line between life and death, I couldn't escape the curse of the 8-star Stamina?!!'
The massive psychological drop-off was like a cold wind from the North, instantly extinguishing all her passion and hope.
"Ugh..."
The infant Myriad Dreams felt her eyes roll back, then her little legs gave a final kick, a tiny invisible soul bubble drifted from her mouth, and her head lolled to the side.
Once again, she had quite simply fainted from pure frustration.
She left behind two panicked new mothers: "Oh?! What happened? What's wrong? Wasn't she just fine a moment ago?!"