One month later.
With the support of her massive fanbase and her own active campaigning, Myriad Dreams successfully pushed herself up to fifth place on the Winter Cup entry list.
Her qualification was now set in stone.
Only one month remained.
Initially, she hadn't intended to join this race.
However, when she saw the unconcealed disappointment in Yaeno Muteki's eyes, a sharp pang of heartache drove her to a decision: She would compete, not just for her friend, but for herself.
Reality, however, remained brutally thin.
Even with the qualification secured, the results were devastating whenever she used the system's simulation function to face the current version of Oguri Cap.
Every single simulation ended in a crushing defeat.
Whenever she followed the system's recommended route to close in on her opponent, that powerful "Zone" would act like an invisible barrier, instantly shattering her advantage.
The chasm between those with a Zone and those without was despairingly real.
"Damn it!"
As another simulation concluded, Myriad Dreams fell to her knees on the training field's grass, sweat dripping steadily from her chin.
At this rate, forget winning, she'd be lucky if she wasn't destroyed by the rest of the field in the actual race.
She had no choice but to throw herself into even more frantic training.
On this day, she once again practiced until the early hours of the morning.
Dragging her nearly broken body back to the dormitory, she collapsed directly onto her bed, failing to even change out of her uniform.
In the darkness, she gripped her bedsheets tight as a single thought burned in her chest like wildfire:
'I have to win. Not just for Yaeno Muteki, but more importantly, because I refuse to just give up like this!'
This intense obsession took root like a seed deep in her heart, growing quietly.
Myriad Dreams drifted into a heavy sleep.
Inside her mind, the system seemed to sense its host's powerful longing and began to emit pulses of light.
When Myriad Dreams woke up, she found herself in a strange space.
It was a racecourse, yet it felt entirely foreign.
"Are you the Uma Musume who hungers to become stronger?"
Hearing the voice, Myriad Dreams turned around to see a cherry-blossom-haired Uma Musume standing barely 1.5 meters tall, dressed in magnificent attire.
"Who are you?" Myriad Dreams asked, looking at her with confusion.
"Me? You can call me Senbonzakura, though that doesn't really matter," she replied.
Senbonzakura continued, "I've agreed to your system's request to make you stronger, but I need to see if you have the resolve for it."
Hearing this girl— who was much shorter than her— claim she could make her stronger, Myriad Dreams was curious, even if the system had summoned her.
"Are you... actually that strong?"
Senbonzakura responded with a light, nonchalant shrug.
"Well~ I'm alright, I suppose. Maybe just a tiny bit stronger than Symboli Rudolf."
Her tone was casual, as if the "Emperor" herself was nothing special in her presence.
Myriad Dreams stepped forward urgently.
"Please, Senior, make me stronger! I have a very important race next month, and the way I am now, I have no chance of winning!"
Senbonzakura smiled.
"Like I said, it depends on your will."
"Also, you've inherited Gold Ship's factors, right? If you can inherit my factors, you'll become even stronger. However..."
"However?" Myriad Dreams questioned.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Senbonzakura surged upward, forming a long flight of stairs.
A throne appeared behind her, and she took her seat upon it.
Then, Obelisk the Tormentor and Slifer the Sky Dragon manifested to the left and right of Senbonzakura, looming over Myriad Dreams.
"As I said, this depends on your will. If you have the nerve, then walk up here."
Looking at the two Egyptian Gods, Myriad Dreams' legs couldn't stop shaking. This pressure was far, far stronger than the "Zone" she felt when facing Oguri Cap!!!
(T/N: In case it isn't obvious, the next few chapters will just be colab chapters between this fic and another fic.)
(T/N: I still chose to translate them because they aren't too long and they don't take away from the rest of the story.)