Back in the room, Tokai Teio's mood improved slightly, though it remained at [Bad]. Sitting on the sofa, her eyes stayed fixed on Cafe, looking intensely dissatisfied. However, that was just a standard idle animation for her character; when there were no active tasks, their gazes tended to stare straight ahead.
This time, Luo Cheng didn't need to tie them up or use training as an excuse to bring them in. He only had to say the word, and both followed him obediently.
They were becoming increasingly "intelligent." Previously, ordinary conversation received no response, and they only moved when he issued a direct command. Now, they could automatically distinguish his intent, which meant they were beginning to understand the meaning behind his words.
Perhaps as the story chapters unlocked, their intelligence would continue to rise.
Luo Cheng didn't pray for them to become exactly like real people; he just wanted a simple "Mm" or "Oh" when he spoke. He just wanted to know he wasn't alone, talking to thin air.
After cleaning the fish, Luo Cheng set them on the stove to cook. His culinary skills weren't anything special—just average home-cooking level. He set some aside for Tachyon and Sky, giving the rest to the two girls.
Just as the meal was ready, he noticed the information for the fish had changed. What was originally [Seiun Sky's Fish] had become [Cooked Fish]. The stamina recovery jumped from three to fifteen points, and the mood boost rose to +4.
Luo Cheng was stunned. Wait, did the original values imply eating them raw?
Items brought from the outside could be transformed through processing. However, his current sample size was too small; he needed to experiment with more objects. If this held true, the margin for error in his training would increase significantly. If their stamina hit zero, a quick snack could bring them back to full health.
He placed the cooked fish on the table and led the two to their seats. Once Luo Cheng picked up his chopsticks, the two girls followed suit. The green stamina bars above their heads began to fill slowly. This food actually recovered their stamina!
Cafeteria food didn't have this effect; after a meal there, their stamina remained exactly where it was. Sleep was the only way to recover their condition. Teio's mood rose steadily with every bite, eventually reaching [Perfect].
This rate of improvement was comparable to... well, certain other activities. Usually, he either had to rub Teio's ears until she was flushed and breathless, or "play" with her until she was "filled." Those were the only two ways to quickly boost her bond.
There was one downside, though: if Teio was too "full," it affected her training. She would often flush red mid-run, leaving damp traces where she ran, and her stamina bar would deplete faster than usual. He had no idea where that "extra" energy was being spent.
Back in the present, Luo Cheng watched Teio and Cafe eat. Watching beautiful girls eat wasn't a bad way to pass the time. Unlike the noisy cafeteria, the dorm had a cozy atmosphere. If he could, he would have commanded them to treat this place as their home, but that was a command the system couldn't process.
I wonder if I can recover stamina by eating this?
Luo Cheng couldn't see his own attributes. Even looking in the mirror revealed no UI. He didn't know if he was affected by items; he didn't feel anything special when he ate. Perhaps these things only worked on Uma Musume? After all, this game was designed to raise horse girls, not Trainers.
Without items, Luo Cheng had to rely on his own willpower. He exercised while the girls trained to ensure he remained firm and full of energy during the day. He couldn't pin all his hopes on the nightly "state refresh."
Luo Cheng set a goal for himself: one day, he would max out the affection of all two thousand students in the school. If his life remained unchanged after "clearing" the game, then grinding affection and triggering whatever story events might appear would be his sole purpose. He wouldn't starve here, after all; the only catch was being confined to a campus of a few thousand acres for the rest of his life.
Once the two finished eating, Luo Cheng pulled them onto his lap to play with them. Just as he was enjoying ruffling their ears, Tokai Teio suddenly reached out her hand.
"Hm? Teio..."
Before Luo Cheng could speak, Cafe also leaned her head in. The two of them seemed to be drawn by something, their gazes fixed intently.
"What are you two..."
"Trainer..."
"What is... today's training task...?"
Luo Cheng's words were cut off by them both. Then, his belt was undone.
...
How should he put it? Luo Cheng realized he still understood far too little about the horse girls in the game world. Just ruffling their ears had seemingly flipped a switch.
Half an hour later, Luo Cheng lay on the sofa with a mind of absolute clarity. He contemplated the universe, the origins of life, the transmission of energy, the structure of proteins, the function of digestive enzymes, the production and secretion of saliva, and why the temperature of the human mouth is higher than the rest of the body.
Luo Cheng's mind was filled only with life's great philosophies. Eventually, his thoughts returned to the system. Something was different.
After the story event ended, the behavior of Teio and the others had changed markedly. Previously, Luo Cheng had to issue commands—telling them to move their tongues, spread their legs, or do squats. But now, he didn't need to. The horse girls did these things on their own.
Luo Cheng recalled the faces of Cafe and Teio so close to his own. He never imagined in his life that it would be these two together. For once, he felt Teio's playfulness and Cafe's soft suppleness simultaneously. The two sensations overlapping, combined with the exquisite visuals, produced an effect Luo Cheng could hardly describe.
If this happens a few more times, my brain is going to melt.
He watched the two girls curled up on the sofa, lazily wagging their tails and smacking their lips, and forced himself to sit up. It seemed progressing the plot was the right choice. Not because it unlocked more "positions" or "gameplay," but because the horse girls' logic was changing; they were becoming more like real people.
And for some reason, after Luo Cheng was "divided" between the two, Teio's mood no longer dropped when she was near Cafe. Perhaps the little girl had accepted the "co-op" mode?
That was for the best. It prevented Teio's mood from plummeting every time she saw Cafe. The lower the mood, the lower the attribute growth and the higher the risk of injury. Back when he was bored, Luo Cheng had observed other Trainers' sessions and noticed that horse girls in a bad mood were far more likely to suffer sprains or strains; their legs were often wrapped in bandages.
Clearly, even in the game world, they could get hurt and required bandaging and treatment. Sleep could recover stamina, but it couldn't cure a "status ailment"—unlike Luo Cheng, who could recover from any injury or illness with one night's sleep. Luo Cheng was a "Total Refresh."
The Uma Musume, however, got sick just like in the real world, requiring a long recovery period under the care of the infirmary teacher. Incidentally, the infirmary teacher was young—probably only two or three years older than Luo Cheng. She was beautiful, with deep blue short hair and eyes, a delicate upturned nose, and thin lips that smelled faintly of cherry blossoms. Unlike the horse girls, she had no attributes—no speed or power values. All humans in Tracen were like that.
But they did have affection values. The school nurse was currently in the mid-thirties. Every time Luo Cheng went to the infirmary to rest, her affection would rise. It was a strange character setting. Luo Cheng hadn't done anything; her bond just grew on its own.
After resting for a moment, Luo Cheng packed up the remaining fish. He planned to take some to Tachyon and Sky. Leaving the dorm, he saw a green figure standing outside. A beautiful face of indeterminate age offered a faint smile. Hayakawa Tazuna bowed to him.
"Good afternoon, Trainer Luo Cheng."
"H... Hello?" Luo Cheng blinked. Am I seeing this right? Hayakawa Tazuna had proactively greeted him—and she had even used his name.
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Uma Musume: Inside the Game (49 Chapters – Ongoing)
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