The following week, Hayakawa Tazuna found him again to explain the testing. Following her, Luo Cheng reached a room that had been filled with black iron crates. Various cables were plugged in, all connecting to a single computer. This was the VR equipment Yayoi had mentioned, capable of uploading one's consciousness to a digital space.
Normally, Luo Cheng would have been thrilled. But now he was calm, because he felt he was already in a digital space with its UI, NPCs, and spawning food. This was a game.
However, he was curious: were these items brought in from outside, or did they appear out of thin air? He had been watching the school gate and never saw any trucks. If they were brought in, there would be noise. He concluded they must be spawning like game items.
"Then I'll leave it to Trainer Luo Cheng."
"What do I do?"
"Just lie inside. We'll handle the rest." Tazuna began typing at the computer. Luo Cheng squinted; to him, the screen was just a white blank. What was she even doing? In the game world, any smart device was unusable. He didn't know if the world couldn't process high-calculation devices or what.
Following instructions, Luo Cheng lay in the VR pod, put on the headset, and waited. In the darkness, he heard Tazuna's voice: "Preparation complete."
[Connection Initiated]
An electronic voice rang in his ear, and the black world lit up. Strange pillars of light flashed, followed by a blinding white glare. Luo Cheng closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he was standing at the academy gates. The Three Goddesses fountain was splashing, and the air was filled with the scent of flowers and birdsong. Luo Cheng looked at his hands and his clothes—he was still wearing his uniform.
Did I trigger a plot event? Appearing suddenly in a new location meant a plot trigger, just like being teleported back from the hotel. If this is a plot, what kind of plot is it? I don't see any prompts.
While he was dazed, someone greeted him.
"Hello, Trainer Luo Cheng."
Looking up, he saw an orange-haired Uma Musume he'd never seen before.
"Hello?" Wait, she used my name?
"I am the AI Uma Musume here to help Trainer Luo Cheng introduce the features of this place."
"You're an AI?"
"Yes, I am an AI."
"This is VR?"
"This is Tracen's Virtual Reality equipment. It can be used for training and racing."
Hearing her respond so fluently, Luo Cheng's eyes widened. This AI was far more intelligent than the horse girls outside! No, she was an NPC too, but her intelligence far surpassed the "puppets" in the game world! Luo Cheng walked over and touched her head, then rubbed her face. The touch and temperature were no different from a real horse girl. Combined with her tone and expressions—this felt like the "real" world.
"Trainer Luo Cheng... don't do that." The girl pouted and broke free of his hand. "Even if we are AIs, we have the personalities of normal people. I'll let it slide this once, but if you touch me without permission again, I'll kick you."
She's so real! Luo Cheng had found someone he could actually talk to, and it wasn't even during a story event!
The AI girl led him around. The world inside was almost identical to Tracen—rooms and tracks were 1:1 recreations. Horse girls could train here, and their physical bodies outside would receive the corresponding feedback. Today's test was to calibrate the data, syncing real and virtual parameters. The AI girl had Luo Cheng run on the track to record data; a human's slower, more stable speed made them a better test subject.
Once the test was over, she nodded. "That's all for today, Trainer Luo Cheng. Thank you for your hard work."
"When is the next time?"
"You will be notified."
"I'll look forward to it then."
"Do you like it here?"
"I want to live here," Luo Cheng said. "It feels great. You can do whatever you want in a digital world."
"Trainer Luo Cheng, don't confuse reality and virtuality. If you stay here forever, your physical body will waste away."
"Confuse them... to be honest, I can't tell them apart anymore. To me, there's no difference."
"It seems Trainer has many troubles. But everyone is the same. When I realized I was just a pile of data, I cried too. But as you can see, it's no big deal. It's quite nice in here. if we only think about the sad things, we ignore what's right in front of us."
The AI girl stood before him. "Enjoy the moment, Trainer. Even if the world lies to you, your feelings won't." she took his hand, her warm palm touching the back of his hand. "I hope you can learn to like this world."
A white light flashed. Luo Cheng opened his eyes and took off the headset. He found the VR pod open and stood up.
"The test... is over?"
Tazuna stood before the computer, staring at the blank white screen. she didn't speak. Luo Cheng walked out of the room.
Tracen was still Tracen. Students were living their lives, laughing in the hallways. Disciplinarians maintained order. Black smoke rose from Tachyon's lab. Tokai Teio ran into the Student Council. Seiun Sky was sleeping in a tree. Air Groove was teaching students how to plant flowers.
Watching the scenes unfold, Luo Cheng stopped. A student bumped into him and ran off without a word, as if she hadn't felt a thing. Luo Cheng slowly turned back and sat on a bench. Like an outsider, he watched it all. Tracen was lively, with endless stories to tell. But that liveliness had nothing to do with him.
Amidst the noise, Luo Cheng lay down and closed his eyes.
"Trainer, what is today's training task?"
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Uma Musume: Inside the Game (71 Chapters – Ongoing)
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