Chapter 51: Players become the source of fear for NPCs...

That's a good question.

Although I really want to answer 'no'.

But with Kei Yagi around, it seemed like no matter what they answered, it would automatically lead to a single negative answer.

Facing the question of "Is Rikkai University really okay?", even the "gentleman" Yagyu Hiroshi couldn't help but feel awkward.

The next second before he could answer, the player had already taken over the battlefield!

[We are busy arranging your opponent... Please wait... Estimated waiting time is 3 seconds, 2 seconds, 1 second...]

【Matching End】

Your opponent is: The captain of the boys' tennis club at Seirin Junior High School.

The last singles match officially began, and both players took the court.

Looking at the first-year students across from him who kept causing a commotion, Seishi Sosuke, the captain of the boys' tennis club at Seirin Junior High School, slowly tightened his grip on his racket.

Unlike others, he clearly saw the deeper meaning behind this first-year student's superhuman actions.

This kid is definitely not a good person!

He must be the secret weapon prepared by Rikkai University!

Minister Qinglin took a deep breath, staring straight at the mushroom-headed man opposite him without daring to breathe. His alertness was raised to the highest level, as if he regarded him as a formidable enemy!

The atmosphere was tense as everyone held their breath. Even the players and referees on both sides of the field couldn't help but be swept up in the momentum and fell into this anxious situation.

'This boy is so terrifying!'

The voices in your heart are all over the screen, you look at me, I look at you, and your hearts and eyes are full of concentration.

Everyone's imagined enemy, Mushroom Head,

With dead fish eyes open, I waited silently and patiently for the game to start.

Mushroom Head is waiting,

He waited,

…

Why hasn't this game started yet?!

As the players on both sides of the court slowly looked over, the referee suddenly remembered his identity as a referee.

referee:"……"

He blew the whistle quickly,

"Rikkai University vs. Seirin, singles match—start now!!"

Everyone's eyes were focused on the tennis court. Even the Rikkai people, who knew the strength of their juniors, did not relax or become complacent.

Given Mushroom Head's temperament, sometimes he's a superman and sometimes a super ghost, no one can guarantee that he won't suddenly go crazy in the middle of a fight.

Although there are no teammates in singles, there will be no situation like attacking my teammates to protect my opponents,

But, Qinglin's life is also life,

When necessary, you still need to protect it a little bit...

Minister Qinglin still doesn't know what everyone in Rikkai is thinking. If he knew, he would definitely be deeply moved.

But now, standing on the fateful battlefield between the two schools, even if it is a foregone conclusion that Seirin will lose to Rikkai University,

But at least - he, the captain of the tennis club, should be able to win back a game in the last game!

Come on—first-year students of Rikkai University!

Let him see the strength of the so-called reserve freshman of the Kanto Overlord——!!

The player grabbed the racket and hit the serve.

Minister Qinglin gripped the racket tightly and followed closely with his eyes - such a simple move!

There was no frills at all, just throwing the ball, jumping, swinging the racket—'Bang!'

——But it’s just a small thing, it can’t be hidden from his eyes at all!

Trying to trick him into lowering his guard by doing this is completely impossible.

The Qinglin Club members watched their captain run effortlessly, rushing to the landing point that drew a long yellow arc, and swung his hand violently.

The tennis ball hits the surface steadily, making a clear friction sound.

"It's stable!"

The members of the Qinglin Club all thought in their hearts,

After all, their minister has the reputation of 'returning every ball with his bare hands 100%'!

Minister Qinglin thought he was already on high alert against this first-year student at Rikkai University, and even used 80% of his energy to counter the first ball.

For a first-grader, this is a real honor!

But, wrong,

He was totally wrong.

The tennis ball rubbed against the racket face, making a low whine and a 'hissing' sound.

Minister Qinglin immediately changed his hands and tightly grasped the racket.

An incomparable force swept up from the racket and rushed straight to his arm, almost crushing him to pieces!

Wrong, wrong, totally wrong!

He shouldn't have used 80% of his energy on the first ball, he should have used 100% from the very beginning!!

The sound of the tennis ball rubbing against each other became louder and louder, and the speed of the ball spinning became faster and faster.

Minister Qinglin gritted his teeth and held the racket tightly with both hands, forcing himself to resist and hit back with all his strength.

"Bang--!"

“Bang!!”

There was a loud bang.

A figure spun 360 degrees and flew backwards.

Of course, he still held the tennis racket tightly in his hand.

“…”

“………”

"Busan--!! Busan, why are you flying!?!"

The members of the Qinglin Club over there were bewildered, looking at each other and crying loudly.

The Rikkai University players on this side silently watched as their opponent, who was as fragile as paper after just one contact with the ball, was sent flying without a single pause.

Then he slowly looked back at the unchanged Mushroom Head in his own half.

"Eh... Yagi's power has become stronger, hasn't it?"

"It seems so... This kid's lethality didn't seem so terrifying before, right?"

"If it was this terrifying before, we would probably have to fly out once a day..."

“…Thinking of that scene, haha, it’s a good thing that we are teammates with Yagi.”

"Don't forget, this kid will also attack his teammates~piyou."

“…”

“………”

Silence, because of the sudden truth from Niou.

The only person who was not in the situation said to himself, "...No wonder Kei can fight a shark with his bare hands."

Everyone looked down at Kirihara Akaya, who clenched his left fist and knocked his right hand. Kirihara nodded and said, "So—in terms of strength, Kei is now a complete shark!"

……genius.

There are actually three such talented people in Rikkai University.

The player who was equated with a shark by Kirihara Akaya silently looked at the opponent who was sent flying backwards with just a basic attack.

No, it's so crispy?

Even the referee had never seen such a scene before and was silent for a moment.

On the other side of the net, Captain Qinglin, who had been sent flying backwards, slowly raised his racket and struggled to stand up. Facing the worried, sad, or frightened gazes of his teammates on the sidelines, he gave them a soothing smile.

"...Don't worry, everyone. I will definitely hold on until the end!"

"Minister—Minister—!"

The members of Qinglin Club were moved and looked at each other with excitement in their hearts. "We believe in you, Captain! You can definitely -"

"Bang!"

“Bang!”

“Bang, bang, bang!!”

Minister Qinglin, whose serve flew out three or four times in just one service game, had almost gotten used to this flying feeling.

The nets on all sides of the tennis court used for interception and protection even gave him a sense of home warmth.

The audience standing nearby went from being shocked at first to becoming accustomed to it the second, third, and Nth time. They even asked kindly when Minister Qinglin was struggling to get himself off the tennis court net,

"Flying again?"

“…”

God is flying again.

It should have been a very serious game of crushing strength, but because the opponent kept flying out - running back - flying out again - running back again, it looked inexplicably more funny.

As a result, most of the Rikkai players watching the game on the sidelines were silent.

Sanada pinched his brows, once again feeling that the situation was completely out of control.

When the opponent called a midfield timeout and Mushroom Head went off to rest,

Sanada rarely spoke, "Yagi,"

Player: “?”

The mute NPC called the player on his own initiative?

Looking at the mushroom-headed junior with dead eyes looking up, the words that Sanada was about to say became extremely difficult.

He was silent: "Change the way."

At least don't always knock people away.

After watching it for a long time, I even thought that this is how tennis is supposed to be played, to hit people out... This kind of thing is simply too inappropriate!

...Change the method?

The player understood what the NPC meant.

Do you want to see the player's other attack effects?

It’s not impossible.

After upgrading from tennis ball to level nine, players will gain special attack methods.

I just used the special [knockback] effect by pulling the strength to MAX, so the next one is - speed!

The five-minute break passed in a flash, and Captain Qinglin had only time to sit in the coach's chair and catch his breath before he had to return to the battlefield again.

The members were filled with worry, "Bullmaster, how about we——"

"No."

Minister Qinglin looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, just in time to face the mushroom-headed figure walking up from the opposite side of the court, holding a tennis racket.

Speak deeply,

"I have found my lifelong rival. Now, only by defeating him can I move forward. Otherwise... this will become a shadow of my life!"

"Minister—wuwu…"

"That's so passionate! Don't worry, Minister, we will definitely support you!"

"Everyone--"

Qinglin on this side held his head and cried, while Rikkai University on the other side watched in silence.

Kirihara Akaya scratched his head and laughed, "Eh...why do I feel like we've become villains?"

Niou Masaharu whistled: "Haven't we always been like this, puri~"

"If something like this happened in some hot-blooded shonen manga, where someone deprives others of their dreams and becomes a stepping stone to their advancement, the protagonist who comes later will definitely come out on top and win the fight~"

“…”

"The protagonist is pretty miserable," Jack Sangyuan murmured.

Niou Masaharu became interested: "Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Because we have to face Yagi."

“…”

“………”

"That seems a bit tragic."

Everyone couldn't help but mourn for this imaginary 'protagonist'.

And the game on the field begins again.

This time, the player chose to increase the speed to the maximum.

After just five minutes of brainstorming, Minister Qinglin has figured out a way to fight against the Mushroom Head on the opposite side!

If the power disparity is so huge and difficult to counter, the only way is to delay receiving the ball and use the friction in the opposite direction to hit the opponent. As long as you capture that crucial point, you will definitely succeed!

With the support of his teammates, Chief Qinglin's heart gradually calmed down, and his aura gradually calmed down.

When I raised my eyes again, they were full of determination.

Come on - Mushroom Head!!

Influenced by his high fighting spirit, the audience outside the field couldn't help but move closer.

My sight is drawn straight to the net.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, all breathing and emotional fluctuations were tied to the actions of one person.

Under such strong pressure from the gaze, players with slightly weaker psychological defenses could easily be crushed and collapse.

Even as teammates, everyone in Rikkai had a slightly gloomy expression.

No one can guarantee that... Yagi can always perform normally.

On the court, there was a net, and a dark-haired figure with his head down, seemingly in a daze, moved.

He pulled a tennis ball from his pocket.

Different from the previous direct throw and jump swing, this time the direction was slightly changed.

The slender knuckles hold the tennis ball and slightly rotate it to flip it out.

The falling tennis ball was like a fleeing butterfly, following the passing racket closely, "whoosh—buzz!" and disappearing from my hand.

Wait, wait, it disappeared?!

From everyone's perspective, the tennis ball actually disappeared.

Minister Qinglin, who was separated by a net, was dazed. Suddenly, he caught a tiny movement like the flutter of a butterfly's wings. Just for a moment,

"clatter,"

“——15:0!”

The referee paused and announced it.

The tennis ball rolled slowly along the ground.

“…”

"What just happened?"

"How did you score suddenly?"

"No, I didn't blink either?!"

The audience outside the stadium was talking about it, and the reporter in the front row had a video camera that recorded the scene that happened ten seconds ago.

The yellow tennis ball did not disappear, but it passed by the feet of Minister Qinglin, who was standing still and in a ready position, at a speed that was difficult for the naked eye to detect.

It floated close to the ground, skimming the water lightly, then rose up and quickly flew an irregular distance while rubbing against the ground, and then slowly slowed down again.

By the time I reacted, the ball had already fallen to the ground twice and slowly rolled away.

In the silence, the only sound I could hear was the rustling sound of Liu's pen tip scraping against the paper.

Not only Qinglin, but Rikkai University also fell into silence.

Everyone didn't know what expression to show.

This move that Yagi Kei suddenly revealed without any warning... undoubtedly hit the psychological bottom line again.

A fast ball can be hit back, a very fast ball can be caught.

How can you hit a ball back when it's so fast that you can't see it and you can't even catch its landing point?

"...this kid," Ren Wang's lips curved up, but beads of sweat slowly rolled down his forehead.

"It's evolved to this extent in a corner where I can't see it... Puri,"

"Last time... during the school ranking tournament, or even more recently... during the four-school alliance training camp, he was still using that incomprehensible attack and counterattack method."

Jack Sangyuan struggled to form his words, "It's only been a week... and you've already figured out your own unique move?"

Yagyu Hiroshi pushed his glasses. After all, everyone was puzzled by the speed, uncertainty and difficulty of returning the ball. He looked more at Minister Qinglin who was facing the ball.

The entire serving process, from the moment the tennis ball falls from the fingertips to the moment it touches the ground and rolls a distance, takes no more than three seconds.

During these three seconds, Minister Qinglin, who was the first to bear the brunt of the attack, had his pupils trembling.

He still maintained the confidence he had three seconds ago and the determination to break the powerful serve.

But reality has already dealt him a hard blow.

Can't win.

Even if you try your best, you can't win.

The man who served the ball, paused for a moment, and then took out the tennis ball from his pocket had no expression.

Victory, for him, was a matter of course.

This was decided from the beginning.

The player switched the attack mode from full strength to full speed, and looking at the completely stunned NPC, he sighed that the effect was good.

Keep up the good work and keep going!

The situation on the field is already one-sided.

Just the serve decides everything.

The sound of the tennis ball hitting the ground, the sound of the racket hitting the ball, the sound of the footsteps moving neither fast nor slow,

Together, they became a nightmare.

A word becomes a prophecy,

Qinglin's minister was cast a shadow over his life.

Qinglin is silent, Rikkai University is silent,

Even the audience fell silent.

The naked eye cannot keep up with the speed, so we can only rely on mechanical eyes.

On the screen, a small yellow ball flew irregularly like a butterfly and landed lightly and steadily, accurately and nimbly.

It always falls at a point that cannot be captured, floating like a dream that is within reach but out of reach, and dissipates between fingers like quicksand.

The one pacing back and forth was a black-haired member of Rikkai University serving the ball.

The one who remained motionless was the president of Seirin Junior High School, who was on the defensive.

"Rikkai University vs. Seirin - Singles: 4:0!"

Another halftime timeout was called, but this time it was Rikkai University.

The player looked at the pause sign that suddenly appeared in front of him, confused, but still walked off the field, sat on the [perfect referee chair] and started eating and chewing grilled fish to restore his strength.

"Kyu, when did you learn this special move?!" Kirihara Akaya excitedly squeezed over, rubbing his head against her like a curly-haired puppy, his eyes incredibly bright.

"To hide it so well—how abominable! It's okay with others, but at least tell me a little bit!"

Niou Masaharu and Jack Kuwahara pricked up their ears to eavesdrop,

Mushroom Head said nothing, just ate the grilled fish.

Sanada and Yanagi exchanged glances. Sanada lowered his hat and said in a deep voice, "What's the name of this move?"

A naming box popped up in front of me as the NPC asked questions.

You've developed your own skill, now you can name it!

【NAME：_________】

The player was eating grilled fish while thinking of a stunning one.

Mushroom Head didn't say anything, and everyone was used to his silence, thinking that he hadn't thought it through.

Liu patted Sanada's shoulder and pointed to Qinglin's rest area.

Looking in the direction he pointed,

The atmosphere on Qinglin's side has changed. It could be said to be a hot-blooded show just now, but now it has become completely cold-blooded.

Qinglin's team leader covered his face with his hands and buried himself in the towel. His expression could not be seen clearly. The other team members had no chance to comfort him.

Only the deputy minister reached out his hand to pat his shoulder to ease the situation, but as soon as his palm touched him, he unexpectedly discovered that the whole body was shaking.

trembling?

The player glanced out of the corner of his eye and suddenly found that the red-named NPC had a debuff of [Fear] on his head.

Um?

Looking again, another attack method that can be fully utilized is also revealed.

【Spirit】

oh?

Is it a combo skill?

When the whistle blew for the five-minute timeout, the players, eager to try out their new skills, took out their rackets and stood up.

Knockback + Fear + [Spirit] full attack,

It’s exactly the same!

Looking at the back of the junior, everyone in Rikkai University was hesitant to speak.

Not because of worry,

It's something else that's more important, and more... difficult to put into words.

From the moment Sanada said "Change your approach" and hit that fantastic shot,

For the first time, an expression of interest appeared on Yagi Kei's face.

Because it looks so much like a human, it's actually a bit scary.

On his face, there was an expression of 'interest'.

I'm interested in that Yagi Kei...

Good old Jack Kuwabara worried, "...Seirin's chief, do you want to save him?"

“…”

Niou Masaharu scratched his head, "It's better to wait until Keina has had enough fun. If you walk in without saying hello...haha, it will feel terrible, piyo~"

Liu Wei glanced sideways and looked into the field, "It's almost there."

He said fast, but no one asked what fast meant.

Is the game almost over, or is Rikkai University about to win?

Or perhaps, Minister Qinglin was about to collapse.

Qinglin's minister could no longer control his instinct to escape.

From the ambition to teach this Rikkai University freshman a lesson, to the desire to defeat him, it gradually changed to just getting one point, no, one goal.

Now, the only question left is 'when will it end'.

So scary, so scary, so scary... What on earth is this existence, who on earth is he?

As long as you face it, you will feel despair, and your own futility and powerlessness will be magnified to the maximum.

Humans cannot defeat the existence beyond their cognition.

Minister Qinglin has never once felt like a ball of yarn being toyed with by a wicked cat.

The cat's claws moved back and forth on his body as it pleased.

I gritted my teeth, fear taking over my entire body, mind, and brain. The tennis racket in my hand became so heavy that I couldn't even lift it.

He could already feel the sharpness and coldness of the evil cat's claws.

In the eyes of all the audience,

The reflected shadow held a tennis ball, raised one eye slightly, and threw it lightly as if aiming, lightly and very slowly.

It was as if a child standing opposite could pick up a tennis racket and hit the serve back, spinning and landing in front of him.

The ball spun and spun, and with only one step or even a slight movement of the racket, it could be hit back, and it cut off the head of Minister Qinglin.

The racket that was tightly held in my hand fell to the ground with a 'snap' sound.

abyss,

From the spinning tennis ball, an abyss of endless fear spread out.

Will lose,

You will definitely lose.

The cat's killing weapon had already strangled his trachea, waiting for the last second before he breathed his last.

Qinglin's minister slowly raised his hands and said, "I lost."

【GAME WIN！】

"GAME Rikkai University vs. Seirin, singles match - 6:0!"

"—— Rikkai University vs. Seirin: 5:0, Rikkai University wins!!"

The referee blew the whistle to announce the final result.

Suddenly giving up at the end of the game should have been despised by the audience.

But at this moment, the audience's attention was completely captured by the person who suddenly appeared on the field.

One-sided, crushing,

The inferior overcomes the superior,

Young genius.

The sight gradually became fanatical, and all the irrational things before became reasonable at this moment.

Only a genius—only a genius would do those weird things.

So even if it means fishing in mid-air, fighting sharks with bare hands, replacing referees with giant cauliflowers, and motivating teammates with grilled fish,

——It’s completely normal!

The starting point of modernization starts here.

The players who are completely unaware of this are being attracted by the debuff on the NPC who gave up.

【Fear: Permanent effect. When he stands on this court and looks at you, he will be entangled in permanent fear.

Physical strength -60%, Intelligence -60%, Strength -60%, Spirit -60%]

——It’s actually a permanent debuff!

A combo attack with emotions and full spirit...it's a curse skill!

The player discovered the truth,

If it can be used on enemy red-named NPCs, then can it also be used on our own NPCs...

After all, players will be unhappy for a long time when they see teammates who only become obstacles to them when they are in a team...

Suddenly, everyone in Rikkai University felt a chill in their backs.

"...Why do I have a bad feeling again?"

"It's an illusion... Haha, an illusion..."

"But Kei...look here."

“…”

“………”

"Why don't we go to the shrine to exorcise the evil spirits after the game?"

“…+1.”