Chapter 75: First and Second Updates: Player Skills Officially Unveiled for the First Time! ...
"Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School vs. Hyotei Academy, Singles Match."
"Kei Yagi vs. Keigo Atobe, the match will begin in five minutes. Both players, please prepare—!"
After three matches, Rikkai University vs. Hyotei took the lead with a score of 2:1.
Singles two success as a duel point,
If Hyotei wins, both teams will advance to the singles finals, and if Rikkai University wins, it will be the final match.
When the staff announced the contestants, there was a lot of discussion outside the venue.
Hyotei Academy has always arranged the order of competition based on the results of the ranking competition, and as the leader of this super club with over 200 members,
Atobe Keigo has always firmly occupied the position of singles.
And now——he appeared in the second singles match!
The audience outside the stadium couldn't help but wonder if this was some tactical arrangement of the Ice Emperor.
But looking at his opponent, a freshman from Rikkai University,
In the previous match, Tachibana Yoshihei, known as one of the 'Kyushu Twin Heroes', overpowered Fudomine's captain, almost single-handedly crushing him with a decisive 6-1 victory. He is the biggest dark horse of this Kanto Tournament.
Kei Yagi!
No matter how confusing the tactical arrangements were, they seemed to make sense all of a sudden.
If we were to face this person (guy/boy)...it seems that sending Atobe in advance is not a big risk at all.
After all, judging by the strength he displayed in the previous match, the only person in Hyotei who could rival him was Atobe Keigo, the captain...
Thinking of this, the audience outside the stadium and the other school teams suddenly had a deeper understanding of the strength of Haida.
The highly anticipated first-year rookie, the second of the three giants who has been hidden behind the scenes until now, "Emperor" Sanada Genichirō,
And the 'God's Son', Yukimura Seiichi, who is known as the pinnacle of junior high school tennis, returns to the court!
The overall strength of Rikkai University is simply terrifying!
Everyone outside the arena sighed in shock, and as "terrifying" as Rikkai University was, it was not as relaxed or at ease as others thought.
After all... winning or losing is one thing, but how to successfully persuade the younger generation to be normal people, or even more human, is also a subject for the entire Rikkai University.
For example, now
Be it the mysterious 'Son of God' Yukimura Seiichi in the eyes of outsiders, the all-powerful 'Emperor' Sanada, the notorious 'Devil' Kirihara Akaya, and others... none of them knew what to do with Yagi Kei riding his proud pony.
After all... we can't let this kid ride on a horse to fight Hyotei's Atobe Keigo!
Regardless of whether there was a precedent for this, just the fact of riding a horse on stage was already...
Yukimura Seiichi composed his words, raised his head and said slowly, "Yagi, riding a horse... is it necessary to ride it?"
He spoke tactfully, not daring to directly provoke the junior, for fear that if he provoked him too much, Mogutou would gallop on his horse on the spot, and then he would have no place to complain!
The person he was talking to, the player, was currently riding a horse while having the horse sit on the Noble Phantasm [Perfect Judge Chair].
I accidentally tried it and found that the mount can share the enhanced BUFF with other players!
At this moment, everyone at Rikkai University was looking at the coach chair, the referee chair, and the junior on the pony.
Although, this height is already high enough to make my cervical vertebrae crackle.
The NPCs that are almost smaller than the player's height are below the player's height.
What are you mumbling about?
Seeing that normal communication methods were not working, everyone looked at each other and made up their minds at the same time!
Yukimura Seiichi was still thinking about how to drag the cat back to the human area.
But while he was thinking, the other people from Rikkai University who had experienced this scene had already taken action quickly.
Yukimura turned around with a puzzled smile. Next to him, Genichirō Sanada, with a sullen face, had already silently laid the foundation.
On the left is Jack Kuwabara, on the right is Niou Masaharu, and on top is Yagyu Hiroshi.
He stacked Marui Bunta and Yanagi Renji, and then lifted up Kirihara Akaya.
Yukimura slowly raised his head towards them.
At the top, Kirihara Akaya, who was still a little way from the mushroom head, happily waved wildly at Yukimura Seiichi who was stopped below.
"Bushi Yukimura—come on! You're the only one missing!!"
Yukimura Seiichi: "..."
For some reason, Yukimura always felt like there was a thorn in his back.
Oh, so much... Is it necessary to climb this human ladder?
Although I had doubts in my heart, my body still climbed up one by one honestly.
Saying "I'm sorry" in his heart, Yukimura stepped on Kirihara Akaya's shoulder and finally achieved equality in terms of vision with Yagi Kei in the true sense.
The spectators outside the stadium and the Ice Emperor players inside the stadium also successfully witnessed this century-long scene.
Ozuki Yuushi slowly adjusted his glasses and said after a while, "It seems... even the people from Rikkai University couldn't escape..."
Who can escape the oppression of the chicken and the cat?
Even Yukimura, who was trying to maintain a smile while looking at his junior, could only ask with difficulty.
"Yagi, in official competitions, you might not be allowed to ride horses..."
The player looked at the special NPC who suddenly appeared in front of him in confusion. After he finished speaking, a debuff lock icon suddenly appeared on the player's status bar.
[Locked Movement Mode: Legs]
Player: “…”
Yukimura Seiichi: "Hmm... You did well last time, so this time, can you do the same, but a little more safely?"
“Crack!”
[Matching object life safety protection is turned on]
The player's eyelids twitched slightly.
But this is not over yet. From Yukimura on down, the people of Rikkai University who are the pillars of the organization have spoken out one after another.
Marui Bunta: "-Tennis! We are playing tennis! Don't use banana peels!"
“Crack!”
[Attack method locked: Tennis]
Yagyu Hiroshi slowly said: "Please try to use the tennis racket, Yagi-kun. Although the crops you grow are good, Hyotei's Atobe-kun is also a life."
“Crack!”
[Weapon Lock: Tennis Racket]
Sanada, who was at the bottom, gritted his teeth and said in a heavy voice: "--Don't, destroy, the venue..."
“Crack!”
[Field protection is on, values are locked]
It was Yanagi's turn, and Kirihara Akaya, who hadn't spoken yet, was about to say something.
Suddenly, my eyes blurred and I saw a black figure flying down. Without saying a word, he buried his face like a kitten and ran away without looking back.
When the words were on the tip of his tongue, Liu He reached out Er Kang's hand blankly, trying to fulfill his duty as a senior: "..."
The player fled so fast that he didn't even have time to take his horse with him.
Go, go—go!
Are you kidding? If we stay here any longer, the players will be chopped into blanks by them!
When I opened my eyes, the status bar was blood red.
Debuff overflows, red locks everywhere,
The NPCs' curses are so terrifying!!
Kirihara Akaya reached out his hand and tried to call back Mushroom Head with an emotional and sincere call, but a voice came from above his head.
"Um, Akaya...why don't you just take your hand back? One hand...might not be very stable..."
Kirihara Akaya was confused, and when he looked up,
Above him, Seiichi Yukimura was swaying precariously, smiling as his horse held his team jacket in its mouth, snorting and chewing.
The whole person is trying to regain his true body while struggling to protect himself on the shaky ladder of Rikkai.
It makes anyone who sees it cry and anyone who hears it feel sad.
Kirihara Akaya: “!!”
"—Ahhh, hold on! Minister Yukimura!! I'm coming to save you!!"
Rikkai University was in chaos, and the players successfully arrived at the right time.
The silent crowd looked at the shaky and screaming Rikkai half of the field, and then looked at a lone figure on one side of the field.
For a moment, I was overwhelmed.
Atobe, who had already entered the stage on time, successfully waited for another person who was even more late than him.
He chuckled softly, "It's really not gorgeous, is it—"
“USU.”
Atobe Keigo: “…”
Huadi, didn’t you enter the market?
The player who just casually followed up with a sentence: "?"
Why are you not talking?
It seems that the NPC must be very kind to the thoughtful players!
The player with the red lock debuff finally entered the battle mode and started the battle state.
With his hand on his brow bone, Atobe Keigo was about to say something to get over his unadorned silence for a moment, but when he raised his eyelids and was about to seriously...
Instinctively and proactively perceive and capture what is changing.
It's different now.
Just a net between us.
The person standing opposite him still had the same expressionless and nonsensical look as before, but the details that emanated from him completely subverted his expression.
The black-haired figure casually turned the racket and took it out. He lowered his eyes and tapped the ground. When he looked over again, holding the racket,
Atobe Keigo, whose observation ability was at its maximum, saw a faint overflow of extreme coldness from those eyes that were so dark that not a single ray of light could be seen...
Desire to win.
"——Hyotei Atobe Keigo VS Rikkaida Yagi Kei, Hyotei serves!"
The brain was suddenly stabbed, and Atobe Keigo suddenly came back to his senses.
When he reacted, his pupils slightly expanded and contracted, and he was shaking uncontrollably.
The culprit who caused his reaction had already lowered his head and entered silent standby mode with his racket.
...was it his illusion?
——Isn’t it his illusion?
Holding the tennis ball tightly in his hand, the proud King of Ice Emperor quickly raised the corners of his lips after a moment of distraction.
Haha, interesting, so interesting,
This kid is... Let me see it for myself!
Throw the ball, swing the racket, jump—
“Bang!!”
The Ice Emperors on the sidelines all had determined expressions.
Yuushi Oshitari sat up straight with his arms folded, narrowing his eyes slightly. "From the first ball, it was Tannhäuser who served."
The yellow ball flashed like lightning, a streak of light piercing the court and splitting the space. It flew over the net and slid forward quickly, sticking to the ground. The straight-line distance was shortened to an incredible degree.
The other school players outside the field frowned.
"Hyotei's Atobe...did he start using his full strength right from the start?"
Qingxue occupied a good visual position, enough to see the two players on both sides of the net at the same time.
Tezuka crossed his arms, his eyes slightly downcast, and looked towards Atobe on Hyotei's side and said in a low voice, "Atobe..."
Tannhauser's serve is extremely difficult to return due to its high-speed rotation, cutting from high to low, and almost not bouncing when it lands on the opponent's court. It slides along the ground.
Combined with Keigo Atobe's insightful vision, the angles are even more tricky and the counterattack is even more difficult.
The Rikkai people who finally landed saw the ball and their faces became a little gloomy.
Even if they were to face the full-strength Hyotei Minister, Atobe Keigo, they would still need some time to adapt...
"--clang!"
He swung the racket so cleanly and without even the slightest hesitation, and the contest of power didn't even last for a second before the ball flew out as lightly as a golf ball.
Although he did not let down his guard, he had never expected that he would be hit back so easily. The arc of the ball was reflected in his eyes.
A perfect parabola passed through the sky, a lob that would almost certainly be judged as out of bounds.
He clenched his racket, a smile still on his lips, but he quickly recovered and prepared for defense.
The mistake made by Tachibana Yoshihei of Fudomine... He will never repeat it!
This kid from Rikkai University in front of me... can only be overestimated!
In front of everyone's eyes, Atobe Keigo, whose serve was returned, immediately turned around and took a big step back to chase the ball and defend.
"That ball... must have gone out of bounds, right?" Kamio Akira asked uncertainly. "Isn't Hyotei's Atobe being too defensive by chasing him so hard..."
"Kamio," Tachibana said calmly, "It's not excessive."
Kamio Akira looked at him puzzled.
Tachibana Jiping's eyes never left the court. His pupils traced a high parabola that reached a certain point before rapidly falling.
With a "click", the yellow ball touched the white line on the ground and was about to get stuck there.
Atobe's racket had already arrived, and he only needed one frame to use the ball's ricochet to hit it back -
“…Gurgle gurgle.”
In the reflected eyes, the ball, which had already landed on the ground with almost no movement, suddenly rolled back a distance into the field.
Calm, quiet, no rebound.
“Beep!”
The referee blew the whistle, "Rikkai University·Kei Yagi VS Hyotei·Atobe Keigo, 15:0!"
Silence spread inside and outside the venue.
Tachibana's voice rang out, "Did you see that, Kamio?"
"No matter how defensive you are against him, you can never be too cautious."
Tachibana whispered, "Because he...will only exceed your imagination."
“…”
“………”
Stuck at the bottom line, Atobe Keigo watched the yellow ball roll a short distance away, and stared at it for a while.
I glanced over and saw the dark-haired figure on the other side of the net casually turning his racket.
Noticing his gaze, she just glanced at him lightly and quickly looked away.
“…”
There was no sound from the Ice Emperor for a long time during the first half.
Slowly, Xiangri Yueren spoke with an inexplicable emotion, "Atobe's Tannhäuser serve... was broken on the first ball..."
Yuushi Oshitari pushed his glasses down with restraint and said nothing.
Looking at the others, both Shishido Ryo and Hiyoshi Wakaba's expressions were not very good.
Hiyoshi clenched his fists, "An underdog trying to overthrow his superior..."
Feng Changtaro looked to the left and then to the right, and seeing that everyone's expressions were not right, he tried to comfort them.
"Um, everyone, this is just the first ball, maybe it will get better later..."
I don't know when I opened my eyes. Akutagawa Jiro, who was sitting there silently, stared at the court, his eyes focused on the black-haired boy who was occupying most of the Rikkai field.
"Yagi, Yagi Kei... Atobe, this is so troublesome..."
The serve continues.
Even though Tannhäuser's serve was broken, Atobe was not discouraged. He reorganized the rhythm, and the continuous Tannhäuser serves continued to lower the defense line and attack more subtle points.
The angles are getting more and more tricky, and the speed is getting faster and faster.
It was visible to the naked eye that Atobe was constantly honing his weapons in this battle, and even improving himself.
But that's only for Atobe.
Player perspective,
The ball that comes straight towards the racket is simply a free point. Although the weapons, attack methods, movement methods, and some numerical values are restricted, the player has overflowed with experience in the accuracy of returning the ball, and the success rate is close to 100%!
Yagi Kei's 100% racket return is hell for his opponents.
No matter how tricky, how close, or how suppressing, you can't score.
Tannhäuser's serve had been pushed to the extreme, the ball being so close to the ground that friction was created in the air.
Even if Atobe were to deal with this ball by himself, it would be difficult.
But it's not Atobe, it's Yagi Kei,
It's a player.
Lift the racket, swing it up, and strike——
“Bang!!”
The yellow lightning that brushed past my face shattered my unrealistic imagination with a sharp sound.
The speed is fast, very fast, too fast, so fast that even the naked eye cannot keep up.
My senses caught it but my body was completely slow to react. I could only watch helplessly as the ball brushed past my cheek, emitting a burning sensation that was both scorching and terrifying.
The ball hit the finish line mercilessly and fiercely.
“Beep!”
"Rikkai University·Kei Yagi VS Hyotei·Atobe Keigo, 1:0!"
The referee waved his arm, declaring the end of the first round.
Atobe Keigo's smile slowly lowered and his smile gradually stopped.
At that moment, his feet were unable to move at all.
“…”
"Atobe's serve... was broken."
"Not a single point...it's over."
The Hyotei members murmured,
It's not like I haven't seen my own minister lose points before, but... they were completely suppressed.
This is the first time I have seen a situation where the team used all their best skills from the first ball to the last ball and the game was one-sided.
Coincidentally, everyone recalled the battle between Rikkai University and Fudomine.
The same forced blockade, the same overwhelming force, the same one-sidedness...
The more I think about it, the more terrified I become.
So when everyone looked at the person who had returned the ball and remained calm after hearing that the game was won, they couldn't help but hold their breath, and the inexplicable huge pressure gripped their hearts.
This first-year student at Rikkai University, Yagi Kei... who is he, anyway?!
The player glanced at the stamina bar, good, only 1/5 was used.
Although the status bar is locked red and has many debuffs, the player's self-created skills can still be used.
I only used these skills last time and saw the effects, but I haven't used them again. But now it's the player's turn to attack.
The player's six-dimensional values and levels have increased a bit during this period, so it's a good time to see the skill effects after the value increase!
"Rikkai University serves!" The referee blew the whistle.
Atobe picked up his racket and stood back on the court. Facing Yagi Kei who was taking turns to serve, his aura slowly spread out.
Even though I lost my serve, it doesn't matter as long as I can break my opponent's serve.
During a whole week of research, the Hyotei team sat in the video room and watched all the games, attacking methods, and defensive methods of all the members of Rikkai University.
The few official appearance videos of Yagi Kei in the Kanagawa regional competition were also studied over and over again.
If it is possible to attack him, then the most obvious point is that he has not yet developed his own real trick!
So as long as we keep a close eye on it and keep up with the pace, there is still a considerable chance of breaking through the blockade.
He took the ball out of his pocket, held it, and slowly turned his wrist and knuckles, rotating and flipping it in a slight arc, and raised the tennis racket in an arc.
The insightful Tsuchibe captured it, his intuition told him something was wrong, he never doubted his premonition,
He immediately turned his whole body and mind around, raised his alert to the fullest, and maintained a state of being able to sprint back in an instant.
Tezuka on the side of the field lowered his eyes slightly, he noticed the state of Atobe,
Tachibana Yoshihei of Fudo Peak's brows twitched slightly.
He hesitated and said, "This is..."
The moment the words fell, the ball disappeared from the server's hand.
"Buzz...buzz..."
The air fluctuates and the friction occurs thousands of times per second, producing a violent hum.
The moment of being unprepared, just a breath of letting go and picking up again,
"--call out!"
Butterflies flutter their wings, a hurricane rises,
The yellow ball landed lightly in the center of the typhoon's eye.
"--despair."
Freely, it 'gurgled' and rolled away.
Dead silence,
There was dead silence.
Even the referee sitting on the chair didn't react. He turned around to look at the black-haired figure who was retracting the racket, and was shocked to realize that in that brief moment just now - it was already a serve!
The naked eye did not follow at all, and did not even catch the relevant afterimage.
The referee, undecided, blew the whistle to signal a timeout and requested a replay and discussion.
Seeing this scene, the whole stadium exploded.
“No, no…what was that just now!?”
"Did anyone see him serve?"
"——Is that a real speed? Huh?!"
On the other side of the scene, the situation was no different for Seigaku and Fudomine.
"...That goal was truly terrifying."
Fuji, who had opened his eyes at some point, spoke softly, the smile that usually appeared on his face completely gone.
"Did you see clearly...Fuji?" Kikumaru Eiji hesitated.
Fuji shook his head slightly, "I just barely kept up with Shadow."
He tilted his face slightly, "But Echizen, you should have seen it."
"Eh!? Little one, you——"
Echizen Ryoma glanced at Fuji Shusuke who had called him out, pulled his hat, and looked back at the field.
"Um."
Echizen Ryoma, racket slung over his shoulder, stared at the figure sitting silently on the Rikkai University coach chair, referee chair, and pony, stuffing grilled fish into his mouth.
"It's just that I saw it. As for whether I can keep up and fight back, that's not certain."
As his voice fell,
Everyone in Qingxue looked at each other in bewilderment.
Even the arrogant Echizen Ryoma said such a thing...
Just how far has that kid from Rikkai University evolved...
The player looked at the pause window that suddenly popped up. He had become accustomed to the various unexpected situations that always occurred in the middle of the game.
I returned to my mount quite skillfully and added a buff.
Then I looked at the data I got from testing my skills.
I used full speed alone, and although it was cut in half due to numerical protection, the effect of the remaining half seemed to be good, and I got a critical hit at once.
I don't know what the effect will be if I max out other values alone...
"After review and discussion with the referee team, this serve has been awarded a point!"
The referee raised his arm and signaled, "Rikkai University·Kei Yagi VS Hyotei·Atobe Keigo, 15:0!"
Atobe Keigo and Yagi Kei returned to the court.
When they gestured in front of the net and walked back,
Atobe Keigo suddenly called out to stop the slow-moving Mushroom Head.
"Hey, kid, what was that move called?"
The player who was suddenly cueed slowly typed out a question mark,
Eh, the skill name?
Now that I think about it, it seems that the naming bar did pop up last time, but because I was only thinking about the experiment, I clicked Cancel.
The player dragged out the name bar again and stared at the pop-up window.
You've developed your own skill, now you can name it!
【NAME：________】
Akibe waited.
Akibe waited again.
Atobe lowered his eyes, and the mushroom in front of him finally moved.
"oh,"
Yagi Kei spoke concisely and quickly, raising his dead fish eyes.
His eyes were extremely wise and even contained a hint of anticipation... Wait, anticipation?
For some reason, Atobe felt a little uneasy.
I even wanted to stop asking and just turn around and leave!
But it's too late.
The player opens his mouth to Atobe, and a burst of attack begins.
"--That's 'You butterfly flashed into the wall 365 degrees without turning around, Thomas caught the knife with his bare hands 100%, and the scheming frog touched your belly'!"
“…”
“………”
"Am I crazy?"
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The author has something to say: Player: Cool! [Sunglasses]
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