“How is that possible?!”
As they watched the Hyotei players disappear into the distance, the Yamabuki players still wore expressions of utter disbelief.
“Y-You’re kidding, right?”
One of the third-year regulars, his forehead covered in cold sweat, swallowed hard.
“Even Uesugi got crushed in no time…
How could he have been using less than sixty percent of his strength?!”
“Well…
it’s not impossible.”
Yet Uesugi, exhausted after losing the match, wore a complicated expression.
“The gap between Kanto-level and National-level players is even greater than I thought.
And Atobe…
I’m afraid he’s no ordinary National-level player.”
“B-But…”
Nitobe, with his mushroom-shaped haircut, opened his mouth before forcing out a helpless, bitter smile.
“He’s only a second-year!”
At those words, the Yamabuki regulars were visibly shaken.
Higashikata, himself a second-year regular, looked bitter, while the other third-year players all shook their heads in unspoken agreement.
They felt tremendous pressure as well, but this year’s Nationals were already over.
No matter how strong Atobe was, it no longer had anything to do with them.
Seeing their expressions, Uesugi immediately realized that these third-years had already given up.
As for Nitobe and Higashikata…
Clearly, with their talent and strength, there was no way the two of them could lead Yamabuki in a fight against Hyotei.
And it wasn’t just them—even the current vice-captain, Minami Kentaro, couldn’t do it.
At that thought, a face surfaced in Uesugi’s mind.
‘In all of Yamabuki, he’s probably the only one who might be able to go toe-to-toe with Atobe.’
“Huh?
Everyone’s here!”
Just then, a handsome boy with orange hair appeared not far from the group, looking over at them in surprise.
“Sengoku, where did you go?”
Nitobe, Higashikata, and the others all frowned.
Then their gazes instinctively shifted toward the long-haired high school girl standing not far from Sengoku.
Their expressions immediately turned strange as they looked back at the orange-haired boy—Sengoku Kiyosumi, the most talented of Yamabuki’s regulars.
“Ehehe…”
Sengoku scratched his head awkwardly.
“Sengoku.”
Suddenly, Uesugi, who had remained silent until now, spoke.
His expression was serious as he fixed his gaze on Sengoku.
“Come with me.
I have something to tell you.”
Sengoku watched Uesugi walk away, then glanced at the clearly complicated expressions on everyone else’s faces.
Something stirred in his mind, and his expression immediately grew serious.
He quickly followed after Uesugi.
He had a feeling that something major had just happened here.
…
Tokyo.
Yamabuki Tennis Club.
While Uesugi and Atobe were facing off, Shibukawa continued his daily training among the other club members.
By now, he had thoroughly mastered the fundamentals of the Swing.
Even with his eyes closed, he could execute the motion with textbook form.
And precisely because he was still so weak, Shibukawa’s desire to grow stronger was exceptionally intense.
As a result, aside from the rest he absolutely needed, he spent practically every waking moment trying to make himself stronger.
With that thought driving him, he immersed himself even deeper in his training.
He strove to execute every part of his Swing with perfect form, without the slightest deviation.
Whoosh!
As he repeated the same mechanical motion again and again, just as he was about to swing the racket once more, Shibukawa suddenly experienced a flash of insight.
Following the inspiration that had suddenly struck him, he completed another Swing.
[Completed an Excellent Swing]
[Swing EXP +2]
[Current Swing Level: Lv.
4 (643/1000)]
Huh?
Shibukawa was visibly startled when the notification appeared before his eyes.
‘Excellent Swing?’
‘The EXP from that Swing doubled?!’
If the notification hadn’t still been floating before his eyes, Shibukawa might have wondered whether he’d imagined it.
But the next moment, excitement surged through him.
‘This means the higher the quality of my training, the faster I gain EXP!’
‘If I can perform an Excellent Swing every time, a skill that would’ve originally taken another three days to level up could do it in half the time.’
This unexpected discovery felt like striking gold.
The amount of EXP his Swing skill currently needed to level up wasn’t particularly high.
But clearly, as its level increased, the amount required at higher levels would become increasingly daunting.
And a higher level of execution meant he could improve his strength that much faster.
‘This is why the proficiency panel is so important.’
Shibukawa was becoming increasingly aware of just how valuable this proficiency panel, visible only to him, truly was.
He might not even have paid any attention to that Swing born from his sudden flash of insight.
But now that he could actually see his own progress, he could focus his attention entirely on recapturing that fleeting sensation.
Even if he couldn’t fully master it anytime soon, as long as he knew the right direction, he would succeed eventually.
That alone could save him an enormous amount of time.
With that, Shibukawa threw himself back into training.
To recapture the sensation from before, he slowed his Swing down again.
At first, he couldn’t find the slightest clue, but as he immersed himself in each Swing, that strange sensation gradually resurfaced.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
…
Finally.
On his thirty-fourth Swing, another notification appeared before Shibukawa’s eyes.
[Completed an Excellent Swing]
[Swing EXP +2]
[Current Swing Level: Lv.
4 (678/1000)]
“Phew!”
Shibukawa let out a long breath.
His arm ached from the repeated Swings, but his gaze only grew sharper.
This kind of highly focused, intensive training consumed more of both his Stamina and Mental, but the sense of fulfillment that came from gaining EXP and feeling himself grow stronger left him deeply satisfied.
He was even beginning to get hooked on the feeling.
…
“So Rikkai won the championship again this year, just as expected.”
Inside the Yamabuki Tennis Club office, a round-faced old man with a head full of silver hair couldn’t help but sigh after receiving a phone call from the players in Kumamoto.
‘With their core lineup unchanged, Rikkai will only be stronger next year.’
The old man was Yamabuki’s coach, Banda.
He thought to himself, ‘And it isn’t just Rikkai.
Hyotei, Shishigaku, Shitenhoji…
all of those teams will be stronger next year than they were this year!’
Yamabuki, on the other hand…
Although second-years currently made up half of their regular lineup, they couldn’t compare with those schools in either quality or numbers.
Under these circumstances, if Yamabuki didn’t do something, reaching Nationals next year would only be even harder than it had been this year.
‘Looks like we’ll have to bring in some fresh blood.’
At that thought, a face surfaced in Banda’s mind—sickly pale, yet strikingly arrogant and defiant.
‘If I can convince him to join the tennis club, Yamabuki’s strength will undoubtedly undergo a qualitative leap next year.
Even making an impact on the national stage wouldn’t be out of the question…’