“Hey!
Nagafu— I mean, Changfeng!
You’re Ye Changfeng from the same class, right?
Are you here to join the tennis club too?” A buzz-cut kid caught up and slapped Ye Changfeng on the shoulder.
‘Who the hell is this guy?
Acting all familiar?’ Ye Changfeng thought, annoyed.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Horio Satoshi!
Didn’t I say it during self-introductions?
Don’t underestimate me just because I look like this.
I’ve been playing tennis for two whole years, you know.
I even went to a tennis school.
Becoming a regular on the Seigaku team isn’t just a dream for me!” Horio declared proudly, pointing at himself.
‘Damn it, so this is Horio from the “Three Freshmen Idiots” group.
Why is he bothering me instead of Ryoma?’ Ye Changfeng sighed internally and tried to walk away.
“Wait up, Changfeng!” Horio stuck to him like glue.
They finally reached the Seigaku tennis club.
“Not bad, not bad at all,” Ye Changfeng muttered.
The facilities were actually quite impressive — better than some top universities back in his old world.
“Wow, Seigaku really is something!
The equipment looks awesome!” Horio shouted excitedly.
“Changfeng, let’s go sign up first!”
‘This guy is so annoying.
System, can you Photoshop him out or something?’
[System: Insufficient points.
That would cost 10,000,000 Exchange Points.]
‘Are you serious?
He’s just a background character!’ Ye Changfeng silently cursed.
“Sorry, but today’s not the day,” a skinny boy in a white T-shirt and shorts interrupted.
“The third-years and second-years are away at an away match, so official sign-ups start tomorrow.
Most first-years already went home.”
“Tch, seriously?
That’s so disappointing,” Horio whined.
“Are you guys here to join the tennis club?” Two more seniors walked over.
“Nice to meet you, senpais!” The three freshmen greeted them in unison.
Ye Changfeng stayed quiet.
“I’m Katsuo Mizuno, first-year!” said the monk-haired boy.
“I’m Kachiro Kato, first-year!” said the watermelon-headed boy.
“I’m Horio Satoshi, first-year!
It’s an honor to join Seigaku’s tennis club!” Horio buttered them up.
“Good, good.
Hey, what about you over there?
What’s your name?” the pockmarked-faced senior asked.
Ye Changfeng turned his face away and completely ignored them.
‘Two nobodies acting all high and mighty.
Not worth my time.’
The pockmarked senior got angry when he was ignored.
“Hey, kid!
I’m your senior.
Didn’t you hear me?”
“Forget it,” the other senior said, patting his friend’s shoulder.
Then he turned to the three freshmen with a sly grin.
“Actually, we have a really fun game going on.
Want to play?”
“Yeah, you guys interested?” the pockmarked one added with a sleazy smile.
“Sure!
Sounds fun!” The three freshmen agreed without hesitation.
‘What a bunch of idiots,’ Ye Changfeng thought.
‘Whatever, I’ve got nothing better to do.
Might as well watch.
Who knows, maybe Ryoma will show up.’
They moved to a tennis court where the pockmarked senior placed an empty soda can on the far side.
“The rules are simple.
If you can hit this can with a serve within 10 tries, you win 10,000 yen.
Entry fee is 200 yen per person.
You in?”
“Ten thousand yen for only 200 yen entry?
Let’s do it!” Horio said excitedly.
The other two also looked interested.
“Senpais, we want to play!” the three freshmen said together.
Thwack!
Miss.
Thwack!
Miss again.
Twenty balls later…
The two complete beginners didn’t even graze the net.
Horio managed to clip the can once, but there were rocks inside, so it didn’t fall over.
“Aww, we failed…” The three freshmen handed over their 200 yen coins each.
“Hold on,” the pockmarked senior said seriously.
“It’s 500 yen per missed ball plus the 200 yen entry fee.
So each of you owes 5,200 yen.”
“What?!
That’s so shady, senpai!
We don’t have that kind of money!” The three freshmen were furious.
“Hey, you over there watching the show — don’t just stand there laughing.
Why don’t you give it a try?” the pockmarked senior called out.
Ding!
[Random Quest Triggered: Save the Noobs!]
[Quest Rank: White Quest]
[Failure Penalty: None]
[Success Reward: 2,000 Exchange Points]
[Quest Evaluation: There is true friendship in this world!
Even background characters have their dignity.
Please save them and become a messenger of justice!]
‘Messenger of justice?
The system is really reaching today…’ Ye Changfeng shook his head.
‘But 2,000 points is 2,000 points.
Fine, I’ll help these three poor fools.’
“Alright,” Ye Changfeng said with a cold smirk.
He pulled out a blue racket from his tennis bag.
He focused instantly, pouring all his concentration into the ball.
One Ball… Soul!
(T/N: Ikyuu Nyuukon or One shot with all my soul is Chōtarō Ootori’s (from Hyotei) signature phrase when he serves his Scud Serve)
The tennis ball transformed into a blazing fireball and rocketed toward the can like a guided missile.
It smashed into the can with terrifying force, flattening it instantly.
The rocks inside exploded outward from the sudden pressure, shooting toward the two seniors like bullets.
“Watch out!” the three freshmen shouted in alarm.
The stones were moving so fast they could easily cause serious injury.
Ye Changfeng hadn’t expected the Scud Serve’s full power to create such a strong backlash, but he figured the two scammers deserved it.
“Ahhh!” The two seniors screamed.
But nothing happened.
A tennis racket had appeared at the last second and blocked all the flying stones.
It was Takeshi Momoshiro.