Chapter 18: An Impossible Way to Win

  Outside the court.

  "Such a... such a fast serve!"

  Fukawa, with a small bck braid at the back of his head, was utterly shocked.

  Beside him, Izumi wore the same stunned expression as the rest of the crowd. No one had expected this unknown guy to serve with such incredible speed.

  "Was it just a lucky shot?"

  Someone muttered instinctively.

  But Izumi and Fukawa both shook their heads inwardly.

  A lucky serve wouldn't look like that. The speed and power of that serve were beyond extraordinary!

  "Well then."

  At this moment, a calm voice rang out.

  "Referee, does that st shot not count?"

  Swish!

  Everyone subconsciously looked at Ishikawa standing on the court. One hand in his pocket, he smiled casually at the referee.

  "Uh... well, um..."

  Caught off guard by the sudden question, the referee stammered for a moment before carefully checking the service line on the opposite side of the court. There, within the boundary, was a clear white mark.

  Seeing this, the referee let out a sigh of relief and quickly announced:

  "The serve is valid! Score: 15-0! Pyer X is in the lead!"

  He actually scored!

  Instantly, everyone felt a jolt in their hearts. And when they looked back at Ishikawa, their expressions had completely changed.

  "5 experience points, huh?"

  Hearing the system notification, Ishikawa smirked.

  It was the same amount of experience as in his practice matches at Hyotei. Satisfied, he tossed the ball into the air once again.

  "He's doing it again!"

  The spectators tensed up.

  On the other side, the receiving pyer, who had swapped positions with his partner, wore a look of extreme focus.

  Bam!

  A deafening sound echoed as the ball rocketed forward like a cannonball.

  Inside corner! Right on the service line!

  The receiver's eyes widened in shock.

  But just like his partner before him, his brain processed the situation, yet his body remained completely frozen. He couldn't move a single finger.

  "30-0!"

  The court fell silent once again.

  [Ding!]

  [You have successfully hit an ace serve! Basic Serve experience +4. Scud Serve (Revised) experience +3.]

  "Perfect."

  Ishikawa smiled in satisfaction.

  This was exactly what he expected from the ‘wild zone’—grinding skill levels through actual matches. Just like leveling up by defeating monsters in a game.

  Whoosh!

  He adjusted his position and tossed the ball into the air again.

  "W-Wait!"

  Izumi, the guy with the curly brown hair, twitched his mouth.

  "Is he pnning to win the match just by serving?!"

  Bam!

  Another ace.

  "40-0!"

  Everyone was dumbfounded.

  As for Ishikawa’s opponents, the doubles pair exchanged a gnce and could only smile bitterly.

  They were so unlucky.

  They had barely warmed the seat of the ‘king of the court’ before this serving monster came along and took it from them. And there was nothing they could do—this serve was just too ridiculous. Even their school's starting pyers would struggle against it!

  Bam!

  Soon enough, Ishikawa’s fourth serve nded.

  "Game over!"

  As the yellow ball left a streak of light and exploded off the ground, the referee decred:

  "Pyer X wins!"

  [Ding!]

  [You have defeated an opponent at the street tennis court! +5 experience points.]

  "Only 5 points?"

  Ishikawa raised an eyebrow.

  But then he remembered—this was just a single-game match. It made sense.

  "Wow... he's so strong!"

  On the other side.

  The spectators were shaken by how easily Ishikawa had stolen the challenger’s spot.

  "That was too fast!"

  Someone muttered, "Did that match even st a full minute?"

  The others fell silent.

  Because they all knew—even saying one minute was an exaggeration. This was probably the fastest game in the history of this street tennis court.

  For a moment, several people looked at Ishikawa with newfound respect.

  "Hmph! Don't get cocky!"

  Suddenly, a loud voice interrupted.

  "Let us be your opponents!"

  As the words fell, a burly teenager strode onto the court. His partner, a tall and thin boy with sharp eyes, followed behind.

  "It's Yoshida and Kijima!"

  Someone in the crowd recognized them.

  Yoshida—powerful. Kijima—sharp and precise.

  Their doubles team was ranked fairly high at this street court.

  "Yeah!"

  Excited by this development, another spectator shouted:

  "Don't be intimidated by this guy! He only has a strong serve. But as the challenger, he won't have the chance to serve!"

  Swish!

  At those words, realization dawned on everyone. They snapped out of their trance, shaking off their fear.

  Their gazes toward Ishikawa shifted from awe to anticipation.

  "Heh."

  Ishikawa merely chuckled.

  Far from being annoyed, he actually preferred it this way. It was better if everyone here took him seriously.

  Soon, the match began.

  Yoshida served.

  He had decent power, but his technique was too basic. For Ishikawa, it was no challenge at all.

  Wham!

  The ball rocketed back across the net.

  Before Yoshida could even finish his serving motion, the ball zipped through his legs and passed beneath him.

  "0-15!"

  "...What?"

  The crowd's expressions turned strange.

  "D-Damn it!"

  Yoshida’s face flushed red with frustration. Immediately, he moved to the other side and served again.

  Bam!

  The ball nded in py. But due to the alternating nature of doubles receiving, Ishikawa had no choice but to let this point go.

  "15-15!"

  A point for the challengers.

  At this, the spectators’ eyes lit up.

  "Wait a second!"

  "Because of the doubles rule, he’ll automatically lose every other point!"

  "He has no chance of winning this match!"

  "Yeah, he brought this on himself! Did he really think one person could win in doubles?"

  Even Izumi and Fukawa from Gyokurin Middle School nodded.

  They believed that under this hard rule, Ishikawa was destined to lose.

  Bam!Bam!Bam!

  However...

  As the game progressed and the score kept alternating between Ishikawa leading and the opponents tying it up...

  Everyone started to feel that something was wrong.

  "W-Wait a minute."

  Staring at Yoshida, who was now drenched in sweat, Izumi’s pupils shrank.

  "Don’t tell me... this match is going to—"

  Bam!

  At that moment, Yoshida, exhausted from the rapid exchanges, served again.

  Ishikawa’s return shot—

  Once again, it slipped right through Yoshida’s legs.

  Thud!

  Completely drained of energy and overwhelmed by embarrassment, Yoshida lost his bance and colpsed onto the court.

  "I... I can't do this anymore..."

  Thud!

  And just like that, he fell ft on the ground like a lifeless ragdoll.

  The entire street tennis court fell into eerie silence.

  Every single person turned to look at Ishikawa—

  As if they had just witnessed an actual monster.

  (End of Chapter 18)