Chapter 29: A New Sub-Profession, Martial Arts

  Shutout!

  Another shutout!

  The news of Ishikawa's 6-0 victory over Hiyoshi quickly spread throughout Hyotei's Tennis Club.

  In an instant—

  A wave of heated discussions erupted.

  The second and third-year pyers, when looking at Ishikawa again, now had an expression of awe and respect in their eyes.

  At this moment—his status as a first-year was no longer a reason for them to underestimate him. In Hyotei, where the philosophy was 'strength is valued, failure is not tolerated', performance on the court was the only thing that truly mattered.

  Defeating Hiyoshi meant that Ishikawa’s skill had already reached the level of a second-team captain. In fact, even making it to the main lineup wasn't out of the question.

  After all, this was a complete shutout match!

  Except for the second game, where Hiyoshi briefly caused some trouble, the remaining four games were completely one-sided.

  However—

  After the match, Ishikawa remained incredibly calm.

  After shaking hands with Hiyoshi, he left the court and headed towards the rest area, as if what had just happened was merely a practice match and Hiyoshi was just another ordinary pyer.

  "That guy..."

  Hiyoshi's expression turned complicated.

  When he shook hands with Ishikawa just now, he was still feeling unwilling to accept the loss, thinking that the second game was his missed opportunity.

  But now, looking back, it was clear that Ishikawa's victory had nothing to do with luck.

  More than anything else—

  His unshaken composure was something Hiyoshi simply couldn't compare to.

  Taking a deep breath—

  Hiyoshi turned and left.

  Even though losing to Ishikawa meant that his chances of becoming a regur pyer were now extremely slim, he wasn’t about to give up. Instead, he pnned to rest well and prepare for his decisive battle against Shishido.

  "I didn’t expect this outcome."

  Watching Hiyoshi’s departing figure, the regur pyers of Hyotei—especially Mukahi and Shishido—had rather unnatural expressions on their faces.

  "A shutout? Seriously?"

  Mukahi shook his head, still a little shaken, then sighed in relief, saying, "Good thing I’m in Group B, so I won’t have to face that guy."

  As he spoke—

  He gnced at Shishido beside him and noticed the unnatural expression on his face.

  "Hmph!"

  Upon seeing this, Shishido let out a cold snort and turned away.

  "He’s nervous."

  Oshitari chuckled teasingly.

  "Indeed,"

  Atobe also smiled and nodded. "It’s rare to see Shishido react like that."

  In truth—even Atobe himself was quite surprised.

  He had expected Ishikawa to win, but he hadn't thought the match would end with such a one-sided score.

  And now—

  The extreme 6-0 difference was starting to take effect. Even Shishido, who was usually carefree and a bit rough around the edges, was beginning to feel the pressure.

  However—

  Atobe was pleased with this outcome.

  "That kid is like a fierce catfish, thrown into Hyotei's pond, making the other fish feel threatened."

  This was something Atobe had always wanted to do but never managed to accomplish.

  His strength was undeniably top-tier, and his authority in the team was unquestioned. But because the gap between him and the other regurs was too wide, pyers like Jirou and Shishido had long since lost the motivation to challenge him.

  As a result, they cked the drive to improve.

  But now—

  Ishikawa had arrived. As a rookie, he had used his shocking performance to deliver a wake-up call to the regur pyers. The once id-back team members now felt an urgent need to become stronger.

  Atobe even noticed a faint trace of concern on Oshitari’s face.

  "Too bad Jirou isn’t here to see this."

  Atobe sighed, then suddenly had a thought: "No, I can't let that guy's talent go to waste!"

  With this in mind—he swiftly left with Kabaji.

  Oshitari watched Atobe's departing figure for a moment before also turning away, leaving only the now-empty tennis court and the surrounding murmurs of discussion.

  -

  Rest area.

  Lying on a bench, Ishikawa pced a cold towel over his face while reviewing his performance in the match.

  "At this point, I can confirm that Hiyoshi's overall stats are around 11 points."

  "Makes sense."

  "He hasn’t experienced the crushing defeat against Echizen yet, so his deep-seated desire to become stronger hasn’t awakened."

  In the original story—

  Hiyoshi was part of the 'losers bracket'.

  During the Japan U-17 training camp, he underwent harsh training under the team’s Head Coach, Nyudo Mifune, and his strength skyrocketed.

  But right now—that was still seven months away.

  If Ishikawa was correct, even top-tier pyers like Atobe and Tezuka hadn’t yet reached their U-17-level stats from the original series.

  Of course—

  There was one exception.

  The captain of Rikkai Dai’s tennis team—The Child of God, Yukimura Seiichi!

  "However..."

  Thinking of Yukimura, Ishikawa sighed. "It won’t be long before his illness repses, drastically weakening his strength."

  Even so—

  Rikkai Dai was still a boss-level team.

  This made Ishikawa realize that his current strength was still not enough to tip the bance in Hyotei’s favor.

  With that in mind—he opened his character panel and focused on the special item he had just acquired from Hiyoshi.

  [Ancient Martial Arts: Using this will grant you a new sub-profession, Martial Arts]

  "Use it."

  Without hesitation, Ishikawa made his choice.

  Buzz!

  Suddenly—

  A warm energy surged through his body, enveloping him completely. But compared to his max-level Kendo, the quality was significantly lower.

  At the same time—

  A wealth of knowledge about ancient martial arts surfaced in his mind, helping him understand the stances that Hiyoshi had previously used.

  [Sub-Profession: Martial Arts][Level 3 → +1 Strength][Level 6 → +1 Speed][Level 9 → +1 Technique]

  [Additional Ability 1: Unknown (Unlocks at Level 6)]

  [Additional Ability 2: Unknown (Unlocks at Level 9)]

  [Current Level: 1]

  For now, this new sub-profession didn’t provide extra stat points.

  However—

  The moment he grasped Martial Arts, he immediately felt a change in his body. Ishikawa specuted that this change was simir to Chess brain enhancement effect.

  Each level-up would likely improve his physical attributes—such as flexibility, bance, and explosiveness. By the time he reached Level 9, this sub-profession would undoubtedly grant him a unique ability.

  But first, he needed to accumute enough EXP to level up.

  So—

  After a short rest—Ishikawa resumed training until his second match in the afternoon.

  He easily defeated his opponent. Seeing that Ishikawa was far stronger, his opponent quickly gave up after a few attempts at attacking.

  In the end—

  Ishikawa finished the match in just eight minutes.

  Apart from gaining 30 EXP, the match gave him nothing of value.

  This made him realize that only matches against notable characters from the original series—the system’s so-called 'elites'—would reward him with higher experience points and special items.

  Boom!Boom!

  At the same time—

  Elsewhere, two figures were locked in an intense battle.

  They were none other than Hiyoshi, who had just lost to Ishikawa, and Shishido, one of Hyotei’s regurs. Both were aggressive pyers, making for a fierce match.

  But in the end—

  Hiyoshi was still no match for the more experienced Shishido, losing 3-6.

  With this, Hiyoshi was completely eliminated from the selection process.

  As for Group D’s regur pyers—

  The final three were now confirmed: Ishikawa, Shishido, and Oshitari.

  Everyone was eagerly anticipating the upcoming battles between these three!

  (End of Chapter 29)