socalfunplaces Chapter 2, first time I added skill points, Yueye thought I was on steroids.
Chapter 2, first time I added skill points, Yueye thought I was on steroids.
At 6:30 a.m. the next morning, Sendoh appeared at the entrance of the gymnasium.
Hiroaki Koge almost thought he hadn't woken up yet.
He rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them again. The person standing in the morning light with a bag on his back was indeed Sendoh Akira. His hair was unkempt, one button on his school uniform was fastened incorrectly, and he was carrying a convenience store sandwich in his hand.
"You... arrived so early?"
"I can't sleep."
Sendoh pushed open the door, threw his bag on the bench, took a bite of his sandwich, chewed a couple of times, and then started changing his shoes.
Yueye followed him in, staring at him for several seconds. "Didn't you say yesterday you were going to sleep until you naturally woke up?"
"I've changed my mind."
I don't believe in off-road driving.
He'd been Sendoh's teammate for almost two years, so he knew the guy too well. Morning practice? Forget about it. Sendoh's mornings belonged only to his fishing rod and the sea breeze. Unless Coach Taoka gave him a beating with the training plan, you'd never see Sendoh in the gym before eight o'clock.
But it's only 6:30 today.
Sendoh is already tying his shoelaces.
Koshino crouched down to tie his shoelaces, secretly observing. Sendoh's movements were different from usual; it was like a string was taut, but he couldn't quite pinpoint where it was taut. His eyes were still languid, but when he shot, his wrist was pressed down harder than usual.
"Are you planning to do extra training today?"
"Um."
"What are you practicing?"
"Run the shuttle run first, then shoot."
Yueye opened his mouth, but swallowed back the words, "Are you possessed by something?"
Immortal Path has reached its bottom line.
Shuttle run.
From the baseline to the free-throw line, touch the line, and come back.
Go to the center line, then come back.
Go to the opposite baseline, then come back.
One trip.
Two trips.
Five trips.
Koshino was stretching on the sidelines, watching Sendoh's back as he sprinted back and forth on the court, the sound of his sneakers rubbing against the floor coming one after another, sharp and a little ear-piercing.
After ten rounds, Sendoh's breathing began to become heavier.
He did fifteen rounds, bending over and supporting himself on his knees, sweat dripping from his chin onto the floor, leaving a small dark stain.
Walking past him, I asked, "How many sets did you do today?"
"twenty."
"...Are you crazy?"
Sendoh didn't answer. He straightened up, took a breath, and continued.
On the seventeenth trip, his steps began to falter.
On the eighteenth trip, I almost couldn't stop at the turnaround point and slipped.
On the nineteenth trip, he gritted his teeth, his face turning pale.
When he crossed the finish line for the twentieth time, Sendoh squatted down, panting heavily, sweat streaming down his neck and soaking his collar.
The system panel pops up.
High-quality training completed.
【PP+2】
Current PP: 4
Sendoh stared at that number for two seconds.
Four o'clock.
I got some points from free throws after yesterday's training session, plus the two points I just got, and another point I got during a shuttle run. It seems like I get more points from endurance training than from shooting.
He tried silently repeating in his mind: Add a point.
The panel jumped.
Please select an attribute.
Speed, jumping ability, reaction time, flexibility, strength, and endurance.
Six words floated in mid-air, cold and impersonal, like options listed on a menu.
Sendoh hesitated for a second.
Then I chose Endurance.
Endurance: B → B
PP Consumption: 3
[Remaining PP: 1]
At that moment, he couldn't quite describe how he felt.
It wasn't like the exaggerated scene in the movie where "a warm current flows through the whole body." It was more like the cotton ball blocking my lungs was suddenly removed, the soreness in my legs lessened, and my breathing became less rapid.
He stood up, his knees didn't shake, and he tried running a couple more steps. His steps were steady, and his center of gravity wasn't so unstable.
"good."
When Yueye saw him suddenly stand up straight, his brows furrowed even more. "Are you sure you're alright? Your face was pale just now."
"It's okay, keep practicing."
Sendoh walked to the three-point line and picked up the ball.
Shot.
The first one made it in.
The second one went in after one tap.
Third, hollow.
His hand position was more stable than yesterday. It wasn't due to the extra points; stamina and feel had nothing to do with it. He knew it was because his body hadn't been completely exhausted from the shuttle run, so his movements hadn't become distorted.
I took fifty three-pointers, and my shooting percentage was barely over 60%. Not great, but better than yesterday.
The system popped up twice more.
[PP+1][PP+1]
Remaining PP: 3.
Around 7:30, the others began to arrive.
Fukuda was the first to push open the door and enter. He saw Sendoh standing on the field covered in sweat. He raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and found a corner to start stretching.
Then came Uekusa, carrying an old schoolbag. He came in and nodded to Sendoh first.
Finally, it's Coach Taoka's turn.
The veteran coach pushed open the door and saw Sendoh on the court. He paused for two seconds, his lips twitching, but he managed to suppress the expression that said, "This kid has finally figured it out." He walked to the sidelines, put down his tactical board, and kept his voice very calm.
What are we practicing today?
"Follow the coach's instructions."
Taoka glanced at him. "Did you practice the three-pointers I asked you to practice yesterday?"
"I practiced."
"How many?"
"Fifty."
"Hit rate?"
"Sixty percent."
Taoka didn't ask any more questions. 60% wasn't good for him, but the fact that Sendoh was training extra was news in itself.
Training has officially begun.
Intra-team scrimmage, starters versus substitutes.
Sendoh is on the main team, and his teammates are Uozumi, Fukuda, Koshino, and Uekusa.
The substitutes are a few second-year students who are very aggressive on defense, but they lack experience.
In the first round, Sendoh had the ball.
He was being defended by a small second-grader who kept his center of gravity low and had his arms outstretched.
Sendoh dribbled the ball with his right hand, took a step to the left, and the child immediately followed.
Then Sendoh suddenly accelerated.
It wasn't a change of direction, it wasn't a feint, it was a sudden acceleration.
As he pushed off with his right foot, a reaction force came from the floor, and his body was thrown forward as if he were being launched, cutting directly past the defender's right side.
The child stood there, frozen, his hand outstretched in mid-air, but he couldn't touch anything.
Sendoh makes a layup, the ball bounces off the backboard and goes into the net.
The entire stadium fell silent for a second.
Off-road stared at Sendoh with his mouth half open.
Fukuda was also staring at it.
Even Uozumi was taken aback.
Coach Taoka stood on the sidelines, almost dropping his tactical board.
"That step..." Off-road whispered to Uekusa, "Was it too fast?"
"Soon," Uekusa's voice was a little dry, "faster than yesterday."
Sendoh himself sensed it.
That last step wasn't his own speed control, or at least not entirely. It was his body reacting on its own; the frequency of muscle contractions was just a tiny bit higher than usual, and that tiny bit was enough to make the defender unable to keep up.
The system popped up a message.
[Speed attribute has been improved to the edge of A-; continued training can lead to a stable breakthrough]
He didn't look at it.
The game continues.
Sendoh got two more assists, one to Uozumi with a lob and the other to Fukuda with a quick counter-attack through ball. The score gradually widened, and the substitutes were a bit stunned.
At halftime, Taoka called Sendoh to the sidelines.
"You don't seem to be in good spirits today."
"Um?"
"Those who shouldn't have crossed paths have crossed," Taoka stared into his eyes. "What are you holding back?"
Sendoh wiped his sweat, thought for a moment, and said, "I didn't hold back, it's just... I'm in good physical condition."
Taoka stared at him for a few seconds, but didn't ask any further questions.
But he knew in his heart that Xiandao was different today than yesterday. It wasn't just that he was in better condition; something he couldn't understand had changed.
After training ended, Sendoh was the last to leave.
He stood at the free-throw line and glanced up at the backboard.
The system panel floated in the darkness.
Current PP: 8
Eight o'clock.
I spent the whole day doing shuttle runs, shooting, and scrimmages.
Adding points costs three points each time, and he's already used them once today, so he has these left.
Two more points are needed before I can click again.
Sendoh took the ball out of his bag and stood at the free-throw line.
Shot.
They're in.
【PP+1】
Cast again.
They've made it in again.
【PP+1】
ten o'clock.
He silently prayed to himself: Add some stamina.
Endurance: B → B+
PP Consumption: 4
[Remaining PP: 6]
The feeling was more pronounced this time than the first time.
It wasn't the kind of exhilarating feeling of "getting stronger," it was more like "feeling lighter." My body felt like it was floating up from the water, my breathing was smooth, and the muscles in my legs didn't ache as easily.
Sendoh put the ball into his bag and walked out of the gymnasium.
It was completely dark outside, with only a row of streetlights on.
He kept looking at the system panel as he walked.
Endurance B+. Speed A- (borderline). Jumping ability still B, reaction B+, flexibility B-, strength C+.
The weakest element is still strength.
Shinichi Maki, weighing 100 kilograms, crashed into me like a wall.
With his current strength, he wouldn't even be able to stand in the three-second zone against that level of confrontation.
Four days left.
The county-level competition has begun.
Sendoh slung his bag over his shoulder and headed back to his dorm.
My steps were a bit lighter than yesterday.
Downstairs in the dormitory building, Yueye was squatting at the door waiting for him.
"You're finally back," Yueye stood up. "I have something to ask you."
"explain."
"How many round trips did you make today?"
"Twenty groups."
"Twenty sets?" Yueye's voice rose. "You used to think even five sets were too many!"
"so what?"
Yueye stared at him, his lips moved a few times, and finally he managed to stammer out, "Are you possessed by something?"
Sendoh smiled.
I guess so.
He didn't explain further and pushed open the door to enter the dormitory building.
Yueye stood outside the door, and a gust of wind blew in, making him shiver.
"I guess so... What does that mean?"