Chapter 14: Favorability and Quest Rewards

  Hyotei Tennis Club.

  Beside the training courts, Otori Chotarou, who had just lost to Shishido, sat in frustration, staring bnkly at the court.

  "Another 3-6 loss to Shishido-senpai... Is my singles py really that bad?"

  Chotaro was troubled. He believed he had worked hard enough, but every time he reached his fourth service game, his performance would noticeably decline.

  His first-serve success rate was below 50%, and his second-serve error rate was an arming 30%! In other words—

  On average, every three serves, he would give away a free point to his opponent.

  And Shishido wasn’t just any pyer. Once he noticed Chotarou’s weak phase, he decisively attacked, countering his weakened power serve and using fast-paced offense to completely disrupt his rhythm.

  This—

  Was already the seventh match he had lost to Shishido.

  "Is there really no way to win? Even just once..."

  "Senpai?"

  Just then, a voice came from behind. Chotarou instinctively turned around and saw a handsome, delicate-featured boy standing before him—Ishikawa.

  Seeing Chotarou turn around, Ishikawa asked curiously, "You look troubled about something."

  "Well... It’s not really a secret."

  Since it was Ishikawa, Chotarou hesitated for a moment before deciding not to hide anything.

  "A lot of people think I have a strong serve, but what they don’t know is that my first-serve success rate is actually low. And as the match goes on, my serve only gets worse."

  "Ishikawa-kun." At that moment, Chotarou suddenly remembered that Ishikawa also had impressive serving talent. He couldn't help but ask, "How do you maintain your serve consistency?"

  This was the kind of question only Chotarou would ask. He wasn’t arrogant about his seniority, had a simple personality, and was incredibly straightforward. If he had a question, he just asked it.

  If it were someone else—

  Even another second-year like Hiyoshi—they would never admit something like this to someone they weren’t close to.

  Ding!

  The moment Chotarou finished speaking, a system notification rang in Ishikawa’s mind.

  [Quest Triggered: Chotarou’s Struggle][Quest Details: Otori Chotarou is struggling with his serve consistency. Help him resolve this issue.][Quest Reward: Increased favorability with Otori Chotarou]

  "Me?"

  After quickly scanning the quest details, Ishikawa looked up and met Chotarou’s clear, sincere eyes. He thought for a moment and then said:

  "My method is simple—toss the ball, aim properly, and just hit it."

  "Aim properly... and hit it?"

  Hearing Ishikawa’s response, Chotarou froze for a second before letting out a bitter chuckle.

  "That’s just talent..." He was born with it!

  "Yeah..."

  Chotarou sighed inwardly. "Why did I even think of asking a first-year for advice on improving my serve? That was just wishful thinking."

  But—

  Just as Chotarou was about to give up, Ishikawa added, "Or maybe it's because of the kind of games I used to py as a kid. Senpai, wait here."

  After saying that, Ishikawa turned and left.

  A moment ter, he returned carrying several ball baskets in different colors.

  "What’s this?"

  Chotarou looked confused.

  Ishikawa pced four ball baskets—red, white, blue, and yellow—on the opposite side of the court, then turned to Chotarou with a smile.

  "Senpai, try hitting the ball into the basket I call out."

  "...That’s all?"

  Chotarou was slightly disappointed. For a regur pyer like him, hitting a ball into a specified basket was far too easy.

  "Just try it."

  Ishikawa wasn’t surprised by Chotarou’s reaction and simply smiled. "You won’t know if it works unless you try."

  "Alright then."

  Chotarou wasn’t someone with a strong ego, and since Ishikawa had put in effort to help him, it wouldn’t be right to refuse outright.

  He picked up his racket and stepped onto the court.

  "Ready, senpai?"

  Ishikawa asked. Chotarou nodded.

  "Alright, first—white!"

  Whoosh!

  Chotarou’s eyes immediately locked onto the white basket. Without hesitation, he tossed the ball, extended his arm, and swung his racket in one fluid motion.

  Bang!

  The tennis ball nded perfectly inside the white basket.

  "See? No problem."

  After hitting the first shot successfully, Chotarou didn’t even smile—he just shook his head, feeling like this was too easy. But then—

  "Next—blue!"

  "Huh?"

  Caught off guard, Chotarou quickly reacted, adjusted his focus, tossed the ball, and once again sent it flying into the blue basket.

  "Red!"

  Ishikawa’s voice rang out again, this time almost instantly.

  Chotarou’s expression shifted.

  Such a short reaction time—this was draining his stamina fast! Even now, his heart rate had risen noticeably, making it difficult to maintain a high-quality serve.

  This feeling—was exactly what he experienced during his fourth service game against Shishido.

  In that instant—

  Chotarou realized that Ishikawa’s seemingly simple training exercise wasn’t easy at all. He immediately focused, listening to Ishikawa’s calls and continuing the drill.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  One shot after another—

  As Ishikawa continued calling out basket colors, Chotarou kept serving. At first, his shots were sharp and precise, but as the exercise continued, mistakes started to creep in.

  Eventually—

  Chotarou exhausted all the balls he had and finally stopped.

  "Huff... huff..."

  The second-year Hyotei regur was now panting heavily. That drained feeling—

  It was exactly the same as the moment he lost his match earlier, watching helplessly as the game slipped away.

  "So, senpai, what do you think? Pretty effective, right?"

  "I-It’s... really effective."

  Looking up at Ishikawa’s smiling face, Chotarou let out a helpless chuckle. He had completely underestimated this simple drill. More than that—

  He had completely underestimated this first-year named Ishikawa.

  Someone capable of defeating third-years—there was no way Ishikawa was as simple as others believed.

  Ding!

  At that moment—

  A system notification rang in Ishikawa’s mind.

  [Quest Completed: Otori Chotarou’s Struggle. Favorability with this character has increased.]

  "Favorability?"

  Ishikawa shook his head inwardly.

  He wasn’t particurly interested in that. He had originally thought the quest might come with some kind of hidden reward, but it seemed he was overthinking it.

  Still—

  If helping Chotarou improve also strengthened Hyotei’s overall team, preparing them for future matches against other top schools, then it was worth it.

  "Uh... Ishikawa-kun."

  Just then—

  Having recovered slightly, Chotarou scratched his head awkwardly.

  "You helped me so much, but I don’t have anything to give you in return... Um... I heard your serve is really strong. I have some insights on serving—would you like to hear them?"

  Ding!

  Suddenly—

  The game system’s voice rang out again.

  [Hyotei Academy second-year regur Otori Chotarou is attempting to teach the pyer an advanced serve technique: Cannonball Serve. Accept?]

  [Yes/No]

  (End of Chapter 14)