Chapter 16: Improved Serve, Improved Strength

  Chotarou stands over 180 cm tall.

  In contrast, Ishikawa is only about 165 cm. (At 12 years old, a first-year middle school student.) The 15 cm height difference significantly impacts their serves.

  Generally speaking, the taller a pyer is, the more powerful their serve tends to be.

  For example, in the original story, Seigaku’s Inui, Hyotei’s Chotarou, and Josei Shonan’s captain, Kajimoto, were all around 180 cm tall despite being just 13 or 14 years old.

  Later in New Prince of Tennis, Hyotei’s former captain, Tsukimitsu Ochi, who mastered the Mach Serve, reached a staggering height of 226 cm!

  Because of this, Ishikawa understood that the power of the Scud Serve wasn’t just due to Chotarou’s natural serving talent but also the advantage of his height. At only 165 cm, simply copying the Scud Serve wouldn’t yield the same effectiveness or power.

  "So…I need to make adjustments."

  Clenching the tennis ball in his hand, Ishikawa’s eyes flickered with thought.

  "I’ll extract the essence of the technique, combine it with my own serve style, and transform Chotarou's Scud Serve into something truly my own!"

  Having grasped the key to the problem, Ishikawa’s gaze grew sharper. With a deep breath, he tossed the tennis ball into the air.

  He bent his knees, lowered his center of gravity, and compressed his body like a coiled spring. Then, as he extended his arm, his feet explosively pushed off the ground, propelling him into a slight forward leap. Using this force, he swung his tightly gripped racket down onto the ball.

  Bang!

  A thunderous sound echoed.

  The ball struck near the opponent’s service line. In the dim light, a faint white streak was visible.

  "Did it go out?"

  Focusing his gaze, Ishikawa saw that the ball had actually nded outside the service box.

  According to the rules, this was a fault. Another miss would result in a lost point.

  "The speed has definitely increased."

  Recalling the velocity of his serve, Ishikawa analyzed the situation.

  "There’s certainly value in the Scud Serve’s explosive technique, but the downside is clear—greater power reduces accuracy."

  This seemed to be a paradox. Increasing speed inevitably compromised control.

  "So… is this really just a height issue?"

  Ishikawa felt that if he had Chotarou’s height, his serve would be far more effective. Of course, it was also possible that he simply wasn’t familiar enough with the technique yet.

  Determined, he continued practicing the serve repeatedly. While his success rate improved, something still felt… incomplete.

  "My previous serve wasn’t necessarily slower. Back then, my serve was effective because—"

  Swish!

  A realization struck him.

  Ishikawa’s eyes gleamed with newfound understanding.

  Taking a deep breath, he tossed the ball once more. He bent his knees, adjusted his center of gravity, and pushed off with his legs—perfectly replicating the Scud Serve’s mechanics.

  But this time, something changed at the moment of impact. His demeanor shifted.

  In an instant, he no longer appeared to be a mere middle schooler—he radiated the presence of a seasoned kendo master.

  With complete control over his movements, he swung his racket as if it were an extension of his own arm. His refined technique, combined with his physical power, caused the racket to leave a faint afterimage in the air.

  Boom!

  The ball exploded off the racket.

  Like a bolt of lightning in the dimly lit court, it streaked through the air and smmed into the ground.

  Compared to his previous attempts, this serve was undeniably faster—by more than just a little. And this time, the ball nded inside the service box.

  "Success!"

  A satisfied smile appeared on Ishikawa’s face.

  This new version of the Scud Serve was now truly his own.

  [Ding!]

  At that moment, a system notification echoed in his mind.

  [Pyer has successfully improved a technique. Scud Serve power increased. Would you like to rename this skill?]

  "Rename it?"

  Ishikawa pondered for a moment before nodding to himself.

  "For now, I’ll call it Scud Serve: Revised."

  He chose this name because he believed he hadn’t yet fully mastered the integration of kendo into his tennis. Once he perfected it, he could rename the technique properly.

  [Ding!]

  [Skill Improved: Scud Serve: Revised. Basic Serve Experience +30.]

  As the system message faded, new technical insights surfaced in Ishikawa’s mind, further refining his serve technique.

  He continued practicing for another hour, only stopping when his arm felt sore. Afterward, he spent another hour on various conditioning exercises, pushing his body to its limits before finally leaving the court.

  Back at the dormitory, he took a shower and fell into a deep sleep.

  -

  Over the next few days, Ishikawa maintained a rigorous schedule.

  Mornings: Studied academics, quickly mastering an entire semester’s worth of material. In his free time, he read books by renowned chess masters, analyzing board positions and simuting matches in his mind to improve his strategic thinking.

  Afternoons: Attended tennis club practice, completing daily training while also helping Chotarou refine his serve accuracy—earning goodwill and learning more serve techniques in the process.

  Evenings: Additional solo training sessions, pushing himself to exhaustion before calling it a night.

  Every day, he could feel his body changing. His fundamental skills and overall strength were visibly improving.

  Three days passed in a fsh.

  By Friday’s training session, Ishikawa’s level finally increased, surpassing Level 10.

  [Ding!]

  [Pyer Level Up! Rewards: +3 Skill Points, +1 Subcss Point.]

  Upon hearing the system notification, Ishikawa opened his status screen.

  [Pyer Stats]Name: Shin IshikawaAge: 12School: Hyotei Academy, First-Year Middle School StudentMain Profession: Tennis (Lv.10 - 4/320 EXP)Sub Professions: Kendo (Lv.9), Chess (Lv.7)

  [Attributes]Speed: 1.3Power: 2.2Stamina: 1.4Technique: 3.1Precision: 3.0Total: 11

  [Basic Tennis Skills]Basic Serve (Lv.4 - 12/500)Basic Groundstroke (Lv.3 - 36/100)Basic Topspin (Lv.2 - 34/50)Basic Slice (Lv.2 - 30/50)Basic Smash (Lv.1 - 18/20)

  [Advanced Tennis Skills]Scud Serve: Revised (Lv.2 - 13/100)

  [Remaining Subcss Points]: 1

  [Remaining Skill Points]: 30

  After just five days of intense training, his stats had significantly improved. For most pyers, this kind of progress would be considered phenomenal.

  After all, in the original story, Fuji Yuuta—who trained in a grueling "hell camp" for a month—only reached a total stat value of 13 when he returned to U-17.

  At that point, Yuuta had barely reached national-level tennis.

  Meanwhile, Ishikawa had already reached Kanto-level competition. But to him, this progress still wasn’t fast enough.

  "The school selection tournament is on Monday."

  Sitting in a corner of the club’s rest area, Ishikawa gnced toward the ranking court.

  "With my current strength, if I get pced in Atobe or Oshitari’s group, my chances of advancing are slim."

  He silently contempted.

  Would it be worth using the weekend to train outside of Hyotei—leveling up in the “wild” instead?

  Meanwhile, in the regur team’s rest area…

  After finishing practice, Oshitari grinned at Atobe, who was wiping his sweat with a towel handed to him by Kabaji.

  "Atobe, you’ve finalized the selection match groups, haven’t you?"

  "Hn."

  Atobe nodded calmly.

  He knew Oshitari was trying to advocate for the newcomer. But Atobe had already made his decision. The list had been submitted to Coach Sakaki.

  Gncing briefly toward the rest area, his eyes nded on Ishikawa for a moment before shifting away.

  "Don’t disappoint me."

  (End of Chapter 16)