Chapter 17: Phantom Serve

Tokyo.

Street Tennis Court.

The match continued the trend of the previous game, with Izumi and Buchuan deliberately hitting the tennis ball between Momoshiro and Echizen.

There was not a shred of coordination between Momoshiro and Echizen, and they were soon completely defeated.

By the time the umpire announced the end of the match, the two of them were still shouting things about how they hadn't played properly.

Not a single point scored, a crushing defeat!

The person next to Takahashi asked him, "I had high hopes for that short kid, but they lost. What do you think?"

Was he treating him like a walking dictionary?

Takahashi complained inwardly while saying, "In terms of strength, those two are definitely far superior to their opponents, but they were playing doubles without any coordination, which is why they failed."

"Their strength is beyond doubt; it is much higher than the other side. If it were singles, the other side wouldn't have a chance—they would definitely lose!"

Hearing Takahashi also praise the strength of Echizen and Momoshiro, the person beside him was very happy.

"Great minds think alike!"

Takahashi:...

As the winners of the recent match, those two were very arrogant. Facing the praise of others, not only did they accept it all, but they even began to mock Echizen and Momoshiro.

"Their technique is simply a mess. With such amateur skills, we could crush them with our eyes closed."

Takahashi felt a bit jarred hearing this.

"Hey! People praising you a couple of times is just politeness and courtesy; don't let it go to your heads!"

A mocking voice rang out, standing out from the chorus of praise.

"What? Damn it!"

"You arrogant brat who doesn't know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth!"

Izumi and Buchuan were caught off guard for a moment that someone would actually mock them at a time like this.

The crowd also followed the source of the sound and looked at Takahashi.

The person beside Takahashi also changed his gaze toward him.

He had thought he was a tennis expert, and talking big was one thing, but he didn't expect him to be brainless enough to actively provoke them!

He moved a few steps away from Takahashi without a trace.

"Hey, what, you want to challenge us with your lousy skills!"

"Just doubles? Where is your partner?"

"Don't tell me you heard you had to play against us, the strongest in this tennis court, and got scared away!"

"Hahaha!"

Izumi and Buchuan sneered.

"To deal with two cannon fodder like you, I alone am enough," Takahashi said calmly, his expression unchanged.

"A single victory has gone to your heads; you don't even know your own weight."

"Since that's the case, let's speak with strength!"

Takahashi held his tennis racket, pointed it directly at them, and challenged them.

"I hope that after the match ends, you can still maintain this attitude and not end up crying!"

The two continued to respond.

"Hahaha!"

The people nearby all laughed, thinking that for a perfectly good doubles match, he insisted on playing alone—wasn't this just asking for death?

And he was challenging the strongest players on this tennis court, Izumi and Buchuan.

Everyone was laughing and joking, holding a mentality of watching the fun for the upcoming match.

But Izumi and Buchuan felt a trace of unease; he actually dared to challenge the two of them alone—it seemed he was very confident in his own strength.

And Takahashi was right; if Echizen and Momoshiro were playing singles, their chances of winning would be very low.

But this was doubles, a game that emphasized coordination.

For him to want to challenge the two of them alone, even if his singles strength was high, the chances of winning were not great.

Thinking of this, their faces wore their smirking smiles once again.

The first game, Takahashi to Serve.

Takahashi bounced the tennis ball on the ground a few times, then tossed it upward.

The tennis ball formed a semicircular arc in the air and began to descend, its falling trajectory also a curve.

Takahashi pulled his tennis racket back, swung it with force, and his body turned to the left with the impact.

"Boom!"

The tennis ball flew out with astonishing speed and astonishing spin.

Izumi and Buchuan's expressions changed.

"Snap!"

After the tennis ball landed, it spun in place several times, and when it bounced, it created many afterimages in the air, as if there were several tennis balls bouncing in different directions at the same time.

"15-0!"

"Takahashi scores!"

Izumi and Buchuan stood in place, their bodies leaning slightly forward, knees bent, maintaining a ready-to-hit posture.

They were both shocked, looking at the tennis ball behind them in disbelief.

From the moment Takahashi swung his racket, they had already prepared themselves.

After all, with a standard Serve, when the tennis ball is tossed upward, its angle in the air is straight up and down.

However, the ball Takahashi tossed traced an arc in the air.

This made the two of them feel immense pressure.

But immediately after, they heard the sound of the ball hitting the ground; they hadn't captured the ball's trajectory with their eyes at all.

The tennis ball had landed.

Its speed far exceeded their reaction time.

Moreover, the ball actually left behind afterimages after bouncing.

This caused their hearts to sink even further; even if they could keep up with the speed, facing several tennis ball afterimages, they weren't sure which one was the real ball, let alone returning it.

The others on the sidelines of the Street Tennis Court also rubbed their eyes, feeling it was truly incredible.

After a tennis ball landed and bounced, several shadows of tennis balls actually appeared in their eyes, and they bounced in different directions simultaneously.

Is this playing tennis, or performing magic!

The gazes they cast toward Takahashi were filled with awe.

Watching the scene of the tennis ball landing, a curve appeared at the corner of Takahashi's mouth.

The Idle Character was practicing tennis frantically, and he felt his mastery of tennis had reached a new level.

The scene just now was one he had simulated in his mind before.

This match against these two cannon fodder was mainly to test the power of this shot.

He hadn't expected it to succeed on the first attempt.

He named this Serve the "Phantom Serve."

It refers to how, after the tennis ball lands and bounces, many phantoms appear, making it impossible for the opponent to distinguish between the real and the illusory.

This relies on applying intense spin and speed to the tennis ball.

From the very beginning, the arc traced in the air when tossing the tennis ball was intentional.

It was to artificially increase the spin on the tennis ball!

The tennis ball shot out through the air; under the ultra-high speed, the spin was even more intense, constantly accumulating rotation on the ball.

Upon landing, the spin on the tennis ball reached its peak, and the intense speed, power, and spin all erupted at that moment, which is why phantoms appeared upon the bounce.

However, Takahashi was still somewhat dissatisfied with the speed of the tennis ball.

Because the focus during the Serve was on increasing the spin of the tennis ball, the speed was only 190km/h; it was still too slow!

He had to continue practicing!

The Idle Character must not stop practicing!

"Bang!"

"30-0!"

"Bang!"

"40-0!"

The game ended, and the people around began to discuss it one after another.

"Just by relying on his Serve, he took a game from the likes of the powerful Izumi and Buchuan!"

"That's right, Izumi and Buchuan are the strongest players at this Street Tennis Court!"

"This Takahashi must be the strongest; after the tennis ball landed and bounced, afterimages appeared—I even thought I was hallucinating."

"This move is truly strong; it feels impossible to counter!"

"And he is just one person, playing against two!"

"Those two didn't get a single point this game; it's too miserable!"

"The next game might not be the same; Izumi and Buchuan are serving, so they'll probably get a few points. After all, Takahashi is only one person! This is doubles, after all; playing one against two is too much of a stretch."