Chapter 7: Scoring 1 Point, Is It Luck?

Two consecutive balls landed outside the boundary.

Added to that was the big talk Kimura Kojiro had made so confidently before the match.

The gazes of the others looking at him were filled with contempt.

Unable to accept the deep meaning in the others' gazes, Kimura Kojiro's mental state began to crumble.

"I was just getting a feel for it; I'll definitely hit it in on the next ball."

Kimura Kojiro tried to save face, saying this while feigning composure.

However.

"Third ball, out of bounds, failure!"

"Fourth ball, out of bounds, failure!"

Following that, the tennis ball's landing point grew further and further away from the white circle.

"Fifth ball, out of bounds, failure!"

Kimura Kojiro's psychological pressure grew, and the mistakes he made became more frequent.

One ball even grazed the net and failed to cross it.

In the end, the Goddess of Luck did visit him once.

"Tenth ball, score, 1 point."

"Whew!"

"It really does require high ball control, but I've already found the key points; if the assessment continues, I won't lose any more points."

After finishing, Kimura Kojiro let out a long breath, still not forgetting to make excuses for himself.

Outside the Court.

Several figures wearing Rikkai uniforms huddled together sneakily, their eyes fixed firmly on the inside of the Court.

"So the upcoming assessment is this difficult!"

"Yeah, that Kimura Kojiro just now has three years of tennis experience and actually only scored one point."

"How do you know that so clearly?"

"He's amazing; not only does he practice diligently, but he also often comes to guide us. He's very enthusiastic and a really good person!"

"Even he failed so miserably; it seems the Rikkai Tennis Club really isn't something an ordinary person can enter."

"It's only natural that we were eliminated."

"Right, after all, even someone with three years of tennis experience was eliminated."

"I didn't expect tennis to rely so much on talent."

"Yeah, acquired effort is useless!"

One by one, they watched the assessment on the Court, their hearts finding great comfort.

After all, if people who had studied tennis longer than them hadn't passed, what were they complaining about?

That person had put in more than them, and although he stayed a little longer than them, he was still eliminated.

"That Takahashi is definitely no good either; he's been slacking off every day, wandering around aimlessly, and never practiced properly."

"Right, I reckon he'll only be able to get 1 point."

"One point? More like a zero!"

"Definitely a zero."

The assessment continued on the tennis Court.

Of the 10 people who participated in the assessment next, only two barely reached 6 points, and one other person scored 5 points, missing out on the Tennis Club by a single point.

"Hey, hey, hey, is it really that hard to aim your Serve?"

"Isn't this the simplest thing? I could do it easily with my eyes closed."

"The strength of this year's freshmen is just too poor!"

Kirihara Akaya, with his seaweed hair, said with dissatisfaction.

The assessment was conducted according to height, and Takahashi Yanichi was the tallest, so he was placed last.

At the beginning, he was watching with great interest, but later, feeling bored, he began to look around and started to doze off.

"Easily, simply!"

Such impactful words drifted into his ears.

It made him wake up instantly, and he looked around.

Hearing this, Yamamoto Taro also turned his head very naturally to look at Kimura Kojiro.

Only to see Kimura Kojiro's face turning red visibly, his head lowered as he looked at his toes.

"Hmm?"

Seeing Takahashi Yanichi look at him a few extra times, Kirihara Akaya asked in confusion.

"We have someone here who also thinks it can be done simply and easily."

Takahashi Yanichi said, casting his gaze toward Kimura Kojiro.

"Is that so? Let's have a match in a bit."

Kirihara Akaya became interested.

Kimura Kojiro, stared at by everyone, stammered, his face full of embarrassment and shame.

"He just scored 1 point."

The white-haired Niou Masaharu said from the side.

"Pfft, haha, haha!"

The others around could not help but laugh.

"Skill is lacking, but the attitude is quite something!"

Kirihara Akaya shook his head.

"Next, Takahashi Yanichi!"

The referee began to call out.

"Takahashi, good luck!"

Yamamoto Taro shouted.

"Takahashi, this is much harder than you'd imagine; even I, with three years of tennis experience, could only get 1 point, so getting a 0 isn't anything to be ashamed of."

Kimura Kojiro, having learned from the previous lesson, spoke while his eyes kept glancing toward the regular team members on the side.

"You must have reverence for tennis, reverence!"

"We must practice more and keep improving!"

"Heh!"

Takahashi Yanichi barely squeezed out a sound, thinking to himself that this guy was being overly dramatic.

Coming to the tennis club had buried his talent; the drama club was where he should have gone.

Outside the Court.

The eliminated people huddled together, all perking up.

"Quick, look!"

"That slacker is about to go on!"

"Just thinking about his miserable state to come makes me so excited."

Inside the Court.

Takahashi Yanichi held a tennis racket and strolled slowly into the court, his movements very casual and natural.

He tapped the tennis ball, then tossed it high into the air, and when the ball fell to his ideal height, he swung his arm.

"Bang!"

The little yellow ball drew a graceful arc in the air and fell straight toward the ground.

The tennis ball landed on the white circle.

"Line touch, counted as out, failure!"

The referee announced loudly.

"What a pity! Just missed by a little!" Yamamoto Taro felt very regretful.

"That's only natural; only the seniors have superb skills and peerless ball control, allowing them to hit it into the court with ease."

Kimura Kojiro had recovered by now, speaking with great animation.

"Tch!"

Kirihara Akaya, however, did not buy his flattery.

"This freshman is not bad; looking at both his Serve posture and ball speed, he's much better than those few just now."

The red-haired Marui Bunta said while blowing a green bubble gum.

"Right, these first-years are too dramatic, but this one actually looks decent."

The white-haired Niou Masaharu responded.

Outside the Court.

The eliminated crowd continued to discuss it, one after another, the atmosphere lively.

"Look, look quickly, he failed on the first ball!"

"That's a given!"

"As expected!"

"No suspense at all!"

"But when others failed, they were far from the white circle; he touched the line, so he must have some skill, right!"

One person silently offered a different opinion.

"That was just dumb luck."

"He won't be so lucky on the next ball."

But unexpectedly, this drew angry responses from the others.

On the Court.

Takahashi Yanichi looked at the spot where the ball landed, lost in thought.

Soon, he adjusted himself and prepared for the next ball.

His expression was very calm and composed.

"Bang!"

"Second ball, in, success!" The referee judged quickly and announced loudly.

"I told you, this is very difficult; it doesn't matter if you fail."

Kimura Kojiro said as if it were a matter of course.

"He scored, you idiot."

Kirihara Akaya glanced at him with great disdain.

"What?"

Kimura Kojiro, having snapped back to his senses, stared in dumbstruck amazement.

Also shocked into speechlessness was a group of people outside the tennis Court.

"Pinch me, I think I just had a hallucination; in the hallucination, he scored."

"How is that possible?"

"It must be fake!"

"It must be dumb luck!"

Everyone could not believe this scene; he actually scored on the second ball.

Even the one who scored the most just now missed his first three balls, and only started scoring consecutively afterward.

Yet he, Takahashi Yanichi!

A campus loafer!

Actually scored on the second ball!

This poured a large basin of cold water over their originally excited moods.

"Keep watching, he won't have such good luck next!"

"For sure, luck only happens once; could it possibly happen a second time?"

"A second time is called skill; does he have that thing?"

"Hahaha! Of course he doesn't!"