King of Tennis (POT)

As the selection tournament began, the Ice Tennis Club entered its most bustling moment.

All 12 courts of the tennis club were packed with spectators. Naturally, the court where the club captain, Atobe, was playing drew the largest crowd, with people packed in multiple layers. Many who couldn't squeeze in had to settle for other courts.

The entire tennis club was filled with cheers, punctuated by occasional gasps or sighs of disappointment.

As expected, in the first round where none of the top players faced each other, all of Ice's regulars and second-team representatives won their matches.

Ishikawa was no exception. In fact, the speed at which he won his match was not only comparable to some of the regulars but even faster than all the second-team members, including Hiyoshi.

Such speed and performance shocked everyone. No one had anticipated that the newcomer, who was hardly favored before the tournament, would possess such formidable strength.

"We all underestimated him," said Oshitari, the de facto leader of the regulars, as he watched Ishikawa defeat his opponent 6-0. His expression, along with the other regulars', turned uneasy.

Especially Shishido, who had previously dismissed Ishikawa. The fact that Ishikawa finished his match in under 8 minutes, even faster than Shishido, who prided himself on his quick attacks, was a hard pill to swallow.

"Tomorrow's match is going to be interesting," said Mukahi, a Group B player, chuckling mischievously. "Maybe... this newcomer hasn't even shown his full strength yet!"

Though everyone brushed off his comment as a joke, they quickly shifted their focus to Hiyoshi's performance.

Little did they know, Mukahi's offhand remark was closer to the truth than they realized.

At that moment, Ishikawa, who had just finished his match and retreated to the rest area, had indeed not revealed his true capabilities. In fact, he hadn't even been serious.

This wasn't to say his opponent was weak. On the contrary, the opponent was quite strong, far surpassing someone like Shinozaburo. However, Ishikawa's strength had undergone a dramatic transformation since the morning.

The reason was simple: he had spent the 45 skill points he had saved up on upgrading both his existing and newly developed techniques.

Now, Ishikawa's character panel had undergone significant changes compared to three days ago.

---

**Name:** Ishikawa Shin 

**Age:** 12 

**Identity:** First-year student at Ice Middle School 

**Main Profession:** Tennis Lv15 (27/1400) 

**Sub-Professions:** Kendo Lv9, Go Lv9 

**Attributes:** 

- Speed: 1.5 

- Power: 2.3 

- Stamina: 1.6 

- Technique: 4 

- Mental: 4.1 

- **Total:** 13.5 

**Basic Techniques:** 

- Basic Serve Lv6 (11/10000) 

- Basic Drive Lv6 (9/10000) 

- Basic Topspin Lv6 (3/10000) 

- Basic Slice Lv6 (1/10000) 

- Basic Smash Lv3 (32/100) 

**Advanced Techniques:** 

- Modified Cannon Serve Lv3 (34/200) 

- Gale Lv3 (0/200) 

- Awakening Lv3 (0/200) 

**Special Abilities:** None 

**Remaining Sub-Profession Points:** 0 

**Remaining Skill Points:** 5 

**Items:** None 

---

Just before the match, Ishikawa had used 40 of his saved skill points to upgrade almost all his techniques. As the levels of his techniques increased, a wealth of knowledge and key insights flooded his mind. Correspondingly, his technique attribute rose from 3.1 to 4.

This already surpassed most of the middle schoolers in the later stages of the original U-17 arc. At this point in early April, before the regional qualifiers had even begun, Ishikawa's skills were enough to place him among the nation's elite!

Among his techniques, *Gale* and *Awakening* were the result of Ishikawa further integrating his kendo skills into tennis. After mastering them, he immediately used skill points to upgrade them. The cost for advanced techniques was double that of basic ones, but Ishikawa speculated that their power would be at least twice as strong.

In truth, he was eagerly looking forward to his match against Hiyoshi the next day.

---

"Next up, the seventh match of Group D: Ishikawa Shin vs. Nagano Sota."

As the announcement echoed, Ishikawa stepped onto the court once more. His opponent was a third-year who had just lost to Hiyoshi in the previous match.

Nagano was around 180 cm tall, with a well-built frame, a buzz cut, and a fierce, arrogant glare.

"Hey, kid!" Nagano sneered, resting his racket on his shoulder. "You can still back out now and save yourself the embarrassment. Otherwise... heh!"

"It's fine, senpai," Ishikawa replied calmly. "I'm in a hurry, so I won't keep you on the court for too long."

"You little brat!" Nagano's anger flared.

He was someone who held traditional views on seniority in clubs. In his mind, juniors like Hiyoshi and Ishikawa should show him respect. Yet, Hiyoshi had ignored him completely and defeated him in under ten minutes, leaving him humiliated on the court.

Fine, Hiyoshi was the second-team captain and had the skills to back it up. But what about this kid? A mere newcomer, yet he dared to speak to a senior with such disrespect. Nagano's pent-up rage boiled over, and he vowed to teach Ishikawa a lesson.

*Boom!*

But as soon as the match began, Ishikawa's serve exploded like a cannonball right in front of Nagano.

Instantly, Nagano froze, his eyes wide as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Is that... a Cannon Serve?" Oshitari and Mukahi exchanged surprised glances.

"No," Oshitari corrected. "It's similar to Choutarou's Cannon Serve, but the speed and power aren't quite there yet."

Still, Oshitari was impressed. It was clear that Ishikawa had put considerable effort into studying serves, possibly even incorporating elements of Choutarou's Cannon Serve.

"Unfortunately," Oshitari added, "he's only a first-year and doesn't have Choutarou's height. Otherwise, his serve might rival the Cannon Serve."

"What?" The surrounding players were stunned by Oshitari's high praise.

"Indeed," Choutarou himself chimed in, nodding. "Ishikawa's serve is already at a very high level."

The crowd erupted in murmurs, and the way they looked at Ishikawa shifted noticeably.

*Boom!*

On the court, Ishikawa didn't disappoint. Another cannon-like serve blasted past Nagano, who couldn't even react.

In less than eight minutes, Ishikawa swept Nagano aside with ease, securing his second consecutive victory in the tournament. This time, he finished even faster than Hiyoshi, sparking even more discussion among the spectators.

Soon, the upcoming match between Ishikawa and Hiyoshi became the talk of the club. Everyone eagerly anticipated their showdown in the first match of Group D the next afternoon.

*(End of Chapter)*