Chapter 53: Don’t Look Down on Cheaters!
Chapter 53: Don’t Look Down on Cheaters!
After successfully breaking serve, it was now Himekoji’s turn to serve.
Gaining the serve meant gaining control. And using his special abilities while in control meant certain victory!
Himekoji bounced the tennis ball lightly in his hand and took a small breath.
“Heavy Cannon skill, activate!”
[One-time skill, Tennis · Heavy Cannon, activation successful!]
The moment the System notification sounded, his body automatically shifted into position.
The techniques and key points of serving flashed through his mind like a fast-forwarded movie, as if he had practiced them countless times.
The racket felt like an extension of himself, gripped firmly in his hand, as natural as moving his own arm.
This was truly the feeling of using his special ability—strong, unbeatable!
Himekoji suppressed his excitement, took a deep breath, and then cleared his mind, focusing entirely.
Serve!
He gently tossed the ball upwards with perfect balance, sending it soaring straight into the air.
The ball’s trajectory aligned perfectly with Himekoji Akito’s driving foot, not a fraction off. Simultaneously, he inhaled, focused his strength, and his whole body tensed into a tight bow shape. His racquet whipped forward with the rapid snap of his wrist, carrying the force of a thousand catties!
In that instant, power surged from the ground through his entire body. As the strings struck the ball, it sounded like the explosion of a fully primed grenade. The crack echoed across the entire tennis court.
“Boom!!!”
Not only were the spectators near the court startled by the loud noise, but even random passersby turned their heads in surprise toward the tennis court.
“90 still beats 71! Fools!!”
The explosive, powerful swing felt incredibly satisfying. Himekoji kept the triumphant shout inside, venting silently to himself.
…
Though the sound was impressive, in Hayama’s eyes—
The serve didn’t look particularly fast. It didn’t target an awkward spot, nor did it trace a tricky curve in the air. It seemed like just an ordinary, decently fast flat serve.
However, when his racket made contact, he realized he was wrong—dead wrong!
This was no ordinary serve. The very first sensation when his racket met the ball was—
Heavy! Incredibly heavy! Exceptionally, unbelievably heavy!
Moreover, the ball bounced much higher than a regular serve after landing.
The higher contact point forced Hayama into an awkward posture, making it hard for him to generate power. The sheer force of the ball instantly overwhelmed his ability to control it. What he envisioned as a perfect return became a high, floating shot with no bite.
In tennis, hitting such a high floater almost always meant surrendering all control. This was especially bad right after his opponent served. Hayama was struggling to scramble to the opposite corner, trying to prevent a down-the-line passing shot.
Himekoji Akito was already perfectly positioned beneath the ball slowly dropping from the sky. Watching Hayama’s movements, a slight smirk touched his lips. He didn’t even jump. Just a clean, simple tap towards the direction he had served from.
The shot went precisely the opposite way Hayama was running!
By the time Hayama realized he was charging in the wrong direction, it was far too late to change course.
Even though it was doubles, Hayama’s partner Miura couldn’t react either.
She had assumed Hayama could handle their opponent alone easily, so she hadn’t moved into position. Helplessly, all she could do was stare in disbelief as the ball dropped, bounced, and then landed once more…
“2-3!”
When the judge announced the score, it was so unexpected that the scene fell—
Silent as a graveyard.
After a long pause, someone finally recovered, sparking murmurs of confusion and discussion.
“What happened?”
“Did Hayama make a mistake?”
“What was that ball all about?”
“How dare that pervert win against Hayama?”
“Win? Who said anything about winning? It’s just giving back a point. Hayato will definitely still win the match.”
“Umm… that’s two points he’s won now.”
“Shut up!”
…
Chatter. It was always the same. As long as it was Himekoji Akito scoring, there was never amazement or praise. Only waves of doubt, noisy and chaotic.
“So, a topspin serve.”
Yukinoshita clicked her tongue softly, her face impassive as usual, yet her tone held surprise.
Himekoji’s powered-up serve was indeed a topspin. But the rotation speed was more than fifty percent faster than a typical topspin serve!
…
“Hayato! What’s going on? You’re letting him score point after point! He’s a complete newbie! Just a pervert! Fine, leave the next point to me!”
Seeing the lead shrink point by point, Miura scowled. She swiped her racket angrily through the air, venting her frustration.
…
Taking the ball tossed back from near the court, Himekoji tightened his grip on his racket.
Instinctively, he looked across the net at his opponents—
Miura, as the Queen, you hate losing, don’t you?
Hayama, as the ultimate normie, everything’s always gone smoothly for you, hasn’t it?
You are natural-born winners. Victory seems your entitlement.
But, sorry. Today, I have a reason to win that far outweighs yours.
If I lose, I have to become Yukinoshita’s nipples.
What a joke?
So I have to win! Even if I have to use every trick possible!
Besides, even using these tricks is thanks to my own ability! How many humiliating things have I done? How much scorn and abuse have I endured…
Don’t you dare look down on cheaters!
…
Riding the momentum, a second ball!
“Crescent Slash, activate!”
Himekoji murmured in his mind, and the System immediately responded—
[One-time skill, Tennis: New Moon Slash, successfully used!]
Serve!
The same high-speed spin, but now it had shifted from backspin to sidespin.
“Watch out!”
Though Miura had confidently taken charge of receiving the serve, Hayama, having suffered in the last two points, couldn’t help but whisper a warning.
He’d figured out something strange about Himekoji!
Did this guy have a weird habit of pretending to be weak to catch others off guard?
He’d only show his real skill when he was about to lose.
Even more focused than before, Hayama stared intently at his opponent’s serve this time.
So, he saw it—
Himekoji’s serve traced a rainbow-like arc in the air, graceful and extreme. Yet after crossing the halfway point, the ball’s path suddenly grew unpredictable.
“It’s heading right?”
Miura hastily decided, pushing off her left foot to dive toward the right.
“No, it’s left!”
Hayama, alert and ready, rushed forward to cover the gap.
Miura, careless and overconfident, misjudged the landing spot. Hayama barely sprinted into position, swinging his racket to return the shot—
But then, that ball…
When it landed with a weird curve, it instantly bounced sharply in the opposite direction of its arc. The wild change caught Hayama completely unprepared.
His racket sliced through nothing but air!
Stunned and unable to accept it, Hayama froze in place after losing another point.
He dazedly watched the tennis ball brush past him, bouncing once, then twice…
What kind of serve was this?
Spin! High-speed spin! Unbelievably fast spin on the serve!
“3-3! Tie!”
Once again, the entire Tennis Court fell silent because of Himekoji Akito.