Chapter 56

Fun fact, Syn’s voice came as Dan gritted his teeth in frustration. He’d been doing his best against Ben. He really had. However, even with the skill assist going, even though he could tell where Ben’s shots were going to go, he couldn’t win an actual Game against him. Occasionally, he got a point, sometimes, even two, but Ben always closed them out and beat him. And now, it was 4-5 Ben, the Varsity player getting ready once again to unleash his serve on Dan.

“What.” Dan grumbled in response to Syn. On the plus side, his stamina was doing great. The time with the soccer team had definitely boosted his physical stats, but his tennis stats had suffered.

Just because Auto-Battle can increase your performance over 100 percent, doesn’t mean you’ll be able to take on someone that much better than you. It’s magic but can’t work miracles ya know.

Dan had tried his auto battle a few times during the match. And yeah, he’d won some points off of the skill. But they were hard fought points, and the stamina drain was something he was trying to be cognizant of. At the very least, playing against Ben, though he felt he was doing terrible, was still showing he could play somewhat. After all, even though Peter had been making Ben look bad, he was arguably the second best player there from what Dan knew of him. The fact Dan was able to return some of the shots, and actually at least be in the right spot for the balls, had to be speaking well of him.

Or that was what he hoped. And he was afraid if he used Auto-Battle too much, and got himself exhausted, it would not bode well for his standing amongst both the boys team, as well as Sophia. Because who would want a partner that was exhausted after a single set, considering most matches went to at least 3 sets, if not best of five and such.

“You don’t say.” Dan said sarcastically. He’d already figured that out. His soccer traits had been much higher, so when amplified through Auto-Battle, along with his physical skills being amplified, it made sense he was able to pull of such a crazy display of skill and dominance on the soccer field. Here, with his tennis skills just barely in the teens and twenties, even doubled that wouldn’t put him on Ben’s level. He’d also checked Ben’s stats earlier and knew the player’s skills were in the Average and above range.

Dan’s highest skill, his forehand, was a 26, putting him still in the Poor range. Ben’s, on the other hand, was in the Great. And while his only other skill in the Great Range was his serve, and Dan was guessing they were just barely great, it was still a lot to deal with. All of this, also made Dan realize just how much more competitive he would have been on the Soccer Field. His stats, everything, had grown from a lifetime of Soccer, he had already grown and worked that advantage into his life, meaning his new powers amplified that. On the Tennis Court, he was facing people who had the talent he did, without magical powers, meaning he had an uphill climb.

Still, all of that was a choice he’d already made. He wanted this. He didn’t want to just lean on skills he’d already honed and empower them. He wanted the pride, the feeling of accomplishment, as he worked his way to the top, and made Peter proud. That thought alone was what was keeping him going. The words Peter had told him, as he stepped onto the court in front of Ben, still burned brightly in his mind, and it was what was pushing him to try his hardest to figure out how to claim victory here. Even if Ben ended up winning. Dan wanted to make him work for it.

“Four to Five, Love All.” Ben said, eyeing Dan as he prepared to serve. One other thing had changed on the court during this time. Ben’s attitude. Peter’s beating had obviously broken through the Varsity player’s cockiness, but it was something more. The more Dan played against him, the more shots Dan returned, the occasional good point he scored on the player, the more it seemed there was an acceptance, of sorts, happening on the court. As each point played through, the feeling on the court shifted into one that seemed, while competitive, friendly.

Dan steadied his breathing, as a thought came to his mind. He could see where Ben was aiming as the player tossed the ball up, Dan’s skill assist showing him the range where the ball was going to impact, as well as its trajectory. At Tier 3, it was much more precise than it once had been, though there was still a good six to eight inches of give. Which, on the tennis court, was a large margin of error, considering the needed sweet spot on a racquet for optimal efficiency was perhaps all of an inch on the surface area of the racquet, seeming just above the center point of the strings.

Peter had been drilling that particular spot, that feel of hitting in that spot on the racquet, into Dan, and he could feel the difference when he actually hit such shots. With the speed of Ben’s serves though, Dan had found it hard to get his racquet through the appropriate motion in time to not only return the ball properly over the net, applying the spin needed to give it high, safe clearance, and drop it still onto the court, but hit that sweet spot for prime efficiency.

That being said, there was perhaps, a way to do so, that wouldn’t be unnecessarily taxing on him. What he lacked in leveled up skills for the sport, he could perhaps make up for if say, his stats were amplified to the max. And if Auto-Battle drained stamina per second, perhaps toggling it on and off for only a split second, would allow Dan to not only cover his lack of ability, but also, improve his chances in the game. Because while Syn was right, there was no way he could stand on even footing against Ben, that didn’t mean Ben was invincible. And as Peter had said, Dan just had to keep the rally going, until Ben made a mistake.

He mentally prepared auto-battle, setting the parameters to 200% of his normal output. From his time on the soccer field, he’d noticed it burned through about a stamina per second. Using it on the tennis court, he’d confirmed as much. Currently, his Stamina, through this match, was still sitting at a comfortable level. He’d burned through roughly 20 of his 160 points so far, most of it through reckless uses of Auto-Battle, and he was certain the decreased Stamina burn thanks to his shoes was helping as well. If this plan of his cost only a stamina per use, he could effectively return 60 more shots before he hit the halfway penalty on his Stamina Bar. More than enough, in theory, to win some points on Ben, and try to turn this match around.

Dan grinned to himself, mind racing, palms sweating, as he twisted his racquet nervously. The high toss Ben had thrown up was at its peak, and the player was leaping into the air, his racquet up and back, already beginning to come down and forward, pronating in a way that would force the ball into a killer flat serve. It was heading for the right corner of the service box, not as deep and precise as Peter’s, but still a good serve. Dan watched, and as Ben made contact, he moved, running diaganoly, keeping an eye on the guidelines he could see with Skill Assist, placing himself just the right distance between himself and where the ball would come up. He split step as the hit the service box and came up, moving rapidly. And then, Dan activated Auto-Battle, racquet swinging to catch the ball on the rise.

His body moved on its own, but he watched and experienced it connecting perfectly on the rising tennis ball, the motion ripping over and through the projectile, forcing it to change courses, directing it down the line from Dan. He toggled Auto-Battle off as his body finished his swing, his racquet finishing over his left shoulder, just like Peter had taught him. The tennis ball flew in an arc over the net, the momentum generated by Dan catching it on the rise, when it had all the force from Ben’s serve, amplifying the speed with which it traveled. The varsity player, caught off guard by the sudden return, tried to react, but even as he moved to get it, the right-handed player was unable to get in position for a backhand in time, and Dan’s ball smashed into the court, and flew just out of reach of Ben.

Cheering erupted from around the court, as Dan stood dumbfounded.

“Nice return.” Ben said, clapping his hand into his tennis racquet as he glanced from where Dan was, to the tennis ball that was now resting on the fence. “Let’s see if you can do it again.”