Epic Grade Skill?

As the tip off started, Sawamura and Nakamura came running in at that exact moment.

When they saw the ball flying through the air as both Reo and Nishimura began to jump for it, their faces paled in realization.

"Damn it! We're too late!", Sawamura said in frustration.

Why the hell did they start so fast?!

However Nakamura was a bit more level headed as he tried to think of a way out. There was no way that they could allow this matchup to continue.

"Maybe if we arouse the crowd to act against Reo, we can stop the match. After all, he is only one person and if everyone agrees to stop the match, there will be nothing he can do about it", Nakamura suggested.

Sawamura kept quiet for a few moments before nodding his head. That was honestly the best method at this point.

So, as they made their way to the crowd, they began talking to some of the students.

They tried to tell them to call off the match but before they could even state the reason of it, they were met with cold, hard refusals.

"Stop the match because of Reo?! Are you on his side, you bastards?!"

"Yes, it's my turn after this to kick his ass so don't you dare try to stop me!"

"You're turn?! It's my turn next! But what he said, I will never back away from that asshole even if I had a 1000 retries in life!"

Nakamura and Sawamura were both speechless.

They were only trying to help a friend out. Why did they suddenly arouse the anger of all the students?

However, after a short enquiry, they soon found out about Reo's challenge.

When they first heard about it, they were both shocked and speechless.

It was one thing to be a star but to challenge the entire school? You must be crazy to actually do that!

Even if you could defeat the students in a one on one, how long could your stamina even last?

In their opinion, Reo must have gone mad from the rage to actually make such an absurd challenge.

Suddenly, Nakamura had a flash of inspiration as he opened his backpack and pulled out out a camera stand.

When Sawamura saw this, he was a bit confused and asked, "What are you doing?".

He knew about Nakamura's obsession with photography as he hoped to become a leading photographer in the future. As such, he always carried around a foldable stand and camera with him in the case of any sudden inspirations.

Nakamura kept quiet for a while as he set up his camera stand in a particular position after a couple of adjustments, making sure that the stand faced the court perfectly without any hindrances in the way.

When Nakamura felt that the stand was in a perfect position, he finally spoke.

"It's too late to stop Nishimura-san but we might be able to get something out of this after all"

Sawamura was still confused as the question marks began crowding up above his head.

Seeing Sawamura still confused, Nakamura began to explain it to him.

"Do you remember how many views that video had when Reo became the next star of the Street Ball Rumble?"

"Over 10000! And this is just overnight! People already had such a big reaction when another elementary school student appeared to beat those middle school students but imagine what their reaction would be when they see the new star challenge the entire school to a fight!"

"They would go crazy! Some of them might even make private bets between themselves!"

Nakamura was from a rich family so he was aware of such dealings at quite a young age. Even his parents did that from time to time.

When Sawamura heard this, the gears began turning in his mind as he came to realization.

"You mean....You want to stream this on JSport?!",Sawamura said in exclamation.

He too knew the worth of Shibuya City's Street Ball Rumble and how much people paid attention to those stars there.

If they streamed Reo challenging the entire school, they would surely go bananas!

"Exactly! If my estimations are correct, with this stream, we might even make an impact factor of Level 2!"

JSport was unlike those other online streaming platforms. Since they were the main go-to spot for basketball nationwide, the contents needed to be separated for each level.

There were 5 levels for every content which were referred to as impact factors.

Level 1 was for the Districts (Exp: Ebisu)

Level 2 was for the Municipals (Exp: Shibuya)

Level 3 was for the Prefectures (Exp: Tokyo)

Level 4 was for the Regions (Exp: Kantō)

Level 5 was nationwide for the entirety of Japan

Every content started out from Level 1 but depending on the number of replays or viewers, they can be quickly upgraded.

For example, those extremely famous basketball streamers on the platform might be able to instantly upgrade to a Level 3 impact factor after just a couple of seconds.

Nakamura was still a newbie streamer in JSport and as such, he didn't have a large following. Most of his streams were only compilations of basketball players in cinematic positions when they were playing mid-game.

However, with Reo's reputation of a new rising star, there would surely be people keeping tabs on him, waiting for more interesting things to happen.

As such, it was the perfect time to use Reo's fame to help launch himself into stardom. Even if it was only for a while, Nakamura was sure that this stream would be the start of his future career.

So, without further ado, Nakamura finally opened the JSport App on his phone. After thinking for some time for an appropriate title, he finally fixed his phone to the camera stand and began the live stream.

When the live stream first started, there weren't many viewers. Barely making it to even 10 viewers.

Some of the viewers began to make their comments right after entering the stream.

[Yo, what is up? Is the host making another compilation stream?]

[Huh? You mean, you don't know what this stream is about but entered it anyway?]

[What do you mean? Didn't you also do the same thing?]

[That....]

The comment section wasn't particularly lively as there were only a handful of viewers commenting about extraneous topics.

However, that soon ended when one of the viewers saw the name of the title.

[Hey, you guys! Check out the title!]

The comments soon came to a stop as all of them saw the eye-catching title.

'Elementary Street Ball Rumble Winner Challenges The Entire School!'

The silence carried on for a while before the comment section exploded.

[Elementary Street Ball Rumble winner? What's that?]

[Don't you know? The video that achieved a Level 2 impact yesterday in Shibuya and is currently trending on the Shibuya Municipal page!]

[Yeah, dude. The one where the newcomer wrecks the Loose Cannon like he was nothing to secure a score of 5-1!]

[Wait! You mean that little dude?! Shit! His moves were so dope that I actually watched the replay 5 times! Like....How could Shibuya produce such a basketball genius?!]

[I know, right?! It looks like he is actually in this video as well! I clearly remember his face! Look, there he is on the court! The shorter one!]

With that, all the viewers began watching the match intently.

On the court, Reo was unaware that he was being filmed right now. However, even if he did, he wouldn't really care about it.

After all, for a basketball player, any type of exposure was a good thing.

However, at this moment, the first thing that they saw after putting their attention back on the screen was the ball flying through the air.

It wasn't a tip off. Instead, it was a shot attempt!

Reo had gone in for the kill as soon as he got possession of the ball thanks to his Rare Grade Skill and immediately followed up with a jump shot.

Of course, this wasn't for no reason.

When Nishimura first noticed that Reo got possession of the ball from the tip off, he was in a state of shock.

After all, in his vision, he was a lot more taller than Reo. So, it made sense if he could jump higher, right?

But that was not the case at all as Reo reached the ball much faster than him and not only that....he reached the ball at a much higher level than even he did!

'What happened?! Is my jumping bad today?', Nishimura couldn't help but ponder.

'Yes, that must be it! Otherwise, how could I possibly lose to Reo!', Nishimura comforted himself.

There was absolutely no way Reo could beat him in jumping when he was taller than him!

Oh....How kids thought nowadays.

If Reo heard this, he would have surely laughed shamelessly and made even more fun of Nishimura. After all, since they were on the court, Nishimura couldn't harm Reo besides what was inside the rules since his own personal honor was on the line.

So, when Reo saw Nishimura's shock, he used that to his advantage and launched a sneak attack. Just like how he did against Mibuchi.

With no surprises, he easily scored the first basket against Nishimura.

Now, unless there was no outside interference, Reo would never miss a shot.

[Common Grade Skill (Basic Shooting)] [Level 4(02/100 EXP)]

[Enables the user to score a layup with a 75% accuracy! Normal shots within the 3-point line are scored with a 65% accuracy!]

[Common Grade Skill (Basic Handling)] [Level 1(02/30 EXP)]

[Enables the accuracy of the user to increase by 28% for all Common Grade Skills and maneuvers related.]

The powerup which Reo acquired yesterday gave him a massive increase in shooting percentage and other related skill.

In fact, his layups could already be considered to have surpassed the 100% mark due to the addition of the Basic Handling percentage.

Just thinking about this made Reo's cockiness soar through the roof.

'With more than a 100% shooting percentage, aren't I considered the best in the world? If I go back in time, I might even make Michael Jordan look a baby compared to me', Reo thought happily.

He could already imagine the scene where people cheered his name as a 10 year old boy who beat Michael Jordan while Jordan himself was crying on the floor next to him.

However, like all good things....the system would naturally destroy it.

[Shitty fool! You're going too far this time!]

[Just because of a small upgrade, you think you can take on the world?! Let me tell you right now that your skills are absolute trash compared to those pro players!]

[Your skills help with your shooting percentage but what if your concentration is low?! What if you're too nervous to aim the ball properly! Remember that the skills only increase the accuracy and not the precision!]

[Don't forget that there are countless players who can block the crap out of you! I think if it's best for you to go find a pro to trash you so that you will feel like an insignificant piece of shit again! This will definitely help you so I strongly recommend it!]

Reo's fantasy was immediately broken by this annoying system.

What get trashed so that he could feel insignificant again?! Who the hell even recommends this kind of solution?!

Only this shitty system would dare say it!

'But I feel that I can beat them quite easily', Reo countered.

However, the system wasn't giving even an inch this time.

[Remember that you have the entire school to face, you idiot!]

[Fine! Since you think that you're such a hotshot, let's make a bet!]

[If you can beat over 100 students without missing even a single basket, I will give you an Epic Grade Skill!]

Reo's hairs stood on end instantly.

This was an Epic Grade Skill! If a Rare Grade Skill was already so good, then just imagine how godly an Epic Grade Skill was!

It was upgrading from Justin Bieber to Michael Jackson!

So, without any hesitation, Reo immediately agreed to it.

'Bet? Why would I be scared of any bet?! Come, system!'

'You better not cry once I win!'

The system was close to short-circuiting from anger once it heard that.

Not only was this brat becoming too cocky, it started looking down on it as well!

Thinking about it, the system definitely wanted to teach a very good lesson to this bafoon!

[Fine! Since you're so confident, then let's make a bet!]

[If you beat 100 students without missing a shot, then I will give you an Epic Grade Skill!]

[But if you lose, you will have all your skills demoted back to Level 1 with 0 EXP!]

Reo immediately frowned.

This condition was just too harsh.

Who knew that this shameless system could actually be as strict as a military instructor when needed?

Still, Reo was cocky but not stupid.

He nearly got a concussion from yesterday and that bonus upgrade was only a one time deal. He wasn't going to risk it all for some bet.

So, he tried to negotiate with the system.

'System, how can you propose such a merciless bet?! Where is your kindness of a system to it's host?!'

'Remember how hard it was for me to win yesterday?! You were there with me! Without you, how could I have scored that last basket?!'

'I'm willing to accept the bet but can't you make the conditions a bit more lenient!'

When the system heard this, it was livid.

You were willing to talk big but when bad conditions are presented right in front of you, you back away like a eggless chicken!

Still, the system did have some sympathy towards Reo.

It could still remember how worried he was yesterday for Reo's well being.

The very thought of it made the system embarrassed about it but thankfully, Reo could hardly remember it's worry and only it's instructions from back then.

As such, the system chose to reduce the punishment by a bit as a form of pity for Reo.

[Fine! I won't downgrade your skills but if you fail to score even a single basket within your first 100 opponents....]

The system kept Reo in suspense before it revealed it's punishment.

[You will have to face a minimum of 200 students before ending the challenge!]

When Reo heard that, he nearly fell over from shock as his vision darkened.

Just thinking about it made Reo feel sick.

100 students was already a very high number which Reo could barely win against but 200? You must be crazy to even attempt it.

It's not the matter of skills but the matter of stamina!

Right now, his stamina was only 9 with the addition of the Rare Grade Skill(Juggernaut) and even with that, Reo was not that confident in taking down all 100 students.

'System, this is....',Reo tried to negotiate but the system didn't budge this time.

[I've already given you a leniency so don't bother asking for more!]

[You know....If you can't handle it, you can always back out! I'm sure you will earn another Epic Grade Skill in another 2-3 years time!]

[Hahahahaha!]

The system laughed at it's own joke. It felt too fulfilling to make fun of Reo.

Reo felt like beating the system once he heard it's words.

2-3 years?! Why the hell would he wait that long when the skill was right in front of him?!

However, thinking back to those 200 challengers, Reo felt a stiffness in his body.

If he really went through with this, he would surely end up as a zombie by the end of those challenges.

Heck, he might even have to sleep in tomorrow!

But the temptation of the Epic Grade Skill was too strong for him. After all, won't that zombification be worth it if he could get that Epic Grade Skill?

So, gritting his teeth, Reo made his choice.

'Okay, deal!'

With that, the system brought out a new interface for Reo to see.

[Ding! You have unlocked the Gambling Den!]

[You can now make bets with the system!]

[Ding! Bet detected!]

[Conditions: Defeat 100 challengers without missing a single shot!]

[Rewards: Random Epic Grade Skill]

[Punishment: Defeat 200 challengers without rest!]

[Would you like to accept to this bet?]

As Reo looked at the messages, he would have rejoiced for unlocking a new part of the system if it was any other time.

However, at this moment, he was far too tense for that. This bet might really cost him his life if he went on too hard.

While he was in a young and healthy body with great vitality, it didn't mean that he wanted to break his body all in one day.

As such, he pondered about it for a little while before accepting the bet.

[Ding! Bet accepted!]

[The bet is now absolute and cannot be annulled by any party!]

Looking at the screen, Reo felt even more worse.

He felt like he had just sold his soul to the devil.

However, worrying about it now wasn't going to help anything.

The only thing that it would do was make him more nervous and Reo didn't want that to happen.

If the system's words had any truth to them, then just the slightest mental disturbance could severely throw him off his game and make him lose the bet with just his next shot.

So, taking a moment to calm himself down, Reo proceeded to look at Nishimura.

All was good with the bet but first....

Let's take this guy down!