Chapter 14: Favorability and Mission Rewards
**Ice Emperor Tennis Club.**
Beside the training court, Chotaro, who had just lost to Shishido, stared blankly at the court with a troubled expression.
"Another 3-6 loss to Shishido-senpai. Is my singles game really that bad?"
Chotaro was deeply frustrated.
He believed he had been putting in enough effort, but every time he reached his fourth service game, his serving performance noticeably declined.
His first-serve success rate was less than 50%, and his second-serve error rate was as high as 30%!
In other words, on average, he would give away a point to his opponent every three serves.
And Shishido was no ordinary player. Once he realized Chotaro's weak phase had arrived, he seized the opportunity, broke through the weakened version of Chotaro's cannon serve, and used quick attacks to completely disrupt his rhythm.
This marked the seventh consecutive loss Chotaro had suffered against Shishido.
Was there really no way to win?
Just once, even if only once!
"Senpai?"
Just then, a voice called out from behind Chotaro. He instinctively turned around and saw a handsome, gentle-featured boy standing before him—Ishikawa.
Noticing Chotaro's troubled expression, Ishikawa asked curiously, "You seem to be bothered by something."
"Well... it's not really a secret," Chotaro replied after a moment of hesitation. Seeing that it was Ishikawa, he decided to explain. "Many people know my serve is strong, but they don't realize my first-serve success rate isn't high. And as the match goes on, my serving performance gets worse and worse."
"Ishikawa-kun," Chotaro continued, suddenly recalling that Ishikawa also had a talent for serving, "how do you maintain your serve success rate?"
Only someone like Chotaro would ask such a question. He wasn't one to put on airs as a senior; he was straightforward and sincere, always speaking his mind without hesitation.
If it were someone else—even a fellow second-year like Hiyoshi—they would never bring up such a topic with someone they weren't close to.
**[Ding!]**
As soon as Chotaro finished speaking, a system notification sounded in Ishikawa's mind.
**[Player has triggered a mission: Chotaro's Dilemma]**
**[Mission Description: Chotaro is struggling with his serve. Help him resolve this issue.]**
**[Mission Reward: Increased favorability with Chotaro.]**
"Me?" Ishikawa quickly scanned the mission details, then looked up and met Chotaro's clear, earnest eyes. After a moment of thought, he replied, "My method is simple: toss the ball, aim, and hit it."
"Toss, aim, and hit?" Chotaro was momentarily stunned by Ishikawa's explanation, then couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
That was pure talent!
It was like being born with a gift!
"Of course," Chotaro sighed inwardly. "Why did I think to ask a newcomer how to improve my serve success rate? That was too naive."
However, just as Chotaro was about to give up, Ishikawa added, "But it might also be because of a game I used to play as a kid. Senpai, wait here."
With that, Ishikawa turned and left.
A moment later, he returned with several tennis ball baskets of different colors.
"What's this?" Chotaro asked, puzzled.
Ishikawa arranged the red, white, blue, and yellow baskets on the opposite side of the court, then turned to Chotaro with a smile. "Senpai, try hitting the ball into the corresponding basket when I call out the color."
"Uh... is that all?" Chotaro was slightly disappointed. For a regular player like him, hitting the ball into a specific-colored basket was no challenge at all.
"Just give it a try," Ishikawa said, unfazed by Chotaro's reaction. "You won't know if it works unless you experience it."
"Alright then." Chotaro wasn't one to argue, and he felt it would be rude to refuse someone who was trying to help him.
With that, he picked up his racket and stepped onto the court.
"Ready, Senpai?" Ishikawa called out. Chotaro nodded.
"Okay, first up—white!"
In an instant, Chotaro's eyes locked onto the white basket. Without hesitation, he tossed the ball, extended his arm, and swung his racket in one smooth motion.
*Thwack!*
The ball landed perfectly in the white basket.
"See? I told you," Chotaro said, though there was no joy on his face—only a resigned shake of his head. But before he could say more, Ishikawa's voice rang out again.
"Next—blue!"
"Huh?" Chotaro was startled but quickly regained his focus. As a regular player, he swiftly locked onto the target, tossed the ball, and swung his racket, sending the ball into the blue basket.
"Red!" Ishikawa called out again.
Chotaro's expression shifted slightly. In such a short time, his stamina was already draining. His heart rate was higher than usual, making it difficult to maintain his usual serving precision.
This feeling was exactly like when he faced Shishido during his fourth service game.
Suddenly, Chotaro realized that Ishikawa's seemingly simple training exercise wasn't as easy as it appeared. He no longer dared to take it lightly and focused intently, following Ishikawa's commands to serve.
*Thwack!*
*Thwack!*
*Thwack!*
One ball after another, Chotaro continued to serve as Ishikawa called out the colors of the baskets.
At first, the quality of his serves was high, but as the exercise went on, mistakes began to creep in.
Finally, after using up all the balls he had brought, Chotaro stopped.
"Huff... huff..." The second-year regular was now gasping for breath.
The feeling of being completely drained was exactly like the moment in his match against Shishido when he had watched the game slip away.
"How was that, Senpai? Pretty effective, right?" Ishikawa asked with a smile.
"It was... really effective," Chotaro admitted with a wry smile, looking up at Ishikawa.
He had underestimated this simple little game—and he had underestimated Ishikawa, the first-year who had defeated a third-year senior. There was clearly more to him than others had said.
**[Ding!]**
At that moment, the system's voice echoed in Ishikawa's mind.
**[Player has completed the mission: Chotaro's Dilemma. Favorability with Chotaro has increased.]**
"Favorability?" Ishikawa thought to himself, shaking his head inwardly.
He wasn't particularly interested in something like that. He had initially hoped the mission might have some hidden rewards, but it seemed he had been overthinking it.
Still, if helping Chotaro improve also strengthened Ice Emperor's overall capabilities and prepared them for future matches against other top teams, then it wasn't a waste of time.
"Um... Ishikawa-kun," Chotaro said, scratching his head awkwardly, "you've helped me so much, but I don't have anything to give you in return. I've heard your serve is pretty good, and I've got some insights on serving too. Would you like to hear them?"
**[Ding!]**
The system's voice rang out again.
**[Ice Emperor Second-Year Regular, Chotaro, is attempting to teach the player an advanced technique: Cannon Serve. Will you accept?]**
**[Yes/No]**
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*(End of Chapter)*