Chapter 57

“Game, Set, Match.” Peter’s voice broke the silence as the final point was scored. Dan was breathing hard, his Stamina just below 80, his racquet feeling a little heavier in his hand than normal. He’d been right about Auto-Battle. By toggling it just before he swung at a ball, he was able to greatly amplify each hit, while conserving Stamina. However, Ben was a great player, and he did a good job returning Dan’s shots. Once the surprise factor wore off, Ben had Dan moving about the court, and between the sprinting, and the auto-battle feature, and hoping for Ben to mess up, both players had burned through a lot of their energy.

“Well done Dan.” Ben said, coming up to Dan, holding out a hand. The player offered Dan a genuine smile. “Seriously, I was wrong about you, and I’m sorry for that.” Dan took the player’s hand and shook it. He’d played great. He knew that. He played far better than anyone could have expected of him, considering Ben was, what had Peter told him, a 4.5 level player? Meanwhile Dan, with his skills, was maybe a 2.5, if just barely? The fact he’d even managed to score points, and even got one of the games to deuce, was a huge deal. Wasn’t it?

“Thanks,” Dan said as he let go of Ben’s hand. “Hopefully once I practice a bit more, we can have a rematch.” It stung. Even though there wasn’t a hope for him to win, the fact he’d lost, 7-5, still stung. More so than losing on the soccer field had. Why though? And, even more than that, why had the loss spurned his ambition even more. Even now, his mind was racing over how he could have done better. How he needed to improve, so he could do better. How-

“You’re still stuck on ball boy duty for the week.” Peter said coming onto the court. At those words, Ben flinched, but offered the tall player a smile and a nod.

“Yeah, figured as much. But, if it means anything Peter, I… I was wrong.” Ben’s eyes dropped, unable to look at Peter.

“Duh.” Peter laughed as he put a hand on Dan’s shoulder. “Danny boy here is amazing. He’s a natural, and as you saw, he’s got some hidden beast mode he pulls from that makes him a monster. You think what he did today was awesome, you should have seen his stunts on the soccer field.” Peter’s other hand rustled Dan’s hair. “Give me another month or so with him, and the next time we play for positions, I’ve a feeling he’s going to give you a run for your money.”

“As for the rest of you,” Peter looked out at the fence, where all the players from both the boys and girls team still stood. “I hope you all enjoyed the show. I’d hoped to give Danny here a little more training, before we got to show of his skills to all of you, but hey, shit happens.” A few players chuckled at that. “Now, I expect all of you to work just as hard as my boy Danny here has been, otherwise, I’ll start assuming you all are slacking.”

The laughter was replaced with groans.

“Meaning, get back to work.” Peter laughed as everyone began moving about. Meanwhile, the three of them stayed on the court, an awkward silence developing between them.

Peter’s eyes were scanning all of the players moving to their respective courts to warm up, as well as looking over all the girls as they made their way back towards their courts. Ben was glancing between Peter, Dan, and everyone else, seeming unsure of what to do or say. And Dan…was still just trying to deal with the emotions and thoughts flowing over him. If he’d used Auto-Battle like that from the start, could he have won? And how could he get his stamina higher? If he was going to lose 1 stamina every shot, he needed a much higher stamina pool. Along with of course, just improving his own skills to a degree where he didn’t need it for every shot. Maybe if he used it just for opportunities for a winner to be hit? Rely on Skill Assist for regular shots, then when an opening is made, he can-

“You need to work on your backhand more Ben.” Peter said suddenly, pulling Dan from his thoughts. “You rely too much on your forehand. Not only that, you need to make a decision quicker between your two handed or one handed backhand. Getting comfortable with a one-handed slice, especially on a ball you can’t get to properly with your two-hander, will help you out a lot.”

Peter looked Ben up and down. “I’d also recommend you work more on your footwork. You stood still too much at times. Always be prepared to react. Split step just before your opponent strikes the ball, so you can use that explosive force to move the moment the ball is hit. Upping your reaction speed, even by a second or so, will really help you improve. If you’re hoping to break into the 5.0 range, that’s going to be huge for you.”

Ben nodded. “Thank, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Peter shrugged and waved a hand. “Figured I could give you a little free advice, as an apology for earlier. I lost my cool and took out my frustration on you. It wasn’t cool, how I was treating you earlier. But ya know, you did go and haze my prodigal pupil here.”

“I-“

“Don’t apologize again,” Peter said as he began walking away. “You’ve got ball boy duty to begin, and Dan and I are off to our favorite practice courts. Snag a cart of balls and bring em to us, yeah?”

“Come along Danny,” Peter said as he kept walking. “You’re a part of the team, so of course you’ve got practice too. I noticed a few things I need to fix with your play style, while its fresh in your mind. Otherwise, you may develop some habits I don’t like.”

Dan began moving, but even as he did, Ben caught his arm.

“Really, Dan,” he said softly. “I’m sorry about earlier. I was wrong about you. You’ve definitely got talent, and I acted out of jealousy. From now on, if you need any help, or want an extra person to hit against, just let me know, yeah?”

Relation Improved to Good, +25% to all interactions with Ben Anderson

“Uh, thanks.” Dan shook his head as he watched Ben begin moving towards the supply shed to grab the cart of balls Peter had requested. In that short amount of time, his relationship with Ben had jumped to Good. Charisma was a hell of a stat. He shook his head to himself as he ran from the court to catch up with Peter. If that interaction had improved his standing with Ben, there was no doubt in his mind, that his performance, at the very least, should have gone a long way towards proving himself to the others, and Sophia.

At the thought of Sophia, he glanced towards the girls court, and couldn’t help but notice the girl, her silver streaked hair making her stand out against the other courts, was watching him. She offered him a smile and a wave, and he returned it instantly. What had started out as a shitshow, was turning into quite the day.

Charisma +1 (63) Ambition +1 (71), Self Esteem +2 (65)