Chapter 72

The five racquets selected for James to try included a Babolat, a Yonex, a Wilson, a Head, and a Prince. Granted, those were just name brands to Dan, and he didn’t really know the difference of them just by hearing their names. That being said, he could quickly appraise them, and saw stat wise, they were pretty similar.

Just like with Peter’s Wilson Pro Staff RF97, the racquets all gave him substantially more to his stats, than his Babolat Pure Drive 110 had. However, it seemed the different brands focused on, or specialized in, different aspects of the game. From a video game standpoint, Dan figured whatever weird magic mechanics were going on, they were treating the racquets as differing types of weapons.

The Babolat brand, therefore, seemed to specialize in spin and power, with a nice reduction in stamina drain. The particular one offered to him, a Babolat Pure Aero, was a bumble contrast of yellow and black, and had a head of 100 square inches. That made it a little larger than the other racquets, which might be a problem for close range balls, but also meant he had a larger sweet spot with it.

Meanwhile, the Wilson Blade being shown to him had a 98-inch square head, making it more maneuverable to swing. However, the stats indicated it wouldn’t give as good of a boost to his top spin as the Babolat did, and he wondered if the frame size affected that. Thinking about it, did the smaller frame mean he had less spin contact with his strokes? Dan wasn’t good enough to know the truth, but he was trying to theorize, and keep up with what was being showcased to him.

Of the others, the Prince Phantom Pro had a 100-inch sized head but felt smooth to swing. Its stats were well rounded, giving an all-around boost to his stats, instead of seeming to focus on one single aspect over the other. He also had to admit, it looked nice, with an all-black exterior, save for vibrant green letterings and markings across it.

Then there was the Head Graphene 360 Speed Pro. It had a large, 100 square inch head, and the stats showed it was definitely top spin friendly. When he picked it up to look it over, he also immediately felt the balance of the racquet. Furthermore, with the weight and balance of it, he could imagine it would let him take powerful swings without any issue.

Yet, it was the Yonex that really stood out to him. Okay, that was only partially true. He liked them all. They were all a massive boost from his current racquet. But, for some reason, his eyes, his very being, was pulled towards the Yonex. Interestingly, the racquet was the smallest of the five, at 97 inches for its head size. It also had a stat boost to it that Dan hadn’t seen before. While the others improved things such as power, spin, backhand slice, and even serving, the Yonex had one that he’d not seen before. It had an improvement to accuracy.

A stat that Dan didn’t even know was a thing, until he saw it on the racquet. And if there was one thing Dan had really wanted to improve in his game, it was accuracy. Peter was brutal with his precision. And Dan assumed it was from how high leveled Peter’s skills were. So, if Dan could get Peter levels of precision from just high stats, what could he achieve with high stats, and an added increase to his accuracy? It was an exciting thought.

But, these were all just thoughts. They’d not even started testing out the racquets yet, and Dan knew before the day was done, he was going to be a lot more familiar with each racquet, rather than just being able to see the stat bonuses’ they would offer him if he used them. Plus, just because something looked good on paper, didn’t mean it would carry over in use. Furthermore, if Dan just jumped at the Yonex VCore Pro right now, without testing the others out, he had a feeling at the very least, they would be suspicious. That, or he would seem impulsive, and uncaring of their advice. Or, something along those lines.

Not to mention, Dan had a feeling Maddie was really, really looking forward to making him run around to test him out, and he doubted taking that away from her would be received well. Which meant, he was going to test each racquet out to their hearts content, and hopefully, in the end, they would find the perfect racquet for him. Though, right now…he really wanted that Yonex. The dark black with teal and red coloring of the racquet, may have also been drawing his attention more than the others. It just looked so cool.

“Any preferences to start with?” Maddie asked as she popped opened one of the cans of balls, she’d brought with her. She was pouring them into the basket she’d been carrying them out with and throwing the cans away. Dan glanced at her, and the Peter, who simply shrugged.

“Uh, well currently I’ve been using a Babolat Pure Drive.” Dan said after a second. “So, might as well start with that one?”

Maddie glanced from Peter to Dan, raising an eyebrow. “Peter has you using a Babolat? I thought you were a Wilson guy through and through.”

Peter laughed, holding his hands up defensively. “First Wilson, I gave him got destroyed when he ran in front of a truck with it. No way could my heart handle watching another get destroyed.”

Maddie stopped what she was doing. “He was hit by a truck?”

“He took it like a champ.” Peter said. “Sure, destroyed a perfectly good Wilson, but Dan here is made of tough stuff. He’s fine, trust me. Doctors gave the okay before I started his training.”

Maddie looked at Peter, searching his face, but after a moment, nodded. “Alright. So, other than his arm you’re resting, he’s perfectly fine, right?”

“I mean, he’s hanging out with me, so-”

“So, suffering a brain injury, got it.” Maddie laughed even as Peter flipped her off with a smile. “He’s perfectly fine. And, his stamina is crazy, so have fun with him.”

The owner’s grin grew as she finished filling the basket up with the newly opened balls. There had to be close to 30 balls in the basket. “Good, good.” She walked over and grabbed the Babolat, handing it off to Dan. “Alright then, let’s get started.”

Dan took the racquet in his hand, grinning as he watched his stats boost as a result of the racquet. The racquet gave him a +2 to power per 10, +3 to his spin, and +2 to his slice serve, kick serve, and backhand slice, all per 10. Meaning, save for his serves, all of his stats had just jumped into the 30s for him. Which, wasn’t going to hold a candle to miss ‘Great in everything’ Maddie, but still, was a nice jump.

“What are we doing? Just hitting the ball back and forth?” Dan swung the racquet a few times, the pain in his arm practically nonexistent for the moment. It felt good.

“Testing out racquets is a thorough process,” Maddie said, handing him the basket of balls. “First, we’re going to have you do some serves with it. Then we will work through your ground strokes and volleys, and finish with some overheads. Once we’ve worked through all of those, we will move to the next racquet, until you’ve tested them all. I strung them all equally, so as you try them out, you’ll be focusing on how the racquet feels to you, and we,” she motioned to Peter and herself, “will be watching how you move and play with each. After today, you’re going to have the perfect racquet for you. But, we’re going to have to make you bleed and sweat, before we can confirm the best choice has been made.”

From what Peter had said about her, Dan had a feeling that bleed comment wasn’t just a turn of phrase. And her stats said she could keep up whatever it was she planning, for a long time. In fact, there was definitely higher than Peter’s. While Dan couldn’t see the exact numbers yet, her Constitution, sitting in the Excellent Range, was better than Peter’s great. Her Excellent, meant her constitution was above 81, and Dan had to wonder what type of conditioning she put herself through, for such a high number.

He also knew, that meant her stamina was better than Peter’s, and Peter was a freaking workhouse. Peter never got tired. Meaning, Maddie would definitely not get tired. And Dan knew that meant, he was at her mercy until he either collapsed, or they finished up to a degree she was happy with.

“Alright, anything special serve wise, I should do?” Dan asked as he took the balls towards the baseline.

“Fifteen from Deuce side, fifteen from Ad side. Do five flat, five slice, five kick. Keep it low power but do a smooth motion. While I’m eager to see you at full power, that sadly means I can’t make you overdo it just yet. At least, not your shoulder…”

She trailed off, a sadistic look in her eyes. “You have no idea how much I’m resisting trying to force that serve Peter told me about from you.”

Peter coughed, and Maddie shook her head. “I know, I know.” She walked over to the other side of the court, placing herself adjacent to Dan. “We will adjust the normal offer to apply the next time we play.” She said it loudly, and Peter’s eyes narrowed even as she grinned towards Dan.

“What’s the normal offer?” Dan asked as he glanced towards Peter. Dan had two balls in hand, preparing to do as Maddie had asked of him.

“So glad you asked,” Maddie said, before Peter could respond, “every time you ace me in a game, you get 5% off the racquet, across an entire Set.”

Dan whistled. “That’s quiet the deal.”

“And yet,” she said with a laugh, her eyes still focused on Peter, “best he’s ever gotten from me was 15% off.”

It took every bit of Dan’s mental fortitude, and sense of self preservation, to not try and Ace her right then and there. There was a time and place for it, and now, was neither. But still…it was tempting.