Chapter 80

So, like I said, we gave you a magical racquet. Syn’s voice came smugly into Dan’s mind as Dan looked over the bag. They’d reached Maddie’s, and just as promised, his new racquets had indeed arrived. She laid both of them out before Dan, for him to inspect. Well, more so, for Peter to inspect.

That being said, as Dan looked over the racquet, trying his best to listen to her explanation about everything she’d done, he couldn’t help but skim over the information appearing before his eyes regarding the racquet. Syn, hadn’t just given him a magical racquet. It looked like, the, whatever he was, had applied the specialized items Dan had previously been given, and upgraded the racquet with them. Or, the more likely, though still unneeded, yet appreciated, had applied the uncommon pieces of upgraded loot to the racquet, to mirror what Dan had been given in the past.

He could see, just by looking at the new Yonex’s laying before him, that each had been modified with the Grips of Spin that added +2 to his spin, +2 to his slice, +1 to his slice serve, and +1 to his Kick Serve. Additionally, the racquets had a dampener on them, though they, just like the grips, matched the Yonex brand, instead of his previous mismatched gear. Just as before, the Dampener of Ease on the racquet decreased his stamina drain by 5%.

Those features, lit up with their individual light as Dan looked at the racquet. Then, there was the racquet as a whole, which lit up, and listed off even more stats, as well as the strings. Maddie had gone above and beyond and strung the racquets for Dan. He’d learned earlier that most new racquets, unless specified, didn’t come strung. That way, a player could choose the type of string they wanted, as well as the correct tension. Apparently, based off her time playing against Dan, and some conversation with Peter, she’d decided not only on a string type for him, but also a tension.

Luxilon ALU Power Spin - +2 to topspin , +2 to backhand slice, +1 to slice serve, +1 to Kick Serve. Durability: 100/100

Tension: 55pounds

Dan didn’t really understand what she was saying about the silver-colored string, but she claimed with his racquet choice, and Peter as his coach, a string that strengthened his spin would be ideal for his play style. Heavy top spin shots, apparently, were something Peter really favored. And, the tension, at 55 pounds, meant something, given the racquet was rated for up to 60 pounds, but that bit went over Dan’s distracted mind. Especially as, he was scanning all the rest of information on the racquet.

Yonex VCore Pro *Tier 1 Augmented*: +1 power per 5, +2 topspin per 5, +2 backhand slice per 5, -10% Stamina Drain while in use.

Unique Features:

+1 to all tennis stats per tier

-2% additional stamina drain per tier

+5% accuracy per tier

Unique Skills:

Impossible Drop Shot- 3/3 charges per day

Not so Nice Overhead Slice- 3/3 charges per day

Chip and Charge auto combo- 3/3 charges per day (return skill only)

*0/1000 experience towards next Tier

Dan, had questions about the racquet. First and foremost, it was obviously an improvement from his previous racquet. Hands down, the stamina drain reduction alone was worth its weight in gold. But the scaling in his stats, based on his current stats, was definitely important, and drove home the fact this racquet was the next level.

That being said, even Peter’s Wilson had such effects, though Dan knew, they weren’t really effects Peter would know about, or benefit from. Still, it meant the objects themselves weren’t exactly magical, but more so, higher quality and rarity.

These Yonex racquets before him though, glowed a faint orange in his eyes, and they were special. Beyond a doubt, they were amplified to a degree that, really, would be completely unfair at a later time. Not only did they scale faster than Peter’s racquet, that part definitely implying they’d been augmented in Dan’s eyes, but they had Unique Features and skills.

The first bit, those Unique Features, carrying more than their weight in gold in utility. Once, that is, he got some time to question Syn about how exactly he was supposed to level up the damned racquet. From his time with various video games, he knew it could be as simple as just using the racquets a lot, or more detailed. Whichever it was, he was sure the moment he got a little one on one time with Syn, the strange voice would be more than happy to gush over it. He could tell, as it were, the voice in his head was not happy that Dan hadn’t been singing his praises. But, to be fair, he was still slightly pissed at Syn for the comments about his mother, and, he was in a good mood, and trying to focus on everything around him. It was a lot, after all. This day, had been a lot.

Past that though, there were the Unique Skills on the racquet. Something, he had no idea about, and wanted to try out immediately. Though, he really, really hoped he didn’t’ have to say their names out loud when trying to activate the skills. Because, yelling out ‘Not So Nice Overhead Slice’, seemed like a ridiculous thing to say, and was a mouthful.

That was something he definitely needed to ask Syn about, and intended to do, even if he needed to take a quick bathroom break, to have some alone time with the voice. His nerves regarding the match with Maddie, had been intensifying as they’d neared the clubhouse, but now, all he felt was excitement.

So what if Maddie was likely going to wipe the court with him. That had been a given from day 1. However, the added pressure of Sophia and Ashley watching, as well as Sophia’s comments to him at the movie theater, had been building up on him. All of a sudden, it wasn’t just a time to test out himself, and his racquet. Now, it had become a showcase of his skills, and the next step in becoming Mixed Doubles partners with Sophia, and winning nationals.

But now, now he had a magical racquet. A magical racquet with special unique skills. Skill that he really, really wanted to try out. And that excitement, the overwhelming joy that came with new gear, and the potential for new skills and magical abilities, had washed away his nervousness. This was the real world, yeah, but he now, he really felt his life was a game. Which, given he was the only one with magical powers in the world, which were giving him the unfair advantages he’d been thoroughly enjoying as he worked at tennis, made sense.

Still, he knew from his shoulder injury he could still get hurt. He was still human. And actions in the real world, had repercussions. That last bit of course being why he’d manually turned off the romantic option on his charisma buffs, even if in a video game, he’d probably, at the very least, use that feature once or twice. He was a highschooler after all…

All that aside though, he just wanted to go see what new crazy stuff he could do. He knew he would get over the bubbly feeling receiving magical gear gave him, but that was for a later time and place. Right now, he couldn’t help but reach towards the racquet, reveling at it, hungering for it. He may be about to enter into a tennis match he couldn’t possibly hope to win, but it didn’t matter. He was going to put his new, magical, augmented tennis racquet to the test, and he was going to love every minute of it. That much, he knew for certain.