Chapter 002: Advanced Preview: "Almost Never Airballs"!
Mirai's footsteps abruptly halted.
He had just wanted to carefully ponder what the hell "Advance On-Demand" meant.
But his teammates on the court were already waving, signaling him to hurry up.
He could only quickly enter the court.
At this moment, besides the two teams, the gymnasium was filled with many Ōdai Middle School spectators—students who had caught wind of the game and come to watch, as well as freshmen who had just started school and were "scouting" clubs.
When the older students saw Mirai take the court, they casually remarked:
"Ah~"
"It's second-year Hoshiumi~"
"He's grown taller."
"As expected of the basketball club."
"By the way, does playing basketball necessarily make you taller?"
The outcome of the game was already irrelevant. The topic of Mirai was limited to his height, followed by the boys' complaints about the girls who were only excitedly watching faces and didn't understand basketball at all.
...
The game continued!
Ōdai Middle School Gymnasium, Ōdai's ball.
As the shooting guard, Mirai quickly positioned himself in his own half-court after the inbound pass.
His teammates on the court were usually benchwarmers who couldn't get playing time until garbage time. Now that they finally had a chance to play, each of them was eager to show off.
Coordination?
Nonexistent!
After two possessions, all four of them had taken one shot each. Their enthusiasm was maxed out—they even grabbed a few offensive rebounds—but they failed to put the ball in the basket, instead widening the score gap to nearly 30 points.
It wasn't until Ōdai's third offensive possession that the ball finally reached Mirai at the three-point arc.
As soon as Mirai caught the ball, he saw the defender lazily standing in front of him. Without hesitation, he sprang up like a coiled spring, his form textbook-perfect with a slight fadeaway.
The ball traced a beautiful arc through the air.
Swish...
The net gently rippled!
A beautiful three-pointer!
However, this shot didn't stir the audience at all. Facing a 30-point chasm, this three-pointer was merely a drop in the bucket. Moreover, compared to the start of the game, the stands were now half-empty. Most of the remaining spectators were complaining about Ōdai Middle School refreshing its glorious record of failing to reach the national tournament for how many consecutive years—no one noticed Mirai had made a beautiful three-pointer.
As for the few who did notice...
"Hoshiumi can actually shoot? And a three-pointer?"
"Lucky shot?"
"Most likely..."
"With our team's performance today, I doubt any of them can actually shoot?"
...
On the court, the game continued.
Seiei Middle School missed a shot, and Ōdai organized another offense.
Two Ōdai players had terrible coordination—the ball was almost stolen by Seiei's defender—but it fortuitously flew toward Mirai again, still at the three-point arc.
After catching the ball, his body felt well-adjusted, and the change in strength didn't create any discordant inertia.
Then...
He rose up and shot.
He had to seize the opportunity in this game. If he didn't, once the freshmen joined the team, he, a second-year player, might end up competing with first-years for a spot—how embarrassing would that be?
Swish...
The three-pointer soared through the air, piercing the net once again!
Another clean swish!
83 to 107—the gap narrowed to 24 points!
However, this three-pointer still felt like a pebble dropped into the ocean, failing to stir much reaction from the spectators. Only Coach Akira clapped vigorously, applauding loudly to cheer on Mirai.
Immediately after, Seiei turned the ball over.
Ōdai launched a fast break!
Mirai lowered his head and accelerated, sprinting desperately toward the frontcourt and positioning himself precisely in the corner.
Ōdai's point guard wanted to drive for a layup himself, but Seiei Middle School's defense recovered quickly. Their center stood like a solid wall, firmly blocking his path to the basket.
In that split second, the point guard instinctively passed the ball to Mirai in the corner.
Mirai caught the ball and, without a moment's hesitation, rose up and shot again!
Thud~!
A dull thud echoed as the ball slammed hard against the front rim.
Mirai's heart sank instantly.
Thankfully!
The ball bounced up, grazed the backboard, then teasingly bounced a few times on the rim before reluctantly dropping through the net.
86 to 107!
Ōdai closed the gap to just 21 points!
This time, applause finally erupted from the stands. Mirai's three consecutive three-pointers in under a minute had managed to surprise a few spectators, though that was about the extent of it.
The Seiei Middle School coach immediately called a timeout. Though this substitute scoring nine points in a row seemed like a drop in the bucket, he thought it best to play it safe and set up a simple defensive plan against this player. He gathered his players and pointed to the toughest on-ball defender among them—a short, bald-headed player named Tsugawa Tomoki: "You take the main responsibility for guarding number 12! Even if you have to let him drive, don't let him shoot threes comfortably!"
Tomoki glanced sideways at the distant number 12, a hint of confidence curling his lips.
He nodded firmly. "Don't worry, Coach. Leave it to me!"
On Ōdai's side, the coach wasted no time instructing his players: "Set more screens for Hoshiumi! Hoshiumi, if you have an opening, take the three-pointer decisively! No hesitation!"
He was giving Mirai a boost of confidence.
Mirai nodded in response.
"Mm!"
But after replying, he secretly began to feel uneasy.
Three three-pointers in a row...
Given his usual performance in games, even he had to admit it was a stroke of luck.
But clearly...
Judging by the last three-pointer that nearly bounced out, the situation ahead was bound to be tough. Plus, Seiei Middle School would surely focus on defending his three-pointers from now on.
Come to think of it...
Why had he been so determined to take three consecutive three-pointers?
Wasn't it because when he subbed in, the system had said something strange like, "You have become an outstanding three-point shooter"?
But why wasn't it showing any effect?
Why did his shooting feel exactly the same as before?
After a moment of contemplation, he recalled how he'd rushed onto the court and only heard the system's response without having time to examine it carefully. Tentatively, he thought in his mind:
'System?'
Buzz~
A crude panel abruptly materialized before his eyes. Dominating the center of the display was the video-style interface labeled "Almost Never Airballs," with the three small characters "Pending Playback" shimmering brightly in its lower right corner—clearly explaining to Mirai why nothing had happened earlier.
[Advance On-Demand Details...]
[Almost Never Airballs: During the first five minutes of playback, your three-point shooting accuracy will maintain an average of 80%]
[Initiate Playback?]
Mirai's heart gave a sudden leap.
His right fist clenched tightly!
Forget whether this was a legitimate system—what kind of nonsense was this playback option anyway?
Just start playing it for me first!