Prince of Tennis: A new Hextech Crafting System is refreshed every week.

"Rookie competition slots?"

Seeing Morimura Ya's surprised expression after hearing the question, Kitahara Akira continued, "Out of the thirty-six first-year students in Yamabuki, where do you think I would rank right now?"

In the previous life, people had a specific standard for classifying the skill level of tennis players.

According to the NTRP (National Tennis Rating Program) standard, 1.0 represents a beginner, 2.0 represents someone who has just started playing, and 3.0 represents someone who can play consistently.

4.0 is considered a skilled amateur player who has started playing with their brain. 5.0 players are mostly active provincial players who have been trained since childhood. 6.0 players usually have won awards in qualifying tournaments or national competitions and are close to professional level.

7.0 is the so-called professional level, which involves participating in international competitions and earning income from prize money.

We will no longer further subdivide beyond professional careers, but will directly use more intuitive data such as major tournament results and ATP rankings for comparison.

Before his transmigration, Kitahara Akira was already at level 4.0.

He was one of the key players on the university team and won several trophies representing the school in lower-level amateur competitions.

After transmigrating, Kitahara Akira felt that his strength had not decreased due to the change of body, but had instead improved, and he was obviously more at ease during the competition.

Perhaps it was because the original owner had been introduced to tennis in elementary school, or perhaps it was because Yamabuki's training was comprehensive and professional, or perhaps this world was just unusual, after all, the professional players here are monsters who can violently smash down walls with a single ball.

I was so scared I cried!

For all the reasons mentioned above.

Kitahara Akira felt that his body, whether in terms of coordination, nerve reflexes, dynamic vision, or other aspects, was superior to that of his previous life.

If we bring in the tennis ranking system from my previous life.

Kitahara Akira feels that he currently has a ball strength of at least 5.0 to 5.5. Only in areas such as match experience and tactical arrangements, which require more time to accumulate, is he perhaps a little weaker than players of the same level.

The match just now against Morimura Ya.

Kitahara Akira didn't go all out; he spent most of his time observing the other side's situation.

Morimura Ya's ball strength is around 4.0 to 4.5. In his previous life, he would have been recruited and trained by a provincial or municipal professional team, and would have had a good chance of playing professionally in the future.

Unfortunately, he was in the world of Prince of Tennis. His 4.0 ball strength, which 90% of amateur players couldn't reach in his previous life, would only rank him 25th among first-year students in the prestigious Yamabuki tennis school.

"Kitahara, are you running a fever?"

Seeing Kitahara Akira's serious expression, which didn't seem like he was joking, Morimura Ya couldn't help but reach out and place the back of his hand on Kitahara Akira's forehead. "It's not hot, is it?"

"We've never been ranked in the top 20. With two doubles teams and three singles teams, there are a maximum of seven spots. To qualify for the tournament, you have to be at least in the top ten."

"Moreover, Muromachi and Kita will definitely take two spots, so everyone can only compete for the remaining five."

"I did say that I would try my best in these two weeks, but I already knew how it would turn out."

"Your ball skills have improved a lot, but at most you're about the same level as Yoshida, who's ranked 20th. You're still far from the top ten."

Morimura patted Kitahara Akira on the shoulder and sighed, "What rookie tournament, Yamabuki starters, let's just forget about it."

As he spoke, he sighed heavily again.

"I really don't understand why people like us who have no talent should continue playing. There's absolutely no hope in sight, and the training is so tiring. Sometimes I really want to just give up."

Kitahara Akira did not speak.

The names Muromachi Juji and Kita Kazuma were deeply etched in his predecessor's memory.

Unlike Kitahara Akira and Morimura Ya.

As first-year students, they showed their talent early on and were ranked first and second among the regular picks. Muromachi Juji was regarded as Yamabuki's future singles hope and Sengoku Kiyosumi was the second best player. Not long ago, Kita Kazuma and regular pick Niito Michiyoshi also began to try forming a doubles team.

Seeing Morimura Ya's lack of motivation, Kitahara Akira couldn't help but recall a saying that had circulated online in his previous life.

"Many people cannot see the future, but in fact they can see the future."

In the world of competitive sports, the cruelty of this statement is amplified even further.

Even though Muromachi Juji and Kita Kazuma were so dazzling in the eyes of everyone, Kitahara Akira couldn't recall any scenes related to the anime he had watched in his previous life.

In other words.

In the world of Prince of Tennis, Muromachi Juji and Kita Kazuma are nothing more than 'Morimura Ya plus'. In front of Echizen Ryoma, Tezuka Kunimitsu, Fuji Syusuke and others, they can only become passers-by and background figures, helplessly raising their heads to look up at the true geniuses of this world.

......

"for you."

Kitahara Akira tore off a banana and handed it to Morimura Ya, then tore off one for himself, peeled it, and stuffed it into his mouth, taking a big bite.

At the nearby discount supermarket, five bananas cost 150 yen, which wasn't too expensive.

In Japan, where fruit and vegetable prices are typically high, bananas offer relatively good value for money and are ideal for post-workout recovery, making them a favorite among tennis players.

The two rested for about fifteen minutes before several people came looking for them.

They had previously watched Kitahara Akira and Morimura Ya's match under the shade of the court and were so impressed by the Yamabuki Tennis Club's superb skills that they came over specifically to invite the two to play a match.

"Hello, Kitahara Akira-kun!"

"I'm Toshihide Ando, ​​a first-year member of the Hirumayama Tennis Club. I saw you playing earlier and I thought you were amazing. I wonder if we could have a match?"

Perhaps because of Yamabuki's aura, the visitor seemed a little nervous when speaking.

Kitahara Akira glanced at him: "Okay, wait for me a moment."

He finished the last bite of the banana in his hand, got up and walked outside the stadium. After searching for a while, he threw the banana peel into the combustible trash can. After returning, Morimura Yaya went to play a game with the others.

Kitahara Akira walked to his bench, picked up his racket, grabbed two old balls, and walked towards the court with Ando Toshihide.

The match resumed.

......

The whole morning passed.

Apart from the match against Morimura Ya, Kitahara Akira played a total of four matches, each lasting about fifteen minutes.

Compared to Morimura, these players are generally around a 3.0 level. Their serves and returns are of relatively poor quality, their consistency is not high, and they make more unforced errors.

Kitahara Akira didn't exert much effort, and the match was over.

两场6-1，一场6-0，一场6-2。

The points lost were due to not controlling one's offensive desires and making a mistake when hitting the ball with force. Such mistakes are common for amateur players, and even professional players find it difficult to avoid them.

After playing a few matches, Kitahara Akira took a temporary break.

The afternoon sun was too harsh, so he found a shaded area and watched the game under it, just like the others, listening to their comments and occasionally joining in the conversation.

As they spent more time together, Kitahara Akira became acquainted with the people around him and gained a better understanding of the world.

The people playing on these tennis courts are mostly junior high school students from schools near Shinjuku Ward. Apart from a few whose schools have reached the metropolitan tournament, most of them are eliminated in the regional preliminaries.

Therefore, the appearance of Kitahara Akira and Morimura Ya from the prestigious Yamabuki family here is tantamount to a great white shark suddenly intruding into a viewing pond.

No wonder it immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Around 4 p.m., the sun began to set.

After feeling less sunburnt, Kitahara Akira returned to the court. This time, his opponent was a third-year student from an ordinary school.

Compared to the first and second year students I fought this morning, this third year student is significantly stronger, reaching a level of around 4.0, with strength close to that of Morimura Ya.

Kitahara Akira didn't rush to end the match. He slowly engaged with his opponent for a while, getting familiar with his opponent's playing style, before finally unleashing his full power and winning with a score of 6-3.

"As expected of the prestigious Yamabuki family, even the first-year students are this strong!"

As the two shook hands at the net, the third-year student couldn't help but sigh, saying that, according to him, even the regular players on his school's tennis team were no better than this.

Kitahara Akira simply smiled at his words.

He had just given it his all, displaying the strength of a 5.5 provincial team player, but... he was only at the level of a school team that couldn't even make it into the major tournaments.

Although I was already aware of how exaggerated this world was, I still felt somewhat complicated.

"Muromachi Juji and Kita Kazuma were able to compete against the third-year students of Yamabuki very early on; only the regulars on the school team could outshine them."

"Given the gap between Yamabuki and other schools, those two should be able to easily defeat the regular players from ordinary schools; their strength is at least one level higher."

"Level 6.0... even approaching the strength of my previous life's profession!"

Based on his memory and the information he had just received, he made a quick comparison and immediately felt a sense of urgency.

He needs to improve his skill level to 6.0 in the next two weeks, otherwise he may not even qualify for the rookie tournament.

Kitahara Akira gripped his racket tightly.

Now that he knows the gap and the goal he needs to work on, he needs to study how to use this racket properly.

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

A bright orange flame, invisible to others, suddenly ignited on the tennis racket in his hand.

The front panel opens simultaneously.

Guinsoo's Rage Racket: A fusion of Guinsoo's Rage Blade and a simple tennis racket.

[Effect: Increases swing speed by 10% and skill by 10%, stacking by 5% with each swing. (Temporary boost from Relentless Combo: Increases ball speed by an additional 3 km/h on each hit)]