The basketball match went on. Slowly but surely, Mike’s team has been closing the gap.

The score was already at 16-13. From a decisive lead of 6 points, Lars’s team was now ahead by only 3 points.

This is my fault. Yuel thought.

It all started when he showed the enemy he was a terrible shooter. Since then, the enemy has been double-teaming Lars all the time, stopping the sniper from scoring his trademark long-ranged shots.

To make things worse, Yuel’s MP has been running out like crazy. His breathing grew more and more labored by the moment and his eyes struggled to stay focused on the ball. Even something as simple as marking one opponent became a herculean task.

“Heh!” James effortlessly snuck past Yuel’s loose mark and raised his arm. “Here, here!”

“Got it.” Mike passed the ball without hesitation. It headed straight toward James. A clean pass, but also a rather predictable one.

I should be able to block it. Yuel stretched his arm but it hit nothing but air. The ball flew right past his reach.

If he was just a little faster, he could’ve easily intercepted this predictable pass and gained the initiative. But, it was over now...

No, it’s not yet! Yuel shook his head. This was neither the time nor the place for giving up! He failed to stop that pass, but what of it? It wasn’t the end of the world. Nobody has scored a goal yet. There was still time.

James had to assume a shooting stance before he could deliver the ball to the basket. There was time to catch up to him and block the shot!

I have to stop it! Yuel jumped! But stumbled along the way and flew right past the target.

“Haha! What the fuck?” James cracked a laugh, then shifted his focus back to the basket. “Ez!”

“One point!” Vincent flipped the score. 16-14.

“Ugh!” Yuel clumsily crashed into the floor after he slid right past James.

“Hahaha!” James continued laughing. “Nice long-distance jump practice, bruh.”

“Ugh...” Yuel had nothing to say back. That was embarrassing. Who would jump to block a ball but end up flying right past the target? It was like a scene from a cartoon, with Yuel as comic relief.

How… How long am I going to last at this rate? Yuel wondered as he tried to calm down his breathing. His body felt like lead drenched in sweat. His muscles creaked with every twitch he made.

They’re about to overtake us. Yuel glanced at the score. It was already 16-14. The great advantage the team had at the beginning was about to vanish.

Worst of all, I’m the one pulling this team down. Yule bit his lip.

At first, he thought he was doing a fine job. He arranged the advantageous 1/2 scoring system, he intercepted passes, and he delivered the ball to Lars time and again. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say he played a key role in building up the team’s initial momentum.

But, as it was often the case for him, Yuel only had a strong plan for the early-game. Once the game transitioned into the mid-game, things were getting more complicated and his bag of tricks was running out of content.

At this rate, Yuel will drag the entire team down to oblivion. He was a helpful teammate for the first couple of minutes but, at this point, he was nothing but dead weight. And, that was about to outweigh all the contributions he has made during the early-game.

Maybe I should ask Vincent to sub in. Yuel thought. He doesn’t seem like the athletic type, but I’m sure he’ll do far better than me. But, will Mike allow a substitution? I feel like he won’t.

As Yuel was lying on the floor defeated, a stretched hand interrupted his track of thought.

“Need a hand?”

“Ah, thanks.” Yuel grabbed the offered hand and pushed himself off the ground. Then, he realized something was strange. Whose voice was that just now? It wasn’t Lars or Ben. It was...!

“Wha!?” Yuel’s eyes almost popped as he noticed the sports cap on his helper’s head. He’d recognize that black cap anywhere. The girl wore it indoors, outdoors, and maybe even in bed.

“What’s up?” Kai greeted him casually as if it wasn’t strange for her to be here.

“W-When did you get here?”

“Just now,” Kai answered plainly and shot a serious look at the court. “You’re really doing this, huh. I thought Vincent was pulling my leg at first.”

“No, this is very much happening,” Yuel reassured. I see. Vincent must’ve informed her of the situation. He glanced at the mastermind who orchestrated this situation.

“All according to keikaku!” Vincent gave a thumbs up. “‘Keikaku’ means ‘plan’, by the way.”

As usual, the clown was spouting incomprehensible nonsense. But, just this once, Yuel was glad to hear it. There was a chance the clown’s mischief will become the team’s salvation!

I remember hearing Kai is good at sports. Yuel never saw her do any sports with his own two eyes, but Kai was supposedly one of the more skilled athletes among the girls her year.

In fact, some sports clubs apparently still tried to recruit her despite knowing she was the captain of the Classmancers club. All of that was second-handed information from Vincent, but his information was few reliable things about him.

Question is, how good is she at basketball? Yuel wondered. The term “good at sports” was too broad. Even talented athletes would mess up in a sports game if they didn’t have any experience.

“You’re wondering how good I’m, huh.”

“I haven’t said anything.”

“It’s written all over your face,” Kai said as she picked up the ball. “You may be unaware, but you have this bad habit of being very obvious about evaluating people right in front of their faces.”

“Is that so.” Yuel had no idea how to respond to that. It was true that he often analyzed the people he met, but he wasn’t aware he was so obvious about it. Maybe that’s why some people seem to dislike me the moment they meet me...

“Don’t worry,” Kai dribbed the ball from side to side. “My skills are good enough. I actually often play with the guys during PE because girls can’t keep up with me. Reassuring enough?”

“It sure is.” Yuel nodded. “Then, I’ll leave this up to you.”

“Sure, you do that. Though, we’ll first have to see if ‘his highness’ approves of this.” Kai threw a glare at Mike, who was pretending he was the king of the court. “It looks like he got a thing or two to say about this.”

“You again?” Mike clashed with Kai’s glare with one of his own. Sparks formed in the air, threatening to set the entire court ablaze. “What did come here for, girlie?”

“I heard you were having some three-on-three action here. I thought I’ll join in.”

“Huehue.” Larry cackled. “How about we have some three-on-one action with you instead?”

“Huh?” Kai shot the guy a deadly glare. Under other circumstances different, she would have fired the ball into the bastard’s face. No, I can’t. Just take a deep breath and relax. Don’t let these fuckers trigger you.

“Sorry, but we’re already booked,” Mike said. “Your team already got three players, so fuck off.”

“This guy was just stand-in for me.” Kai pointed at Yuel. “Sorry I’m late for the party, but I’m here now. It’s my duty to play this one.”

“Oh, how so?”

“In case you forgot, I’m the captain of this club.”

“Ah, right. You did claim something dumb like that the last time we met.” Mike sneered. “Seriously, a girlie like you? A captain? Man, this Mancers club is more of a joke than I thought.”

“Hey, hey.” James posed a fake objection. “At least they’re ‘feminist’ or something, haha!”

“Can you imagine joining a club where a bitch like that runs things?” Larry snickered. “Like, what the heck? I’m actually glad I didn’t join.”

The trio cracked laughs as they threw shade at Kai. Mike’s psychological warfare was in full effect.

This is bad. Yuel glanced at Kai. The girl was clenching the basketball as if trying to snap somebody’s neck. She was like a ticking bomb.

I need to think of something. Fast. Yuel took a deep breath. This was no easy task when his body was aching all over, but he had to realign his brain gears and make them turn again.

The game came to a halt thanks to Kai’s intervention, so Yuel finally got the much-needed rest his body was aching for. This moment of reprieve did wonders for rebooting his brain.

So, he had to come up with something, that’s the one area he was good at. Out of everybody on the court, Yuel had the best chance of breaking through Mike’s carefully crafted psychological defense.

“I’m very sorry about this.” Yuel directed the apology at Mike.

“Huh?”

“It seems like I can’t continue playing. My body barely moves.”

“And, what do I care? You signed up for this shit. If you can’t keep playing, you’re free to step out. We can continue this as a 3v2 without you. No problem.”

“That’ll be too unfair for us, don’t you think? After all, we’re the ‘inexperienced nerds’ here, remember?”

“Heh, ‘inexperienced’ my ass.” Mike sneered. “I agree that YOU are trash, but that Lars guy means business.” He turned to face Lars. “Gotta hand it to you. With your skill, you could make it into the first-string in the basketball club. You’re hella wasted on Mancers.”

“Nah, I ain’t wasted on anything,” Lars reassured. “I like basket, but I wanna play Mancers more.”

“Huh. Whatever.” Mike shrugged and turned back to Yuel. “Anyway, don’t you dare sell me that ‘inexperienced’ bullcrap. We don’t have any mercy to spare. If you think we gonna be nice enough to let you sub - you’re dreaming. We’re also tired but you won’t see us bitching about it.”

“I understand.” Yuel nodded. “I agree that requesting substitution out of the blue isn’t fair, especially after we already discussed this game’s rules.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“Nonetheless, I believe the captain should represent the club, don’t you think?”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about that,” Mike retorted. “There’s nothing captain-like about that girlie anyway. Besides, this is a game between guys. That little girl better stay on the sideline and cheer or something.”

“Tch.” Kai shuddered in disgust. “Just so you know, I’m one year older than you.”

“I missed the part where I was supposed to give a fuck.”

“Oh, you WILL give a fuck, I assure you. Just let me play and I’ll mop the floor with your ugly face, little boy.”

Kai and Mike were at each other’s throats. They’ll never reach a compromise at this rate.

There’s still one more thing I can try. Yuel thought. But, it’ll put the team at a grave disadvantage...

The score was 16-14 right now. Yuel’s team was winning right now, if just barely. That fact definitely played a role in the negotiations. Mike felt threatened at the moment, so he refused to give the enemy any advantages, no matter how small.

Then, what will happen if said threat disappears? Mike might approve the substitution request then.

But, will Lars and Kai be able to win from there? Yuel frowned. At least, I’m sure it’ll be better than our current predicament. I’ll just shoot for it.

“We can balance out this substitution to make it fair,” Yuel suggested. “We’ll offer you compensation. How about we take three points off our score? Lars, you’re okay with that, right?”

“I dunno,” Lars admitted. “I don’t like the idea of messing with the score. It’s like you’re undoing my scores. Feelsbadman. But, if ya think that’s a good idea, then let’s go! Take three points off. We still gonna win this, yo!”

“So, you want to bribe me with three points to let the sub through?” Mike knotted his brows. “Hmph. Interesting.”

“What do you say?” Yuel asked. “I think it sounds fair. You’ll have the lead after this exchange.”

“Hmph. That’s true.” Mike didn’t rush to take the bait. He carefully studied Yuel’s suggestion and weighed the options.

He’s not biting? Yuel frowned. He’s tougher than I expected. I feel like I need just a little push to get through.

“C’mon,” Kai spoke up. “Why are you hesitating like some pussy? Your team gonna be in the lead after this, what more do you need? Or what, are you scared of losing? Is that it?”

“Heh.” Mike sneered at the accusation and shot a glare at the cocky girlie. But, she replied in kind with a glare that didn’t lose in sharpness. “I see you’re still running your damn mouth as you please. Looks like you didn’t learn your lesson last time. Maybe I should’ve hit you harder.”

“Do you know who usually resorts to blind violence?” Kai smirked. “It’s the cornered animal who thinks they’ll be eaten alive. You’re the spitting image of that right now.”

“Tch, you sure have a mouth.”

“Well yeah, I’m a human. Those usually got mouths, you know.”

The two speared each other with their glares. It only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like their gazes were locked for eternity. No matter how much intimidation Mike shot in her direction, Kai didn’t flinch in the slightest. She bravely stood her ground against the bully mastermind.

“Fine,” Mike conceded. “You can have your sub. Take off these three points.”

“Right away!” Vincent flipped the score back. It was now 13-14. The team has lost its precious lead but it was still anybody’s game.

“Then, let’s do this shit.” Mike gave Kai one last look. “Just so you know, we won’t be holding back just because you’re a girl. The only reason I hesitated was that I didn’t want to injure you too much. It’d look bad for the club, you know?”

“Wow, I had no idea you were such a gentleman.” Kai scoffed at that nonsense. “Thank you for your concern but no need to worry about me. I can handle myself.”

“Hmph. If you say so.” Mike waved his hand. “Then c’mon, it’s your team’s offense. Let’s see what you got, girlie.”

“The name’s Kai. You better remember it.” Kai casually tossed the ball in the middle of her sentence.

Wha-!? Mike didn’t expect this one. Not only did this pass come out of left field, but it was also boldly heading in Mike’s general direction, most likely toward Lars behind him.

The nerve of this bitch. It’s like she’s looking down on me! Mike stretched his hand to stop the ball. It was flying fast, an impressive feat for a mere girl. But, that wasn’t enough to get past a pro like Mike!

But, just as Mike was about to intercept the ball... it ducked under his hand!?

“Wha-!?” Mike gasped. The fuck was that!? He checked underneath his stretched arm in confusion.

It’s as if the ball had a will of its own. It refused to be stopped by Mike and decided to dive right under him. 

“Haha!” James laughed at that lame performance. “The heck was that, man?”

“You’re tripping, bro.” Larry cracked a laugh too.

To most bystanders, it looked like a dumb misplay by Mike. The guy failed to properly intercept a pass that was heading in his direction. Amateur mistake, no two ways about it.

But, one bystander was able to discern the true nature of that pass. By accessing the infinite knowledge of the Akashic Records, he unveiled the mystery of this diving ball!

The ball had a wild spin! Vincent commentated in his head. Its trajectory sharply fell downwards as it flew, just like a breaking ball in baseball! I shall name it, the Magnus Pass!

Just as Vincent analyzed, the ball sharply dove toward the floor while spinning. Then, it bounced off and accurately jumped to Lars’s embrace.

“Yo, what a weird pass,” Lars stated his opinion honestly.

With his refined basketball sense, he could tell there was something peculiar about this pass. It wasn’t just your average low pass. The way it went underneath Mike’s arm was irregular, and it was practically a miracle the ball successfully reached Lars without an accident after that bounce.

Welp, I’m not complaining! Lars grinned as he raised the ball. “Thanks, Kai!”

“I’m free!” Kai raised a hand. She has already positioned herself in a great spot for shooting, and she did so while avoiding James’s mark. That dumbass was too busy laughing at his leader to pay serious attention to Kai’s movements.

The moment the ball crossed the three-pointer line - this offense became legal. As such, Kai immediately secured a good shooting position after delivering the pass. Now, if Lars just gets the ball back to her, she’ll score right here and now!

That’s a good plan. Lars nodded in agreement. If they were a normal team, it’d make the most sense to pass the ball back to Kai and let her score.

But, this team was anything but normal. Why restrict themselves to scoring only one point when they could score two points in one shot!?

I’m totally free right now. Lars flashed his teeth. The annoying mark was temporarily gone. It was just him and the basket right now, nothing else stood in the way.

“Sorry, but I’ll be taking this one!” Lars assumed a shooting position.

“Huh...?” Kai blinked in disbelief. Her lips opened and closed like that of a fish. W-What is he doing!? Is he stupid!? There’s no way he can score from all the way over there!

Kai made haste toward the basket. Lars’s shot was going to miss for sure, so she’ll have to get the rebound. Hopefully, the ball will at least make it all the way to the basket...

“Here goes!” Lars threw the ball. It flew in a clean arc and passed right through the basket.

“Two points.” Yuel was the one to flip the score this time. He traded places with Vincent shortly after the round began. Vincent was now standing on the sideline and fiddling with his tablet, handling a super important task.

With this one shot from Lars, the score turned on its head again and became a 15-14. The team regained its lead within seconds!

“Wow...” Kai blinked, rubbed her eyes, and then blinked some more. What did she just witness? Was that for real?

But, he was almost at the center of the court... Kai couldn’t believe it. Sure, it’s not IMPOSSIBLE to score from there, but the way he went for it was almost as if...

It was scary to finish that line of thought. The mere idea gave her goosebumps. Could a superhuman like that really exist? And, he was a member of her club all along? No way.

And yet, the guy himself insisted that was the case.

“I didn’t have the chance to tell ya,” Lars said. “I can score ‘em shots from anywhere in the half-court. So, if ya just get the ball to me, I’mma get it in for sure! That is, as long as I’m not marked, haha.”

“Huh...” Kai’s brain short-circuited while trying to process these words. She had no idea how seriously she should be taking him. This has to be an exaggeration, right...?

And yet, Yuel nodded to her from the sidelines in confirmation of this absurd claim. It was real. Lars could seriously score from anywhere in the half-court.

In that case, it sounds like they already had this game in the bag even before I got here. Kai concluded. I thought I was going to radically shift the odds in our favor with my skills, but looks like I’ll be little more than Lars’s Support in this game.

Lars will be the main star of the show, just as he was in Classmancers. Kai was nothing more than a backup plan in case the enemy doesn’t give Lars any room to breathe.

Looks like I’m not at his level no matter where I go. Kai sighed in defeat. But, this isn’t the time or place to feel jealous. We’re here to beat these bastards to a pulp. If I have to play Support, so be it. No matter what, we’ll win and get Ben out of their clutches!

“Ben, don’t worry,” Kai reassured. “We’ll win this.”

“T-Thanks,” Ben answered timidly.

Honestly, he felt terrible for dragging the captain into this, especially after Mike hit her last time. Nonetheless, despite being threatened by physical abuse, Kai challenged Mike once more. She was brave. Unbelievably brave.

I also need to strengthen my resolve. Ben clenched his fists. Even though I’m going up against Mike and the rest, I have to do my best. I can’t let the entire club struggle for my sake. It’s not their fight, it’s MY fight.

His resolve soon showed up on his face, much to his teammates’ surprise.

Huh, would you look at that. Kai gave Ben a curious look. The only times she saw this timid boy wear such a resolved expression was when he played Classmancers and fought his best to win.

This is good. Kai nodded. If Ben is this determined, we can actually win.

At first, when Kai heard about Ben being forced to participate in the game, she was sure Lars’s team will be crushed within minutes. Yet, the team had successfully survived for this long.

And, they didn’t just survive. They were actually in the lead when Kai got here.

Obviously, Lars was pulling most of the weight to make that happen. But, without reliable teammates, the guy couldn’t have made it this far by himself. It meant Yuel and Ben have been doing a decent job supporting him until now.

And, now that I’m here, we’re going to win even harder!