"Training sessions at the agency? That's interesting." Hoshimi glanced at the slightly blushing Nanami Aoyama and then asked, "Nanami, how do you usually practice on your own?"
"I record myself on my phone and then correct any mistakes."
"I see, but isn't the recording quality on a phone not very clear?"
"Yeah... it's not ideal, but it's the best I can do..."
She couldn't afford professional equipment; it was too expensive. She had to make do with her old-fashioned button phone for practice.
"Ah~ we're here already."
In the midst of their conversation, they had arrived at the train station.
Nanami Aoyama ran ahead to the station entrance and waved goodbye to Hoshimi.
"Hoshimi-kun, thank you. I'm going now."
"Alright, see you."
Hoshimi responded and watched Nanami Aoyama enter the station.
"Sigh~"
Standing on the bustling street, Hoshimi couldn't help but sigh.
He had originally planned to give Nanami a high-end phone under the pretense of her helping him with massages, but due to her sudden mood shift, he had to abandon his plan.
Nanami's old-fashioned button phone was too outdated, completely unsuitable for voice acting practice.
Maybe a better phone would help.
As for giving her a complete set of professional equipment?
That was impossible; without a suitable excuse and reason, Nanami Aoyama would never accept it.
"The sensitivity brought by pride..."
Hoshimi sighed and then hailed a taxi to go home.
He was really tired today... and didn't want to walk anymore.
...
The next day, Monday, marked the beginning of a new week.
In Class 2-J of Sobu High, Yukinoshita glanced thoughtfully at the soundly sleeping Hoshimi Kiyokawa beside her.
It was just the first period in the morning, and Hoshimi was already fast asleep. Something seemed off...
Moreover, Hoshimi seemed to have slept particularly late last night. Usually, she would enter his dreamscape around 11 PM, no later than midnight.
But last night, when she entered the dreamscape, the large clock on the tall building showed 3:30 AM.
Which meant Hoshimi went to bed around 3:30 AM last night.
Even though he had been exercising all day and was extremely tired, he still slept so late. Was he planning something devious?
She would need to be extra cautious during the practice match in the afternoon.
...
Meanwhile, in the dreamscape, Hoshimi was undergoing special training.
He stood on a tennis court, thoughtfully twirling a tennis ball.
Under normal circumstances, Hoshimi wouldn't enter his dreamscape during the day.
Entering the dreamscape meant he was asleep, and being woken up in this state would make him slightly irritable.
So, he usually avoided entering the dreamscape during daytime naps.
Occasionally, having a proper nap without thinking about anything was good for him.
After all, if his consciousness was always alert, he felt like something was missing.
Initially, to prepare for his tennis match against Yukinoshita, he planned to enter the dreamscape for extra practice during the weekend.
But unexpectedly, Yukinoshita insisted on training together over the weekend, using the practice match as leverage.
After some thought, he agreed to her request.
Firstly, wasting two days didn't impact him much.
Secondly, he also wanted to improve his physical strength and maintain his training regimen.
The entire weekend, he trained in real life during the day and enjoyed "games" with Yukinoshita in the dreamscape at night. His planned extra training was delayed and had to be done now.
According to his calculations, if he completed the extra training successfully, he could hold his own against Yukinoshita in the practice match to some extent.
"Let's start with observation."
Hoshimi waved his hand, and a tall male figure appeared beside him.
The male figure, dressed in tennis attire and holding a tennis racket, had an indistinct face.
Last night, Hoshimi watched tennis matches for half the night to replicate these tennis prodigies in his dreamscape, hoping to learn one or two serving techniques from them.
Yes, just the serve. With limited time, to score points against Yukinoshita, he needed to specialize in one area.
The optimal choice was to focus on his serve.
"Serve."
Hoshimi rubbed his chin and commanded.
The male figure nodded, got into position, and casually tossed a tennis ball from behind him.
"Boom!"
A dull thud echoed as the ball flew across the court at an incredible speed.
The next moment, something even more incredible happened. The ball, which should have bounced, didn't. Instead, it rolled back toward the net!
"Click-click-click," Hoshimi marveled, "No matter how many times I see it, it's unbelievable. How is this even possible? What was this serve called again? I think it was 'Zero Shiki Serve'."
"It's astonishing that such an extraordinary technique appears in a national middle school tournament. This world really has many 'monsters'."
"Serve a few more times for me to observe."
The male figure nodded and silently picked up another tennis ball to serve.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
One serve after another, the male figure served tirelessly like a machine.
"Alright, stop."
After watching for a while, Hoshimi waved his hand for the male figure to step aside.
Next, he would try to replicate this extraordinary 'Zero Shiki Serve' himself.
Hoshimi knew that relying solely on his tennis skills wouldn't achieve this.
So, he changed his perspective from first-person to an omniscient viewpoint, manipulating his body like a marionette.
Then, he copied the male figure's serving actions exactly onto his own body.
Of course, due to the difference in their physiques, the actions had to be slightly adjusted.
He could fine-tune this through practice until he achieved the desired effect.
Once the effect was consistent, he would repeatedly perform the serve process until he thoroughly memorized the 'Zero Shiki Serve'.
The final step was to return to reality and use his body to find that feeling, experimenting until he solidified it. This way, he would successfully replicate the tennis prodigy's 'Zero Shiki Serve'.
The idea was beautiful and feasible.
But...
"Boom!"
"Crack---"
With a dull thud, Hoshimi's arm broke...
"Sigh~ my physical condition is too far off," Hoshimi shook his head helplessly.
As expected, it wasn't that simple.
This so-called 'Zero Shiki Serve' placed too much strain on his arm, and his physical condition couldn't handle it.
Since that was the case, he had to switch to another person for training.
With a thought, Hoshimi's broken arm instantly healed.
Fortunately, he had disabled his pain receptors just in time, or it would have been quite painful for a moment.
"On to the next one, 'Tanhauser Serve.' Hmm? It feels similar to the 'Zero Shiki Serve,' likely beyond my physical limits. Let's try another."
"Power serve, maybe I don't have enough strength, but I'll try. There's still some time left."
Hoshimi waved his hand, and another tennis prodigy replaced the male figure to demonstrate for him.
===
Enjoying the novel? If you'd like to read additional chapters, visit my Patreon page at - patreon.com/cherryblooming.
There are already 30 extra chapters available.