The days continued like any other—school, studying, family, and training. But this week, something was different. Our basketball club had finally been made official, and our uniforms were scheduled to arrive today, Why today? Because it was the school's club recruitment day.
The week wasn't just routine for me, though. With all the daily quests I completed, I gained a massive boost to my attributes—especially physical ones. Echo explained that since I already had a mature mind, my intelligence stat was naturally high. It had always been one of my key advantages, even in my past life. But I knew I couldn't just become my former self. I had to become more than that.
Still, my height hadn't changed yet. I remained the shortest on the team. I could only hope my growth spurt would come earlier this time. In my past life, it happened halfway through my first year—Dirga had grown to 180 cm in junior high and eventually reached 192 cm in high school. He didn't want to be too tall or too short this time—just enough to dominate.
[Echo Open]
Name: Renji Dirgantara
• Height: 155 cm
• Weight: 47 kg
• System Level: Junior High School (0/100)
• Quests:
Daily Quest → Reward: Random Draw x1
• Skills:
Form Speed Lv.1 (58%)
Passing Instinct Lv.2 (12%)
Tempo Reading Lv.1 (48%)
Quick First Step Lv.1 ( 38%)
Team Spark Lv.1 (20%)
Syngy Vision Lv.2 ( 20%)
Flow Lv1 ( active skill) ( 20 %)
• Items:
1x Training Booster
2x Injury Booster
3x Fatigue Reducer
Shop: (Locked)
• Attributes:
• Scoring
Layup: 42/100
Dunk: 11/100
Post Score: 14/100
• Shooting
Mid-Range: 37/100
Three-Point: 32/100
Free Throw: 41/100
Unique Shot: 9/100
• Playmaking
Pass Accuracy: 72/100
Vision: 75/100
Ball Handling: 56/100
• Defense
Interior Defense: 18/100
Perimeter Defense: 24/100
Steal: 22/100
Block: 11/100
Rebound: 13/100
• Physical
Agility: 45/100
Strength: 25/100
Jumping: 30/100
Intelligence: 80/100
Endurance: 70/100
...
This week, I used the Training Booster every single day. Thanks to that, I unlocked a new skill—my first active skill. It was called Flow, and it let me access a state similar to the "zone," temporarily boosting my stats and skills anywhere from 50% to 200%, depending on the pressure and my mental state. Its duration also depended on my endurance.
I tested it once during a training session and only managed to hit a 50% boost for three minutes. Probably because there wasn't much pressure in the gym. Still, it was a powerful tool for real games.
"Alright, everyone's here," Kaito said, gathering us together in the gym.
"For tomorrow, we'll run a 3-on-3 match. It's part of our recruitment strategy, and we want to let the new first-years participate. We'll form random teams."
"Let's make a bet," Taiga suddenly grinned, sparking everyone's curiosity.
"Oh?" Aizawa raised an eyebrow, clearly interested. "What kind of bet?"
"Hmm…" I smirked. "How about the losing team cleans the gym?"
"Oho, that's a good one," Rikuya-senpai said with a rare, amused smile.
Wait, seriously? Even Rikuya-senpai's joining in? He usually had that cool, untouchable vibe. But here he was, playing along with the rest of us.
"Since you guys are getting into it," Kaito continued, "we'll make it more exciting. It'll be like a mini tournament. You can pick your teammates tomorrow."
"Oh, and by the way," he added, turning toward the gym entrance, "we got our uniforms. You guys can come in now!"
Two girls stepped inside—clearly twins, though their auras were completely different.
"This is your uniform, Kaito-senpai," said the cheerful one.
"Let me introduce you guys," Kaito said. "These are Ayaka Minazuki and Sayaka Minazuki—our new team managers."
"Cute," Taiga whispered, starstruck.
"Two of them?" Aizawa chimed in, grinning. "Senpai, you're a genius."
"My name's Ayaka Minazuki!" said the bubbly twin with a pink hairpin and short hair. "Please take care of me! I've always been a fan of basketball!"
"I'm Sayaka Minazuki," said the other, more reserved girl. Her long, jet-black hair shimmered under the lights. "My sister dragged me here. I like design, and... I guess I needed a club anyway."
She gave off calm, career-woman energy. Total opposites, these two—but clearly close.
Each of us took turns introducing ourselves. Then the twins presented the uniforms.
"We designed the jerseys based on a black hole—just like our school name, Horizon!" Ayaka said excitedly. "The home jersey represents the black hole itself, while the away jersey is based on a light hole!"
They kept rambling about science and design, and honestly, my head started to hurt from trying to follow. Still, the effort they put in was impressive.
We tried on the uniforms.
"Oooh, nice one!"
"This fits perfectly!"
"We made team T-shirts too!!" the twins added enthusiastically.
"We should take a team photo!" someone said.
"Anyone have a camera?" Ayaka asked.
"My uncle—Renji-sensei—has one," I offered.
"Perfect! Let's go get him," Kaito said.
…
Ten minutes later, my uncle arrived, a bit out of breath, holding a camera and a tripod.
"Sorry! First time I've been to your club… had a lot to take care of…" he huffed.
"It's okay, Sensei," Rikuya said calmly.
I stepped forward. "Uncle, this is our team."
Renji-sensei looked at us with a proud smile. "I'll be around more often. Please take care of me."
"Please take care of us too!" we echoed.
We adjusted the tripod and camera.
"Okay—everyone together!"
Rikuya stood tall in the center, arms folded. Taiga and Aizawa posed like pro wrestlers on either side of him. Kaito and I stood in front with our hands on our hips, while Ayaka and Sayaka stood to the sides, holding the extra shirts.
"Say Chiizu!" my uncle called out.
"Chiizuuuuuuuuu!"
Click.
A moment frozen in time.
Not just a photo.
A team.