[Tai Chi Cloud Hands 25%] – Increases wrist flexibility by 25%.
It was a skill Akashi Asuka had gained completely by accident. But it was precisely because of this skill that, despite his towering frame of over two meters, he could still shoot exceptionally smooth three-pointers.
Originally, his three-point accuracy in games could only stay at around six or seven out of ten, already about the limit of this body's natural talent.
But with [Tai Chi Cloud Hands], Akashi could now maintain an eight-out-of-ten success rate in games.
Later, he even invested a few points into his Three-Point attribute using his Grind Points.
Now, unless faced with a defense that truly troubled him, Akashi's three-point shots in normal games could stay at nine out of ten.
In everyday shooting practice, he could reach an incredible 9.8 out of 10.
If this were his previous life, such accuracy would have easily earned him the title of Sharpshooter.
But this was the world of sci-fi basketball.
When compared to someone like Midorima Shintaro, with his absurd full-court, one-hundred-percent shooting accuracy, Akashi's numbers didn't seem all that impressive.
[Tai Chi Cloud Hands] was classified as a Talent Skill.
Talent Skills couldn't be upgraded with Grind Points, there were only two ways to improve them:
The first was through extensive practice to increase proficiency.
The second was through personal insight.
Especially the second method… it already sounded like something out of science fiction.
But there was no helping it, this world did have that one percent of sci-fi-like rules.
"You're doing that weird training again, Akashi-kun!"
Akashi was deep in his Tai Chi practice when a figure appeared before him. Looking up, he saw a girl in a school uniform, with short brown hair and a modest B-cup figure.
"Yo! Here helping your father again, Aida-san?" Akashi removed his swimming goggles and smiled.
That's right, this was none other than Aida Riko, the manager and coach of the protagonist team's basketball club.
It had been a coincidence.
When choosing a swimming pool, Akashi's top priority had been proximity to his home. The second was late closing hours.
This gym met both conditions perfectly.
Even more coincidentally, Riko's father, the former national player Aida Kagetora, happened to work at this very facility.
So when Akashi had first run into Riko here about a month ago, he'd been stunned for a good while.
"Hey~~ we're friends now, right? Why don't you tell me the secret to that training of yours?" Riko leaned closer and whispered.
"Secret?"
Akashi chuckled. "I don't believe you haven't already tried to find out after seeing me train. But there's no secret, this is just a unique training method I came up with myself, and it only works for me."
"Also, aren't you going to introduce the person next to you?"
He glanced at the boy in a school uniform standing beside Riko. He wore glasses and had an average-looking face, though Akashi already had a hunch who he was.
"Oh! Right. This is Hyuga Junpei, captain of our school's basketball club," Riko said, then turned to introduce Akashi. "And this is Akashi Asuka, a first-year high school student."
"Huh? He's a first-year?"
Junpei stared at Akashi's massive frame in the pool, completely dumbfounded.
"Is Akashi-kun from our school too?"
Riko shook her head. "I did invite him, but he refused. If I remember right, Akashi-kun, your school choice was Seiho High, right?"
"Seiho?"
Junpei was shocked again. "You mean one of the 'Three Kings of Tokyo'?"
"That's right. And if I'm not mistaken, you also play basketball, don't you?" Riko narrowed her eyes on him.
Akashi stretched his arms lazily. "Your instincts are as sharp as ever, Aida-san. You're right, I was lucky today and just barely passed Seiho's basketball team tryouts."
He stood up from the pool, his strong, defined muscles now fully visible. Riko's pupils tightened slightly.
"By the way, since you're both on the basketball team, maybe we'll get to face each other at the nationals. Of course, I'm just a first-year, so I might not even get court time."
"That's enough for today. See you around."
Akashi stepped out of the pool and waved as he prepared to leave.
But Riko suddenly called out, "Wait, Akashi-kun. Since we've run into each other, how about a quick one-on-one with Junpei? First to five points."
"Huh?"
Before Akashi could react, Junpei jumped in, startled. "Riko, are you serious? We just finished practice!"
"Stop whining!"
Riko shot him a sharp glare, then smiled slyly at Akashi, her expression like that of a fox plotting mischief.
Akashi turned back, interest flickering in his eyes.
He had to admit, this woman was interesting. Even now, she wanted to test him. As expected of the strategist of the protagonist team.
"Forget it. I just finished training, and I don't have the energy for another game."
He smiled at Riko. "Besides, if we might become opponents in the future, I'm not about to hand you free intel now."
"I'm off."
Akashi waved and left without giving her a chance to reply.
Behind him, Riko bit her nail in frustration. "Tch~~ Not taking the bait? What a troublesome guy."
Junpei glanced at her and asked cautiously, "Riko… is he strong?"
"No idea," Riko shook her head.
"But purely in terms of physical stats, his body might be even more impressive than Kagami's. There's just… something a little strange about him."
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