The greyhound pulled into Port Authority at 6:47 a.m. sharp.
Ethan Cruz stepped off the bus with his backpack, notebook, and the weight of the unknown pressing on his shoulders. The NYC Coaching Camp was hosted by the Metro Basketball Federation and only selected thirty students citywide. Most were team captains, starters, or well-connected coaches' kids.
He was none of those.
But he had something no one else did.
[SYSTEM BOOTING...]
Welcome, Ethan.
NYC Coaching Camp: ACTIVE
Rival Detected — Tracking...
Ethan adjusted his hoodie and gripped his bag tighter. The world around him was louder than usual. Honking taxis. Slushy sidewalks. Midtown traffic. He made his way to the facility just a few blocks away—a sleek, glass-paneled building nestled between a tech startup and a NYPD substation.
Inside, the courts gleamed like polished obsidian. High ceilings. Digital scoreboards. Shooting machines in every corner.
It was basketball heaven.
A short man with a clipboard and too much energy greeted the arrivals. "Name and school?"
"Ethan Cruz. Roosevelt High."
The man skimmed the list. "Hmm. Ah, here we go. The Coach's Coach. You're the only assistant on the list. Interesting."
Ethan forced a half-smile.
He was used to being the odd one out.
Orientation
The thirty students sat in a U-formation facing the main stage. A retired D1 coach named Darren Vega stood at the podium, white hair slicked back, wearing a whistle like it was a badge of honor.
"You're not here to dribble," Vega said. "You're here to think. To learn how to see the game the way a general sees a battlefield."
He paused.
"Most of you think you already understand basketball."
He looked at Ethan.
"You don't."
Then his gaze shifted... to someone else.
Third row.
A boy in a slim tracksuit. Clean fade. iPad in his lap. Confident smirk. That kind of quiet arrogance only money and talent can buy.
The name tag read:
Ryder Knox – Bishop Tech Academy
Ethan's system pulsed.
[RIVAL SYSTEM USER CONFIRMED]
USER: Ryder Knox
System Type: Strategic AI Variant – "The Architect"
Level: 4
Specialization: Macro-Level Tactical Control
Personality: Competitive, Cold, Charismatic
Ethan nearly dropped his pen.
Another one.
A system user. Just like him.
Ryder glanced at him like he knew.
Like they were both in on the secret.
The war hadn't started yet—but the battlefield had been chosen.
Day One — The Boardroom
The first challenge wasn't on the court. It was in a classroom.
A mock scenario projected onto a giant screen:
"You're down by 2. 6.2 seconds left. Ball at half-court. Double bonus. You have one timeout left. What's your play?"
The class split into five teams. Ethan was paired with three other kids—two captains from uptown and a shooter from Brooklyn who barely looked up from his phone.
He scribbled ideas fast.
"Box decoy up top. Stagger for our shooter down low. Inbounder fakes to draw defenders. We slip the screen, cut baseline, then lift the weakside corner—"
"Too complicated," one of them interrupted. "Let's just iso our PG."
Ethan blinked. "That's predictable. They'll hedge the ball screen and switch. You're playing into their coverage."
But they wouldn't listen.
Their plan failed during the sim.
Coach Vega sighed. "Predictable loses games. The Cruz kid was the only one who saw the defense collapsing before it happened. Should've listened."
Ethan sat back.
A tiny win.
Day Two — The Court
Now it was tactical scrimmages.
Half-court sets. One team coaches, one team plays.
Ethan finally got the clipboard.
His team: four decent players, none elite. They were up against Team Knox.
As the buzzer sounded, Ethan activated his simulation.
Simulating Next 4 Possessions...
Odds of Success: 48%
Recommendation: Exploit weakside help. Run misdirection baseline slips.
He scribbled fast, shouting adjustments mid-play. "Jab, swing, drift left! Now cut hard—he's ball-watching!"
The ball zipped.
Layup.
They scored first.
The other coach—Knox—tilted his head.
Then something strange happened.
Knox closed his eyes.
His own system... shimmered in the air behind him.
He called out a coverage that hadn't been taught yet. "X-slide left! Hedge trap! Deny high!"
It worked.
His defense clamped down, anticipating everything Ethan tried next.
ALERT: Opposing System Counter Detected
System Intellect Tier: Superior Processing Speed
Prediction Layer: Active
Ethan was stunned.
It was like coaching against a future version of himself.
He tried a fallback play—Phantom Drive—but Knox saw it coming.
Double coverage collapsed.
Steal. Transition score.
Game over.
After the scrimmage, Ethan sat on the bleachers, stunned.
He'd lost. Not to players—but to another mind. A system mind.
And he was better.
[DEFEAT REGISTERED:
Skill: Adaptation Efficiency +1
XP Gained: 300]
Then, a shadow fell over him.
It was Knox.
He held a water bottle, smirk relaxed, like he hadn't even broken a sweat.
"You're good," he said. "Not great."
Ethan frowned. "You've got a system too."
Knox raised an eyebrow. "We're not supposed to talk about that."
Ethan stood. "How long have you had it?"
Knox turned away. "Long enough to know this isn't a game. The system doesn't make you a coach. It just shows you what you're not yet."
He paused, then added:
"And what you'll never be, if you keep playing nice."
Then he walked off.
That night
Ethan lay in bed in the tiny hostel room provided by the program. The ceiling fan creaked. Outside, midtown buzzed endlessly.
The system pinged.
Do you wish to analyze the encounter with Rival User: Ryder Knox?
[YES]
He selected it.
A breakdown played—frame by frame. Knox's counters, defensive manipulations, energy management. His system even predicted Ethan's simulations and adjusted in real time.
Ethan stared, heart racing.
Knox was better.
But he wasn't invincible.
Ethan opened his own code editor and started creating a new feature:
PROJECT: "Instinct Mode"
Objective: React without simulation lag by triggering pre-built adaptive reactions.
Locked: Requires Focus Tier 2 and Memory Module Upgrade.
He typed into the notes field:
"He plays like a machine.
I'll beat him by being human."