The sacred court glowed like stained glass under moonlight. Torches flickered along the archways, throwing shifting colors across the glass walls. A crowd of locals pressed against the railing, murmurs rising like prayer.
Ren's throat was dry. His legs still ached from scrims, but the priest's voice cut sharp:
"Street Padel Duel. One set. No partners."
The opponent smirked across the net—a ranked bully he had glimpsed in back alleys. Taller, stronger, swinging his racket with lazy confidence.
"Ready to kneel, Messiah?"
Ren's grip shook. No partner. No Shizuka. Just me. I can't...
The first serve screamed past him untouched. Then another. And another. 0–3 before he blinked.
By the fourth game, sweat drenched his shirt. The bully teased him with drop volleys, forcing Ren to stumble, late and desperate. The crowd laughed, priests unmoved.
I can't read him. His touch is too clean...
Then the HUD flickered. A prompt glowed faint, unnatural:
[Copy Technique?]
Cost: −15 Stamina / −5 Mental
Duration: 1 rally
Ren's heart lurched. Copy? I can... steal it?
His fingers tightened on the grip. "Do it."
Time warped. The opponent lunged for a drop volley, feathering the ball just over the tape.
But Ren's body—no, his vision—moved the same way. Feet slid in identical rhythm, racket angle mirrored perfectly. His strings caught the ball, dropping it just as soft, just as precise.
Winner.
Gasps erupted from the stands. The priest's staff clanged against stone.
Ren's chest heaved, vision spotted, knees trembling. I... stole it.
He tried again on the next point. Prompt flickered—he forced it. But his body screamed in revolt, strings jerking wild, the ball spraying long.
The HUD slashed him with a penalty:
[Stamina −10 | Mental −5]
His legs buckled. The opponent pounded him with smashes until the set ended 0–6.
Ren collapsed by the net post, vision swimming. The bully jeered, raising his arms. "Hopeless Messiah, back where you belong!"
The crowd laughed again—but the murmurs were different this time. Curious. Uneasy.
Because everyone had seen it. That one rally.
The priest's staff echoed once more, finalizing the result. The crowd dispersed slowly, whispers trailing.
Ren's HUD flickered, glitching lines across his vision:
[Copy Technique: Locked → Lv.0]
[Substitution Protocol... anomaly detected.]
Ren's eyes fluttered closed, his body trembling on the cold glass.