Souta changed shoes and sprinted all the way home.
Bang!
He slammed the door open—then shut it just as hard.
Startled, Kasugano Sora poked her head out. "At least say 'I'm home' when you come back! You scare me every time, you idiot!"
Which Kasugano Sora, you ask?
Come on. That Sora—from Yosuga no Sora.
Yes, that one.
But even though she was cute enough to melt stone, Souta only replied flatly, "Don't bother calling me for dinner!"
Bang!
A door slammed upstairs.
Sora frowned, huffed, and walked off.
Inside his room, Souta closed the door and lay on the bed, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.
"Simulation, start!"
No flashing lights, no sci-fi sound effects—just a silent hum as lines of text appeared before his eyes.
He'd already figured out how the system worked on the way home.
Each Simulation required one Victory Point—a reward for winning an official game.
Simulation level-ups granted attribute points to boost his five attributes.
Every Simulation granted a random talent.
At the end, he could bring one talent and all Simulation memories back to reality.
Each Simulation lasted one year.
[Simulation starting]
[Drawing random talent...]
[Talent obtained: The Big Fundamental]
[Congratulations! You've obtained an S-rank talent: The Big Fundamental]
[The Big Fundamental: Perfectly standardized technique, minimalist tactical decision-making. Greatly increases consistency in games, unaffected by game intensity.]
"The Big Fundamental...? Tim Duncan?" Souta blinked.
Of course he knew what that meant.
That was the trademark of the greatest player in Spurs history—Tim Duncan himself.
For nineteen years, Duncan had built a career on machine-like fundamentals and unshakable consistency.
Well, at least until his injury days. Before that, he'd been an athletic monster—a flying demon power forward.
Young Duncan could do everything.
[Okukozome—your late foster father Kasugano Haruka's grandfather's countryside home. With your new Cheat in hand, you can't wait to start your first Simulation.]
[You're eager to find out if, now that you have a system, you can beat those nonhuman freaks from Teiko. For someone who's always dreamed of living by basketball, this means everything.]
[Simulation begins. You've acquired the talent "The Big Fundamental," known as the signature skill of NBA Hall of Famer and historic power forward Tim Duncan.]
[That evening, Kasugano Haruka knocks on your door to call you for dinner.]
[You step out of your room to share a modest meal with Kasugano Haruka and Kasugano Sora. The meal is simple, barely enough to fill everyone's stomach.]
[You're an orphan, adopted by the kind Kasugano couple—but they both died in an accident.]
[You've been living with their twins, Kasugano Haruka and Kasugano Sora, in the rural town of Okukozome.]
[A year ago, you joined Hozumi Academy's Basketball Club, and thanks to your experience at the level of an old veteran, you became a starting player.]
[You never understood why, in this version of the world, Hozumi Academy was a middle school instead of a high school—just like how the Kasugano couple died earlier than they should've, before the twins even reached high school.]
[But whatever. You didn't care. You planned to start from this bottom-tier team, hoping to make a living off basketball and fulfill your childhood dream.]
[Then came the National Tournament. When you heard that the championship team was Teiko Junior High, your world collapsed. You realized you were in a place without demons or gods—but it was worse, because it had monsters instead.]
[You gave up basketball on the spot, announcing your retirement right there. Your brother and sister, and even your friends, were completely stunned.]
[They thought you were just taking the loss too hard, that you'd cool off after a while—but even now, you've never gone back to the Basketball Club.]
[During dinner, Kasugano Haruka wanted to bring it up several times, but he was afraid of upsetting you.]
[Even though you were adopted, you grew up with the Kasugano siblings. To them, you weren't an outsider—you were family.]
[After dinner, you headed to the storage room and started rummaging around. Kasugano Sora followed behind, clutching her black rabbit doll. "Souta, what are you looking for?" she asked curiously.]
["My basketball," you said.]
[Sora was stunned. She leaned in close, pressing her forehead against yours like she was checking for a fever. She thought you'd lost it.]
[You brushed her off and kept searching.]
[You found your basketball—covered in dust. Ignoring the shocked siblings, you pumped air into it and ran straight out the door to the nearby streetball court for rehab training.]
"No wonder I'm me—give me even a glimmer of hope and I'll start shining."
Souta couldn't help but admire himself as he watched the Simulation.
When there was no hope, he slacked off. When there was, he went all in.
No wonder he'd make it big one day.
[Day one of rehab training. You can feel your body's regression, but The Big Fundamental boosts your game to a new level.]
[As an amateur-level player, every movement you make under this talent is textbook perfect.]
[Not flashy, but efficient. There's a simple elegance to it—a "less is more" philosophy. You truly begin to grasp Tim Duncan's greatness.]
[Satisfied, you return home. There's no air conditioner, and the heat's brutal. You strip down, revealing solid muscle.]
[Sora squeals "pervert!" and runs away blushing.]
[You don't react. In fact, you think, "Men being a little pervy isn't a crime."]
[Day two. You return to the Basketball Club. The team of scrubs is overjoyed to see you.]
[As Hozumi Academy's starting small forward, you averaged 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists last year. You were one of the team's key players.]
[The coach smiles when he sees you. "Success is fleeting," he tells you, "but failure is the rule."]
[You disagree. Some people succeed forever—and you want to be one of them.]
[You tell him, "I'm back to win a championship."]