He Can Become An Athlete In Another World!

The game resumed and the Stars walked back onto the court with renewed confidence. Daniel’s plan, though risky and uncertain, still gave the team the hope they needed to face this challenge head-on and not surrendering without a fight. As long as the chances of losing was not one hundred percent, they’ll do whatever they can to chase after that small percentage of winning and aim for victory.

The third quarter only had two minutes left. Jerry inbounded the ball to Daniel. The Stars moved about the court like normal and Daniel brought the ball to the arc. He found himself matched up against the Ravens’ Stormer. Instead of feeling dread like before, Daniel smiled. He jumped up and prepared to shoot the ball. The Stormer unleashed his ‘Berserker Dragon Eyes’. Just as quickly as the Stormer used it, a dark shadow appeared between him and Daniel—it was Jerry. The Stars’ Stormer’s surprise screen disrupted the dreaded divine blessing, making the Ravens’ Stormer step back in shock.

The ball left Daniel’s hands and he made the shot. That shot signaled a change that was felt by all on the court and the benches. The Stars felt a surge in confidence and could see victory within their grasp though still small a chance it may be, contrasted with the Ravens acquired feeling of dread and shock from seeing their trump card being easily beaten.

The Ravens quickly shook off their shock and took possession of the ball with the same confidence as before. The Stormer passed the ball to the Igniter on the inside. The Igniter got into position to release the ball when Toby challenged him. The Stormer glared in Toby’s direction to draw the Igniter’s eyes. However, his line of vision was suddenly blocked by Dan, who placed himself smack dab in the middle of it. The Ravens’ Igniter shot the ball and Toby contested it without trouble; though he couldn’t block the ball with his ‘Earthen Shield’ spell, he managed to disrupt the Igniter’s aim, causing the ball to hit the halo’s rim.

As the last minute boiled down, the Stars’ use of surprise screens against the Ravens’ Stormer allowed for them to gain some much-needed points and boosted their defense. Slowly but surely, the gap between both teams began to close. The last second expired and the buzzer sounded just as the last points of the quarter were scored by the Stars. The score was now: Stars – 65 and Ravens – 82.

“We’re still down by seventeen. But at the rate we’re going, it’s not impossible for us to beat them. Just keep that in mind when we play the final quarter,” motivated the coach.

“It was a great idea to use screens to block the Stormer’s field of vision,” said Brock.

“As long as we don’t surrender another point to those bastards, anything is fine with me!” declared Toby. He glared at Daniel and added with a look of begrudging respect, “I guess I owe you some merit for your plan.”

“Oh, thanks, but it’s nothing,” accepted Daniel with a laugh.

“Alright boys, it’s go time! Go out there and win this thing!” announced the coach. The team responded back with a unified roar of victory.

The fourth quarter began. For the first minute and a half, the Ravens played exactly the same way they had the entire game. Their Stormer grew more and more frustrated with the Stars’ plan. In between those screens, the Stars also began to incorporate double-team play into their defense. The gap between both teams eventually settled at nine points.

A timeout was called by the Ravens. Daniel could see it plainly on their faces: frustration, fury, dread, gloom—it was all because of the Stars’ constant interfering using an unforeseen gameplan that threw a wrench into their scheme. Daniel didn’t know if he should feel satisfied with himself for coming up with this plan that was enough to bring one of the best teams in the entire league to their breaking point. If he was in their shoes, he would certainly feel the same as them. ‘No, I wouldn’t,’ he told himself, ‘I would definitely come up with a plan to overcome it. Just like what I’m doing right now.’

The game resumed and Daniel saw the Ravens’ players return to the court with the same confident energy as before. ‘It looks like they refused to let it break them,’ thought Daniel with a smile of admiration. ‘Just what I expect from a top-tier team.’

It was the Ravens’ ball. Their Stormer brought it up court and stopped right in front of the key. Daniel and his teammates prepared themselves for what was coming next. Then, the unexpected happened: the Stormer passed the ball to the Streamer, who then proceeded to pass to the Thunderer to score. The Ravens scored and quickly transitioned to defense. Meanwhile, the Stars were left stupefied by the Ravens choice to not use ‘Berserker Dragon Eyes’ during that last possession.

The Stars decided to not let that one peculiar moment get to them. Instead, they focused on making the most out of their possession. Daniel received the ball and passed straight on to Toby, who took the ball to the wing. The Igniter was challenged by the Ravens’ Streamer, who rushed out to stop him on the outside. Toby, fearless and impulsive as always, took the challenge head on and positioned himself to shoot the ball. As he did this, the Streamer responded in kind with his own defense. While this was happening, Toby didn’t feel the Ravens’ Stormer’s gaze at all. This fact didn’t matter to him much, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little surprised given how the last quarter went. He released the ball a little early and was stopped by the Streamer’s ‘Geo-Block’.

“Don’t worry about it!” Daniel shouted to Toby, gesturing for him to transition to defense.

As the game continued, it didn’t take long for the Stars to realize that the Ravens were playing them head-on without using any special skills to their advantage. The Ravens were strong opponents even without the use of divine blessings, but the Stars didn’t do everything they did to get here just to lose in the end. Even with the Ravens deciding to play against them using nothing but their own skills as bona-fide professional athletes, the Stars weren’t going down without a fight.

Daniel and Toby used their explosive offensive powers to build up the Stars’ points. Meanwhile, Dan and Brock did everything they could to defend the inside while Jerry took care of the perimeter. The gap between them settled at a measly eight points. The Ravens were still leading, but the players were using the utmost of their abilities to still keep the team afloat against the Stars—proving once and for all that they were still normal professional athletes just like their opponents.

The final minute was closing in. The score was: Stars – 89 and Ravens 95. The Stars needed at least seven points to win. It was the Stars turn to possess the ball. Daniel breathed in deeply once he caught the ball. He brought the ball up court and stopped before the arc. Using memories of skills from his past life, Daniel faked a pass to his teammate, shaking off his defender, and took the shot—five points to go. The Ravens took possession and their Stormer decided to go in for a drive. Daniel quickly moved in and blocked the Stormer with a wide defensive stance. While he did this, Dan came behind the Stormer and double-teamed him. The Stormer quickly passed the ball outside to an open teammate who then took the shot only to be blocked by Jerry. The Stars took possession of the ball once more. Daniel rushed in with the ball for a drive, drawing the attention of a double-team. At the very last second, the initiated a quick pass to the wing. Toby, though surprised at first by the pass, took the ball and shot it—three points to go.

There was now fifteen seconds left on the clock. The Ravens decided to end the game by letting the clock run out. Daniel was well aware of this tactic, having seen it done to death back in his previous life. ‘If that’s their angle, I just have to take the initiative,’ he told himself with a smile. When there was only five seconds left, Daniel casted ‘Gale Wind’ and successfully stole the ball from the Ravens’ Streamer. He ran down to the arc and took position to shoot. The Ravens’ Stormer was faster than he looked and quickly appeared right in front of Daniel. The Stormer then unleashed his ‘Berserker Dragon Eyes’ at Daniel. Daniel had gotten too complacent with how normal the game had been progressing that he had nearly forgotten about the Stormer’s ability. However, Daniel’s refusal to surrender and the promise he had made Kody was stronger than a divine blessing. “Don’t mess with me,” he uttered through gritted teeth. Using another one of his previous life’s memory, Daniel retracted the ball and jumped back. This move surprised the Stormer and his divine blessing disappeared. Daniel took this moment to shoot the ball. The buzzer sounded.

The game ended. The final score was as followed: Stars – 96 and Ravens – 95.

The Stars all let out a roar of victory, joined by the audience, shaking the entire stadium to the core. From the top row of the stadium, three people stood up and took their leave.

“This was a real upset, wasn’t it,” said one of them in a stoic tone.

“It lookz likez we have some interesting people thiz year,” said another in childlike intrigue.

“Yes, it is. Perhaps this years players will offer some good entertainment,” said the third amusedly. “They can try to climb the ladder to the top, but they will never reach it. Still, it is amusing to see them try.”

After the game, Daniel and the team rushed to the medical center to tell Kody the good news. Kody was resting on a bed and had his left thigh and hip wrapped in bandages. He was beyond happy to see his teammates visit him. And when he learned of the Stars’ victory over the Ravens, he couldn’t contain his excitement and let out a yell that elicited a stern warning from the nurse.

“It looks like our dream is starting to become reality!” Kody told Daniel.

“Yep, it does!” agreed Daniel. He stretched out his arms and announced, “All that’s left is to conquer the rest of the regionals and then take first place at nationals! Let’s all aim for the top!”

“Yeah!” cheered the team in unison. The nurse admonished them once again, leading the team to repeat their cheer in a whisper. The Stars were right on their way to becoming legends! And Daniel was right on his way of achieving his dream of becoming a professional athlete in another world!