Chapter 495 - 174: AI Ability

Chapter 495: Chapter 174: AI Ability

While the Echizen brothers’ match was in full swing, the decisive third set of Doubles Two between Japan Team and Germany Team officially began. Mōri stepped onto the court with a grave expression, while Ochi beside him still wore his usual cold, unapproachable look.

The German pair, on the other hand, looked much more relaxed. Judging from how the second set had gone, they were clearly the ones with the upper hand now. More importantly, Bertie and Dankmar’s Ability Synchronization consumed very little stamina, so maintaining it until the end of the match wouldn’t be difficult at all.

Here, it’s worth explaining the differences in Ability Synchronization. Broadly speaking, Ability Synchronization is divided into two major types—technique-type and state-type. Teleportation like Ochi’s and Mōri’s falls under the technique-type, while Satellite Perspective used by Dankmar and Bertie belongs to the state-type.

Other Ability Synchronizations that have appeared follow the same pattern. Technique-type includes things like Akutsu Jin and Tachibana Kippei’s Roar of the Lion and Mad Wolf’s Howl, and Camus’s Creation. State-type includes Yukimura Seiichi and Tokugawa’s Sixth Sense, as well as the Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami variants used by Chitose Senri and Tezuka Kunimitsu back when they were first-year middle schoolers.

These two categories also differ in how they drain a player. Technique-type abilities have direct, immediate effects but clearly consume more stamina. State-type abilities aren’t as instantly impactful, but in return, they consume less stamina. Because of this, it’s hard to say which type is stronger or weaker overall.

The first game was Ochi’s service game. His tall figure slowly walked to the baseline. He didn’t serve right away. Instead, he looked toward Bertie standing at the net across from him.

Even though Bertie didn’t meet Ochi’s gaze, a subtle burst of mental force suddenly erupted inside him. In those pupils filled with grid-like lines, a faint crescent moon unexpectedly appeared.

"Mental Assassination!"

While Bertie was momentarily dazed, Ochi had already tossed the ball high into the air. This time, he threw it extremely high. Then, in a rare move, Ochi leapt upward, swung his racket with his right hand, and smashed down hard on the ball just as it began to fall.

Dankmar caught the ball’s movement the instant Ochi swung, but what shocked him was that Satellite Perspective seemed to lose its effect entirely. He couldn’t analyze any useful information at all. Immediately after, Dankmar felt a yellow afterimage flash past his face.

"Mach Serve!"

"ACE! 15–0!"

Before Bertie and Dankmar could even react, Ochi tossed the ball again. It was the same exaggerated height. As Ochi leapt up, the ball streaked across Germany Team’s half at a speed exceeding three hundred kilometers per hour.

"ACE! 30–0!"

"304 km... This completely surpasses all of Ochi-senpai’s previous records!" On the Japan Team bench, Mitsuya stared at the number on the speed display, shock written all over his face.

"So that means Ochi was always hiding something~" Tanegashima was just as surprised, but remembering that what he had returned before wasn’t even Ochi’s full-power Mach Serve, his eyebrows lifted slightly.

"But even if Ochi’s Mach Serve got faster, based on Dankmar’s earlier performance, he shouldn’t be completely unable to react," Kimijima said, sounding puzzled.

"I’m guessing Ochi did something interesting before serving~" Irie said with a smile, speaking suggestively as he watched the court.

"Ochi-senpai just used Mental Assassination on Germany Team’s Bertie," Yukimura suddenly explained from the other side.

"And once Bertie’s AI data analysis ability is disrupted, their Ability Synchronization collapses on its own. Even if Dankmar can track the ball’s movement, at Mach Serve speed, without analysis and advance prediction, there’s still no way to receive it," Akashi added calmly.

"FAULT! 40–0!"

As they were talking, Ochi had already fired his third Mach Serve. Bertie seemed to have recovered a bit and managed to predict the ball’s trajectory in advance, but when he blocked the ball with his racket, something went wrong. For some reason, the racket face angle was off, causing the rebounding ball to fail to clear the net.

"This isn’t a mistake Bertie would normally make... what exactly is going on with him...?" On the Germany Team bench, Michael Bismarck watched Bertie on the court and spoke with uncertainty.

"It should be Ochi Tsukimitsu’s doing. He uses his own mental force as a trigger to infinitely amplify the pressure in the opponent’s heart, making them unconsciously commit low-level mistakes. That’s Mental Assassination," QP replied calmly.

"But didn’t Bertie already carck this move earlier? Why is he still being affected now?" Siegfried frowned and asked from the side.

"So the final few games earlier were all setup for this moment? Looks like you really can’t underestimate any player on Japan Team!" Volk suddenly recalled the high-speed exchange between Ochi and Bertie from before and immediately understood.

"GAME! Japan Team leads! 1–0!"

On the court, Ochi relied on four Mach Serves to directly take the first game. This left the crowd visibly surprised. They couldn’t understand why the Mach Serve, which had already stopped working earlier, had once again become Japan Team’s scoring weapon.

"Are you okay, Bertie-boy~?" Dankmar walked over to Bertie and asked with some concern.

"I didn’t even notice and already fell into their trap. Sorry~" Bertie clearly realized the problem too, but breaking free from the effects of Mental Assassination was not something that could be done easily.

The second game was Bertie’s service game. The moment he reached the baseline and quickly tossed the ball, an invisible pressure suddenly exploded, causing a subtle distortion in his swing.

"FAULT! Second serve!"

Bertie didn’t rush to hit the second serve. He first took several deep breaths on the spot, then tossed the ball high again. But it didn’t help much. The ball still failed to clear the net.

"Double fault! 0–15!"

Watching the tennis ball roll on the ground near the net, Bertie showed no expression on his face, but his mind was already running at high speed. Streams of data flashed through his thoughts, gradually forming a special numerical model.

Like that, while thinking and calculating, Bertie kept moving his hands and hit another high-speed serve. Yet just like before, for some unknown reason, the ball still couldn’t cross the net.

"FAULT! Second serve!"

"Double fault! 0–30!"

"Double fault! 0–40!"

"GAME! Japan Team leads! 2–0!"

"As expected of Tsukimitsu-san~ Looks like the opponent won’t be able to activate Ability Synchronization again anytime soon!" Mōri finally showed a smile, speaking with a hint of admiration.

"Yeah. But don’t lower your guard. Pro players aren’t that easy to deal with," Ochi replied flatly.

The third game was Mōri’s service game. To conserve stamina, he still didn’t use Ability Synchronization and only hit a high-speed serve. However, the angle was extremely sharp, aiming straight for behind Bertie’s right heel.

To return this kind of low, pressing shot, a half-volley was obviously the best choice. But under the influence of Ochi’s Mental Assassination, if Bertie chose a half-volley, it would only increase the chance of making a mistake. That was exactly Mōri’s plan.

What Mōri didn’t expect was that when Bertie reached the landing point, he didn’t choose a half-volley. Instead, he turned his body sideways and blocked the ball with a backhand stretch. The ball immediately flew high into Japan Team’s half.

Even though his plan failed, Mōri didn’t care at all. He had already seen Ochi leap high at the net. In the next instant, the ball turned into a streaking afterimage and flashed across Germany Team’s court.

"Mach Smash!"

Just as everyone waited for the umpire to call the score, Bertie’s figure suddenly appeared outside the baseline. Kneeling on one knee, he gripped the racket with both hands and made a swinging motion. As Mōri and Ochi looked on in confusion, the sound of a tennis ball hitting the ground slowly reached their ears.

"0–15!"

"Mistakes themselves are also a form of data. So as long as all variable values are included in the calculations, correcting them becomes a very simple matter!" Bertie slowly stood up and let out a cold laugh as he looked at Ochi.