I Died on the Court, Now I'm Back to Rule It

Our training week kicked off in full force.

Each day was a mix of drills, strategy sessions, and basic offense-defense routines. We weren't aiming for complexity—at least, not yet. Some of us were total newbies, and cramming too much into our heads would only backfire. Simple and solid—that was our motto.

Of course, that didn't mean training was easy. Coach Tsugawa—our so-called "General Ramen"—turned out to be a training devil. He may have shown up with a noodle strainer once, but on the court? He cooked us alive. His drills started light, but the intensity escalated until it felt like we were digging through the layers of hell itself.

And surprisingly, one of the MVPs of the week wasn't a player. It was Sayaka.

She turned out to be a basketball nerd in the best way possible. Not only did she understand the flow of the game, but she also had a knack for explaining it. Whether it was spacing, defensive rotations, or the logic behind certain plays, Sayaka broke it all down with the patience of a seasoned teacher. Even Coach Tsugawa gave her nods of approval.

Thanks to her, I managed to absorb more strategy in a week than I ever had in my past life.

Then there was the system—Echo. Based on its recommendation, I decided to use a Training Booster during one of our sessions.

The result? My Physical attribute jumped from C to C+.

I could feel it immediately—my movements were sharper, my stamina recovery better. It was like my body had been unlocked just a bit more. Naturally, I wanted to pop another booster right away, but Echo warned me:

[ Caution: Overusing boosters in short intervals reduces their effectiveness. Current spike due to accumulated training. ]

I clicked my tongue. Fair enough. Still, the difference was insane. If this was just a C+, I couldn't even imagine what A or S-tier Physical felt like.