God of Tennis

Chapter 18.3
Translator: Pineapple

Editor: Festive Oer_

Just winning that single point made Han Woo Jin go crazy with joy but it immediately went away when he saw that Daniel looked to be in pain from the injury. The referee stopped the game and called for medical assistance to check on Daniel.

During that time Han Woo Jin was watching from afar while sitting on the bench.

‘It shouldn’t have been that strong?’

Obviously the speed of the ‘Slug’ was very fast. Because he hit the ball like a dunk from above and the power is strong.

However, it shouldn’t have been to the point where Daniel had to let go of his racket.

Furthermore a tennis pro’s hand strength is much greater than the average adult. A racket’s average weight is only about 300 grams, but because of its volume/surface area, while swinging there is more weight and resistance to it. The usual occurrence when a racket falls out of someone’s hand is when they have a loose grip on it.

A tennis player, who had swung their racket tens of thousands of times have thick wrists and strong grip strength. It shouldn’t be at the level where just because his racket was knocked out of his hand from a smash will injure him.

That’s why he was confused and questioning what was happening.

Daniel’s expression showed that he was in pain. He was letting out groans while they were putting an ice pack on his wrist. He also didn’t look like a crybaby.

But time won’t wait for him. If a player receives an injury during a game, he can only ask for a single three minute break during the match.

That means that he had to come back onto the court after three minutes.

‘Will he come back?’

It seemed like there was a fifty percent chance he comes back to finish the match. Same as other sports, tennis players also do their best to avoid injury. Some players who receive even the slightest injury forfeit.

They might keep on playing if it was one of the four major tournaments. Why would they want to possibly end their career in a small tournament like ATP 250?

After the medical time was up, Daniel came back onto the court. He wanted to keep playing. The referee looked at Daniel with a worried expression. But the player insisted that he was fine so he couldn’t refuse him.

“Daniel, serving play!”

Daniel frowned when he threw up the ball because of the discomfort from gripping his racket. Even through the pain he was able to barely swing his racket.

His serve was a mess.

*Pang!*

Han Woo Jin hit the serve that arrived slowly and returned it fiercely.

Daniel, who had the advantage throughout most of the game was now at a disadvantage because of his injury.

Han Woo Jin realized that he can win this game.

“Love thirty!”

It was over. Even if he didn’t want to give up, he knows that he will lose.

It is tennis etiquette to play his best against his opponent.

Daniel served again and Han Woo Jin moved quickly to return the ball and hit it.

*Pang!*

He tried to receive the ball but Daniel faltered and couldn’t extend his arm due to the pain.

The ball touched the frame of the racket and dropped to the ground.

“Love forty! Set point!”

Finally, the end was in sight. There was only one point left.

After this set ends, that meant the end of the game. Daniel’s wrist will only continue to hurt even more the longer this match goes on.

With a face full of anger Daniel served once again.

*Tung!*

His serve which was fast and sharp was now dull and slow. His wrist injury was unable to grip his racket properly.

Han Woo Jin returned the ball in a direction where Daniel wouldn’t be able to return it.

*Pang!*

“Game set! Set won by Woojin Han! Score 7-5!”

He listened to the referee announce the score and he also heard the system’s voice in his head.

[Amazing play! Your stat has increased by one due to winning your first deuce game in an ATP 250 league!] [Amazing play! Your skills that you used gained experience.] [Volley level has increased by one.]
***

The game ended just as expected.

Daniel’s wrist pain hurt more and more, so he finally gave up and Han Woo Jin won the second preliminary match. Han Woo Jin’s body was exhausted and was screaming out to him for food and nutrition.

‘I used too much energy.’

The cause was simple. He met a really strong opponent. If Daniel was able to return the ‘Slug’ and wasn’t injured. Nobody knows what the outcome would be. Han Woo Jin was reminded of Daniel Patterson’s skilled play style and trembled.

Anyway, it was a relief that his next game was going to be tomorrow. If he played a third game today, he might lose.

Han Woo Jin went up to the stands and everyone shouted at him.

“How could you win like that? It’s your fault that was almost scared to death!”
“Is that my problem?”

Choi Yeon Hyuk hit Han Woo Jin’s back and returned a hit to his abdomen. Regardless of how tired he was, it was a great feeling to come back with a victory. Shin Sae Yeon handed him a towel and a bottle of water. She searched her bag but couldn’t find anything to eat.

She found out that all of the calorie bars were eaten and stared at Coach Jeon.

“Coach Jeon, did you by any chance eat these calorie bars?”
“Ke, keheum. Because Woo Jin’s game made me very nervous, that’s why…”

That was proof that he ate all of them. He ate them as if they were popcorn while at the movies. He did his best to avoid her death glare and cough awkwardly and spoke to Han Woo Jin with a low voice.

His voice sounded light hearted but the contents were serious.

“You worked hard. He was probably the best player in the preliminaries, good job on winning.”

“Thank you coach.”

Han Woo Jin thank him. Coach Jeon Sang Shik wasn’t the type to freely give out compliments so it was rare to hear him say these things. And Coach Jeon continued speaking.

“You know that you’re still lacking right? You need to train more.”

It was true. It wasn’t something he could deny.

Han Woo Jin nodded his head. Daniel Patterson was someone who pushed him to his limits and made him realize that he was very lacking in skill. If he didn’t have ‘Slug’ he would have needed luck to win.

“That last smash you used was weird. Why did you hit it like that? You definitely didn’t do it on purpose.”

Even Coach Jeon wouldn’t have known the reason for Han Woo Jin for doing that. Because Han Woo Jin wasn’t the type of player who hit the ball intentionally to injure his opponent.

Also even if he hit the ball with all of his power, he wouldn’t have been able to injure his opponent’s wrist like that. He could probably only make his opponent bruise. It was difficult to injure a player’s wrist or other ligament. Things like a player’s bone breaking or their racket breaking from the ball only happens in anime or cartoons.

But Han Woo Jin couldn’t refuse him. He didn’t fully understand the ‘Slug’ and he accidentally injured Daniel because of it. But who is Daniel? He is a player without any flaws. That shows how strong it is.

Because he was replying, Coach Jeon tilted his head and spoke again. He thought that his silent meant yes.

“Anyway, let’s go back to the hotel and eat a lot of meat and rest. I took a picture of the match list and we can see your next opponent.”

“Yes!”
They were only waiting for Han Woo Jin, so their movements were fast. They all got into the rental that was parked outside. The hotel wasn’t that far from the stadium but they didn’t want to make their players walk who just finished a match.

They got in the car and as soon as the two players sat down, they closed their eyes. They let go of their pressure and stress at the same time as fatigue kicked in.

Coach Jeon stepped on the gas very softly to let them rest for the short ten minute car ride.

The car began driving with light trembling across the road.

The two preliminary games made the day go by quickly.

The party who arrived at the hotel couldn’t wait to eat and immediately looked for the restaurant. They received complete support from the company so they can eat as much as they want. Therefore, they ate until they were full.

One of the special cuisines in the Europe area was a calf’s head, which was a traditional meal that they ate during Christmas.

Tete de veau was what it was called. It was chewy and had a unique taste and Han Woo Jin and Choi Yeon Hyuk destroyed it. It would have been perfect if there was wine but it was crazy to drink during a tournament.

Not even ten minutes passed until the ordered more and ate Quiche lorraine and ate everything. It was chopped bacon and egg tart with cream and went down their throats very smoothly.

“Thank you for the food.”

“Me too.”

They both looked at how many plates the two people stacked up. Although they used a lot of energy during the game, how could they eat this much? It was quite amazing to see them eat so quickly, and chew so quickly.

Coach Jeon spoke to them with beef in his mouth. His pronunciation was a little weird but they could still understand him.

“Don’t run off anyway and just go straight to your room and rest. It doesn’t matter if you go to sleep right away, but I recommend you wait an hour for your food to digest first.”

If they go to sleep right after dinner, they might get indigestion. Coach Jeon advised them to not have a bad condition for their games. The two agreed and stood up from their seats. The others would probably take thirty more minutes to finish their meals.

After they exited the restaurant, the two people’s bodies trembled because of the cold air. August in France was different from Korea.

“Euh, it’s cold. I shouldn’t have just worn a short sleeved shirt.”

“I should have brought a jacket.”

It was probably around 15 degree celsius. They ran to the hotel right away. When they were about to enter their rooms Han Woo Jin spoke.

“Yeon Hyuk ah.”
“What?”

He replied while opening his door halfway. Han Woo Jin thought about bothering him for a bit to digest their food so he suggested that they play a game and gestured swinging a racket with his hand.

“Do you want to lightly practice? Because I have a ball to play with.”

“Mmm… Let’s go after ten minutes, I ate too much and have to go to the restroom.”

“You don’t have to tell me that much. Then do you want to meet at the front?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Thankfully, Choi Yeon Hyuk agreed to play with him. Han Woo Jin closed the door behind him. He turned on the light and saw his racket on the table. He picked up his racket and saw his present status.

[Han Woo Jin]
Strength 59 / Stamina 62 / Agility 54

HP 1650/2480 SP 410/600

Forehand: 10/20

Backhand: 9/20

Serve: 12/20

Volley: 8/20

Smash: 10/20

Drop shot: 6/20

Lob: 5/20

Special skill: Sparrow, Slug

‘I used a lot.’

He consumed a lot of HP and SP. Even after he ate a lot, he only got around two thirds of recovery. If he played two sets, he might have the exhaustion status.

Han Woo Jin stopped to check his status and checked his special skills on the bottom. It was Slug.

The skill that injured Daniel Patterson’s wrist.

Smash.

Jumping smash?

Body shot.

He guessed many theories on what it was. But he wasn’t able to come to a solid conclusion. Also he couldn’t know exactly what that skill does because he only used it once. That’s why he asked Choi Yeon Hyuk to practice with him to examine the Slug.

Of course he had no intention of injuring Choi Yeon Hyuk’s wrist. He just wanted him to help him set up a smash.

‘Shall we see?’

To test out his new skill.