I Died on the Court, Now I'm Back to Rule It-Chapter 81: New Eyes on the Game

The light hum of the arena buzzed in the background, blending with the chatter of lingering fans and the soft rustling of paper bags filled with Horizon merch. The rush had died down. Most of the merchandise was gone now—shirts, wristbands, keychains. Only a few scattered items remained on the table.

Dirga carefully folded a shirt and placed it on the last neat pile.

"Well... you can go, Dirga," Ayaka said gently, brushing a few strands of hair behind her ear as she scanned the near-empty booth.

Dirga paused, hands on the edge of the table.

They’d been standing side by side for twenty minutes—quietly working, occasionally brushing elbows, occasionally sharing glances. But the silence had become more comfortable than awkward. It was something warm, something unsaid.

"I can’t just leave you to clean all this up alone," he said, half-heartedly trying to convince both of them. "You set this up. I should help you finish."

Ayaka looked at him and smiled. Not a teasing one this time. A genuine, soft smile.

"Please. I know what you want to do—and what you need to do," she said, her voice steady.

She meant it.

Dirga hesitated. The next game was probably well into the second quarter by now. The rest of the team would already be analyzing plays, reading patterns, scouting their potential opponents.

But something in him didn’t want to leave her alone. Not because she couldn’t handle it. She absolutely could. It was because... he wanted to be beside her.

"Okay," he finally said. "But wait for me, alright? We’ll pack the rest together after the game."

Ayaka nodded, her smile now touched with something brighter.

"Of course. Just don’t take too long. The big guy’s gotta scout the battlefield, right?"

Dirga let out a breathy chuckle and took a step back.

"Thanks... Ayaka-senpai."

"Go," she said again, waving her hand. "Before I change my mind and chain you to this booth."

Dirga didn’t need another cue.

With one last glance back, he took off—jogging lightly toward the arena entrance where the match was still underway.

Maybe it was just the end of the second quarter.

Maybe he hadn’t missed too much yet.

But somehow, his heart was racing like the game had already begun. freewebnøvel_com

And behind him, Ayaka watched until he disappeared into the crowd—her hand hovering near her chest, a small smile refusing to leave her lips.

...

Dirga slipped into the crowd just as the third quarter began.

Wakayama Seiryuu Institute 34 – Kōbe Minami Tech 40.

Kobe Minami was leading by six.

"Huh..." Dirga muttered to himself, eyes narrowing.

He scanned the audience left and right, hoping to catch a glimpse of his Horizon teammates—but the stands were packed, shoulder-to-shoulder with fans, students, scouts, and school staff. The roar of the crowd made it nearly impossible to call out.

No use wasting time. He slid into the first empty seat he could find near the midsection.

And that’s when the confusion set in.

Wakayama—the team he expected to dominate—was trailing. That didn’t line up.

Dirga had studied them. Their captain, was a machine—cold, calculating, flawless. A true "data demon." A player who believed in nothing but numbers. No gut feelings. No instinct. Just raw, quantified reality.

"Instinct is merely data the brain hasn’t consciously processed yet," he had once said during a camp interview.

Dirga had always believed that. A part of him still did.

And yet... they were down.

On the court, Minami Tech moved like chaos incarnate. They played loose, wild, and completely unpredictable. Especially their point guard—the one with dyed green streaks and a permanent smirk. No nickname yet. Not officially. But rumors called him The Unruled—a player who danced through defense like rules didn’t apply to him.

Pure improvisation. Pure freedom.

Dirga leaned forward, eyes glued to the floor. Despite everything, he still believed Wakayama would pull through. Why? Because Ichijo wasn’t alone. Every player on Wakayama’s squad was more than a body. They were living datasets. Walking strategies. Calculated precision.

They wouldn’t lose... would they?

Something inside Dirga stirred.

A tingling—at the back of his head.

Suddenly, a soft digital chime rang inside his mind like a heartbeat syncing to a faster tempo.

[Congratulations, host. You have achieved an S-tier rating in one attribute.]

His eyes widened.

"Echo... Show me my attributes," Dirga whispered in his thoughts.

A translucent panel flickered into view before his eyes—only visible to him.

Horizon High

Name: Dirgantara Renji

Age: 15

Height: 178 cm

Weight: 70 kg

System Level: High School

Item :

Injury Reducer x 2 Stamina Booster x 1 Training Booster x 1

Skills:

Maestro’s Pulse (Legendary)

Type: Passive + Triggered Passive Effect:

Your presence aligns your teammates’ rhythm, subtly improving spacing, reaction, and off-ball movement. Active Skill 1 – Maestro State:

Usable once per half – 60 seconds

Boosts: Passing precision, Decision-making speed, Team synergy and Flow efficiency (+20%) Active Skill 2 – Flow State:

Enter a state of extreme focus and physical power. Boosts physical attributes by 50–200%, scaling with game pressuregame pressure. Duration and intensity scale with stress.

Tempo Sight (Legendary)

Type: Passive + Triggered Passive Effect:

instinctively senses rhythm shifts, spacing gaps, and tempo changes, enhancing his anticipation and off-ball movement. Active Effect:

Unleashes an evolved spatial awareness ability—granting the user a 45-second "Godframe" view per quarter.

Kinetic Drive (Rare)

Type: Passive

Effect:

Enhances overall body coordination and stamina usage during dynamic movements. The player retains better balance and control when fatigued, with increased resistance to physical disruption (e.g., bumps, screens, awkward landings). Slight stamina regen (10%) and reduced stamina consumption on explosive moves.

Attributes:

Inside Scoring: B+Shooting: B+Playmaking: A+Defense: C+Physical: AMentality: S+

"Since when did I hit S?"

[During the last match. The moment you overcame pressure, triggered your Flow State, and guided your team to victory, the threshold was crossed.]

"But... S-tier is special, right?"

[Yes. Unlike other jumps, the A → S evolution triggers mandatory skill evolution. It’s rare. For some gifted individuals, skills can emerge at lower levels. But at S, it is guaranteed.]

"So all those players with S-rank stats... they have these crazy abilities too?"

[Some do. Not all are visible to you yet. You must upgrade your Observer Access.]

Dirga frowned. Of course. Nothing came free.

"And this ’Godframe’ thing—what exactly is that?"

[It’s a heightened awareness mode. Your perception detaches from your body, providing a 3D tactical overview of the court. Teammates appear in blue, opponents in red. Motion trails show patterns, foot tension, and rhythm paths. Predictive overlays highlight pass lanes, trap zones, and scoring windows—in real time.]

Dirga blinked.

"That’s... absurd."

[It is clarity. It is what sets apart genius from talent.]

He looked back at the court.

Now that he knew the tool was within him, he itched to test it. Not just in training. In battle. In a real match.

His fingers twitched slightly.

He could feel it now—the momentum arcs, the micro-stutters in footwork, the breaks in rhythm.

It hadn’t activated fully, but a piece of it... a hint... was bleeding into his normal vision.

"Let me play again," he whispered, eyes alight.

He sat up straighter.

Focused.

The third quarter was halfway through, and Minami Tech was still clinging to a lead, but Dirga saw it now.

Tiny cracks in their defense. Predictable angles in their so-called chaotic offense.

Wakayama will find them, he thought. They just need one trigger.

The audience roared as another fast break ignited.

And Dirga?

He smiled.

He wasn’t just watching a game anymore.

He was scouting his battlefield—with new eyes.

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