Chapter 471: The fastest!
Chapter 471: The fastest!
The first drill was a 30-yard dash.
As they began to sprint, it didn't take long enough for the players and coaches watching from the sideline to determine the winner. The difference was like night and day.
Tatsuki easily took the lead, leaving behind his fellow compatriots far behind in no time. His competitors could only look at his wide back with little hope of catching him.
From the sideline, the coaching staff were ardently observing the movement of the players. At the same time, Dr. Haruki was filling them with information regarding their heart rate and mobility via earbuds.
The outcome of the first group was pretty much expected. There were no upset nor were there any miracles.
"He seems to have improved quite a lot since the last time"
"Yeah, just look at the timing, it's faster by more than two seconds than his previous result"
Impressed, some coaches who hadn't left the team along with the previous manager were discussing Tatsuki's progress among themselves.
In this regard, Nanami and Akira were quite new.
Even so, it remained an undeniable fact that Tatsuki was quite agile. So both appreciated his agility.
The test progressed smoothly. However, even though it was only the first test among many others that were yet to come, players' competitiveness was at an all-time high.
They appeared quite fierce.
As much as the elation was evident on the faces of the ones who had performed well feeling of disappointment was equally evident in the faces of the ones who had performed poorly.
It showed how much the test meant for them.
Finally, after a while, it was time for Hiro and his group to step up. Suddenly, all eyes turned to look at them as they made their way to the starting line.
The battle of the fastest.
It was the moment they were eagerly looking forward to.
Until now, the field had been nothing but noisy. But as they stepped up, all of a sudden a hushed silence fell upon the field.
Hiro solemnly glanced around him as he stood before the starting line.
Tominaga appeared quite calm. However, upon closer inspection, one could see the fire burning in his eyes. It was as if he was raring to go.
As for Kenta, for some reason, he had closed his eyes. It was as if he was visualizing something.
The other two although they appeared calmer than before, upon closer inspection one could still see the concern etched on their faces.
One of them was clumsily tying his laces while the other was tightly clenching his fist almost as if he was trying to encourage himself.
Should I use my skills or not?
Hiro was in a dilemma. He had been pondering about it for quite a while by now.
Would it be unfair if I used it?
Despite pondering about it for quite a long, he hadn't been able to conclude. Using the skills felt like cheating. So, he was rather hesitant about it.
But they also possessed their skills. And, my skills are part of me. So, why would it be unfair to use something that's already a part of you?
Finally, he concluded that it felt justifiable to use his skills after weighing his options.
The skills he possessed were already a part of him. The method he took to acquire those skills might have been a little unorthodox. Nonetheless, it wasn't unfair to use what he possessed. If it was anybody else who possessed the system, would they consider such thoughts? Determination flashed in his eyes as he concluded.
"Ready?" Akira asked.
They silently nodded their head while keeping their focus fixated on the finish line.
As he confirmed their response, Akira glanced at his stopwatch before blowing the whistle, announcing the start of the test.
Beep!
At the same time, he initiated the countdown of his stopwatch, he blew the whistle.
Immediately, Hiro and the rest started to sprint.
All the other players present on the field held their breath as they ardently observed their sprint.
Having used his skill 'Lightning Steps', Hiro had a rather favorable start than the rest. It didn't take him a lot of time to put some distance from his competitors.
Even so, Tominaga tailed right behind him.
He might not be a match against Tominaga in a long-distance sprint. But when it came to a short-distance sprint, hardly anyone would match him.
Tominaga was agile and his strides were quite huge compared to the strides Hiro took.
Well, considering the height difference between the two, it was only obvious that his strides were bigger than Hiro's.
But while Tominaga took two strides per second, Hiro took four strides per second. This phenomenon was all attributed to his skill 'Lightning steps'.
His initial burst of speed was useful for short-distance sprints. But as the effect of the skill 'Lightning Steps', waned, his pace could gradually decrease.
In that scenario, Tominaga with his longer strides would surely outperform him.
"Hiro's speed is indeed the fastest among the bunches present here."
"Indeed, he's like a wild horse on steroids"
"But we can't ignore Tominaga's pace as well. Just look at him keeping up with Hiro."
"For sure, these two would easily exceed the timing of Tatsuki"
The coaches were conversing among themselves, presenting their views and praising the agility of Hiro and Tominaga.
Kenta's agility was pretty noticeable as well. But when compared to Hiro and Tominaga, it paled in comparison. Yet still, it didn't seem like he was going to give up.
Those fierce eyes of his were yelling that he wasn't done.
In fact, if it had been a contest of endurance, he'd have come second to none. Sadly, it wasn't a contest of endurance. So, he could only accept his fate of coming third.
"Damn! He completed it in less than 4 seconds"
Hiro completed the dash in 3.37 seconds, leaving everybody stunned with his performance.
The fastest among the bunches who had performed the test until now.
It was at the level of Olympic runners.
He would have probably won gold if he had run like this in the Olympics.