80 Basketball Practice

"Okay." Hayden's coach coughed out. In the present, Hayden and his teammates, sporting their school's red jersey, was lined up with the five aforementioned people wearing the black jerseys in front of them.

Surrounding them was an enormous crowd of onlookers, with some of them having their phones out. They all thought that a basketball match with Hayden in it will certainly be worth watching and recording.

The five people wearing the black jerseys were the starting five of the former Annual Youth Pride basketball team last year. Hayden recognized them as most of them have been beaten black and blue by Hayden during the National Youth Tournament.

Aside from that, he did research on all the high school basketball players in preparation for his team back in the National Youth Tournament.

The five people was the 'Black Fortress,' the black-skinned and bald Jack Esteban, the center of the team and was at a staggering height of 201 centimeters, with his muscle definition being no joke. He donned the number 23.

Next up was the legendary 'High School Court Magician' that led his team with pure strategical intellect, the brown-skinned and handsome, though not as handsome as Hayden, Gabriel Ibanez. He was the point guard of the team and had the number 8 in his back. Hayden has beaten his team in the finals of the National Youth Tournament by destroying their strategic plays with pure skill, physical power, and agility.

The next three was the Swift Dribbler, a red-haired looking man standing at 167 centimeters, John Labastida, bearing the number 81 in the shooting guard position; Caleb Juarez, a black-skinned and quite attractive man who donned the number 70 and is the power forward of the team; and finally the jack of all trades small forward, Christian Hermosa, the man who donned the number 11, a somewhat unassuming person with bluish-black hair.

In spite of them barely placing eleventh during the previous Annual Youth Pride, they were the best of the best of their age. The crème de la crème. Well, that was if Hayden was removed in the picture.

Meanwhile, the five people on Hayden's team was the third best small forward in high school basketball, William Alcazar (174 cm) wearing the number 14. The tallest amongst Hayden's team, and is a pretty good center, Jacob Dimatulac (187 cm) wearing the number 69. Considered one of the strongest point guards in high school basketball, and is also the captain the team, David Fajardo (178 cm) wearing the number 47. An efficient shooting guard and the shortest in the team, Luke Evangelista (170 cm) wearing the number 20. And lastly Hayden Emperador, whose position was power forward in name, wearing the number 10.

This became worse when the ball goes in Hayden's team's hands. The team's synchronized and high-pace play that revolved around Hayden's tireless playstyle was overwhelming for any opponent. Earlier in the game, their enemies' will to play would be crushed to smithereens as the team continuously pass to Hayden, who would score mercilessly. What more, Hayden's steals… Let's not go there as it was too mysterious.

All this coupled with Hayden's constant pressure of his insane reaction time and his inordinate amount of stamina made the people give Hayden the moniker of the 'Emperor of the Court.' In addition, Hayden had other epithets as well, such as the 'Demon in the Shape of a Human,' 'Basketball Machine,' 'Professional Basketball Kid,' and many more that Hayden was tired of hearing.

Now, one might think that this line up was pretty good, and that with Hayden added into the mix, they could've easily win the tournament. Wrong, it was solely because of Hayden's presence and efforts that these people were able to become who they are today.

Before Hayden joined the basketball club, these people were the worst. The only people who took the basketball club seriously was David and William. The others mainly goofed around. They even made the coach give up on them, resulting in them not at all playing in any matches. It was even considered being disbanded.

That was when Hayden joined the club, showing them these ridiculously high-level plays that can exclusively be seen in the professional basketball scene, specifically in the matches held by the Global Basketball Association (GBA) (1).

At first, nobody really cared. Hayden was a good player, so what? Not like he can change anything, right? Wrong again.

In his debut, Hayden scored 84 points alone, 15 of which were three-pointers, rebounded a total of 16 balls, blocked a total of 39 shots, stolen a total of 28 balls, and assisted a total of 11 times. It was a legendary debut with an illustrious and unheard-of quintuple-double statistics, as well as the first quintuple-double achieved in high school basketball level.

That match was a viral video in Streamlink and this news made headlines. The adversary was left depressed afterwards as they were beaten down by a single player. Hayden heard that that school lost all of its members following his match with them. This showcase gave him his first nickname of the 'Lone Wolf.'

This was the turning point of Makati Scholar Academy's basketball club. The coach had a renewed faith in it with the addition of Hayden's one-man and relentless display of skill. This paired with his capability of carrying an entire match on his shoulders with a mere two functional teammates was miraculous.

And now we're in the present. What was happening, you ask? Well, Coach Ardiente wanted to test Hayden's skill in basketball, bringing with him last year's Annual Youth Pride basketball team.

This irked Hayden. Where was the basic trust between human beings? You were the one who invited me into the team, yet, you're testing me?

'Or maybe he just signed the paper and not at all personally invite me.' Hayden's face twitched ever so slightly, his sharp gaze emitting pressure for the opposite team.

After all, most of them beaten by Hayden already. Single-handedly to boot. Plus, as Hayden was the current 'ultimate' prodigy' in their generation, it was impossible that they never heard of Hayden's name. Hayden's name struck dread in their hearts.

Regardless, Gabriel, who was dominated by Hayden with his extreme skill, had his fighting spirit ignited. Previously, Hayden simply beat him as his teammates can only be described as weak. However, currently?

'The power of my teammates coupled with my strategies…' Gabriel's eyes were full of determination. 'At last, I can have my revenge!'

At that moment, the gym's doors opened, and in came Daniel and Courtney. Courtney walked with her back arched in exhaustion. She asked, "What's happening?"

"Word around the school was that Hayden's having a match." As a Level 2 wielder, Daniel wasn't drained at all. "This ought to be good. Follow me."

With that, the two pushed their way in front of the spectators and blended in the crowd. "Say, is Hayden also…"

"Yes, yes he is." Daniel admitted. The only thing that Hayden didn't permit him to inform Courtney was his Ability, thus he had no qualms revealing this. "And he's a lot stronger than me. I advise you to not ever mess with him."

"Huh…" Courtney was confused. "I thought he implied that you're stronger than him when it comes to combat?"

"Perhaps overall." Daniel nodded his head. "Howbeit, we're talking about one on one here. You won't even know how you die if you face him one on one. He's a master of ten martial arts, and his physical capabilities are high, as you probably have guessed with his feats in basketball."

"Does he use it during basketball?" Courtney queried with fascination.

"Him?" Daniel rotated his head towards Courtney. "He's a person who regarded sportsmanship highly. At most, he uses his it during practice and non-recorded matches. Outside of that, he doesn't. All those inhuman feats online? Those were him not using it at all."

Daniel stopped himself from providing more as he convulsed. He grasped that Hayden was listening in on their conversation.

"Fine, I'll stop." Daniel sighed. "Don't ask questions anymore. He can hear us."

"Oh…" Courtney focused her eyes on Hayden, involuntarily trembling. 'What the hell is that tremendous pressure coming off of him?'

Thereupon, the coach of Makati Scholar Academy blew the whistle and the players on the team positioned themselves. Hayden was the one who was going to jump for the ball, with him facing Jack.

Blowing the whistle for another time, the coach propelled the ball upwards. Hayden watched the ball closely and jumped at the perfect time. Surprisingly, Hayden's jump was higher than Jack, who appeared similarly surprised.

'What astonishing jumping power!' This was first time Jack was facing off with Hayden, and was therefore confused why his teammates feared Hayden so much. 'I'm beginning to understand why.'

The one who acquired the ball from Hayden's tip-off was Luke. In the middle of his fall, he turned his head backward at Luke, who grasped Hayden's message instantly.

The moment Hayden's feet made contact with the ground, Luke passed him the ball. Bending his knees, Hayden disappeared, bursting for the hoop at high velocity. Two people, John and Christian, immediately blocked him.

Ceasing for a moment, Hayden swayed around as he did a crossover. He then attempted to pass them by pushing forward, blocked by the duo by closing the gaps between themselves. Unfortunately, Hayden's 'attempt' was a feint as he stepped back and jumped, shooting without hesitation and scoring a three-pointer within the first three seconds of the game.

Landing squarely, Hayden cracked his neck, overpowering pressure exuding from him. He was seriously ticked off this time. Being tested by someone he didn't even know?

This was one of his dislikes, people disregarding the facts placed in front of them and executing unnecessary things. It was a waste of time.

Hayden was initially planning to excuse himself from practice. If he was excused, by this point in time, Hayden could be at home, using his time for more meaningful activities. Such as sketching up the remaining members of CHORUS. He wasn't planning on practicing today to do all those, yet he was held up by doing something so meaningless.

Turning his gaze to Coach Ardiente, his nonchalantly fierce gaze conveyed the message, 'I'm going to destroy this team if you don't stop me.'

"What the hell ticked him off?" Jacob approached David and queried. "Whoa, is he… challenging Coach Ardiente?"

"I don't know." David replied, a tremor traveling from his lower spine and upwards. "But let's not do anything stupid and just pass to him."

"Agreed." David gulped in horror. He has never seen Hayden that ticked off, and despite being their seniors, Hayden's skill was superior than them.

In the present, the world, with the establishment of the World Government, can be considered meritocratic. A place where a person's worth is determined by how much potential and skill they possess, not by social classes.

Those who are skilled in a certain field will thrive, while those that aren't, will not. Of course, the flaw to this was that some people are born poor, which is what the Government Support Law solved.

This is where the Government Support Law came in. In the Government Support Law, every person below 20 that is in an indigent household will be granted everything they need to meet their potential. Following that, they're on their own and will not be supported by the World Government.

Other than that, the Government Support Law also states that all education is free, with private school institutions being banned to prevent capitalizing in the education field. all basic healthcare is free, except those that are truly expensive such as cancer treatments, though it's still affordable, and with private hospital institutions being likewise banned for the same reason with private school institutions, and many more.

To sum it all up, those with greater skills will be higher on the social ladder. Of course, to function, the government had to have some way to support such an easily exploitable meritocratic system, right?

Their solution was that the tax you have to pay was equivalent to your earnings for a year, and as the Identity Number system was pretty much fool-proof, you can't go cheat your way out of that at all. That was unless you were a criminal, which is a whole another topic.

…..

Two minutes into the game, Hayden has scored fifty points already, utterly crushing the wills of the former Annual Youth Pride team. Consequently, Coach Ardiente had to call a time-out.

"He's too godly…" Jack uttered with complete trepidation. "I've seen him play personally, but I didn't think that facing him would be so different…"

"No… There's something wrong…" Gabriel stood beside Jack and mumbled. "He wasn't this monstrous when my team played with him… It looks as if he's… Annoyed… That impassive face is emitting all kinds of messages. Wait..."

Abruptly, an absurd notion popped up in Gabriel's mind. "Don't tell me… He was holding back when my team played with me?"

"There's no way that's true, right?" John walked up to him. "I mean, he destroyed my team with incredible finesse and impossible feats. As for your team… No, that's impossible."

"No… It's not impossible…" Gabriel nearly choked on his saliva. "He's too good… Let's three-man him."

"What?" Jack unconsciously verbalized. "Are you crazy? Those other four aren't exactly pushovers, you know?"

"No, he's right." Suddenly, a woman's voice rang out behind them. It was the young woman with Coach Ardiente. "All you can do is three-man him."

"As for the matter of Hayden's teammates. Gather around." Coach Ardiente spoke to them in wonder of Hayden's skills. Hayden's movements were too seamless analogous to a machine's. a machine that could perform at their peak every second and has the ability to think freely was akin to giving wings to a tiger.

"They're way less skilled than Hayden." Coach Ardiente provided them his observation. "The root of this is certainly to their complacency that Hayden is on the court. You guys are overall well-rounded and more skilled than them. Consequently, you have the chance to defeat that one-man monster. All you have to do is get out of your inferiority complex. Which is why I brought her."

"He's right." Sophia softly spoke. "You guys are better than you think. Get your minds out of the gutter and please have confidence in yourself. Defeat that bastard."

The second Sophia's voice entered their ears, it calmed their erratic state of minds. Within their veins, a soothing feeling flowed, refreshing their vigor. This feeling made them concentrate without care for Hayden.

"Okay, I've found the solution for our plight." Gabriel smiled excitedly. His defeat at the hands of Hayden was the time he hit rock bottom, and at long last, he'd get his vengeance at this time.

Synchronously, Hayden was listening in on them, similarly hearing the woman's words. He stopped as he heard that Gabriel and his teammates was planning. He was an athlete, and part of the excitement was seeing people come up with strategies. He wouldn't spoil the surprise, eh?

Staring at the five people huddled up. He noticed that the five players on the team was currently calm and level-headed, something that shouldn't occur subsequent to the beating he gave them.

"Sophia used it?" Hayden looked at Sophia with disapproval contained in his eyes. 'What the hell? Oh wow, that's so dirty.'

Sighing, Hayden was placed in a conundrum on whether he should use his Ability or not to destroy Sophia and Coach Ardiente's ploy.

In that instance, a message came from Coach Ardiente, "Don't you dare use your Ability. She simply calmed them down, they don't have Abilities."

Groaning internally, Hayden rolled his eyes and activated his Ability for a short amount of time to calm himself down. He only deactivated his Ability when the timeout was done.

The ball was in the hands of the Annual Youth Team and was being passed by Christian. Throwing the ball to Caleb, the four people not in possession of the ball surrounded Hayden on all sides.

"Interesting." Hayden smiled faintly, intrigued of this tactic. "So this is a four-man team. Nobody has ever teamed up on a single player this much, right?"

"Shut up." Gabriel said serenely. "Caleb is a great power forward, there's no way that your teammates can beat him."

"All right, if you say so." Hayden licked his lips. As Gabriel said, Caleb surpassed Jacob, Davie, Luke, and William without much resistance with his great physical prowess. At the end, Caleb dunked coolly. "You know you guys can't keep this up forever, right?"

"Yes we can." Gabriel sneered at Hayden. "You think we didn't take that into account?"

"Nope, you didn't at all." Hayden laughed without a care. "You think this puny defense is enough to stop me? Watch me then."

As they scored, Hayden was free from the four-man guard, going to their side of the court. William was the one who was going to pass the ball.

"Dude, are you okay with this?" Prior to the ball being passed, David talked to Hayden. "Do you want us to not pass to you?"

"Pass to me. I can handle them." Hayden cracked his knuckles. He decided to not let his annoyance get in the way this time.

Gabriel shuddered once again. Hayden's face was absolutely serious and not at all the unconcerned face he had during his plays back in the National Youth Tournament.

'Was the Hayden we saw out there not the true Hayden?' This question popped up in all the minds of his allies, enemy team, and the spectators.

With that, William obliged Hayden and passed him the ball. In possession of the ball, Hayden dribbled towards the Annual Youth Pride team's court.

The next occurrences put Jack, Gabriel, John, Christian, and Gabriel in absolute despair. They finally understood what the man entitled 'Emperor of the Court' was capable of.

At first, Hayden left his teammates back, something that the Annual Youth Pride team, Coach Ardiente, and Sophia thought was reckless.

As one might expect, the opposing team would not complain at all. Five elite players against one? Even the greatest basketball players wouldn't do such a futile endeavor.

Passing the half-court, Hayden was faced off by Christian and John with a two-man. Behind them was Gabriel, waiting for Hayden to pass them.

With extraordinary dexterity, Hayden feinted to go to the left. As a result, Caleb was going to block him. Unpredictably, Hayden swayed through in the middle of them, wholly penetrating the two's guard.

Faced off with Gabriel, Hayden merely ducked and passed him with his agility. He didn't even need to use a technique. Under the net, the two people remaining was Jack and Caleb, two of the tallest members of the team.

Dashing inside the three-point line, the instant Hayden stepped on the free throw line, he jumped up, ball in his right hand. Instinctively, Jack and Caleb jumped at the same time, trying to block Hayden's dunk.

In response, Hayden threw the ball inside the basket using the motion of a dunk as a substitute for a genuine dunk. He imitated Taiga Kagami's Meteor Jam in the old school anime Kuroko's Basketball or Dwight Howard's superman dunk.

…..

1 World Lore Time: With the establishment of the World Government came the World Sports Committee, or WSC. The WSC is the governing body for the many different sport associations or league in the world, which is the ascendant of America's sports associations or league, i.e., the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Major League Baseball (MLB), National Hockey League (NHL), etc. amalgamated with the various sports associations or league in the world. These associations or leagues are also replacement of the international entities in the sports world, such as the International Basketball Federation, or FIBA, and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, and many more.

Effectively, this created the GBA, Global League Baseball (GLB), Global Hockey League (GHL), Global Volleyball Association (GVA), Global Football League (GFL), Global American Football Association (GAFA), Global Cricket Council (GCC), Global Handball Federation (GHF), Global Martial Arts Congregation (GMAG), and many more.