The second half began. The Ryonan players were surprised to see Sakuragi. Instead of looking tired, he looked like he had just been recharged with lightning.
"How is he still moving like that?" Uozumi grunted, his knees aching from the first half's intensity.
[Ding! New Main Quest: The Giant Slayer!]
[Objective: Perform a successful Slam Dunk over Uozumi Jun.]
[Reward: 500 System Points & Skill: 'King of the Air' (Level 1).]
[Failure Penalty: -300 System Points & Reputation loss with Haruko.]
Sakuragi's heart hammered against his ribs. 500 points?! That's a fortune! But doing a dunk on that monkey...
"Miyagi! Give me the ball!" Sakuragi shouted, sprinting toward the paint.
Miyagi saw the fire in Sakuragi's eyes and took a gamble. He threw a high lob. Sakuragi didn't just run; he activated 'Ghost Step' to bypass the defenders and then triggered the maximum output of his 'Gravity Shoes'.
"You're not scoring on me, brat!" Uozumi roared, jumping with his massive arms outstretched like a wall.
[System: Maximum Vertical Jump Reached!]
[Stability Buff Activated!]
Sakuragi felt like he was flying. For a second, he was looking down at Uozumi's head. With a roar that shook the gym, he slammed the ball with both hands right over the giant's fingertips.
CRASH!
The hoop vibrated with the force of the impact. Uozumi stumbled back and fell to the floor. Sakuragi landed firmly, looking like a young king.
[Quest Completed! Rewards: 500 System Points & Skill: 'King of the Air' Unlocked!]
The entire gym went into a frenzy. "He dunked on the Big Boss! The freshman did it!"
Haruko was jumping up and down, tears of joy in her eyes. "Hanamichi-kun! You really are a genius!"