Chapter 030

"Sorry I'm late!" Oscar laughed sheepishly as he sprinted towards the basketball team who were standing at the Campus entrance gate.

 Besides them was a white coaster bus that looked like it could accomodate all twelve of them efforless.

 "Who do you think you are. To think we had to wait so long for you. Hmph" Russ snorted with displeasure.

 "Duh. So what? do you dare beat me?" Oscar smiled seemingly harmlessly.

 However to Russ, it felt like a devilish one.

 He shivered when he recalled the scene of Oscar trampling on Silas.

 "Cut it out boys. Now that Oscar is here, let's set off. I'm afraid that we are already late" the Basketball Coach clapped his hands.

 After they all mounted the bus, the bus driver started the ignition, hitting the road.

 "What's up with this road trip all of a sudden" Oscar whispered to Jonas who sat besides him.

 "According to Coach, we are going to have a friendly game with a rival team" Jonas replied.

 Friendly Match? Oscar sneered with contempt.

Wasn't it just a roundabout way of them just trying to test out each other's abilities.

 "I'm sorry for what happened last night. You had to face that kind of embarrassment. I know that's the reason why you didn't attend classes. Sigh, how do I Make it up to you"

 Oscar could sense the sincerity in the other party's apology. However, that further amused him since Jonas completely misunderstood his reason for absence.

 "I didn't skip classes because of last night's incident. I just had some pressing issues to deal with"

 "Oh. But I still have to apologize since I am partly responsible for what happened last night"

 "Aight. Let's just say you owe me one" Oscar said helplessly, causing Jonas to relax.

 "Any news from Layla?" Oscar asked.

 He reckoned that he hadn't seen her since the last incindence in Krusty Krab.

 "Don't tell me you both are dating like the rumors claim?" Jonas flashed Oscar an ambigious smile.

 "Tsk. What nonsense is going on in your head huh?" Oscar harrumphed.

"I just borrowed a book from her and I'm just anxious to return it"

 Jonas just smiled. It was obvious he didn't believe Oscar.

 After a few minutes, the bus stopped before a huge gate painted in white.

 On it was a signpost that read;

 Blvck Recreational Centre..

 When everybody inside the bus excluding the basketball coach and the driver read the signpost, they gasped in shock.

 Blvck Recreational Centre was a popular spot in the city. Just as its name implied, it was a recreational center and the largest one in the whole state.

 It was even among the country's top ten entertainment spots.

 This showed just how much prestige the Recreational Center enjoyed. A one hour permit was worth a whooping of hundred bucks per person.

 Their group consisted of twelve, that meant they would have to pay up $1,200.

 And it was unknown whether they would even spend more than an hour.

 Although it was expensive to the common folks, it was nothing in the eyes of students from KYC.

Apart from a select few, which of them didn't come from reputable backgrounds?

 After settling the entrance fee, the bus was allowed entry.

 Blvck Recreational Center was spacious and bustling. It was split into two regions. Outer and Core.

 The Outer region was reserved for children. There were Swings, Merry-go-rounds, swimming pools, castle structures, tea party tables and other fun equipment.

 All the kids playing in the outer core looked extremely excited, obviously having fun.

 After passing through the outer region, the white bus came to a stop at the core region, an area reserved for adults.

 There were gardens with chess boards, swimming pools to practice laps, tennis court, wrestling rings, football pitches and basketball courts.

 "Who built this place spent hell lotta capital" Oscar sighed with amazement.

 If only he could buy the whole Recreation Center.

 Tsk. Tsk. Just how many Centi points will he farm out of it.

"Who built this resort?" he couldn't control his curiosity.

 "I heard it was built by two brothers. It first started with a kid's playground before eventually expanding to what we see now" Jonas explained.

 As the son of the world's popular basketball guru, he frequented the center during weekends, so he knew a bit of the Center's history.

 Lio led his team towards one of the mini basketball court. The team who were competing amongst themselves stopped what they were doing, when they sensed the presence of the newcomers.

 "Ahh Lio, you really came. For a moment, I Thought you were going to stand me up!" a middle aged man chuckled from among the opposite team.

 He was Ben, the coach of Benclover training institute's basketball team.

 Benclover Training Institute was located in Steel Harbor, a city neigbouring Silver Haven.

 Unlike other Academy Institutions, Benclover Institute only dealt with training athletes, wether it was upcoming boxers or table tennis players.

"Why would I miss out on such a great opportunity to give you a good beating eh?" Lio snickered.

 "Hmph. I just hope you are ready to lose some face today" Ben gave Lio a deep look.

 "Coach, what's happening?" Farrow, a member of KYC basketball team couldn't resist asking.

 "Of course we are going to have a friendly match with those peeps" Lio held up his arms in a manner-of-factly gesture.

 "What?!" apart from Oscar, everybody else on the team shrieked with crestfallen expressions.

 Even the usually confident Russ was no exception.

 "Why are you all looking like you just ate a pile of shit? isn't it just a friendly game? What's the big deal?" Oscar felt like the team members were taking things too seriously.

 "Idiot. Do you have an idea what kind of reputation Benclover Institute has? their basketball team has maintained a streak of being in the top five for the past years of the SBC history. What awaits us is a crushing defeat!" Russ criticized with hopeless eyes.

"Tch. So what? you have me on the team, what can possibly go wrong?" Oscar shrugged.

 Too bad nobody took his words seriously.

 After changing into their vests, Lio chose a team of five to test the waters. These team of five weren't the cream of the top. Oscar, Jonas or even Russ were not part of this team.

 Naturally, they experienced a crushing defeat at the hands of the opposing team from Benclover Institute.

 "Is this all what KYC can offer? utter trash!" a buffy guy from Benclover Institute basketball team spat with disdain.

 He was Perry, the Shooting Guard and played a key role in KYC's basketball team's crushing loss.

 "Did you just call us trash?" Oscar stood up, approching Perry with a wry smile.

 "Oh? do you have a problem with that?" Perry taunted, with provockation.

 "Nope. I just feel like you shouldn't underestimate us too much" Oscar patted his shoulder, while secretly activating the system's skill *Snatch*

-[TARGET INFO]

-Name: Perry Hughes

-Skills: Beginner tier Basket ball (level 9)

 -[Does Host wish to steal skill. It will cost 100 centi points]