Ability Wielders - Chapter 133 Against The Finnish Team

“You’re finally going to stop your one-man army display?” Amado sighed out in satisfaction. “Jeez, you didn’t leave us any room for movement and playing. And you aren’t even tired. What an indefatigable inhuman being.”

“I’ve practiced my stamina to that extent.” Hayden stated in a matter-of-factly tone. “Anyhow, this will be your first time utilizing and playing at my high level of pace. Be careful. It may quickly drain your stamina. I’ll try to keep it at the minimum pace. When somebody is tired, inform me.”

“Yes, sir!” Everybody responded seriously. Hayden was the de facto captain here. A person whose skill was the greatest among any of them.

…..

The Philippine team and Finnish team lined up facing one another. Hayden noticed that everyone in the Finnish team, except for Erno Heikki, had soulless and dispirited eyes. They’re the most literal definition of someone whose soul has been sucked out of their bodies.

Hayden, despite of the sinister nature of an Ability that can do this, didn’t bat an eyelid. If he had this kind of Ability as well, he’d make use of it. It’d be stupid if he didn’t. It’d be a waste if he didn’t.

Needless to say, Hayden wouldn’t use it in this manner. Still, using it in this manner was actually quite ingenious. As someone who had trust issues and social anxiety, Hayden even coveted this kind of Ability.

Nevertheless, he felt that it’d be boring of a world if he can do this. ‘That’s why there must be certain limitations to this. Anyhow, this kind of Ability cannot be activated here. It’d be a huge uproar in Overseers if somebody does.’

In due course, Hayden and Erno shook hands with a smile plastered on their faces. Their auras involuntarily crept out. Erno’s was akin to that of an analytical, cold mastermind. In other words, a general.

‘He has Supreme King as well, huh?’ Hayden recognized the aura immediately. ‘Though Starakt did say that the extent I can use my Supreme King without knowledge about Innate Gifts was off the charts…’

‘What a powerful aura.’ Erno was startled internally. ‘Will my underlings be able to beat this powerful of a player?’

In all honesty, Erno feared Hayden the most in this Annual Youth Pride. A person termed as the ‘Heavenly Emperor’ is surely no joke. And this was backed by the back-to-back surrenders from the two teams that he faced.

He had to put in all of his effort in defeating those two teams and adapt, yet Hayden crushed them with pure skill and agility alone. Hayden was nothing short of an undefeatable monster in everybody’s point of view.

…..

“He is indeed a true monster.” David’s eyes had a glint of an unknown hunger in them.

“Maybe this is a product of someone who trends every time he moves?” Commentator Hayden joked. On-screen, #ChungDen flashed. “The #ChungDen is currently number one worldwide! It has been confirmed that Hayden and Sung Chung-hee, a Korean idol and member of the world-renowned CHORUS, spent three hours in each other’s company at Canteen of the World. Were they really on a date? Tons of speculations is circulating in the internet.”

“Heh, Hayden is definitely trying to show off.” David chuckled. “It’s commonplace for someone of that age to fall in love with those beauties.”

“Indeed. I actually am on team ChungDen. How about you, David?” Commentator Hayden lightheartedly spoke.

“I’m not someone who ships celebrities together, but if I have to choose, I will be on team ShuDen (Shu-Ching and Hayden).” David spoke. “It’s unpopular, sure. I’m simply joining it because the two’s ages are the closest. I’m sorry, but I’m a fan of classical music.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Nobody will bash you for your opinion and tastes.” Commentator Hayden nodded in understanding. “It is not the old era anymore. Oh, it’s starting!”

“Surprisingly, the ball goes to the Finnish team!” David bridged with ease. “It seems that Hayden is finally going to be given a tough time!”

“And the Finnish team is the first one to score with a long-ranged three-pointer!” Commentator Hayden chuckled in his surprise. “This may be a tough match-up for our fellow Filipino.”

…..

“That’s how it is, huh?” Hayden licked his lips from the blatant challenge from the past half-court three-pointer.

Receiving the ball, Hayden immediately chucked it to the opponent’s basket. When this finished again, Erno passed the ball to the one who can score three-pointers and that man scored a three-pointer.

This exchange of long-range three-pointers persisted for five minutes. Each shot from the two was precise and accurate. Usually, these kinds of battle would be boring, yet Hayden’s and the man’s match was cutthroat and intense.

‘I see what he’s doing.’ Hayden glanced at Erno. ‘He wants to tire me with this method? Well, it is clever. Unfortunately, it’s me.’

Hayden, the paranoiac that he was, trained his stamina to last an entire 40 minutes without any performance loss and playing at full capability. In fact, Hayden has measured that he can last an entire two hours of uninterrupted basketball gameplay and stay at the optimal level. This was without his essence energy circulation.

At the two-minute-and-thirty-second mark, the sharpshooter of the Finnish team was substituted, clearly exhausted. Meanwhile, Hayden’s expression was that of absolute nonchalance, as if what he did was a trivial matter.

‘Tsk, this guy is impossible to wear out.’ Erno clicked his tongue, passing the ball into one of his teammates. He bit his thumb. ‘Should I do my five-man full-on concentration? But if I do, some of these guys might not make it…’

This should be explained: Erno’s Ability is named Marionette Parasite. From its name alone, you can infer that it is an Ability that can plant parasites on people’s minds and control them manually.

That’s exactly what its first Level power does. Plus, it steals a percentage of brainpower from the parasite’s host, easing the burden on Erno on manipulating the targets.

Its Level 2 power reinforces the power of the parasites and adds on an application of a ‘basic AI.’ Well, it isn’t an AI, but more of that its host retains part of their personality while they’re being inhabited by the parasite.

On top of this, Erno can see, feel, hear, taste, and smell everything that every host does. Including pain, except that Erno can turn that off. This was as long as the host was within 100 meters away from him.

The finisher to this Ability is that if the host is a wielder, he can activate their Abilities when controlling them. It can also be dispelled by Erno voluntarily.

As for its limits, in its current state, the Ability allows Erno to manipulate solely 20 people at once and that it can be easily sensed by the host once they get out of the 100-meter range.

Lastly, its method of ‘planting’ is through eggs fabricated from Erno’s blood. What Erno can do is convert his blood into eggs that can either be planted on food, or by wounding targets. The eggs are tasteless and is as small as a dust particle.

However, there is one crucial weakness for Erno’s Marionette Parasite. It is that it cannot plant itself on people stronger than Erno. As a Level 2 wielder, this meant that Level 3 wielders and above were off-limits. Most Level 2 wielders were susceptible to the Marionette Parasite.

Going back to the match, Erno wanted to sit out the match and control the people from the sidelines. It would be the best to concentrate his brainpower on his manual manipulation.

After all, every one of the ten people he has planted the Marionette Parasite on were the best 16-year-old basketball players in Finland. With his precise manipulation, their capabilities will be boosted by twofold.

As such, the second Hayden shot the ball to tie the score at 168, Erno himself substituted out. Sitting down leisurely, Erno cracked his knuckles. He was going to give it his all right from the start.

His eyes changed as his hands, which were resting on his thighs, wriggled. On the court, one of his team members courageously brought the ball to the half court line.

Faced with said team member, Hayden naturally attempted to steal the ball. Unanticipated by Hayden, the youth skillfully passed from behind the back. That man brought the ball further into the court.

Regardless, Hayden’s reaction time, being enhanced by the passive of Divine Perception, allowed him to react immediately. He was a step too late as the man broke past through the unusual box defense of Hayden’s team.

The Finnish teams’ agility was astonishingly high. Although not on par with Hayden’s own, their collective agility was higher than Hayden’s own team. This allowed them to score two points over the Philippine team.

Hayden’s and Erno’s eyes met. Hayden snorted in amusement. Erno’s skin crawled due to this snort. His first impression of Hayden changed, becoming that of a ‘challenge-loving introvert to the point of masochism.’

‘Yet he’s still intelligent and has a personality of not at all what you’ll expect from a masochistic introvert.’ Erno was the first to break the gaze with Hayden. ‘A tough opponent, and a reliable person. The type of person you’d want to befriend.’

With the ball on Hayden’s team, Hayden was the one to receive the ball again. Erno was prepping himself to face Hayden when Hayden wound up his arm and shot a sniper three-pointer. This put the score at 171-170, in favor of Hayden’s team.

‘Crap, he can still do this!’ Erno couldn’t believe the cunningness of Hayden. ‘An efficient and focused man who never missed a single shot. What kind of monster did that Jorge awaken?’

Shortly, the ball returned to the hands of the Finnish team. Before the whistle blew, Hayden slightly raised his right hand, made a peace sign, and shook it once. This was the hand sign that meant Hayden was going to pass the next time they are in possession of the ball.

Amado, Darryl, Alfonso, and Brando all readied themselves. During the last phase of the practice last Friday, Hayden trained them personally.

It would be an understatement if the training was described as ‘rigorous.’ It was exponentially more difficult than rigorous. Hayden’s training was different from the regular one in myriads of ways.

Nonetheless, it was insightful and eye-opening. Hayden can pass as a true coach for the professional leagues by the way that he trained them.

Moving on. Losing the ‘Sniper’ of their team earlier, the Finnish brought the ball up themselves for the second time.

Howbeit, this time, Hayden wasn’t waiting at the half-court line. He was in the court of the Finnish. This surprised everyone as this has never been attempted. Going up to the one holding the ball, Hayden kept up with him.

It’s as if Hayden didn’t have any intention to steal at all. It appeared that Hayden was there to put pressure on the player.

With a flick of his hand, Erno controlled the player to create a feint shot. The ball was caught by one of Erno’s teammates. The Finnish successfully passed the half-court line.

Rotating his body, Hayden accelerated back to their team’s court. Hayden’s velocity at this time was ridiculously fast. This was an expression of Hayden’s excitement. An activation of his Empyrean Power that augmented his entirety by 15%.

In a flash, Hayden was behind the player that was in possession of the ball. Hayden’s brain at this moment was hyperactive, taking in the minutest of movements and the minuscule muscle twitches.

‘He’s going to do a shoulder pass.’ Hayden anticipated. The second the player moved to back pass the ball, Hayden moved to the opposite direction.

Hayden nimbly intercepted the ball, stirring Erno’s heart. Right now, he felt as if he’s a player in an unfair game with an AI that has cheats on. It was frustrating.

Irrespective of his frustration, Erno made everyone go back to their side of the court to defend. He was enjoying this.

Unluckily, Erno made a mistake. Every player on Hayden’s team went to attack as well. Erno couldn’t believe what he witnessed.

What happened was that Hayden was three-manned by the Finnish. With an unerring twist of his body, Hayden broke the guard. Erno assumed that Hayden was going to shoot, hence, he swiftly moved another person to block Hayden.

That was when Hayden passed the ball to Darryl. Darryl squarely caught the ball, wounded up, and shot a three-pointer to the basket.

‘What was that pass?’ Darryl stared at his left hand in consternation. He trembled upon shooting the ball. ‘It flew right into my hand and affixed itself.’

With the ball going back to the possession of the Finnish team, Erno didn’t commit the same mistake as last time. Immediately, a high-level of cooperative play was seen from the Finnish.

Unlike the times that everybody was waiting for Hayden to make a move, this time, the man who had the ball continuously moved in front of Hayden. This made it harder for Hayden to deduce what he was going to do next.

It was a refreshing feeling for Hayden, facing a man that did not fear him in basketball. Hayden’s excitement reached its peak. This resulted in his Empyrean Power’s augments spiking up to 20%.

Hayden felt the effects of Empyrean Power when the Finnish scored against their team, evening the score at 174 points. ‘This is it!’

For the first time in three months, Hayden was energized by basketball again. Facing strong opponents was surely the way to go! ‘If this progresses, I might cancel my plans on moving to other sports!’

With a big smile of enjoyment on his face, Hayden accepted the ball. He vanished from his place, eluded four people in an instant, and jumped for a dunk. Initially, that’s what it looked like on the surface.

Because Hayden anticipated the center’s block. As such, mid-jump, Hayden pulled back the ball, his body swaying backwards, and shot the ball through the hoop. The ball accurately went in.

…..

“There we go! The Hayden Emperador’s so-called ‘Emperor Shot!’” Commentator Hayden shouted in excitement. “The one who never misses is really true to his name. Will Hayden ever miss? Or is he incapable of missing?”

“Did you know, Commentator Hayden, that there are many GBA players that are seriously incapable of missing?” David added.

“Oh? Do tell?” Commentator Hayden’s intrigue was whetted.

“That’s because some have extreme cases of OCD.” David chuckled. “Such as the legendary Lionel Rizal. The one who allowed the NCR Hounds a championship win back in ’38. Those guys, with their compulsive desire to not miss, train their shooting forms at every corner of the court. They hammer into their bones the exact force necessary for the ball to accurately go in to the basket. They do this within every inch of the court.”

“This is inhuman, right?” Commentator Hayden exclaimed.

“It is inhuman, but it is possible.” David smiled at the camera. “This goes to show that, with practice and persistence, you can perfect your art to reach the epitome.”

“Wait, are you implying that this 16-year-old basketball player, Hayden, did this?” Commentator Hayden only realized what David was going for.

“Perhaps.” David leaned on the table. “Or maybe it’s raw basketball talent? Who knows? All we know for sure is that Hayden is good.”

“That is true.” Commentator Hayden giggled. “His flair for basketball is miraculous. It is not an exaggeration in the slightest to call Hayden a son of heaven.”

…..

‘What in the…’ Erno gulped. ‘Did he become… Faster? Is it my imagination? No, he did become faster… It’s not my eyes playing tricks on me.’

Erno stared at their coach, a Finnish woman with black hair. His coach shook her head. ‘He’s not using any Ability? How…?’

Bemused of the situation, Erno continued to ‘play.’ Thankfully, the Finnish team’s cooperation was not that easily broken. Yet… Hayden’s physique and prediction of every play that Erno made improved at a dazzling speed.

Nine minutes into the game, Hayden was so fast it was unreasonable. Outrageous even. ‘No, it’s not that he’s fast… It’s that his acceleration is literally inhuman! What are those legs!? And that passing ability…’

At that moment, Hayden passed to Alfonso, who scored a forced dunk against their center. Erno rubbed his eyes in disbelief. ‘What a monster… How does he do that full burst acceleration? No way that that’s possible!’

Ultimately, the first quarter ended at a staggering 183-177 in the Philippine team’s favor. The combined score was unprecedented as far as first quarter scores went.

Standing up to examine his players, Erno frowned. Every one of them showed signs of exhaustion. He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb in his stress.

‘That guy…’ Erno turned to look at Hayden sitting on the bench and chugging water. ‘He hasn’t sweated all that much! Those high-pace plays… Perfect passes… Shooting the ball without any inaccuracy… What is this guy?’

Erno now regretted picking basketball as a hobby. Hayden Emperador… ‘He’s a person that will soar to the top of the industry within months after his win. There’s no way he’ll lose to anybody. Well, our match is not done, Hayden.’

At the start of the second quarter, Erno finally utilized both of his hands. This created a gap between Hayden’s team and his.

‘He’s not done?’ Hayden’s excitement flew past its peak. ‘This is… Flawless coordinated play! He’s using two of his hands with absolute concentration?’

Licking his lips, Hayden brought the ball back to the opposing team’s court. Dribbling, doing a crossover, a skillful spin, then passing the ball to Alfonso below the hoop, Alfonso dunked.

While this continued till the third quarter, eventually, the Finnish team surrendered. Hayden was too insanely skilled for Erno’s players. If it continued, his players would die from fatigue.

His Ability may be sinister in nature, but he was not an evil person. Besides, he could still make use of them as pawns. It would be a waste to let them break down from a puny basketball match.

Well, not like it mattered. Every individual player in the Finnish team were bullies anyway. Jocks who bullied him prior to his awakening. Now that he has complete control over them, why not make use every last drop of them, eh?

‘Hayden Emperador… I’ll remember your name.’ Erno smiled as he walked to their locker. ‘I hope I get to genuinely fight you someday.’