[GL] I will max my intelligence

It's the second half of school, and today is sports. Hani, still tired from the lack of sleep, drags herself into the locker room. 

Today I definitely have to sleep early... I feel dead inside.

Slowly, she drags herself to the sports hall. As she walks in, she spots Stella there with a group of classmates. 

At the sight of Stella, Hani recharges her energy. Her face brightens, though dark circles are still embedded below her eyes as she skips into the hall. 

Hani realised that the hero level students were in a different extreme class to improve their physical abilities, while the rest just did basic sports to stay active overall. All the students huddled. She shuffled and stood behind Stella.

The coach comes out with a bucket full of tennis balls.

"Everyone, partner up with the person in front of you and grab some tennis rackets and balls." The coach's lazy voice echoes through the sports hall. 

Being a book person, this was Hani's first time ever playing tennis. As the coach had only given a basic explanation and let the students play on their own, it was clear she did not care much. Thankfully, Hani had read a few books on tennis before. 

Could this also help me raise my intelligence? Since it worked with magic, should this not be the same?

Hani, deep in her thoughts, did not realise the coach had finished talking and the students were all pairing up to their individual courts. She gets startled as a hand touched her. 

Stella had placed her hand on her arm, "Hani, we are paired up for the game. Um... Do you know how to play?" Stella, being taller, leans in a bit as her pink hair, now tied up in a ponytail, falls in front of her shoulders. Her face, while still smiling, was wrinkled with a small worry, which was indicated by the barely noticeable furrow of her brow.

"Ah—" Hani slowly steps back a bit as she nods her head. 

"I see. I hope you can play well, Hani." Stella smiles calmly with a glint of fire in her eyes, "I am not a big fan of losing!" 

Hani nods her head ever more vigorously, feeling the pressure. "Ah-I will get the rackets and balls!" She runs towards the supplies.

Calm down, HANI! Breathe... you are in a pair with Stella! She wants to win! So you must try your best.

At the thought of being partnered with Stella, Hani melts into her imagination again, scurrying her way back to their court. 

Stepping into the court, Hani goes through the rules. 

Ah, the whole court should be in play for doubles...I cannot change sides in the middle of a set... taking turns to serve... Hmm... sounds simple. Hopefully, reading those books will be worth it.... I should have decent stats to keep up this game if it works... no?

Thoroughly preparing herself, she handed Stella her racket. "Stella, I can take the receiving side... their serve should be very powerful... since they have a strength ability. Um..." Still shy, she takes small peeks as she speaks, "It could get bad... Um... Anyway, don't worry, I will try my best to win!" Hani blurts out in the end, and she hobbles to her side of the court. 

The two girls, Helena and Gwen, hated Hani and Stella. While not liking or caring for Hani in her class was normal due to Leo, only some people hated Stella. These were either people who got rejected by the blunt Stella or girls who were just jealous of her. They were planning to go all out, but Hani was not backing down. 

"We shall serve first." Gwen declared without giving the girls a choice. 

"Huh?" Hani exclaimed. 

"Sure, that is fine," Stella said. Surprised, Hani turned to look at Stella. She smiled with her mouth, but the rest of her face, while angelic to Hani's eyes, looked like they were about to stab someone for a split second, then returned to her normal, kind face.

Shocked at what Hani witnessed, she started sweating. A competitive Stella is a scary Stella. 

Hani prepares with a receiving stance.

It can't be that bad, right?

Swoosh!

The tennis ball darts past Hani, missing her face just inches, and lands inside the court, then bounces off.

"Eh?" Hani, who has been frozen, still moves her eyes towards where the ball went, sweating.

Are they always this fast? I did not realise tennis would be this dangerous. Eyes shaking, Hani was surprised at how quickly and fiercely the ball travelled. She did not expect it.

"15-Love!" Gwen snorts out laughing with Helena, "I can't believe we were expecting something from them. Can't even return a simple serve!"

"HA?" Hani stares at them, furious at their behaviour. 

"Hani, don't worry, it's just one point. You can do it, Hani, you said you know the rules, right? So follow them and receive the ball, ok?" Stella smiles, fired up by this situation, too, but more composed than Hani is. 

Hani, who seems a bit oblivious, was flustered by Stella's competitive comment at this point, and Stella reassured her as they all got to their positions.

"Yes, S-Stella! Of course, don't worry, w-we will win!" Stuttering Hani suddenly gets a burst of energy. 

If Stella believes in me, I can do this! I cannot let her down.

Fired up with a grin, she prepares to receive again. Stella, seeing Hani's ears burn red, cannot help but giggle to herself, thinking. What an interesting girl. 

Poised and ready, this time, Hani is determined. Knowing what to expect now with the confidence of Stella's assurance, she keeps an unblinking focus on the ball. 

Thwack!

Her eyes were on the ball, and every part of her body was on standby, ready to react to the ball. As she heard the ball being served, she moved her body with absolute confidence and focus as she reached out and received the ball. The racket connects as the ball spins back to the other side of the court. 

Dammit, it's too high!

While not perfect, she managed to hit it back.

Stella herself was also taken aback by this. She actually managed to receive that ball? I thought it would take a few more tries.

Hani gleamed as she managed to make the hit. With glistening eyes, she turns towards Stella, "Look Stella, I did it! I received the ball!"

As she was celebrating her first recive, Thwack, the ball was coming back again.

"Look out, Hani!"

SMACK! 

The ball hit Hani right on her face. 

"30-Love~" The girls chimed together as they laughed. 

Stella walks up to Hani, reaching out her hand, "Are you ok?" Face full of worry, without a second thought, she cups Hani's face before she could reply. Hani winces at this, and Stella uses magic to heal her wounded face. "That should feel better now."

Hani, coming to the realisation of what happened, turned scarlet red, eyes wide, conveying a string of stutters. 

"Uh...Um...ah..." gaping like a fish, they just stared at the floor, ears red, Stella giggled at the sight of this. While Stella was used to seeing this from guys, it was her first time seeing a girl react like this. Thinking she is just a very shy person since she does not talk much in class, she moves her hand into Hani's view. "Don't leave me hanging, we still have a match to play."

Hani nods her head vigorously, still not making eye contact, as she takes her hand and stands up.

Still on that high, Hani readies herself as if on autopilot. Hani moves to the ball as it comes to her, this time hitting every shot.

Most important is to move to the ball, balance, minimal backswing, and control the racket at impact. 

Hani repeats the sentence like a chant from a book she read. Now fully in the zone and confident in her studies. 

15 - 30

30 - Love

40 - 30

With one more point to go, the four girls rally back and forth. Every time Stella hits a shot, Hani watches as she majestically swings at the ball, unlike most times, her face filled with determination, her hair swinging with every motion. She follows suit, trying to recreate Stella's perfect form, learning as she goes along with her own powers, helping her keep up. In an effort not to go into a duel, the two teams push themselves. At this point, it became a matter of pride for some, and for Hani, it became a moment where she was able to determine how far she could take her skills with her F-rank power. 

Even though Hani was not used to such an extreme level of sports and the fatigue caught up to her, she sees her intellectual state go up a point. More determined by this, she still recites her books, pushing through, she watches as Stella finds a weakness in their path as she runs up close and jumps. 

She executes a perfect jump smash. 

The ball digs onto the opponent's side of the court as everything stands still. Panting from exhaustion, with faces of sheer anger from the opponent, it was an overwhelming experience. 

Frozen with wide eyes at the beautiful scene, Hani became even more bewitched by Stella. 

Did we just win? No, Stella just won the match for us! My intellect also increased! I was actually able to keep up?  Hani gasps for her breath, finally, exhausted, Maybe... This is the power of love?!

Stella, who normally keeps herself very poised and elegant, rushes toward Hani as she is in her own world. Without a warning, she wraps her arms around Hani, "We did it, Hani!! That was such a great game!"

Hani, who was in the midst of trying to wrap her head around the win itself, being hugged by her crush, came back to her senses. At this sudden realisation, she feels herself going dizzy. She had overexhausted herself.

Dammit, I need more stamina.

Hani, who was already exhausted from the lack of sleep, having a battle with two physically based power users in the enemy team and keeping up with a self-healing teammate for the whole hour of battle, passed out.