Early Saturday morning, before the sparrows outside had even started their morning meeting, Lu Ren was already awake.
He lay in bed for two seconds, then tentatively moved his thigh, which felt like it had been taken apart and put back together the day before. The expected soreness never came. Instead, he felt a long-lost lightness. It seemed the Violent Female Healer's methods might have been brutal, but they were undeniably effective. Perhaps that was what they called "pummeling your teammates to boost their buffs."
Lu Ren rolled out of bed. After a quick wash, he spread a yoga mat on the floor. He didn't do anything too strenuous, just worked through a few basic stretches from Volleyball Tactics Illustrated, unfolding and folding himself like a folding chair. If he didn't warm up his hardware now, he'd definitely lag once he got into the instance.
At breakfast, Lu Ren stuffed down one more fried egg than usual. His reason: "You have to max out your stat food before a raid battle."
He had just slung his bag over his shoulder and stepped outside when Kiyosawa Mashiba was already waiting at the intersection. She wasn't wearing her school uniform today, but a set of lightweight sportswear, her ponytail tied high. She was also carrying that thick scorebook.
"Morning, all-around boy." Mashiba looked him up and down, then shoved a bottle of sports drink into his arms. "Looks like last night's 'maintenance' was a success. You haven't turned into a zombie today."
"Thanks to you, my HP bar's full again." Lu Ren twisted open the cap and took a sip. It was lemon-flavored, a little too sour for his liking. "Come on, let's go see this Demon King Level Instance for ourselves."
They walked to school side by side. The campus was quiet on the weekend, with only the sharp squeak of shoes against the floor drifting over from the gym.
The moment they pushed open the gym doors, a wave of heat and shouts hit them.
"One more ball!!" Hinata Shoyo's voice cut through the air, making Lu Ren's eardrums buzz.
Several people were already practicing at full tilt inside. Tanaka Ryūnosuke was bare-chested, waving his jersey around, while Kageyama Tobio practiced setting against the wall, his gaze so focused you'd think he was performing some kind of delicate surgery.
Sawamura Daichi held a clipboard. When he saw Lu Ren come in, he nodded. "You're here? Great, everyone's arrived."
Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and gathered in the middle.
The atmosphere was a little strange. Hinata and Kageyama stood together, but between them hung a low-pressure zone called "Don't talk to me." Tsukishima Kei stood by the net post, wearing his trademark mocking smile, while Yamaguchi Tadashi remained behind him like a dutiful little accessory.
"Today's three-on-three has simple rules." Sawamura Daichi looked around at everyone. "Best of three. This will decide whether Hinata and Kageyama can officially join the team, and it'll also let us observe how the new players perform in a real match so we can assign positions later."
Lu Ren stared at the team list in Sawamura Daichi's hand and suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Here are the teams," Sawamura Daichi announced. "Team A: Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shoyo, and Tanaka Ryūnosuke."
Just as he'd expected. Put those three together and you had a high-burst, high-aggro damage squad.
"Team B..." Sawamura Daichi paused, his gaze landing on Lu Ren. "Lu Ren, Tsukishima Kei, and Yamaguchi Tadashi."
The air fell silent for a second.
Lu Ren turned to look at the blond guy in glasses, who was a good bit taller than him. Tsukishima Kei happened to look down at him, too, the corner of his mouth lifting in an infuriating smirk as he pushed up his glasses. "Well, looks like I'll be carrying two rookies through this game. What a pain."
"Sorry, Tsukishima. I'll try not to hold you back!" Yamaguchi Tadashi immediately chimed in.
Lu Ren's eyebrow twitched.
What kind of hellish team composition was this? The other team had a Genius Setter boosted by the Protagonist Halo, a Stamina Monster, and a powerful second-year Wing Spiker. And his side? Him, still not at max level; a timid-looking sidekick; and a sharp-tongued guy who wouldn't stop talking trash.
Was the system's matchmaking broken? Had a King somehow wandered into a Bronze match, or was it deliberately making him, a Bystander NPC, experience the hardships of life?
"Um, Captain Daichi." Lu Ren raised his hand, looking solemn. "I'd like to request a transfer—uh, I mean, to switch teams."
Sawamura Daichi blinked. "Why?"
"We're not a good match." Lu Ren pointed at Tsukishima Kei and spoke bluntly. "This player's Chat Channel is too toxic. It's ruining my gaming experience. I'm afraid I'll challenge him to PvP halfway through the match."
Tsukishima Kei gave a soft laugh. "Oh? Is the so-called Gaming Prodigy really that fragile? Can't handle hearing a few hard truths?"
"See?" Lu Ren spread his hands. "He's still dealing damage."
Sawamura Daichi rubbed his brow, looking troubled, then glanced at the opposing team.
Over there, Tanaka Ryūnosuke had an arm around Hinata Shoyo's neck, roaring, "Today we'll show these first-years the authority of their seniors! We'll smash them to pieces!"
Hinata Shoyo's face was bright red. He clenched his fists and shouted, "Yeah! Smash them to pieces!!"
Kageyama Tobio didn't say anything, but his whole body radiated a dark aura that seemed to say, "Anyone who gets in my way dies."
"Um... Lu Ren." Sawamura Daichi pointed at the three fired-up players on the other side. "If you want to switch, I can move you over there and bring Tanaka over here. Would you be willing to join that team?"
Before you continue