The smell of chalk dust and old wooden boards hung in the air of an unused classroom in the corner of the gym.
The room had been temporarily commandeered as a strategy room. A dim incandescent bulb hung overhead, stretching everyone's shadows long. Lu Ren stood in front of a battered blackboard, while everyone else crowded onto a few long benches like guild members waiting to be assigned a quest.
"Let's begin." Sawamura Daichi sat at the front with his arms crossed, his expression serious.
Lu Ren pinched a stub of chalk between his fingers. He felt less like a new member of the Volleyball Club and more like a school administrator forced to stand up and give a self-criticism. He glanced at Kiyosawa Mashiba, seated in the corner. She eagerly flipped open her densely written notebook and gestured at him as if to say, "Please begin your performance."
"Ahem." Lu Ren cleared his throat, turned, and wrote a name on the blackboard. His handwriting was sloppy, with an air of impatience.
Oikawa Tōru.
"First, this guy." Lu Ren tapped the name hard with the chalk. "Aoba Johsai's captain and setter. I hate to admit it, but this guy is a true 'chosen one of the meta.'"
Hinata Shoyo tilted his head. "Meta... chosen one?"
"It means the strongest setter at this stage." Lu Ren explained irritably, then glanced sidelong at Kageyama Tobio, seated beside him. "Unlike our guy here, who only knows how to force his way through with brute force, that Oikawa Tōru is a top-tier support who can buff the whole team."
Kageyama Tobio's brows immediately knitted into a tight knot, but he didn't argue. He just stared at the name on the blackboard.
"I was matched up against him for about twenty minutes." Lu Ren recalled the feeling, unconsciously rubbing chalk dust between his fingertips. "His sets are really 'soft.' Not soft because they lack power, but because he feeds the ball right to the hitter. No matter how badly the receive goes, once the ball reaches him, the moment he sets it, the hitter feels like they can do anything."
"Letting a hitter perform at one hundred, even one hundred and twenty percent, of their ability—that's Oikawa Tōru's core mechanic."
At that, Lu Ren paused, turned around, and looked Kageyama up and down with the disdainful gaze one might give a "defective product."
"That's the difference, Kageyama. He treats his teammates like teammates. You treat yours like launch pads."
"Shut up!" Kageyama finally snapped, a vein jumping in his forehead as he ground out, "Oikawa Senior... he was my upperclassman in middle school. I learned my serves and blocks from him."
Lu Ren raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So he was your mentor?"
"He wasn't my mentor," Kageyama denied flatly, though a rare hint of wariness showed in his eyes. "He was... a wall I've always wanted to surpass but have never beaten. His serves are better than mine are now, and his ball control is even more terrifying."
The whole room fell silent.
The fact that Kageyama—the arrogant "King"—admitted he was inferior to someone instantly raised Oikawa Tōru's stock in everyone's eyes. Tanaka Ryūnosuke swallowed, feeling the mood grow heavy all of a sudden.
Lu Ren shrugged and wrote a second name beside "Oikawa Tōru."
Iwaizumi Hajime.
"Next is this guy, Aoba Johsai's Wing Spiker and vice-captain." Lu Ren drew a circle around the name. "If Oikawa Tōru is the brain, then this guy is both the toughest shield and the sharpest spear."
"I've watched him receive. He's got a really solid base and sharp instincts. And his spikes..." Lu Ren recalled that powerful Line Spike. "They're heavy. He's not the flashy, technique-focused type. He just overwhelms you with raw power. He reminds me a little of Daichi Senior, but he's more aggressive."
"In a way, he exists specifically to keep Oikawa Tōru in check," Lu Ren added. "Sometimes Oikawa Tōru pushes too far in pursuit of the limits and goes overboard. That's when Iwaizumi Hajime steps in to cover for him. You can't build that kind of chemistry through training alone."
"Ah, that." Kageyama suddenly spoke, his tone as casual as if he were commenting on the weather. "Iwaizumi Senior and Oikawa Senior have been childhood friends since they were little. They've spent more time playing volleyball together than I've spent with volleyball."
Lu Ren's hand froze around the chalk.
Childhood friends? That kind of built-in "bond bonus" was the hardest thing to deal with. It meant the two of them could pull off complicated plays on the court without even speaking.
"All right, their bond is locked in." Lu Ren sighed and wrote down a third name.
Kindaichi Yutaro.
Beside it, he sketched a very recognizable leek-like hairstyle.
"Pfft—" Hinata and Tanaka couldn't hold it in. They covered their mouths, stifling laughter.
"Don't laugh. This is a serious tactical analysis." Lu Ren rapped on the blackboard. "This first-year middle blocker's defining feature is that unforgettable Leek Head... or maybe that spicy spring-onion hairstyle. Decent height, long reach, too."
"My verdict: a low-spec version of Tanaka Senior."
Tanaka Ryūnosuke froze for a moment, then burst into delight. "Ha ha! Low-spec! That means I'm the high-spec version, right? Lu Ren, you've got a good eye!"
Before you continue