The tactical review was over. The blackboard covered in names had been wiped completely clean, leaving only a little white chalk dust floating in the light.
Sawamura Daichi clapped his hands, pulling everyone's attention away from the heavy mood of "so we're up against the Avengers" that had settled over them.
"All right, that's the situation in broad strokes." Sawamura's steady, powerful voice echoed through the somewhat empty old classroom. "Although they have a bit of a 'personal grudge' against Kageyama, and even Lu Ren, at the end of the day, this is the first match for the newly reformed Karasuno."
He looked around, his gaze pausing on each person's face for a moment.
"Aoba Johsai is one of the strongest schools in the prefecture, a truly formidable team. This Saturday's match will be both practice and a chance for us to get in sync. I don't expect you to beat them right away, but I hope everyone will show what they've accomplished through training these past few days. Don't let them look down on us."
"Yes!!!"
The group's response made the windows tremble. Hinata Shoyo's cheeks were especially red with excitement, as if he might rush out and spike the ball at any moment.
As soon as they were dismissed, these bundles of excess energy immediately fell into their usual routine.
"Kageyama! A few more balls! I want to get a better feel for that quick attack from before!" Hinata clutched the ball and bounced around beside Kageyama like an inexhaustible perpetual-motion machine.
Kageyama Tobio was pulling up his kneepads. At Hinata's words, he merely glanced at him coldly, though his eyes clearly said, "Just what I wanted." He picked up his water bottle and took a swig. "Before that, do two rounds of receives. Your receiving is terrible."
"Shut up! I'll get it!"
On the other side, Tanaka Ryūnosuke had also taken off his shirt and was waving his arms. "Then I'll join in too! How can a senior lose to a first-year brat?"
Sugawara Kōshi smiled and shook his head, then walked onto the court as well. "I'll help out too, then."
The gymnasium was lively again in an instant, filled with the sounds of the ball being hit and shoes squealing against the floor.
Lu Ren stood at the edge of the court, watching them, and felt his calves twitching faintly.
Today's training had already gone way overboard. He'd especially been dragged into several high-intensity setting drills by Mashiba earlier to simulate Oikawa Tōru's style. Now his Stamina bar was probably down to its last sliver of health, flashing red in warning.
"Any more training and my gear's going to lose durability," Lu Ren muttered, decisively turning to get his backpack. In this world full of "stamina monsters," an ordinary player like him had to learn to manage his sanity and stamina scientifically.
He had just reached the door when he saw a tall, slender figure heading out with a bag on his back.
Short blond hair, black-framed glasses, and a bearing that practically screamed "stay away," even from behind.
Tsukishima Kei.
Lu Ren raised an eyebrow and hurried after him. "Hey, leaving already? Not sticking around to farm some Experience Points?"
Tsukishima stopped and turned his head. Behind his glasses, his eyes held a detached look that seemed to see through everything, along with the faintest hint of scorn.
"You mean wasting stamina for no reason, like those single-celled organisms in there?" Tsukishima hung his headphones around his neck, the corner of his mouth curling in a humorless smile. "This is just a club activity. If I'm not aiming to join the national team or play professionally, why should I work myself to the bone?"
Lu Ren froze. In the world of a hot-blooded sports manga, that kind of statement was like an NPC suddenly gaining self-awareness and questioning the logic of the game's script.
"Besides..." Tsukishima glanced at Hinata, leaping high inside the gym, and Kageyama, setting with pinpoint accuracy. "Those two geniuses are there anyway, aren't they? The short guy who can jump that high on instinct alone, and the setter they call the 'King.'"
He paused, his tone growing even more cutting. "With monsters like them around, the team can just rely on them to carry us. As for ordinary people like us, we just have to avoid holding them back and coast along. Why make things hard for ourselves by trying to outwork geniuses?"
Without waiting for Lu Ren to reply, he put his headphones back on, shoved his hands into his pockets, and strode off into the night on his long legs.
Lu Ren stood there, watching Tsukishima disappear, his brow furrowed into a deep crease.
That... was so reasonable it was infuriating.
Lu Ren himself was always calling himself a "slacker player," but that was because he wanted to maximize his efficiency at clearing the game. Tsukishima's attitude was more like... a form of self-protection? Since he'd decided he couldn't win, he simply wouldn't get on the track in the first place?
"What's wrong? Did that sharp-tongued guy with the glasses get to you?"
Kiyosawa Mashiba had appeared at some point. She was holding two cans of freshly bought, ice-cold Marble Soda, and pressed one against Lu Ren's cheek.
"Brr—cold!" Lu Ren hunched his shoulders and took the soda. "I'm not mad, exactly. I just think the NPCs in this game all have such twisted personalities. That guy's got the best body model, and he's still a slacker."
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