The Pay-to-Win Player's Base, the Vanished Demon King, and the Manager's Instant-Death Magic

Passing through the heavy double doors, the team, which had still been somewhat noisy, fell silent at once.

Lu Ren couldn't help raising an eyebrow. If he ignored the high schoolers in white tracksuits and looked only at the facility itself, he would have thought he'd wandered into some professional league's training base. Neatly arranged industrial lights lined the high vaulted ceiling, illuminating the floor until it gleamed brightly enough to reflect their images. The air carried a pleasant mixture of Salonpas and floor wax—the scent of a "strong team."

Is this the money power of a private school?

Compared to this, Karasuno was basically a shabby thatched hut in the Novice Village.

"This map texture, this lighting and shadow rendering... the budget is burning," Lu Ren muttered under his breath.

At that moment, Aoba Johsai's players were practicing spikes. The dull thuds of bang, bang, bang rose and fell in succession, every hit seeming to strike directly against their chests. That perfectly synchronized rhythm spoke of the team's exceptional discipline.

"Fall in!"

At the sound of a whistle, the "white-clad army" that had been flying about the court immediately stopped moving and swiftly lined up before the net like NPCs running a preset program.

Sawamura Daichi took a deep breath, adjusted his collar, and led the Karasuno group forward.

"Bow!"

"Please teach us—!!"

The two rows of boys bent at the waist, their voices echoing through the spacious gymnasium. When they straightened, Lu Ren swept his gaze over the other side. What had these guys eaten growing up? Their average height looked a full notch above Karasuno's, and those eyes—unlike the lazy middle-aged men Lu Ren had met on outdoor courts, they carried scrutiny and pressure. The eyes of competitors.

"Whether it's offense or defense, their average level is extremely high." Sawamura Daichi's voice tightened slightly as he stared at several opposing players warming up. "And I've heard their blocking is among the best in the prefecture."

Sugawara Kōshi stood beside him, his expression equally grave. "They don't have any obvious weaknesses. Any one of them could be a regular starter on another team. Is this the foundation of one of the strongest teams in western Miyagi...?"

The mood within the team visibly grew heavier. The suffocating feeling of being hit by Level suppression before the match had even begun quickly spread.

Just then, a booming voice shattered the silence.

"Hey, hey! What's with you two?! Your faces are way too stiff!"

Tanaka Ryūnosuke stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the two third-year seniors with an expression of exasperation. "So what if they're strong? Whether it's their blocks or defense, we just have to tear through that so-called 'elite' line of defense, right?"

He suddenly slapped the back of the trembling short boy beside him.

Smack!

"We've got Hinata! This guy exists to break through teams like them, right?" Tanaka grinned, flashing a row of white teeth. It was unconditional faith in his team's "hack."

The slap sent the previously huddled-up Hinata Shoyo staggering a step forward, and the near-dead expression on his face loosened slightly.

Sawamura and Sugawara exchanged a look, relieved smiles appearing on their faces.

"Tanaka's actually pretty reliable when it counts..." Sugawara remarked. "He's usually an idiot, but saying something like that at a time like this really helps."

However, flags were always quick to go up and quick to fall.

Tanaka seemed not to notice Hinata's deathly pale face and continued bluntly, "But Hinata's receiving and defensive skills are a complete disaster. He's basically a giant sieve. So—"

He raised a thumb and pointed at himself and Senior Daichi. "Leave the cleanup work to us! You just charge ahead!"

The light in Hinata's eyes brightened a little.

"But!" Tanaka abruptly changed tack, his expression suddenly turning serious as his fierce-looking face moved closer to Hinata's. "Serving follows the rotation, so you'll have to face that on your own too. If you mess up your serve, you'll get substituted out. Don't—don't mess up, okay?!"

Crack.

Lu Ren seemed to hear the sound of some string called "sanity" snapping.

The tiny bit of psychological defense Hinata had just managed to build was instantly blasted to pieces by Tanaka's words: don't mess up.

The immense pressure was like a five-fingered mountain, crushing this monkey that had yet to become a legend flat beneath it.

"Hey, Hinata?" Tanaka still felt pretty good about himself. "Why aren't you saying anything? Moved by your senior's coolness?"

No one answered.

"Huh? Where'd he go?" Tanaka looked left and right. The orange head that had been standing beside him moments ago had already vanished.

"Um..." Yamaguchi Tadashi timidly raised a hand and pointed toward the far end of the gymnasium entrance. "The instant Senior Tanaka finished speaking, Hinata clutched his stomach and ran out... He probably went to the bathroom."

Sawamura Daichi: "..."

Sugawara Kōshi: "..."

Lu Ren sighed and looked away from the farce. The raid hasn't even started, and our main damage dealer has already gone offline because of a Debuff.