The Broken Mop and the Dungeon Settlement Called "Melodrama"

The minibus stalled at the gates of Karasuno High School, its engine letting out a weary sigh.

Lu Ren felt about the same as that engine right now. As a player who had long invested only in Intelligence and Perception while completely neglecting Endurance, after clearing three high-intensity dungeons in a row today, even if he had spent most of the time slacking off, his body had already reached the brink of a red-health forced shutdown.

The moment he got off, the night wind poured down his collar. It felt great, but the cramps in his calves were real too.

"Everyone, clean up the gym before you leave!" Sawamura Daichi's voice still sounded as full of vigor as ever, nothing like someone who had just gone head-to-head with one of the top six teams in the prefecture. Was this the tank class's passive health regeneration? Lu Ren grumbled inwardly.

The gym lights snapped on, illuminating the familiar wooden floor.

Hinata Shoyo's adrenaline had probably completely worn off. He was in a hazy, half-awake state, clutching a mop with his head bobbing up and down like a dead robot vacuum, making erratic Brownian motions over one patch of floor.

"Hey, Hinata, are you mopping or drawing talismans?" Tanaka Ryūnosuke passed by and casually smacked the orange-haired boy on the head.

Hinata jolted awake. "Ah! I'm here! The ball didn't hit the floor!"

"The ball hit the floor ages ago. It's cleaning time now."

Lu Ren sighed and resigned himself to heading for the storage room to grab some supplies.

Just as he reached for a rag, a hand shot in from the side and stopped him.

"Lu Ren, go rest over there."

It was Sugawara Kōshi. The vice-captain's sweat had not yet dried, and though his smile was gentle, the exhaustion in his eyes was impossible to hide.

"Senior Sugawara, I'm not tired. I can still grind some contribution points." Lu Ren tried to resist.

"Enough. Look at you—your legs are shaking." Sugawara brooked no argument as he pressed Lu Ren onto a nearby bench. "You worked well with Kageyama today, especially those crazy plays at the end. That took a lot of brainpower, right? Leave this to us."

Lu Ren opened his mouth, but in the end, he did not try to act tough in front of the team mom. He really was at his limit. If he moved a little more, he would probably trigger the Fainting Debuff.

He slumped back in the chair as Kiyosawa Mashiba naturally sat down beside him and handed him a bottle of water.

"Still alive?"

"Barely." Lu Ren twisted open the cap and took a gulp. "Feels like I took a level-one alt to solo a max-level BOSS. I didn't die, but all my equipment durability is in the red."

Mashiba chuckled softly without replying, simply reaching over to brush the loose hair from his forehead.

Not far away, Sawamura Daichi stood at the sidelines with Teacher Takeda.

Lu Ren narrowed his eyes. He could not hear them clearly, but from where he sat, he could see their expressions. Teacher Takeda looked excited, gesturing animatedly as he seemed to relive their victory just now. Daichi was smiling too, but an unshakable gloom lingered between his brows.

"Teacher, thank you for today." Daichi gave a slight bow.

"No, no, everyone worked hard." Takeda Ittetsu adjusted his glasses, his tone earnest. "Beating Aoba Johsai, even if it was only a practice match, was truly an incredible surprise. It proves we're headed in the right direction."

Daichi fell silent for two seconds. His gaze swept over Hinata and Tanaka, who were fooling around, before finally landing on Kageyama, who was staring blankly at the wall by himself.

"A win is a win, but we only got it because of the First Kill from the Monster Quick Attack." Daichi's voice lowered. "Once Hinata gets targeted, or our First Pass collapses like it did in the third set today, we're completely crippled."

Teacher Takeda's smile faded as he listened intently.

"And..." Daichi clenched his fist, seeming to find it difficult to say. "When we're backed into a corner like that, as the Captain on the court, I have to receive the ball and keep morale up. It's hard to spare the focus to make tactical calls from a coach's perspective. We need a real coach—someone who can see the whole situation clearly from outside the court."

"I see..." Teacher Takeda nodded thoughtfully, then his eyes grew resolute. "Leave the coach matter to me."

Daichi froze. "Can you really do it? Didn't you say before that..."

"Even though he hasn't agreed yet, I'll keep working on him." Teacher Takeda clenched his fists as if encouraging himself. "For these kids, even if I have to kneel outside his shop, I'll bring him out of retirement. I know what I'm doing."

Watching from afar, Lu Ren could not make out the details, but judging from Teacher Takeda's expression of if I don't go to hell, who will?, he was probably accepting some high-difficulty chain quest.

"Hey, look over there." Mashiba suddenly nudged Lu Ren with her elbow and tipped her chin toward the storage room.

Lu Ren followed her gaze.

At the storage room entrance, Yamaguchi Tadashi stood holding a mop with a helpless expression. Half the mop head had broken off, leaving jagged wooden splinters sticking out. It looked pretty dangerous.

"Um... Senior Sugawara," Yamaguchi asked cautiously, "should we throw this away? The broken edge is really sharp. It could easily cut someone's hand."

Sugawara, who was organizing the volleyball net, stopped what he was doing and walked over. He stared at the broken mop for a while, his eyes going vacant.