Guardian God's Entrance Special Effect and the Hidden Attribute Called "Aesthetic Consistency"

The morning commute road, the air still carried a hint of lingering dew.

Lu Ren yawned, squeezing out two tears from the corners of his eyes. He carried his schoolbag in his hand, his steps as unsteady as if he had just pulled an all-nighter clearing an instance. Beside him, Kiyosawa Mashiba was full of energy, her ponytail swinging with her steps.

"I heard something big happened at your place last night?" Mashiba turned her head, her tone laced with a knowing tease. "Mom told me when she got back, saying the scene was quite moving."

"Don't even mention it." Lu Ren waved his hand, his face a picture of "the past is too painful to recall." "Was that a big deal? That was a flood. My Empress Dowager's tear ducts malfunctioned, almost reenacting 'Water Overflowing the Golden Mountain Temple.' If your mother hadn't arrived in time to find the spillway, my dad would probably have been using his body as target practice."

"Auntie just missed home."

"I know, but this was a sudden system maintenance. There were no announcements, and the players were completely unprepared." Lu Ren sighed. "But thankfully, the final settlement rating was S-class. There's a high chance we'll unlock the 'Return Home' new map during winter break."

They chatted idly, and before they knew it, they had reached the gymnasium entrance.

Before even going inside, they heard a loud "bang" from within – the sound of a volleyball hitting the floor heavily, a sound that made one's teeth ache.

Lu Ren poked his head in.

In the empty court, Kageyama Tobio stood at the baseline, spinning a ball in his hands. Opposite him, by the net, stood an empty water bottle, clearly the target of this shot.

"This guy's practicing his accuracy first thing in the morning." Lu Ren leaned against the doorframe, not rushing to go in and change his shoes.

Kageyama tossed the ball, jumped, and swung his arm. The movement was as smooth as a pre-programmed, high-frame-rate animation.

The volleyball traced a sharp arc through the air, heading straight for the unfortunate water bottle. Based on Lu Ren's dynamic vision, the trajectory correction for this shot was perfect, with a 99% hit rate.

However, the unexpected always happens within that remaining 1%.

A flash of orange suddenly darted out like a glitching NPC.

"I'll get it!"

Hinata Shoyo appeared from nowhere, shouting as he rushed to the landing spot. But he had clearly overestimated his own prediction ability, or underestimated the spin on Kageyama's shot.

He extended his arm, his posture contorted as if he were doing calisthenics.

"Bang!"

He didn't receive the ball. Instead, it hit his wrist bone squarely with a crisp crack, then bounced off at a bizarre angle, hitting the second-floor railing.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch…" Hinata hopped around on the ground, clutching his wrist.

A vein bulged on Kageyama's forehead, and the second ball in his hand, which he hadn't yet served, was being squeezed so hard it creaked.

"You idiot! Stop getting in my way!" Kageyama roared. "That shot was perfectly hittable! Are you here to cause trouble?"

"Did I get it? Did I get it?" Hinata completely ignored Kageyama's fury, still asking eagerly.

"Get it, my foot!" Kageyama pointed to the second floor. "That was a home run! Are you a spy sent by the baseball club?"

Lu Ren watched with great amusement from the doorway, casually pulling a candy from his pocket and popping it into his mouth.

"Again!" Kageyama, too annoyed to deal with the single-celled organism, picked up another ball.

This time, his gaze was even more focused, as if he could bore through the plastic bottle. Toss, run-up, jump.

"Whoosh—"

The volleyball shot out with a strong spin, its speed slightly faster than before.

Just as the ball was about to land, a dark shadow flashed by the entrance.

Lu Ren hadn't even seen how the person moved.

The figure seemed to have used a Teleportation Skill, appearing abruptly at the ball's landing spot. Without any wasted movement, they split their legs, crouched low, their center of gravity extremely low. The school jacket draped over their shoulders rustled with the motion, revealing a white T-shirt underneath.

Printed on the back in large white characters were the words: Senpai.

"Snap."

It wasn't a dull thud, but a crisp, clean light sound.

The moment the seemingly powerful serve touched the person's arm, all its kinetic energy seemed to be swallowed by a black hole. The volleyball obediently bounced upwards, tracing a gentle parabola, landing precisely where the setter usually stood.

Even the spin was completely nullified.

"So stable." The candy in Lu Ren's mouth almost shattered.

That reception was definitely max-level defense gear.

The figure straightened up, reaching to pull the slipping school jacket back onto their shoulders. The movement was as dashing as a samurai sheathing his sword.

Hinata's mouth hung open. He looked at the composed, calm back, then at the volleyball still rolling on the ground.

"So amazing…" Hinata muttered to himself, then his gaze fell on the person's head.

The boy wearing the "Senpai" T-shirt turned around. His hair stood up high, with a streak of gold dyed at the front, and his eyes were sharp.

Hinata stared at him for two seconds, then blurted out, "Um… you're shorter than me."

The air froze.

Lu Ren covered his face. This kid really couldn't hold a conversation. Was this kind of offensive skill passively triggered?