The Fall of the Theoretical King, a One-Time Ultimate Move and a Cooldown That Wouldn't Reset

3:30 p.m., Second Gymnasium, Karasuno High School.

The air was thick with the mixed smell of Salonpas spray and floor wax, the unmistakable scent of an arena. But to Lu Ren, it smelled more like the first hint of a morgue.

He stood at the very end of the line, his back ramrod straight, as if someone had implanted a steel bar inside him.

Nobody spoke.

Kageyama Tobio was stretching his legs, Hinata Shoyo was bouncing in place, and Tsukishima Kei was coolly adjusting his knee pads. Everything seemed perfectly normal.

But on Lu Ren's radar, the area was full of hostile red dots.

[System Warning: Persistent "mocking" stares detected. Source: everyone.]

No one had brought up the earth-shattering "Pulling Radishes" operation in the bathroom that morning, but Lu Ren felt like every pore in everyone's body was giving off a pheromone called "holding back laughter." Tsukishima Kei especially—the guy was adjusting his glasses thirty percent more often than usual. He was definitely hiding the curve of his mouth.

Don't chicken out, Lu Ren ordered himself. As long as I perform well enough, the system will judge this morning's incident as a "negative state caused by overtraining," not "a weakling's body falling apart."

Clear my name.

I have to clear my name.

"Line up!"

Sawamura Daichi's whistle cut through Lu Ren's paranoid delusions.

Warm-ups began.

For Lu Ren, this wasn't just a warm-up. It was rebooting a wrecked server.

The first stretches brought more than soreness in his thigh muscles. The physical feedback felt like a "torn muscle." With every bend, Lu Ren waited for the system to flash a red [HP -10].

But ten minutes later, something strange happened.

As his blood circulation sped up and his body temperature rose, the searing pain gradually faded, replaced by a bizarre numbness.

[System Notification: Increased adrenaline secretion. Pain Suppression activated (temporary).]

"So this is... battle mode?" Lu Ren clenched his fist, feeling like he could take on the world again.

Next came basic running, shuttle runs, and vertical jumps. Lu Ren was still wheezing like a broken bellows, and his speed was still the worst on the team, but he gritted his teeth and managed not to fall behind even once.

"As long as I don't die, I'll train myself to death." Lu Ren stared at the orange head of Hinata Shoyo in front of him, his eyes burning with an emotion called "jealousy." "That guy's got an Infinite Stamina cheat, right? Where's the report button?"

At last, the tedious basic conditioning drills came to an end.

Sawamura Daichi took a volleyball to the edge of the court and clapped his hands.

"Okay, next up is serving practice."

Captain Daichi's gaze swept over the first-year newcomers, then lingered on Lu Ren for a second, with a hint of concern that was difficult to notice.

"First-years, we'll start with the most basic technique. A serve is the only skill in a volleyball match that isn't affected by your opponents and is completely under your control. I've already explained the key points. Start practicing on your own, and I'll correct you one by one."

"Got it!"

The others spread out.

Lu Ren walked over to the ball cart and bent down to pick up a volleyball.

The ball was blue and yellow, its surface covered in fine-textured panels. This was his weapon, his magic staff, his 98K.

"According to page thirty-two of Volleyball Tactics Illustrated..." Lu Ren's mind raced, data streams scrolling across his retinas. "Underhand Serve. Difficulty: E. Stamina cost: very low. Accuracy: high."

He walked to the end line and took a deep breath.

The instructional video he'd watched fifty times the night before began playing automatically in his mind.

Toss. Height: thirty centimeters.

Draw back. Right arm: forty-five degrees.

Point of contact. Heel of the hand.

"Here goes!"

Lu Ren swung his right arm, the heel of his hand striking the underside of the ball with pinpoint accuracy.

"Thump."

A dull sound.

The volleyball drifted away along a dejected trajectory that seemed to say, "I'm tired. I want to rest." Before it could even clear the net, it plunged straight down like it had been shot out of the sky by an anti-aircraft missile, landing on his own side near the three-meter line.

The entire gym fell silent.

Hinata Shoyo blinked. "Um... was that a feint?"

Lu Ren: "..."

[System Notification: Power check failed. Your Power attribute is insufficient to propel this object.]

"An error." Lu Ren picked up the ball expressionlessly, though inside he was screaming: There's definitely something wrong with this Physics Engine! Did they turn up the gravity?!

"Lu Ren." Sawamura Daichi came over to offer some gentle advice. "Don't be so stiff. Use your body's rotation to send the force through. Don't rely only on your arm."

"Understood."

Lu Ren nodded and adjusted the parameters in his head.

[Adjustment: Power output increased to 120%. Add torque from the waist and abdomen.]

He tossed the ball again.

Turn, swing, hit!

This time, the volleyball traced a perfect arc over the net and landed steadily near the end line on the other side of the court.

"Nice serve!" Sugawara Kōshi clapped from the sidelines. "Your form's really solid!"

Lu Ren looked at his right hand, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

Easy.

Too easy.

Wasn't this just a QTE (quick-time event)? As long as you pressed the button when the progress bar reached the green zone, you got a Perfect rating.

"Now that I've got the hang of it..." Lu Ren's gaze sharpened.