The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

After the play, when Lucas suddenly turned into an emergency setter to set up a quick attack for Matsumoto, it was no surprise that Team B was affected psychologically. While they didn't crumble immediately, their performance began to deteriorate slowly before the spirit within them was crushed into dust by Konan's players.

Yuki could only sigh in pity at the sight of Team B players' dejected expressions. "They can't help it. Once they started to bleed, it is very hard to recover, especially against an opponent like Konan."

Still, no one laughed at the hard-fought game they had put up. After all, while they didn't last as long as Team A—only about 36 minutes based on what Sato said—they managed to score more than 15 points. Some might argue that the players they faced were mostly Konan's bench unit, but that didn't diminish their achievement.

"Okay! Good job, Team B! Now, Team C, are you ready?!" Sato called out. The players whose names hadn't been mentioned yet nodded in determination and replied together, "Yes, Sir!"

With that, six new players came onto the court, ready for another game. Yuki stared intently at Team C's members, trying to analyze their situation while ignoring the sulking Riku next to him.

'Miyauchi-kun is the second-best hitter in the camp, behind Aizawa. Haruo-kun is the best middle blocker here. They also have Izumo-kun, the best defender who is even better than me. Adding Sawada-kun, who ended up as the second-best player in the setter training a few days ago, to the mix, Team C is basically filled with powerhouse players in every position. They should be able to do better than us.'

Or... that was what he thought.

To everyone's disappointment, it turned out that Team C was the worst of them all. Not only did they last only 23 minutes—which was half the time Team A managed to hold back Konan—but they could only score 7 points, putting them at the bottom of the table. Yuki could say that he didn't expect the result to be this bad, but in all honesty, he could see why Team C was a disaster compared to the others.

'They don't have a natural leader on the team,' he concluded inwardly. 'Haruo, the most experienced player out of the six, should have taken the mantle but approached the game with his usual playful attitude. The other five don't know how to communicate with each other. It is painful to watch, and by their expressions right now, they must be frustrated. Unfortunately, there is nothing they can do to fix that.'

The game between Team C and Konan wasn't the last on the schedule. They still had two more games to complete the five sets that were promised before the day started, and in games four and five, Sato used the opportunity to create every combination possible while testing how adaptable each player was to new teammates. That was an essential skill they would need to improve, not only for the game but also for real life.

Some people might not like being paired with new players suddenly without any preparation, but Yuki found himself enjoying this more than anyone else. He felt the thrill of not knowing who would be his next teammates and having to formulate plans on the fly. He discovered that Miyauchi would always be reliable to finish the offense, no matter how bad the set was, and no matter how infuriating Haruo could be, having such a high-quality middle blocker on his team was a privilege for the glasses boy.

'Hell, he could even frustrate Lucas-san and Matsumoto-san with his game-reading. As expected from the best blocker of this generation, he is insane,' Yuki thought, shaking his head in admiration.

In the end, though, not a single team was able to beat Konan High. Even reaching the benchmark of 20 points was impossible no matter how hard they tried. Konan's players proved that being good wasn't enough; they needed to be consistently good until the referee ended the game.

"Man, fuck them and their infinite stamina!" Riku cursed loudly while wiping the sweat from his face. "How could they not look tired?! They have been playing for three hours non-stop, for God's sake! Are you sure they didn't take any drugs before the game?!" he cried indignantly.

"Well, I'm sure they're not stupid enough to do something illegal just for a camp that wouldn't even be included in their resumes," Yuki answered wryly.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Bah! You're too naïve, Yuki! I'm sure they're hiding something. I mean, do you think it's normal for them to play five sets against different opponents for a full three hours without looking exhausted?! There must be some shady business going on, I tell you!" The blonde boy kept ranting for a while, making other players in the vicinity step away a little to avoid being associated with him.

To be honest, Riku was exaggerating. While it was true that Konan played five sets against different opponents, there were breaks in between. Moreover, just like the camp team, they always rotated players to give everyone a chance to play while others rested, meaning their resting time was far greater than what Riku thought.

Riku knew that himself. He just wanted to rant as a way to cope after watching mighty Konan High humiliate them all in five games in a row, none of which were close. This was enough to mess with his head. Your journey continues on empire

'And to think we are a bunch of the most talented players in Tokyo right now... What a joke…' Riku muttered wryly.

"Don't overthink this, Blondie," Haruo suddenly chimed in, circling his arm around Riku's shoulder. "It's impossible for us to win against them with a team that was just formed fifteen minutes before we played. I'm sure Sato-sensei has already considered that. So don't fret too much."

Riku frowned, fully aware of that reality. Still, he immediately shrugged Haruo's arm off his shoulder, staring at the taller blonde in distaste. "Don't put me on the same level as you, Bastard! You can't even get serious about your game, so of course, you can say that easily."

"Well, it's logical to preserve my energy. I mean, who's stupid enough to try their best just for a friendly game while also revealing their capabilities to future rivals? I'm sure you'd understand that, right?" He shrugged mockingly.

"Why, you?!" A thick vein popped on Riku's forehead as he was about to snap. All the players in the immediate vicinity tensed, ready to stop the fight before it could start. Fortunately, Sato, who watched the interaction from the sideline, had finally had enough and interrupted them.

"Okay, everyone! Gather here!"