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On the ride back on the school bus…
Having just won a match, the Sengoku Junior High School members didn’t feel tired at all, and there were two reasons for that.
Firstly, it was because the main force in this match was Akashi Asuto. Most of them played supporting roles, so they didn’t expend much energy.
Secondly, they were excited to advance to the second round for the first time in three years, which made it hard for them to calm down.
Meanwhile, Asuto sat in the back row of the bus with his eyes slightly closed. On the surface, he appeared to be resting, but he was actually studying his data panel.
Host: Asuto
Strength: 75 [Core Strength: 74, Arm Strength: 76]
Speed: 70 [Burst Speed: 69, Reaction Speed: 71]
Stamina: 72.5 [Endurance: 71.2; Cardiopulmonary Fitness: 73.9]
Jump: 69.8 [Vertical Jump: 74.6, Hang Time: 65]
Basic Techniques: 59.4
[Serve: 51.7, Receive: 57.4, Pass: 51, Spike: 75.1, Block: 71, Defense: 50.6]
Advanced Skills: [None]
…·
After more than half a month of training, all of Asuto’s stats improved to varying degrees.
This was completely normal.
Although he had mainly focused on Strength, Vertical Jump, and Spike during this period, the human body isn’t made up of isolated parts; it functions as an integrated whole.
When Asuto underwent high-intensity training to strengthen his legs, he naturally also trained his stamina, speed, and other attributes. Moreover, there are factors like “ball sense” that aren’t reflected on the panel.
Although he didn’t deliberately train it, he spent several times more time handling the ball in these past two weeks than usual. During this process, his “ball sense” naturally improved.
As his “ball sense” improved, his various techniques also improved.
Even if the improvements weren’t huge.
For Asuto, whose basic techniques had previously not even reached a passing level, this was a significant step forward.
And that was merely a side benefit of training.
Not to mention, both Arm Strength and Spike surpassed 75 points, two attributes he had focused on.
In the system’s classification… 75 points is a dividing line.
At the third-year junior high level, 75 represents the “peak level of an ordinary person” due to physical development limits. Anything beyond 75 enters the realm of the “gifted.”
For the former Asuto…
Unless he was willing to ignore his physical health and forcefully squeeze out his potential through extreme training, 75 would have basically been his limit.
However, with the help of the System, surpassing that limit became easy.
It was precisely because Asuto possessed two attributes exceeding 75 that he could display overwhelming offensive power, single-handedly breaking through Yuishi Junior High School’s block.
It must be said that this was a cruel reality.
Only after experiencing the strength of the “gifted” did Asuto deeply understand that, in competitive sports, “talent” can sometimes crush everything.
That said…
Over these past two weeks, strength and spike weren’t even the attributes that improved the fastest.
His Hang Time and Block saw the most rapid growth.
On average, each of these attributes increased by more than 10 points, which is an absolutely terrifying rate of improvement.
However, this wasn’t something gained through training; rather, it was a benefit carried over from his previous life.
Many factors affect a person’s hang time, including core strength, coordination, movement stability, and more.
The original body had a solid foundation in these aspects. However, the former Asuto didn’t know how to make use of these advantages, or rather, he had never even considered that Hang Time could be used as a weapon in combat.
In this regard, though, Li Mingshi, who played basketball in his previous life, had abundant experience.
After fully merging with this body, his stats naturally improved.
As for Block…
Rather than calling it a “technique,” it would be more accurate to describe it as a tactical skill.
Blocking heavily tests a player’s intelligence.
As for the previous Asuto, how should one put it?
Well!
Simply put…
The old Asuto failed more than half of his subjects on almost every exam.
The passing mark at Sengoku Junior High School was…
…was 40.
After all, it’s a “happy education” system! The key word is “happy.”
So, yeah, that makes sense.
· · · · ·
Since it was the weekend and there was plenty of time, Coach Shimokawa drove the school bus and dropped everyone off at their homes one by one.
Before getting off the bus, Coach Shimokawa repeatedly reminded them to rest well after going home and to absolutely not train in order to avoid injuries.
Asuto, of course, agreed again and again.
“Never try to argue with someone you can’t explain things to. It’s best to go along with what they say. Don’t contradict them, at least not verbally.”
This was one of the “social rules” Asuto had learned after graduating in his previous life.
Since he couldn’t explain the existence of the System to Coach Shimokawa, it was better to agree than to waste words.
After returning home, Asuto put down his school bag, grabbed a volleyball, and headed straight to a nearby park.
Not training?
That’s impossible! It’s absolutely impossible in this lifetime.
Recently, as the competition approached, many members of the volleyball club started cramming their training and working extremely hard. This made “involuntary grinding” much more difficult for Asuto.
The only way he could maintain his progress was to secretly train during holidays or when others were resting.
Asuto spent the entire afternoon training his jumping ability.
By the end, he felt as if his legs didn’t belong to him anymore.
But what was the result?
He had only completed one Low-Level Involution, gaining +0.1 Vertical Jump Involution Grind Value.
Seeing this outcome, Asuto immediately realized that there must be a sneaky teammate who didn’t listen to the coach and secretly trained at home.
“Ugh, disgusting. That volleyball training bitch, just looking at him, you can tell he’s not a decent character,” Asuto cursed inwardly.
· · · · ·
Several kilometers away…
In a park, Tomohiko Nishisonji, who had spent the entire morning on the bench, was now working hard to improve his stamina so he could set more balls for his admired senpai, Asuto.
Suddenly, he sneezed.
“Ah-choo!”
Nishison Tomohiko rubbed his nose, puzzled.
“That’s strange. Could someone be badmouthing me?”
After thinking about it for a moment, he shook his head and muttered,
“Forget it. No point thinking about it. I’d better keep training! With Asuto-senpai leading the volleyball club, we will definitely achieve great results in this tournament. For the future of the club, I have to contribute my strength as well.”
Recalling Asuto-senpai’s energetic presence on the court earlier that day, Tomohiko Nishisoni’s heart filled with hope.
Facing the setting sun sinking below the horizon, he felt his entire body brimming with strength once again.
······
(End of Chapter)
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