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Host: Akashi Asuto
Height: 182.6 cm
Weight: 79 kg
Reach (Spike Touch): 339 cm
Strength: 78.5 [Core Strength 78.1, Arm Strength 79]
Speed: 75.2 [Burst Speed 75.3, Reaction Speed 75.1]
Stamina: 75.7 [Endurance 75.5, Cardiopulmonary Fitness 75.9]
Jump: 77 [Vertical Jump 78.9, Hang Time 75.1]
Basic Techniques: 72.8 [Serve 72.3, Receive 72.1, Pass 65.8, Spike 79.4, Block 75.4, Defense 72]
Advanced Skills:
[Cross-Court Spike 73]
[Straight Spike 73.4]
[Jump Serve 74.5]
······
One week after the start of the school year…
Once the many members of the Volleyball Club had finally finished dealing with all sorts of chaotic things, such as ‘opening exams,’ Shimokawa Mitsuto conducted another round of testing for everyone.
These were the latest results from Asuto’s evaluation.
Of course, the latter half of the data mainly came from the System.
The spreadsheet in Shimokawa Mitsuto’s hands was obviously nowhere near as precise or detailed as the system panel, except for the first few categories.
Even so, the newest data was enough to shock Shimokawa Mitsuto.
In his eyes, this was no longer just a collection of numbers. It was the literal embodiment of the word ‘talent.’
In merely a single month, Asuto’s stats had evolved to a whole new level compared to the end of training camp.
Such a rate of improvement, as though there were no bottlenecks whatsoever, was something that Shimokawa genuinely could not explain in any other way than to say that it was “talent.”
The only thing he couldn’t understand was this:
He had coached Asuto for a long time, so why had he shown no signs of talent during his first two years of secondary school?
Was Asuto a “late bloomer”?
With this question in mind, Shimokawa Mitsuto continued looking at the next sheet of data.
“Hm? Now this looks normal.”
The second set of results belonged to Mishita Ryuhei.
Compared to Asuto’s absurd growth curve, Mishita Ryuhei’s development appeared far more normal.
First were height and weight.
In that regard, he wasn’t actually too different from Asuto. Both had grown by almost 1.5 centimeters over the course of a month.
Although this growth rate was relatively fast, it was perfectly normal for third-year middle school students.
Back when he worked at other schools, Shimokawa Mitsuto had seen students who had grown so much over the summer holidays that all their clothes and shoes no longer fit.
However, Mishita Ryuhei’s weight gain wasn’t nearly as exaggerated as Asuto’s.
This was because Asuto’s weight gain was caused by an increase in his strength, which forced his muscle mass to increase accordingly.
In fact, it had even slightly restricted the growth of his Vertical Jump attribute.
As for the other categories of data, Ryuhei obviously couldn’t compare to Asuto.
Compared to the day the training camp ended, some of Mishita Ryuhei’s physical abilities and technical skills had improved, while others had declined slightly.
This did not surprise Shimokawa Mitsuto in the slightest.
In fact, after an entire summer vacation, the fact that Mishita Ryuhei had maintained his stats at this level made Shimokawa Mitsuto extremely pleased.
This proved that he hadn’t wasted his summer.
Even though he hadn’t created a brutally strict training plan like Asuto’s, he had at least maintained a certain amount of training volume. Otherwise, if he had spent the entire month playing non-stop, his technical abilities would definitely have declined rapidly.
That was simply the nature of competitive sports.
The stats of the other players were mostly similar too.
Clearly, to defeat Kitagawa Daiichi, this group had been “ruthless” towards themselves during training.
Looking at the thick stack of data sheets in his hands, Shimokawa Mitsuto’s heart gradually began to burn with excitement.
“If they can maintain this level of performance, then maybe Sengoku Junior High can really make it to Nationals this year.”
Shimokawa Mitsuto had already considered leading Sengoku Junior High to the Nationals last year.
Back then, however, it had ultimately remained only an idea.
After all, as a coach, he understood just how difficult it was to reach Nationals, even more clearly than the students did.
But now, a faint spark of hope had finally begun to emerge within that idea.
It wasn’t just because the Volleyball Club members were working hard enough.
More importantly, Asuto’s evolution had enabled Shimokawa Mitsuto to envision breaking through the gates of Nationals.
Although his heart burned with excitement, Shimokawa Mitsuto remained calm on the surface.
He stood up and slowly spoke,
“Through this round of testing, I’ve seen the effort you all put in during the summer holidays. But… It’s still far from enough. Aside from Akashi, you have all become lazy since training camp ended. There are only a little over three weeks left before the Nationals begin. This is also your final opportunity in middle school. If you want to take revenge on Kitagawa Daiichi and challenge the national stage, seize this limited time and give it your all!”
Everyone shouted in unison:
“Yes!!!”
For the boys still in the throes of their ‘chuunibyou’ years, Shimokawa Mitsuto’s speech was undoubtedly a powerful shot of adrenaline.
They immediately threw themselves into training with boiling enthusiasm.
Asuto picked up a basket of volleyballs and prepared to practice jump serves, aiming to raise his Serve stat above 75 before the Nationals began.
However, before he could begin, he noticed two figures approaching him from nearby.
Nishison Tomohiko was already excitedly waving his arm before he had even arrived.
“Akashi-senpai…”
“Akashi, could I trouble you to spike more of my sets during this next period of time?”
Before Nishison could finish, Mishita Ryuhei, who had reached Akashi first, spoke up.
The moment he heard those words, Tomohiko Nishisoni instantly froze in his tracks.
The excitement on his face disappeared before his eyes.
‘How could this happen?’
‘Clearly, I was here first…’
Ever since the last match ended, Mishita Ryuhei had been reflecting on himself constantly. During the Prefectural Athletic Meet, his performance wasn’t actually that bad.
Aside from making a few nervous mistakes at the start of the tournament, he had performed at a normal level throughout.
Yet, for some reason, during that period, he always felt unable to properly synchronize with Asuto.
At first, he thought the problem lay with him.
However, after the Summer Training Camp, he realized that it wasn’t because he had performed poorly. It was because Asuto’s performance had become far too extraordinary.
Asuto’s rate of improvement was simply too fast.
Not only during daily training, but even during official Prefectural Athletic Meet matches, he continued to improve at an almost visible pace.
And precisely because of that, Mishita Ryuhei realised that his so-called ‘normal performance’ could no longer keep up with Asuto’s rhythm.
A setter is the commander of the team.
At the same time, he was also the blacksmith responsible for forging weapons for the spikers.
But during the first half of the year’s Prefectural Athletic Meet, as a setter, Mishita Ryuhei had undoubtedly been… unqualified.
(End of Chapter)
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