The sudden revelation of Ushijima Wakatoshi’s serve-receiving skills had shaken the “mental foundation” of the Aoba Johsai players somewhat.
Although they knew that Shiratorizawa had arranged things this way mainly to help Wakatoshi conserve stamina and focus more of his strength on offence,
From another perspective, however, it also meant something else.
If Ushijima Wakatoshi had never displayed such proficiency before, did that not also imply that Aoba Johsai had never truly pushed Shiratorizawa in any of their previous matches?
No.
He couldn’t keep thinking about it.
If he continued down that train of thought, Oikawa felt that the shadow he had finally managed to suppress would resurface again.
······
This serve from Ushijima not only helped Shiratorizawa stabilize their lead, but it also broke Asuto’s serving momentum.
The next rally…
After Shiratorizawa served, Aoba Johsai still managed to secure the right to attack.
At this moment, Asuto had rotated into the back row, greatly limiting his offensive options. However, with Oikawa standing in the front row, the pressure he posed to Shiratorizawa was no less threatening.
Ultimately, the attack was entrusted to Iwaizumi Hajime, whom Oikawa trusted implicitly.
Iwaizumi lived up to expectations by using Aoba Johsai’s specialty, the synchronized timing attack, to evade the two blockers in the front row.
And then…
The ball was received by Ushijima Wakatoshi once again.
“Give me the ball!”
After receiving it, Ushijima stood up and spoke.
Hearing this, Shirabu Kenjiro immediately sent a high toss towards him.
“A back-row direct attack? Don’t look down on us too much!”
Ushijima Wakatoshi’s undisguised attacking intent instantly angered Iwaizumi Hajime and Oikawa in the front row.
The two of them immediately rushed forward to form a block.
The next second… Ushijima jumped and struck the ball.
His near-perfect body posture made him appear frozen in mid-air for a moment.
Even though Oikawa and Iwaizumi had jumped at the same time, Ushijima Wakatoshi remained suspended in the air while their bodies began to descend.
Bang!
A heavy impact rang out.
Oikawa and Iwaizumi could only watch helplessly as the volleyball flew over their heads, cutting a wide diagonal across Aoba Johsai’s side of the court, before finally landing in the far back corner.
This incredible back-row attack, a super-wide diagonal spike, left everyone stunned.
Even Asuto himself stared in shock.
To be honest… There was absolutely no way he could hit a spike like that right now.
Unless there were no blockers in the front row, he would have almost no chance.
16:18
In an instant, the score gap that Aoba Johsai had finally closed was restored by Ushijima Wakatoshi with just two receives.
“Huff… Huff… Huff…”
After landing, Iwaizumi and Oikawa tilted their heads upwards, breathing heavily.
Even the two of them felt a sense of despair at that moment.
He was too good.
It wasn’t just his offense that was terrifying; even his defense appeared flawless.
In terms of all-round ability alone, Oikawa believed that he was the equal of Ushijima Wakatoshi.
However, when it came to absolute strength, Oikawa was still slightly inferior.
The match continued.
Shiratorizawa still had the right to serve.
After the serve crossed the net, Shinji Watari steadily received the ball.
This time, Oikawa chose to hand the attack over to Asuto.
It was another back-row attack.
Confronted with the leaping Tendou Satori on the opposite side, Asuto opted not to attempt the kind of super-wide diagonal spike that Ushijima Wakatoshi had used.
Instead, he fired a straight-line shot that skimmed tightly along the sideline.
17:18
Aoba Johsai pulled back another point.
But before they could celebrate for long, the very next rally saw Ushijima reclaim the point with another utterly unreasonable attack.
17:19
In the next rally…
Asuto acted as a decoy, creating an opening for Kindaichi Yuutarou in the front row, allowing Aoba Johsai to score once more.
18:19
But Shiratorizawa once again relied on Ushijima Wakatoshi’s offense.
Combining refined technique with physical ability that barely seemed human for a high schooler, Ushijima single-handedly broke through Aoba Johsai’s defense yet again and took the point back.
18:20
······
The two sides continued trading blows.
Shiratorizawa relied on Shiratorizawa’s “absolute power,” while Aoba Johsai depended on the coordinated offensive techniques woven together by Asuto and Oikawa.
A fierce battle for points unfolded between both teams, and it reached all the way until the match ended.
In the end… Aoba Johsai still failed to overturn the score.
Shiratorizawa reached 25 points first.
23:25
This practice match ultimately ended with Shiratorizawa’s victory.
······
“So we lost again?”
After the referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the match, Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and many of Aoba Johsai’s third-years fell silent.
The group tilted their heads upward, staring at the lights on the gymnasium ceiling while sweat dripped down from their chins.
Strictly speaking, this was only a practice match.
But their emotions were still complicated.
No matter how strong a person’s mentality might be, constantly losing to the same opponent would inevitably bring feelings of frustration and despair.
…
After returning to Aoba Johsai… Irihata Nobuteru did not continue practice and instead directly announced dismissal.
The third-year players each left on their own.
Before leaving, many of them carried traces of confusion in their eyes.
As for the first-years, they did not feel particularly affected by the outcome of the practice match.
So once the coach dismissed them, Asuto immediately dragged Mishita Ryuhei off to continue training.
“I thought you’d at least feel down for a while.”
Watching Asuto train with full enthusiasm, Mishita Ryuhei could not hide the astonishment on his face.
Asuto looked puzzled.
“Feel down about what?”
Mishita Ryuhei counted on his fingers and replied: “There are lots of reasons! Like losing the match. Or how your serves got received quite a few times today…”
Asuto stroked his chin and pondered for a moment.
“If it were the old me, maybe I would’ve felt depressed because of things like that.”
In his previous life, after losing matches, Asuto would often sink into all sorts of negative emotions. But in reality, those negative feelings weren’t simply because he lost.
It was because after losing, he would become overly anxious about gains and losses, unable to stop doubting himself.
For example…
‘Was he really improving?’
‘Could he truly succeed in the future?’
‘Did he even have talent?’
Many times, in competitive sports, this kind of mental torment was the greatest obstacle preventing an athlete from improving.
However, for the current Asuto, those problems no longer existed.
Because now… he had the System.
In Asuto’s view, the System’s greatest help was not the “Involution Grind Value,” but rather the status panel that quantified all of his attributes into visible data.
Because through those numerical stats, Asuto could clearly see the improvement in every aspect of his abilities.
And because of that… he never felt lost anymore.
(End Of This Chapter)