Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The referee's whistle pierced the noise of the stadium. Timeout ended.

In the Shiratorizawa half of the court, first-year outside hitter Goshiki Kou walked towards the baseline with a volleyball. The kid sported his signature watermelon-shaped haircut, his entire body taut like a fully drawn bow. He stared at the opposite side of the court, muttering to himself, probably giving himself a mental pep talk. As the only first-year starter on a powerhouse team, he was eager to prove his worth; his drive could be felt even through the net.

Throw the ball, take a running start.

Goshiki's jump serve was very powerful. The volleyball soared over the white net, drawing a sharp straight line, heading straight for Karasuno's back row.

Daichi Sawamura shifted half a step to the side beforehand. His legs bent, his center of gravity lowered, and the entire movement was fluid and seamless. The volleyball struck his forearms with a dull thud the moment his arms came together.

"Good catch!" Xigu Yu shouted from the side, and immediately took a protective action.

The pass was only halfway through. The ball didn't land perfectly in the setter's position; it went off to the right side of the court.

Kageyama Tobio ran incredibly fast. The soles of his shoes scraped against the wooden floor, making a sharp, short sound. He raised his hands to meet the falling volleyball. There were no unnecessary adjustments, not even a glance at the net. This ultimate control over space was an instinct he had etched into his muscle memory through countless practices.

Hinata Shoyo has already jumped.

The moment the front-row blocker from Shiratorizawa made a move, the volleyball, like a blur, passed right through Hyuga's hand.

boom.

The volleyball hit the floor of Shiratorizawa's half of the court.

Tendou Satoru's arm was only halfway out. He turned to look at the volleyball landing on the ground, scratching his red hair: "Ugh, that speed is ridiculous. I can't even touch it."

The scoreboard flips over. 6:3.

Karasuno pulled one back. Coach Ukai on the sidelines slapped his thigh hard, and Coach Takeda also breathed a sigh of relief. Against a team like Shiratorizawa with heavy hitters, being able to keep the score close was the foundation of victory. In the stands, Kiyosawa Masayuki waved his cheering stick along with the cheerleaders, his eyes fixed on the back of the player wearing the number 13 jersey on the field.

The serve changes hands. Lu Ren steps onto the baseline.

Instead of asking for the ball, he looked through the net at Ushijima Wakatoshi, who was standing in the back row of Shiratorizawa.

That guy stood very steadily, legs apart, center of gravity low, his whole body like an iron plate nailed to the floor. The Shiratorizawa cheering squad in the stands were playing the school song with all their might, the sound of the brass instruments was so loud it hurt people's eardrums.

Lu Ren rotated his wrist. During the Spring High School Qualifying Tournament, Karasuno suffered a lot from Ushijima's serves. That brute force, combined with the spin unique to left-handed players, completely disrupted Karasuno's defense. He was standing in the back row at the time and took several heavy hits, the red marks on his arm taking several days to fade.

The frustration suffered on the defensive end must be avenged on the offensive end.

The referee blows the whistle.

Lu Ren tossed the ball into the air. The height was lower than his usual jump serve.

Run-up, jump.

His body twirled in mid-air, his right arm swinging out. At the moment of impact, his palm didn't completely cover the volleyball, but instead sliced ​​towards its lower side. A wrist flick applied an exaggerated lateral spin to the ball.

The volleyball flies over the net.

The initial trajectory pointed directly to the center of Shiratorizawa's half of the field. Ushijima Wakatoshi judged the landing point and prepared to move.

Just as the volleyball crossed the three-meter line, a strange physical phenomenon occurred. The high-speed spinning ball generated friction with the air, causing its trajectory to deviate significantly to the right, drawing a semi-circular arc in the air.

Banana ball.

Ushijima Wakatoshi's movement was disrupted. He twisted his body and stretched out his left arm to try and scoop up the ball. This kind of sudden shift in center of gravity is extremely awkward for a tall player.

The volleyball hit the edge of his forearm, and with a strong side spin, bounced directly towards the GG sign outside the court.

Out of bounds.

The referee raises the flag, and the ball is served, resulting in a point.

6: 4.

Lu Ren landed on the floor and clenched his right fist, swinging it once.

In order to maintain absolute power in their spikes, heavy attackers are inherently subject to sluggishness in lateral movement and sudden changes of direction due to the distribution of their muscle fibers. This is a fundamental physiological limitation.

Ushijima's defensive range is vast, but that's based on anticipating the ball's trajectory. Once the ball's trajectory defies conventional physics, his defensive system, built on muscle memory, completely collapses. Ushijima's offensive stats are indeed top-tier, but his defensive agility and reaction speed are, at best, just passable.

Dealing with heavy tanks like these, using unreasonable mechanics is far more effective than a head-on confrontation. This is common sense among gamers. Since your stats are high, let you experience the madness of these bizarre mechanics.

The cheers in the stadium hadn't even subsided when Lu Ren took the second ball from the caddie.

The back row positioning at Shiratorizawa has been slightly adjusted. Shion Ohira moved two steps closer to Wakatoshi Ushishima, his intention clear: to help the ace player share the burden of receiving the ball. Ohira has a very solid foundation, and his defensive skills are among the best in Shiratorizawa.

Lu Ren patted the ball a couple of times, feeling the texture of the ball's surface.

Toss the ball again. This time, toss it very high.

The stride length of the run-up is very long, and the take-off height is astonishing.

Shion Ohira stared intently at Riku's movements, preparing to receive another unpredictable banana kick. He even adjusted his footing in advance, anticipating the possible change in the ball's direction.

Lu Ren swung his arm. His palm struck the center of the volleyball flat, without applying any spin.

The volleyball crossed the net with extremely high initial velocity, without any rotation in the air, and even the logo on the ball was clearly visible.

A powerful, floating ball.

The volleyball flew over the back row of Shiratorizawa and, affected by the airflow, plummeted rapidly.

The landing point was still Ushijima Wakatoshi's position.

Shion Ohira tried to move forward to receive the ball. But as soon as he took a step, his view was blocked by Ushijima in front of him. Ushijima was too tall, and the two of them overlapping in position made him a burden on the defensive end. Ohira's view was blocked for a fraction of a second, and it was this fraction of a second delay that created a crack in the entire defensive system.

Ushijima hastily reached out to cushion the ball. It struck his wrist, bounced upwards, flew over the net, and returned to Karasuno's half of the court.

Opportunity ball.

Hotaru Tsukishima stood in front of the net and smoothly raised the ball.

Tobio Kageyama is in position.

Lu Ren didn't pause after serving; he started from the baseline, leaping into the air just above the three-meter line. This was an extremely physically demanding style of play, but he couldn't worry about that now.

Kenjiro Shirabu shouted from the other side of the net, "Back row!"

late.

Kageyama's pass was precise and delivered to Rikuren. Rikuren used his core strength in mid-air to smash the ball into Shiratorizawa's court, over the still-developing block.

6: 5.

They continued to close the gap.

Lu Ren landed on his feet, his chest heaving, his breathing noticeably faster. Sweat streamed down his forehead and dripped onto the floor. This relentless, high-intensity running and exertion was extremely taxing on his stamina. Fighting against Shiratorizawa and his monster horde was a real and tangible pressure. But he loved this feeling; only by pushing the progress bar to its limit could he truly savor the sense of accomplishment of clearing the level.

Lu Ren wiped his sweat, walked to the service area, and received the third ball.

The cheers from the stands were deafening. Karasuno's cheerleaders were banging their batons wildly, trying to drown out the opposing brass band with their voices. Kiyosawa Masayuki stood up in the stands, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted something, but her voice was completely drowned out by the stadium's clamor.

Lu Ren tossed the ball up.

This time it was a simple, powerful jump serve. The volleyball whistled through the air as it headed straight for Ushijima Wakatoshi.

Having learned his lesson twice, Ushijima adopted an even lower stance. His legs were firmly planted on the floor, his forearms steadily meeting the volleyball. His powerful core strength allowed him to receive the ball without any unnecessary movement.

boom.

The pass was delivered perfectly.

"Good shot!" Kenjiro Shirabu ran to the net and raised his hands.

Wu Segong cut in at high speed from the left, shouting for the ball. He was determined to regain the momentum he had lost earlier.

The white cloth pass was very smooth. The five-colored worker jumped up and swung his arm to meet the ball.

On Karasuno's side, Tsukishima Hotaru jumped to block the net. Instead of completely blocking the route, she followed Lu Ren's instructions, bringing her middle and ring fingers together and tilting her palm back.

The spike from the five-colored worker hit Tsukishima's finger.

One touch.

The volleyball bounced high and landed in the back row of Karasuno.

"An opportunity!" Nishitani Yu steadily passed the ball to the setter position.

Kageyama Tobio glanced across the entire court out of the corner of his eye. Hyuga Shoyo, as if springy, made a diagonal run into the net from the right corner.

The opening move of the "weird man's fast attack".

Shiratorizawa's blocking players were forced to break through Hyuga's defense with their running. The attention of Ohira Shione and Shirabu was also drawn to Hyuga.

With a flick of his finger, Kageyama sent the volleyball flying toward Hyuga in an extremely flat trajectory.

Hyuga jumps and swings his arm.

Just a fraction of a second before his hand was about to touch the volleyball, a head with red hair appeared on the other side of the net.

Tendou Kaku.

He didn't look at Kageyama's passing motion, nor did he care about Hinata's running run. He relied entirely on a beast-like instinct, jumping at the most illogical moment, placing his hands across the inevitable path of the volleyball's flight.

boom.

The volleyball hit Tendo Satoru's palm, bounced straight back to Karasuno's half of the court, and landed on the wooden floor next to Hyuga's feet.

The entire room fell silent for a second.

This is the first time since the start of the match that the "Weird Fast Attack" has been singled out and defeated on the first side.

Tendo Satoru landed on the ground and flashed a peace sign at Hinata: "You guessed right. Little guy, your gestures are so easy to understand."

The referee blows the whistle.

7: 5.

Shiratorizawa pulled ahead.

Coach Ugao on the sidelines frowned deeply, his tactical board creaking in his hand. Tendo Satoru's completely unreasonable defensive style was the bane of all tactical systems.

Lu Ren stood in the back row, watching the red-haired middle blocker. This guy's brain was a complete mess, impossible to model with data. A typical blocker, whether marking a player or the ball, needs a process of information processing. The eyes see the setter's movement, the brain calculates, and then commands the body to jump. But Tian Tong Jue skipped all those intermediate steps. He didn't need to calculate; he relied entirely on intuition.

In the game, this is called a "command reading" cheat. The moment you press the attack button, his defense check is already in effect. Faced with this unreasonable gibberish, any sophisticated tactical coordination becomes a joke. The physics engine's calculations are ineffective against him, and the tactical panel's deductions are just scraps of paper to him.

"Troublesome guy." Lu Ren flicked his wrist. The difficulty of the dungeon had increased another level. But that's what makes it interesting. If there weren't even these little variables, the game would be too boring.