Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

On Monday afternoon, the Karasuno volleyball court was filled with the sharp sound of shoes scraping against the floor. The air was filled with the smell of antiperspirant spray and the distinctive scent of sweat from young boys—a smell that would get the blood pumping for any sports anime enthusiast, but made Riku Ren's liver tremble.

During a break before training began, Daichi Sawamura was staring blankly at a notebook in his hand.

"This is……"

Sawamura turned a page, his brow furrowed. The page was densely covered with data, from the setter's ball-setting habits to the outside hitter's approach run, even the opponent's visual guidance during serves was marked. The handwriting was neat and beautiful, and it was accompanied by simple tactical diagrams, its professionalism comparable to an official strategy guide for an RPG game.

"Data analysis of Aoba Johsai's main setter, Toru Oikawa, and estimation of various numerical values ​​for some of the starting players."

Kiyosawa Yashiki stood to the side, twirling a ballpoint pen in her hand, speaking in a relaxed tone as if discussing what to have for dinner, "Although I only watched half the game, the sample size isn't large, but the core mechanisms should all be here."

Sugawara Koji leaned over for a peek, then gasped, "This is incredibly detailed... This level of intelligence usually only comes from recording footage on-site and analyzing it repeatedly, right? Yazhi, where did you get this?"

"Yesterday afternoon, Lu Ren and I went to the Civic Gymnasium." Ya Zhi pointed to Lu Ren, who was stretching his legs next to her. "We originally wanted to go and gain some experience points, but we happened to run into a random team there. Lu Ren joined in and played a match."

"ha?!"

All eyes immediately turned to Lu Ren.

Lu Ren was burying his face in his knees, pretending to be dead. Feeling the burning gazes around him, he could only awkwardly raise his head: "Um... it was purely accidental. The system randomly matched us."

"Impressive, Lu Ren!" Tanaka Ryunosuke slapped Lu Ren hard on the back, the force almost causing him internal injuries. "He actually dared to challenge Aoba City West all by himself! Is this what a man's courage is?!"

"No, actually..." Lu Ren wanted to explain that he had no idea who it was at the time.

"And to avoid revealing his identity, this guy even used a fake name," Yazhi added from the side, a smile on her face that seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold. "He claims to be a first-year student from Shiratorizawa, named 'Baki Hanma'."

"Pfft—" Sugawara couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Tanaka laughed so hard he almost pounded the ground: "Baki Hanma? Hahahaha! The protagonist of that fighting manga? Riku, you're brilliant! You used a fake name, so even if you beat them to a pulp, they won't be able to find you! That's what you call 'leaving without a trace, concealing your merit and fame,' right?!"

Looking at Tanaka's thumbs-up, Lu Ren twitched the corners of his mouth. Although it sounded cool, he felt something was off.

The logic of "you won't recognize me if I change my alias" certainly works in games. After all, once you change your ID and create a new character, who would know you were the red-named player wanted by the entire server yesterday?

However, a "face-customization system" does not exist in the real world.

"that……"

A calm, almost irritating voice came from the side. Tsukishima Hotaru pushed up her glasses, shifted her gaze from her notebook to Lu Ren's face, her eyes filled with three parts mockery and seven parts pity.

"I don't want to interrupt your self-indulgence, but I remember we're playing a practice match against Aoba Johsai this Saturday, right?"

The air suddenly became quiet.

Tanaka's wild laughter abruptly stopped. Sawamura and Sugawara were stunned.

Lu Ren's expression froze in mid-air, like a game screen suddenly freezing and dropping to 0 frames.

Tsukishima's lips curled into a wicked smile as he continued, "When the two teams shake hands, and Oikawa Tetsu sees 'Baki Hanma' standing opposite him in Karasuno's uniform... that scene will definitely be spectacular."

"..."

Lu Ren's brain overloaded in an instant.

It’s over.

He forgot about this fatal bug.

This isn't a problem that can be solved by switching servers; it means we have to meet in person in a few days. Just imagine the expression on Oikawa Tetsu's face when he sees me...

They'd probably be taken aback at first, then burst into laughter, and finally point to themselves and say, "Oh my, isn't this the fighter from Shiratorizawa? What are you doing playing volleyball at Karasuno?"

Social death.

Absolute and unavoidable social death.

Lu Ren clutched his head in anguish, wishing he could disappear into a crack in the ground or simply reload his save and start over.

"Alright, alright." Although Sawamura Daichi also found it amusing, as the team leader, he dutifully steered the conversation back on track. "Regardless, this information is extremely valuable. Now that we have the strategy guide, we can't waste it. Rikujin."

"Yes..." Lu Ren replied weakly.

"After training, you'll give everyone a detailed account of how you felt at the time and the passing characteristics of Oikawa Toru." Sawamura waved the notebook in his hand, his eyes sharpening. "Since you experienced it firsthand, that's the best firsthand information."

"Yes." Lu Ren sighed, resigned to his fate.

Since the team's defeat is inevitable, the only option before that is to expose the opponent's dirty laundry and try to regain their footing in the competition.

If I win, my past mistakes will be seen as tactical deception.

……

In the following training sessions, Lu Ren threw himself into hell mode.

Now that you've decided to conquer this game called "Volleyball," you can't keep thinking about exploiting bugs. If your base stats are too low, even the best skills won't deal any damage.

"Catch! Again!"

Lu Ren slammed his arms against the floor again and again, his arms turning red from being hit by the volleyball.

His foundation is very weak. Although he has a perfect physical model in his mind and can predict where the ball will land, his body coordination and muscle memory are completely inadequate. Many times, his brain says "go there," but his legs say "I can't do it."

This is the tragedy of those who are "clumsy with their hands".

"Good shot! Lu Ren!" Da Di shouted encouragingly from the sidelines. "Lower your center of gravity! Don't reach for the ball with your hands, chase it with your feet!"

Lu Ren gritted his teeth, got up from the ground, and gasped for breath. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and his thigh muscles began to protest with soreness.

He turned his head and glanced at the other side of the field.

Hinata Shoyo was like a tireless spring, repeatedly jumping at the net. His orange head bobbed up and down in the air, shouting nonsensical onomatopoeia: "Whoosh—! Snap—! Boom—!"

"One more shot! Kageyama!"

"Shut up, you idiot! You're running too fast!"

Looking at those two overly energetic monsters, Lu Ren felt his eyes twitch.

Was that a human?

Is Hinata's stamina bar locked? Or is he using a cheat code that gives him "unlimited stamina"? Everyone's training volume is the same, so why can he run around the field like he just turned on the computer?

Is this the difference between a naturally gifted person and a hard-working person?

Lu Ren looked away and glanced at Tsukishima, who was standing on the sidelines drinking water.

Although Tsukishima was training diligently, he was clearly holding back, his face displaying an indifferent "that's enough" attitude.

Lu Ren silently assessed the situation in his mind.

Catching up to a stamina monster like Hyuga is impossible; that's a matter of racial talent. My goal should be to reach Tsukishima's level first—at least be able to play the entire match without exhausting myself and having to be carried off the field.

"Lu Ren, your movements are off."

Ya-Chih's voice came from the sidelines. She held a scoreboard in her hand, her eyes stern, "Keep your arms straight, don't be lazy and use your wrists just because you're tired."

"I know..." Lu Ren gasped, adjusting his posture.

In the past, he would have made an excuse to go to the sidelines and "recover mana." But today, the thought of facing the all-knowing Oikawa Tetsu on Saturday, and the unpleasant feeling of being used as a guinea pig, filled Lu Ren with a burning desire.

Even a small number has dignity.

If he not only gets killed on Saturday, but is also made a fool of on the court like a monkey, where will he put his face as a "time traveler"?

The training continued until 7 p.m.

"Gather! Stretch!" Sawamura blew his whistle.

Lu Ren slumped to the floor with a sigh of relief, feeling as if his legs no longer belonged to him. Sweat dripped from his chin onto the wooden floor, forming a small puddle.

"Can you still move?" Kageyama walked over, looking down at him with a volleyball in his hand, seemingly wanting to practice more.

"Can't move, get lost." Lu Ren rolled his eyes. "If I keep practicing, I'll trigger the 'rhabdomyolysis' debuff. I don't want to end up in the hospital."

Hinata peeked out from behind Kageyama: "Eh? Aren't you going to practice extra, Riku-senpai? I still want to try that 'ceiling serve'!"

"That's a bugged skill; it has a very long cooldown." Lu Ren waved his hand, declining the monster's invitation.

He struggled to his feet and walked to Yazhi's side.

"tonight……"

"Same as always." Yazhi closed her laptop, revealing a kind smile. She stretched her slender fingers, her knuckles making a crisp cracking sound. "I'll give you a 'deep maintenance' when we get back."

Lu Ren couldn't help but shiver.

Although Ya-Chih's massage techniques could be described as "torture," making him scream like a pig being slaughtered each time, the effects were indeed immediate. When he woke up the next morning, the muscle-tearing soreness would miraculously disappear, replaced by a clear and relaxed feeling.

Without this "personal nanny" keeping him alive, he would probably have been crippled long ago with such a sudden increase in training intensity.

"Then I'll have to trouble you..." Lu Ren said weakly, "Go easy on me, I feel like my health bar is already red."

"Don't worry." Yazhi patted his shoulder and smiled meaningfully, "To give you the strength to face that Great Demon King Oikawa on Saturday, I'll give you a 'super-sized' buff."

Looking at her radiant smile, Lu Ren suddenly felt that even before Saturday's match had started, he already had one foot in the grave.

but……

He glanced back at the empty volleyball hall, where the white volleyball lay quietly on the floor under the lights.

"At the very least, we can't lose too badly."

Lu Ren muttered to himself, grabbed his backpack, and caught up with the group.