Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

At 3:30 p.m., the sunlight cast long shadows across the stadium.

Lu Ren stood at the entrance of the gymnasium, holding his discarded uniform shoes, looking utterly dejected. He glanced at Qingze Yazhi beside him, who was now dressed in sportswear and radiating energy.

"I'm telling you," Lu Ren yawned, tears still glistening in the corners of his eyes, "even though I was 'randomly' assigned and forced into this dungeon, aren't you a free agent? Why aren't you in your tea ceremony club or your home club? Why are you following me to this sweaty, smelly place?"

"Who said I was going home?"

With her hands behind her back, Qingze Yazhi turned to face Lu Ren, her employee badge swaying in the sunlight. A smile played on her lips, revealing a cute little canine tooth.

"Let me reintroduce myself. I am Masashige Kiyosawa, the new manager of the Karasuno High School boys' volleyball team."

Lu Ren was stunned for two seconds.

"Manager?" He pointed at Yazhi, then at the gymnasium, "The kind of job where you're responsible for handing out water and towels, recording data, and having to put up with a bunch of sweaty, yelling men?"

"To correct you, it's the 'GM (Game Master)' who's responsible for issuing missions, managing supplies, and..." Ya Zhi leaned closer to Lu Ren and lowered her voice, "monitoring whether anyone is slacking off."

Lu Ren's lips twitched: "...You've basically legalized residential surveillance."

"Nice to meet you, Lu Ren." Ya Zhi patted his shoulder, turned around and pushed open the door, leaving Lu Ren with a dashing back view. "Hurry up, being late will result in a deduction of experience points."

Lu Ren sighed.

This isn't a support NPC; it's clearly a personal sprite bound to the system, the kind you can't shake off.

……

Inside the stadium.

The air was filled with the mixed smell of Salonpas and floor wax. To Lu Ren, this was the unique scent of the "battlefield map".

Sawamura Daichi was standing in the center of the court, holding the roster in his hand. When he saw Lu Ren enter, he nodded, his expression serious yet with a hint of anticipation.

"gather!"

At a command, the players scattered throughout the field quickly gathered together.

Besides Tanaka Ryunosuke and Sugawara Koji, whom we met yesterday, there are also the "killer serve" Kageyama and the "teleportation monster" Hyuga, adding a few more new faces to the team.

"Now that everyone's here, let's start with introductions," said Daichi Sawamura. "Mainly, the new first-year members."

Lu Ren stood at the end of the line and activated "Player Observation Mode".

The first person to step forward was a tall, thin man with yellow hair, wearing black-rimmed glasses and estimated to be nearly 1.9 meters tall.

"Tsukishima Hotaru, a first-year student. Her position is middle blocker."

His voice was lazy, carrying an air of indifference that said, "I'm just here to see what these idiots are up to."

Lu Ren narrowed his eyes.

*[NPC Encyclopedia Update: Tsukishima Hotaru]*

*【Attributes: Sharp-tongued, Highly intelligent, Master of sarcasm.】*

*【Danger Level: A. Special Skill: Mental Attack.】*

The way this guy looked at Lu Ren carried a hint of scrutiny and a subtle disdain. It was like a max-level character seeing a newbie in a beginner's village wearing basic gear.

The unspoken message, "Heh, another hot-blooded idiot," almost materialized and slammed into Lu Ren's face.

Lu Ren mentally marked him as a high-risk, red-named monster. Ranged kiting is recommended; close-quarters combat is not advised.

Immediately afterwards, a freckled boy appeared behind Tsukishima.

"I'm Tadashi Yamaguchi, a first-year student. My position... is also a middle blocker."

The man's eyes kept drifting towards Tsukishima as he spoke, clearly indicating that he followed Tsukishima's lead.

*[NPC Encyclopedia Update: Tadashi Yamaguchi]*

*【Attributes: Follower, Loyal, Lack of Confidence】*

*【Danger Level: C. Special Skill: Summon Moon Island.】*

Lu Ren understood immediately. These were the common boss-summoning minions in RPG games, usually responsible for buffing the boss or taking hits for it. It seemed to be his childhood friend being bullied… no, suppressed by the great demon Tsukishima.

Finally, there was a second-year student who looked ordinary, even a bit like a random passerby.

"Yushita Riki, second year. Main attacker."

*【NPC Encyclopedia Update: Enshita Riki】*

*【Attributes: Balanced, Steady, Reserve Captain】*

*【Danger Level: B. Special Ability: Invisibility (crossed out) Very low presence.】*

His appearance and demeanor are exactly what you'd expect from a "save point NPC." He seems the most normal, but he's probably also the most difficult to deal with—because he has no obvious weaknesses.

"Alright, everyone knows each other now." Daichi Sawamura clapped his hands, pulling Lu Ren back to reality. "This Saturday is the freshman volleyball tournament. Although it's 3-on-3, volleyball is a physically demanding sport. Regardless of technique, basic physical fitness is the minimum requirement."

Sawamura Daichi's gaze swept over everyone, finally lingering on Lu Ren for a second.

"Today's training was very simple. We started with warm-up laps, then shuttle runs, and finally two sets of catching drills."

"It's simple?" Lu Ren raised an eyebrow.

This sounds like the "press W key to move forward" tutorial.

"No problem." Lu Ren cracked his neck, making a crisp sound. "For someone who's played through countless hardcore action games, running laps is nothing..."

Ten minutes later.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

Lu Ren braced his hands on his knees, feeling as if a blacksmith's shop was working inside his lungs, the bellows whirring loudly, each breath carrying a burning sensation.

My throat tasted like blood.

My vision began to blur, and the once clear lines of the stadium floor were now distorted into Van Gogh's Starry Night.

*[System Warning: Stamina bar is empty! Durability reduced to 10%!]*

*【Gained Debuffs: Severe Oxygen Deprivation, Lactic Acid Accumulation, Astral Projection.】*

"This...this is not scientific..." Lu Ren raised his head with difficulty, looking at the large group of people who were still running at a steady pace ahead.

That monster, Hinata Shoyo, ran so many laps and still managed to argue with Kageyama while running.

"You idiot Kageyama! You're too slow!"

"Shut up, you idiot! I'm adjusting my breathing!"

Even the seemingly lazy Hotaru Tsukishima, despite looking displeased, was breathing steadily and didn't sweat much.

Only Lu Ren.

It's like an old machine that has the latest graphics card driver (theoretical knowledge) installed, but is crammed with a Pentium 4 processor (useless body) inside the case.

It's too hot.

Blue screen.

"Lu Ren?" Sawamura Daichi ran over and stopped beside him, his brows furrowed slightly. "Are you alright? We've only just started warming up."

"Warm...warm up?"

Lu Ren felt that this word was an insult to his dignity.

This level of exertion would be at least a boss level in Ring Fit Adventure, right? And this is just a warm-up?

"Why don't you rest for a bit?" Daichi Sawamura said, his tone softening as he looked at Riku's pale face. "You've just joined the club, your body might not be used to this intensity yet. Don't push yourself."

rest?

This alluring phrase lingered in Lu Ren's mind.

With just a nod, you can sit on the sidelines, drink a sip of the ice water Yazhi hands you, and watch these monsters suffer. That's the kind of treatment a random NPC should get.

but.

Lu Ren glanced at the distance not far away.

Hotaru Tsukishima strolled by leisurely, adjusted her glasses, and a half-smile played on her lips. Though she didn't speak, her eyes clearly said, "Just as I thought, a nobody who only knows how to talk big."

Over there, Hinata Shoyo also stopped, looking at him with an innocent expression: "Senior Lu Ren, are you tired? Do you want me to carry you?"

Screw you!

An unnamed fire shot from Lu Ren's dantian straight to the top of his head.

This is a provocation.

This is blatant mockery.

As a hardcore player who once spent three days and three nights without sleep in order to farm rare equipment with a 0.1% drop rate, I can lose to skill, I can lose to luck, but I can never lose to the "newbie tutorial"!

"rest?"

Lu Ren straightened up.

Although his legs were still trembling and his lungs were still protesting, the expression on his face became ferocious.

That was the almost pathological persistence that the "Liver Emperor" displayed when faced with an impossible task.

"Are you kidding me?"

Lu Ren gritted his teeth and squeezed out those words.

"The word 'abandoning a project' doesn't exist in my dictionary."

As long as my health bar isn't zero and the screen isn't black, I can move!

Lu Ren took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the metallic taste in his throat. He took steps, his legs feeling like they were filled with lead, one step, two steps, and caught up with the tail of the group again.

Although his posture was contorted like a zombie and his speed was as slow as a tortoise, he was indeed moving.

Sidelines.

Kiyoko Shimizu was tidying up the towels when she saw this scene and stopped what she was doing with some concern.

"Is Lu Ren really okay? He looks like he might faint at any moment."

Kiyosawa Yashige was holding a notepad, sketching and marking on it. Hearing this, she looked up and glanced at the figure swaying precariously at the back of the line, yet stubbornly refusing to fall behind.

"It's alright, Kiyoko-senpai."

Ya-zhi twirled the ballpoint pen in her hand, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

"That guy, although he's usually as lazy as a cat, preferring to lie down rather than sit, has a terrifyingly strong sense of pride in certain strange ways."

She looked at Lu Ren's face, flushed from lack of oxygen, and said softly:

"For him, the stadium isn't a playing field anymore; it's a game level he has to clear. Once he starts treating it like a game..."

Yazhi paused, a complex light flashing in her eyes.

"That guy is a madman who won't log off until he grinds down the BOSS."

As if to confirm her words.

On the field, Lu Ren, who was already falling behind, suddenly let out a strange cry.

"For legendary gear! For the server-wide first kill! Charge!!!"

He suddenly accelerated, and although his posture was still awkward, his reckless momentum allowed him to overtake Yamaguchi Tadashi in front of him.

Sawamura Daichi, who was jogging, paused for a moment, then gave a meaningful smile.

"It seems," Captain Earth muttered to himself, "that this 'random' brick is much harder than I thought."

However, the real hell has only just begun.

"Alright! Run over!"

Before Lu Ren could catch his breath, Sawamura Daichi's voice rang out again, like the whisper of a devil.

"Next up is the shuttle run! Touch the line! If you miss, start over!"

Lu Ren's legs went weak, and he almost knelt on the ground.

He stared at the seemingly distant horizon, and only one thought remained in his mind:

This lousy game...

Is it really impossible to buy stamina potions with real money?!