Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

3:30 PM, Karasuno High School Second Gymnasium.

The air was filled with the scent of Salonpas spray and floor wax, a unique aroma of the arena. But to Lu Ren's nose, it smelled more like the top notes of a "morgue."

He stood at the very end of the line, his back ramrod straight, as if a steel bar had been implanted inside him.

No one speaks.

Kageyama Tobio was stretching his legs, Hinata Shoyo was bouncing around in place, and Tsukishima Kei was adjusting her knee pads with a nonchalant expression. Everything seemed normal.

But in Lu Ren's perception radar, the surroundings were filled with malicious red dots.

*[System Warning: Persistent "taunting" gaze detected. Source: All Players.]*

Although no one mentioned the earth-shattering "radish-pulling" incident in the morning restroom, Lu Ren felt that everyone's pores were emitting a pheromone called "suppressed laughter." Especially Tsukishima Hotaru, who was pushing up her glasses 30% more often than usual, definitely trying to hide the smile on her face.

"I can't back down." Lu Ren gave himself the instruction in his mind, "As long as I perform strong enough, the system will determine that the incident this morning was a 'negative state due to overtraining' rather than a 'physical collapse of a weakling'."

Whitewash.

It must be cleared of wrongdoing.

"gather!"

A whistle from Daichi Sawamura interrupted Lu Ren's paranoia.

Warm-up begins.

For Lu Ren, this was not just a warm-up; it was restarting a broken server.

The initial stretching movements caused more than just soreness in his thigh muscles; they felt like a physical tear. With each downward press, Lu Ren waited for the system to display the red message "[HP-10]".

But ten minutes later, something amazing happened.

As blood circulation accelerates and body temperature rises, the excruciating pain gradually becomes blurred, replaced by a strange numbness.

*[System Prompt: Adrenaline levels have increased. Pain shielding activated (temporarily).]*

"Is this... battle mode?" Lu Ren clenched his fist, feeling like he was ready again.

The next exercises included basic running, shuttle runs, and vertical jumps. Although Lu Ren was still panting like a broken bellows, and although his speed was still the lowest in the team, he gritted his teeth and never fell behind even once.

"Train like there's no tomorrow, as long as you don't die." Lu Ren stared at Hyuga Shoyo's orange head ahead, his eyes burning with a flame of jealousy. "Is that guy using some kind of cheat code called 'unlimited stamina'? Where's the report button?"

Finally, the tedious basic physical training came to an end.

Sawamura Daichi walked to the sidelines with the volleyball and clapped his hands.

"Alright, let's practice serving next."

Captain Dadi's gaze swept over the first-year students, finally lingering on Lu Ren for a second, a hint of barely perceptible worry in his eyes.

"For first-year students, start with the most basic movements. Serving is the only technique in volleyball that is completely under your control and not interfered with by your opponent. I've already explained the key points, so now you can practice freely, and I will correct you one by one."

"yes!"

The crowd dispersed.

Lu Ren walked to the volleyball hoop, bent down and picked up a volleyball.

A blue and yellow sphere with a finely textured surface. This is his weapon, his staff, his 98K.

"According to page 32 of 'Volleyball Tactics Illustrated'..." Lu Ren's brain began to work at lightning speed, countless data streams flooding his retina, "Underhand serve. Difficulty coefficient: E. Stamina consumption: Very low. Accuracy: High."

He walked to the bottom line and took a deep breath.

The instructional video I watched fifty times last night automatically played in my mind.

Throw the ball. Height: 30 centimeters.

Arm pull-up. Right arm swings back 45 degrees.

The point of impact. The heel of the palm.

"Get out of here!"

Lu Ren swung his right arm, and the heel of his palm accurately struck the lower part of the ball.

"Bang."

A muffled thud.

The volleyball, with a listless trajectory that seemed to say "I'm tired, I want to rest," flew slowly out. Then, before it even crossed the net, it plummeted vertically to the three-meter line in its own half of the court, as if shot down by an anti-aircraft missile.

The entire room fell silent.

Hinata Shoyo blinked: "Um... was that a feint?"

Lu Ren: "..."

*[System Prompt: Strength assessment failed. Your strength attribute is insufficient to move this object.]*

"Mistake." Lu Ren picked up the ball expressionlessly, but inwardly he was screaming: There's definitely something wrong with this physics engine! Was the gravity setting too high?!

"Lu Ren." Sawamura Daichi walked over and gently instructed, "Don't be too stiff. Use the rotation of your body to send the power out. Don't just rely on your arms."

"clear."

Lu Ren nodded. He adjusted the parameters in his mind.

*【Adjustment: Power output increased to 120%. Increased torque to the waist and abdomen.】*

Throw the ball again.

Turn around, swing your arm, and hit the ball!

This time, the volleyball drew a perfect parabola, flew over the net, and landed steadily near the baseline of the opponent's court.

"Great shot!" Sugawara Koji clapped from the sidelines. "That's a perfect form!"

Lu Ren looked at his right hand, a slight smile playing on his lips.

simple.

too easy.

Isn't this just QTE (Quick Response Event)? As long as you press the button when the progress bar reaches the green area, you can get a Perfect result.

"Now that you've got the feel for it..." Lu Ren's eyes sharpened.

He picked up the ball and returned to the baseline.

This time, he did not choose to serve with his hand.

He raised the ball above his head.

"Overhand serve. Difficulty level: D. Key points: Strike the ball with the whole palm, applying pressure."

Lu Ren recalled the description of the "floating ball" in the book. Don't add spin, just push the ball out like you're pushing a goal.

Throw the ball, swing your arm, and strike the center of the ball.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound of the ball being struck.

The volleyball seemed to be imbued with some kind of magic, flying over the net without any spin, making a strange descent in the air, and landing inside the boundary.

"Oh?" Kageyama Tobio, who was drinking water, stopped what he was doing and glanced over with some surprise. "No-spin serve? A beginner?"

Qingze Yazhi stood on the sidelines, holding a notebook. She was about to write down "serving error" for Lu Ren, but after seeing this ball, her pen paused.

"This guy..." she muttered to herself, "His ability to turn theory into practice is ridiculously strong."

Lu Ren heard it.

Although they were separated by half a court, he accurately caught that slight hint of surprise.

Cool.

Is this the dopamine release that comes from the legendary "successful show-off"?

Lu Ren felt great. The muscle soreness from before seemed to have completely disappeared, replaced by a buff called "warm hands".

"I am a genius."

Lu Ren was certain of this.

"Now that I've mastered the serve..." Lu Ren's eyes lit up with fervor. His gaze went beyond the net to the empty court opposite.

In his eyes, it was no longer a wooden floor, but a huge, red-glowing BOSS health bar.

In his mind, the video footage he had watched all night resurfaced.

That's a recording of the Spring High School Qualifying Tournament.

The setter named Toru Oikawa.

The volleyball is tossed high into the air, followed by a run-up like a cannonball, hangs in the air, and then—bombards!

A powerful jump serve.

The most aggressive, coolest, and most shame-redeeming finishing move on the volleyball court.

*【System Warning: This is a high-level skill. Prerequisites: Strength B, Agility B, Stamina C. Current player attributes do not match. Forcibly releasing this skill may result in unknown consequences.】*

Lu Ren ignored the red pop-up in his mind.

"A true player is someone who challenges max-level dungeons when they're only level 1!"

Lu Ren took the ball and retreated to a spot three meters behind the baseline.

This distance attracted everyone's attention.

"Hey, what's that guy doing?" Ryunosuke Tanaka stopped his spiking practice, looking completely bewildered. "That approach run distance..."

Daichi Sawamura raised an eyebrow, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart: "Lu Ren, wait..."

That's too late.

The world in Lu Ren's eyes had become a slow-motion experience.

He tossed the volleyball high into the air, adding a spin.

"Absolutely perfect."

Then he started it.

One step, two steps, three steps.

The feeling of pushing off the ground made Lu Ren feel like a fighter jet taking off.

He jumped from behind the three-meter line.

The body stretches out in the air, the back arched, like a fully drawn bow.

"Now!"

The volleyball in the air landed precisely at the hitting point.

Lu Ren lashed out with his right arm like a whip, using all his strength, even exhausting his life force for tomorrow.

At this moment, he is Karasuno's bomber.

At this moment, he is the god of volleyball.

At this moment, he will silence everyone with his amazement!

"Give me... the key!!!"

Lu Ren's roar echoed throughout the stadium.

Followed by.

"Bang--!!!"

A loud bang.

Was that the sound of a hand making perfect contact with a volleyball? No.

That was the sound of a hand's edge slicing hard against the side of a volleyball, causing it to fly sideways and slam into the metal cart used to hold the balls.

The iron car let out a huge, mournful cry, slid two meters after being smashed, and knocked over a row of mineral water bottles.

But this is not the end.

The moment Lu Ren landed.

His hamstring muscles, which had just been paralyzed by adrenaline and were actually on the verge of collapse, finally issued a final protest.

"collapse!"

It was as if a taut string had snapped.

Lu Ren's dashing landing posture instantly transformed into a distorted "大" (big) character.

"Aaaaaaaahh ...

A scream, ten times more piercing than the previous roar, instantly pierced the roof of the stadium, startling several crows in the trees outside.

Lu Ren hugged his right thigh and rolled around on the ground like a seal that had just come ashore.

"I'm cramping! I'm cramping! It's broken! My leg is broken! Help! Healer! Resurrection coin!!!"

The entire stadium fell into a deathly silence.

Three seconds later.

"puff."

I don't know who couldn't hold back first.

Immediately afterwards, bursts of laughter erupted like a tsunami.

Tanaka Ryunosuke laughed so hard he pounded the ground: "Hahahaha! That serve! Was it designed to kill someone? It killed the train car!"

Even the usually composed Sugawara Koji laughed so hard he bent over: "That take-off was perfect, but... pfft..."

Sawamura Daichi covered his forehead, feeling his hairline recede another centimeter. He sighed and quickly ran towards the dark figure rolling on the ground.

"Stop laughing! Get an ice pack!"

Lying on the floor, looking at the glaring incandescent light on the ceiling, Lu Ren shed two lines of tears.

*【System Announcement: Player "Lu Ren" failed to forcibly release a forbidden spell.】*

*【Gained Debuff: Severe Muscle Strain (Right Leg)】*

*【Achievement: King of Comedy in the Stadium】*

Lu Ren closed his eyes.

Destroy it.

This time, there's no need to pull it out. Just bury it.