Host: Akashi Asuka
Height: 182.6 cm
Weight: 79 kg
Reach: 339 cm
Strength: 78.5 [Core Strength 78.1, Arm Strength 79]
Speed: 75.2 [Explosive Speed 75.3, Reaction Speed 75.1]
Stamina: 75.7 [Endurance 75.5, Cardiopulmonary 75.9]
Jump: 77 [Jump Height 78.9, Hang Time 75.1]
Basic Skills: 72.8 [Serve 72.3, Bump 72.1, Set 65.8, Spike 79.4, Block 75.4, Defense 72]
Advanced Skills: [Cross-court Spike 73], [Straight Spike 73.4], [Power Jump Serve 74.5]
·····
One week after the new term began.
After finishing all the chaotic "school start tests." the volleyball team's coach, Shimokawa Mitsuto, gave the players another round of assessments.
The data in hand was Akashi Asuka's latest test results.
Of course, the latter part of this data mainly came from the system, while the paper Shimokawa Mitsuto held lacked that same level of precision and detail, except for the first three categories.
Still, the newest stats were enough to shock Shimokawa Mitsuto.
To him, these weren't just numbers, they were a clear, concrete display of talent.
In just one month, Akashi Asuka's data had evolved to a whole new level compared to when the training camp ended. Such seemingly limitless progress was hard to explain with anything other than the word talent.
What baffled Shimokawa Mitsuto the most was that he had been coaching Akashi for quite some time, yet during his first and second years, there had been no sign of such gifted ability.
Could this really be what they called a "late bloomer"?
Puzzled, Shimokawa Mitsuto turned to the next data sheet.
"Hm! This one looks more normal."
The second set belonged to Ryuhei Sanashita. Compared to Akashi's data, Sanashita's growth trajectory was much more typical.
Starting with height and weight: they weren't too far apart. Both had grown nearly 1.5 cm in the past month.
While that rate of growth was somewhat fast, it was completely normal for a third-year junior high student. Shimokawa had even seen cases where students grew so much during summer break that all their clothes and shoes became unusable.
As for weight, Sanashita hadn't gained nearly as much as Akashi.
Akashi's weight gain came from his increasing strength attribute, which forced a rise in muscle mass, and that slightly limited his jump attribute growth.
In other areas, Sanashita obviously couldn't compare to Akashi.
Compared to the day the training camp ended, Sanashita's physical and skill stats showed some improvements, but a few areas had dropped slightly.
This wasn't surprising to Shimokawa.
In fact, considering a whole summer had passed, maintaining this level was already quite encouraging.
It showed that Sanashita hadn't wasted his vacation. Even if he didn't follow a strict training plan like Akashi, he at least kept up some practice.
If he had just played around for a month, his skills would've plummeted.
This is the nature of competitive sports.
The other players' stats were mostly similar, proving that the team was pushing themselves hard to defeat Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High.
Holding the stack of sheets, Shimokawa Mitsuto's heart burned with excitement.
"If they keep this up, maybe this year Sengoku really can make it to the nationals."
Last year, Shimokawa had entertained the thought of leading Sengoku to the national tournament, but it was just an idea back then. As a coach, he knew how tough it was to reach that level.
Now, that thought had begun to feel like a real possibility.
Not just because the players worked hard, but mainly because of Akashi Asuka's remarkable progress, the real hope for breaking through to nationals.
Though his heart was aflame, Shimokawa kept a calm exterior.
He stood up slowly and said, "After this test, it's clear you've all worked hard over the summer. But... it's still not enough. Except for Akashi, all of you have been too lazy since the training camp ended."
"There are just over three weeks until the national tournament, and this is your last chance in junior high. If you want revenge on Kitagawa and want to make a real push at nationals, then seize this limited time and give it your all!"
The group responded loudly, "Yes!!!"
Shimokawa's speech was a powerful boost of motivation for the second-year boys.
They immediately threw themselves into training with fiery passion.
Akashi grabbed a basket of balls, ready to keep practicing his jump serve, aiming to push his serve skill above 75 before the national tournament started.
But before he could begin, two figures approached him from a short distance away.
Nishimori Tomohiko arrived first, already excitedly waving his arms, "Asuka-senpai, "
"Hey Akashi, can you spike a few more balls my way during practice?" Ryuhei Sanashita cut in before Nishimori finished, stepping right up to Akashi.
Hearing that, Nishimori's excitement froze instantly, his face draining of color as the disappointment was obvious.
How did this happen?
I was here first...
Since the last match, Sanashita had been reflecting on himself.
During the prefectural tournament, Sanashita's performance wasn't bad. Aside from some initial nerves causing mistakes early on, his subsequent games were solid.
Still, he felt he just couldn't mesh well with Akashi on the court.
At first, he thought the problem was his own play, but after the summer training camp, he realized it wasn't that.
It was Akashi who was playing at an exceptional level.
Akashi's progress was so fast it was almost visible to the naked eye, not only in regular training but even mid-tournament.
Because of this, Sanashita felt his "normal" performance just couldn't keep up with Akashi's pace.
The setter is the team's commander.
Also, the blacksmith who forged the weapons for the spikers.
But during the first half of the prefectural tournament, Sanashita was undeniably an unqualified setter.
------------
Note: If you guys want to read up to 30+ chapters in advance of the current story, you can support me on Patreon. You can read up to chapter 61 there! Patreon.com/Veltoria