Doubling Down
Day two of the training camp.
Akashi Asuka suddenly felt a massive increase in pressure.
Yesterday, he could easily exceed the others' training volume by half with "normal training," but today, he needed "high-intensity training" just to barely exceed it by half.
By the end of the day, the others were lying down even more completely, and Akashi Asuka could no longer perform his cool-down exercises with yesterday's "ease." He needed to stand, gasping for air for a long while, before slowly recovering.
"Damn it, does this 'monster' not have a limit?"
Lying on the floor, the players watched Akashi Asuka, who was still managing to stand, and roared their resentment inwardly.
"What the hell, are these bastards already escalating their effort on just the second day?!"
Akashi Asuka stood with one hand on his hip, his peripheral vision sweeping over the figures lying on the ground, and his mind screamed with complaint.
During the high-density training of the summer camp, Akashi Asuka was already struggling to double his training volume beyond the others (to earn the Involution Value) in areas outside of strength training.
He never expected these brats to intentionally increase his difficulty level.
"Don't these competitive maniacs know that 'Involution Dogs' meet a bad end?"
Coach Shimokawa was a bit baffled, but internal competition among his team was ultimately a good thing, so he didn't overthink it.
The practice match was scheduled for the evening, to be held when everyone's stamina was nearly depleted from a full day of training.
Although this made the practice match more difficult, it also forced the players to concentrate more intently, simultaneously promoting faster technical progress.
...
THWACK!
Under the gymnasium lights, Akashi Asuka jumped high, unleashing a spike that shot out like a cannonball, rudely shattering the triple block in front of him and scoring a point as it hit the floor.
"Oh oh oh oh~~~"
Akashi Asuka's Red Team cheered loudly.
Opposing players Kazama Jujiro and Mishita Ryuhei wiped their sweat, looking at Akashi Asuka. "Damn, does this guy never get tired?"
They had been practicing all day, and their legs still felt soft, especially after the afternoon's physical conditioning. Never mind spiking, they were struggling even to jump.
Yet, Akashi Asuka not only managed to jump but maintained stability in the air even under these circumstances.
"This guy is truly becoming more and more like a 'monster'!"
Off the court, Coach Shimokawa, who was recording training data with a pen and paper, was equally astonished by Akashi Asuka.
Before the summer camp, Coach Shimokawa had only expected Akashi Asuka's attacking technique to have advanced by one level during the break.
But now that all the data was laid out on the table, he realized that Akashi Asuka's improvement was not just technical; it was a comprehensive, all-around leap in ability.
"How is he doing this?"
Shimokawa Sanwa found it unbelievable.
"So volleyball can be quite violent, too?" A voice suddenly sounded beside him. He turned to see Tanno Sawa had appeared behind him at some point.
Although Tanno Sawa was one of the supervisors for the summer camp, she usually did not monitor the team's training all day.
Firstly, because volleyball wasn't her area of expertise.
Secondly, although the two "academic failures," Akashi Asuka and Omae Masato, had passed their exams, she still had other students in her class who had failed, meaning she had to supervise their remedial classes during the day.
"Indeed, many people who don't know volleyball think that. Because the ball is not supposed to hit the ground, and it feels like it's always 'floating' in the air, many assume volleyball is a 'light' sport."
"But in reality, the core of volleyball is inherently 'violent'."
"There is a net between players, preventing physical contact. But precisely because of this, the sport's innate 'violence' is showcased to its fullest."
"In professional leagues, spikes and serves often exceed 120 kilometers per hour. An ordinary person facing that kind of speed head-on would find the ball indistinguishable from a cannonball."
"Even professional players, if they mismanage their reception of such speed, often sustain bone injuries, and on-court concussions are not uncommon."
Perhaps driven by the male instinct to impress a beautiful woman, Shimokawa Sanwa offered a lengthy explanation.
His words indeed somewhat redefined Tanno Sawa's understanding.
Tanno Sawa was a Japanese Language teacher and the Class 3-C homeroom teacher, with a naturally busy schedule. She had only token involvement in one cultural club.
As mentioned before, Senkoku Middle School was an "ordinary" school across all clubs.
The cultural club she was nominally in charge of rarely participated in competitions, let alone national-level events. Therefore, she understood little about volleyball, and this was her first time witnessing the training regimen of a club aiming for the "Nationals."
Though she lacked expertise, she had to admit that compared to the cultural club she supervised, the volleyball club before her seemed to exist in an entirely different dimension.
Putting aside the serious attitude toward daily practice, her cultural club members certainly wouldn't work hard to improve their academic scores just to attend club training.
In fact, two members of her cultural club were currently stuck in summer remedial classes.
Thinking of academic scores, Tanno Sawa subconsciously looked toward Akashi Asuka on the court. After a moment, she asked, "Coach Shimokawa, how has Akashi-kun been performing lately?"
"Akashi?"
Shimokawa Sanwa was surprised by the sudden question but since Akashi Asuka's performance had been flawless recently, he readily answered. "Akashi-kun has changed drastically. Not only in routine training, but his actual skill level has progressed incredibly fast. And for the club to even reach the fourth round, it was mainly due to Akashi-kun's efforts..."
At this point, Shimokawa Sanwa abruptly trailed off.
He hadn't noticed until he vocalized it.
Good heavens.
He hadn't paid close attention before, but now that he reviewed the facts, this wasn't mere progress; it was as if he had been replaced by a completely different person!
"Um, Teacher Tanno, has Akashi-kun also shown any changes in class recently?"
"Not particularly..." Tanno Sawa replied calmly.
Hearing this, Shimokawa Sanwa was momentarily relieved, thinking he might have overreacted.
But the very next second, Tanno Sawa continued: "However, his exam score improved just slightly this time."
Shimokawa Sanwa dismissed this lightly. "Score improvement is normal, isn't it? After all, everyone in the volleyball club improved significantly this time, you know, for the camp..."
Before Shimokawa Sanwa could finish, Tanno Sawa stated, her expression flat: "Akashi-kun scored second in the entire grade this time. I've reviewed the exam monitors, and there's no suspicion of cheating."
Shimokawa Sanwa: "...?????"