The Concerned Teachers
After the practice match concluded, Shimokawa Sanwa covertly pulled Akashi Asuka aside and asked in a low voice, "Akashi, is your family... alright recently?"
"???"
Akashi Asuka was bewildered, a mental collection of question marks popping into his mind.
"They should be... fine? I haven't noticed anything wrong," Akashi Asuka's reply was hesitant due to Shimokawa Sanwa's unexpected concern.
Could something actually be wrong at home? He hadn't recalled any issues with the original body's parents. Could it be the cheap older sister?
Akashi Asuka's bewildered expression led Shimokawa Sanwa and Tanno Sawa to exchange silent glances. They chose not to press further, nodded, and let Akashi Asuka leave. Shimokawa then immediately called Akashi Asuka's parents.
After extensive communication, the two teachers finally confirmed that Akashi Asuka's recent changes were, at least, unrelated to any domestic issues.
"If it's not family, could it be a relationship?"
Shimokawa Sanwa proposed a new conjecture. Tanno Sawa carefully thought back, but ultimately shook her head.
Japan is generally quite tolerant of middle school romance, but in her memory, while Akashi Asuka was popular, he seemed to still be single.
Tanno Sawa had paid close attention to Akashi Asuka, though not entirely in a positive light.
The moniker "delinquent" might seem cool to a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy, but for a teacher, a "delinquent" like Akashi Asuka was far more troublesome than a simple idiot like Omae Masato.
Omae Masato: "Is that polite?"
...
Akashi Asuka, naturally, had no idea that the changes brought about by his transmigration had prompted Shimokawa Sanwa and Tanno Sawa to speculate so wildly.
After training, he was engrossed in a video game with his friends.
The ultimate essence of group gaming lies in crowding together, vying for control of a few controllers.
The days of the training camp passed quickly.
Akashi Asuka's various attributes grew at a visible rate.
Crucially, he did not accumulate much Involution Value during the camp due to the inherent high intensity and scheduling, especially for the core attributes.
However, for those fundamental techniques that were still below the passing grade, simple high-intensity training actually brought about improvements that were just as rapid as those achieved by spending the Involution Value.
After this camp, Akashi Asuka began to suspect that this might be the correct way to utilize the Involution Value.
When a technical score is low, prioritize high-intensity training for improvement first.
Once conventional training yields diminishing returns, then use the banked Involution Value to break through the talent cap.
By the time the two-week camp concluded, Akashi Asuka's status panel had been completely refreshed.
Host: Akashi Asuka
* Power: 76.1 [Core Strength 75.4, Arm Strength 76.8]
* Speed: 72.7 [Explosive Speed 73, Reaction Speed 72.4]
* Stamina: 74.2 [Endurance 74, Cardiopulmonary 74.4]
* Jumping: 74.3 [Vertical 76.6, Hang Time 72]
* Basic Technique: 66.8 [Serving 65.2, Underhand Pass 64.6, Setting 58, Spiking 76, Blocking 72.2, Defense 65]
* Advanced Technique: [None]
The two weeks of intensive training had added another attribute that broke the 75 threshold: Core Strength.
This quality is critically important for volleyball players. For Akashi Asuka, pushing Core Strength past 75 meant the power of his spike had been elevated by at least another level.
In addition, his various basic techniques had generally risen above the average line.
Only Setting remained a notable exception, but this was a minor concern.
As a Wing Spiker, Akashi Asuka rarely needed to set. Even when rotating to the back row to receive the first ball, the skill required was ball reception, which falls under the categories of Underhand Pass and Defense.
This explained the slow progress of his Setting technique.
Reunion
After the camp, all the volleyball club members happily went their separate ways home.
Omae Masato and the others genuinely loved club activities, but as middle school students, they loved vacation even more.
Theoretically, devoting the entire month and a half of summer vacation to intensive training would rapidly elevate the skill of everyone in the club by several levels.
But this was only theoretical.
Even professional athletes have an off-season. Asking a group of fifteen- or sixteen-year-olds to sacrifice their final summer break before high school for a training camp was simply fantasy.
Not only was it impossible for Senkoku, but it was likely impossible for any middle school nationwide.
The only way it might be feasible is if they were high school seniors.
Even Akashi Asuka, despite having an adult soul, wouldn't dedicate the entire precious holiday to training.
He intended to use only two-thirds of the time, at most.
Returning home, Akashi Asuka noticed an extra person in the house.
"Yo! Asuka, welcome home."
"I'm back."
Akashi Asuka calmly greeted the girl lying sprawled across the sofa in a baggy T-shirt and shorts, with messy hair, adopting a slovenly posture known as the Geyou-tany (slump).
This was Akashi Kana, the older sister of the original body, currently a high school sophomore.
She typically did not live at home. Since her high school was far from home, and her parents were busy, commuting daily was a waste of time. She had opted to rent an apartment near the school, a common occurrence in Japan.
From the original body's memories, Akashi Asuka judged the relationship between the original Asuka and Kana to be very typical: they could coexist peacefully for long periods apart, but after three days together, they were guaranteed to fight.
After greeting Kana, Akashi Asuka put his bag away and went to the bathroom to shower. He was, after all, sweaty from training.
"Asuka, are you done showering? What do you want to eat tonight?"
"I'm done. I'll be out right..."
Slam!
Before Akashi Asuka could finish, the bathroom door was abruptly thrown open. Akashi Asuka, who had just put on his shorts and was reaching for a shirt, froze instantly.
Akashi Kana, standing in the doorway, also froze.
Akashi Asuka's shock stemmed from his surprise at how... aggressive the original body's sister was.
Akashi Kana's shock, however, was purely due to being momentarily dazzled by Akashi Asuka's physique.
Akashi Asuka already had a good base physique, and with the recent increase in intensity and scientific rigor of his training, his body was transforming daily.
Especially now that his Arm Strength and Core Strength had both exceeded 75, his shoulder and abdominal muscles were clearly defined, exuding an aura of masculine hormone.
The silence lasted for one or two seconds.
Then, Akashi Kana walked right up to Akashi Asuka without a shred of embarrassment, reaching out to squeeze his bicep here and feel his abdominal muscles there. A knowing, veteran-like grin spread across her face.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk~~~ I can't believe how good your body has gotten in just a few months, little brother. You actually stunned your big sister for a second. Looks like your future girlfriend is going to be very lucky!"
Akashi Asuka: "..."
"Original owner, you called this a normal sibling relationship?"