Akashi's Latest Stats
| Attribute | Value | Sub-Attributes |
|---|---|---|
| Host: Akashi | | |
| Height | 182.6 { cm} | |
| Weight | 79 { kg} | |
| Reach | 339 \text{ cm} | |
| Power | 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] |
| Jumping | 77 | [Vertical 78.9, Hang Time 75.1] |
| Basic Technique | 72.8 | [Serving 72.3, Underhand Pass 72.1, Setting 65.8, Spiking 79.4, Blocking 75.4, Defense 72] |
| Advanced Technique | | [Diagonal Spike 73], [Straight Spike 73.4], [Jump Serve 74.5] |
...
One week after the start of the school term, after the volleyball club members had finished dealing with various "back-to-school tests" and other miscellaneous tasks, Shimokawa Sando conducted a new round of physical assessments.
The data above represents Akashi's latest test results.
Naturally, the latter half of this data is primarily sourced from the system. The physical assessment sheets Shimokawa Sando held would not be as precise or detailed as the system panel, beyond the first three physical measurements.
Even so, the newest data in his hands was enough to thoroughly shock Shimokawa Sando.
In his view, this was no longer just data; it was the physical manifestation of "Talent."
In just one short month, Akashi's stats had seemingly evolved another tier compared to the end of the training camp. This rate of progress, which appeared to have no ceiling, could only be explained by the word Talent. Shimokawa Sando struggled to find any other explanation.
The only thing that puzzled Shimokawa Sando was why, despite coaching Akashi for a considerable time, there had been absolutely no sign of this talent during his first and second years of middle school.
Could this be what they call "late blooming?"
Harboring this curiosity, Shimokawa Sando moved on to the next data sheet.
"Hmm! This data looks normal, then."
The second data sheet belonged to Mishita Ryuhei. Compared to Akashi's numbers, Mishita's growth trajectory seemed much more standard.
First, his height and weight.
In this regard, he was similar to Akashi, having grown by about 1.5 \text{ cm} over the month.
While such growth was fast, it was entirely normal for a third-year middle school student. Shimokawa Sando had even seen students, while working at other schools, whose height had shot up so much over the summer break that none of their clothes or shoes fit anymore.
As for weight, Mishita Ryuhei's gain was not as dramatic as Akashi's.
Akashi's significant weight increase was a forced consequence of his continuously rising Power attribute, which necessitated an increase in muscle mass. This growth, in fact, had slightly constrained the growth of his Jumping attribute.
In all other statistics, Mishita Ryuhei clearly couldn't compare to Akashi.
Compared to the end of the training camp, Mishita Ryuhei's physical attributes and technical skills showed a mix of increases and slight drops.
This did not surprise Shimokawa Sando.
In fact, he was delighted that Mishita Ryuhei had managed to maintain these figures over the entire summer.
This indicated that Mishita Ryuhei had not completely wasted the break. Even if he hadn't adopted an extreme training regimen like Akashi, he had at least maintained a significant volume of practice.
Otherwise, if he had spent the month playing non-stop, Mishita Ryuhei's technical skills would have plummeted.
This is the nature of competitive sports.
The attributes of the other players were largely similar, showing that they had all pushed themselves hard to prepare for the rematch against Kitagawa Daiichi.
Looking at the stack of forms in his hand, Shimokawa Sando's heart began to burn with excitement.
"If they can maintain this status, Senkoku might actually be able to break into Nationals this year."
Although Shimokawa Sando had the goal of helping Senkoku reach the National tournament last year, it was ultimately just an aspiration. As a coach, he knew better than the students just how difficult it was to reach that level.
But now, that aspiration had given birth to a glimmer of hope.
This was not only because the club members were dedicated but, more importantly, because Akashi's evolution had given him a genuine sight of the threshold to Nationals.
His heart was pounding, yet Shimokawa Sando maintained a calm facade.
He stood up and spoke slowly, "After this assessment, I can see the effort you all put in over the summer. But... it is still far from enough. Except for Akashi, the rest of you have been too slack since the end of the training camp."
"There are just over three weeks until the National competition. This is your last chance in middle school. If you want revenge against Kitagawa Daiichi, if you want to challenge for Nationals, then seize this short amount of time and step forward with everything you have!"
The students responded loudly, "Yes!!!"
Shimokawa Sando's address was undoubtedly a powerful motivational injection for the young third-year students.
The boys, fired up, immediately threw themselves into training.
Akashi grabbed a basket of balls, ready to continue practicing his jump serve, aiming to push his serving attribute above 75 before the National tournament began.
But before he could start, two figures approached him simultaneously from nearby.
Nishimori Tomohiko had not yet arrived but was already excitedly waving his arm: "Akashi-sen..."
"Akashi, could I trouble you to spike my sets more often over the next little while?" Mishita Ryuhei, who reached Akashi first, spoke up, cutting off Nishimori Tomohiko.
Hearing this, the excited look on Nishimori Tomohiko's face froze mid-movement and visibly vanished.
How could this happen?
I was here first...
Mishita Ryuhei had been engaging in deep self-reflection since their last match.
During the Prefectural tournament, Mishita Ryuhei's performance was not bad. Apart from some nervousness-induced errors early on, he performed at his normal level in subsequent matches.
However, for some reason, he constantly felt a lack of coordination with Akashi during that time.
Initially, he thought he was the one having an off-day, but after the summer training camp, Mishita Ryuhei realized it wasn't his performance that was abnormal—it was Akashi's performance that was supernormal.
Akashi's rate of evolution was simply too fast.
Not only in daily practice, but even during the Prefectural tournament, he progressed at a speed that was almost visible to the naked eye.
Because of this, Mishita Ryuhei realized that his "normal performance" was, in fact, completely unable to keep up with Akashi's rhythm.
The setter is the conductor of the team.
The setter is also the blacksmith who forges the weapons for the spikers.
But during the Prefectural tournament in the first half of the year, Mishita Ryuhei, as the setter, was unequivocally... inadequate.