BAM!
"Next ball."
BAM!
"Next ball."
BAM!
"Next ball."
BAM!
...
Inside the massive gym, Mishita Ryuhei's shouted cadence was remarkably distinct.
Because the frequency of his shouts was too fast.
The time for a regular three-person 'spiking drill' rotation is usually about 12 to 15 seconds. However, Mishita Ryuhei's group had forcibly compressed that time to 8 to 10 seconds.
The training calls from the other two groups sounded like:
Next ball... Next ball... Next ball...
While Mishita Ryuhei's group sounded like:
Next ball...Next ball...Next ball...
Even the frequency of the volleyball slamming into the floor was much more compact than the others.
Yet, despite the significant increase in frequency, Mishita Ryuhei's group maintained a surprisingly steady rhythm, though they clearly looked exhausted.
This was evident just by looking at Hanamaki, who was too tired to even speak.
"Hanamaki, would you like to take a break?" Akashi asked thoughtfully.
"N-no... No need!"
Hanamaki was drenched in sweat but still refused, panting heavily.
"Very well."
Akashi nodded and immediately continued training. After about five more minutes, Hanamaki's spiking rhythm clearly began to drop. Akashi spoke again, just as thoughtfully:
"Hanamaki, why don't you go grab a drink of water first?"
"O-okay... okay."
This time, Hanamaki did not refuse.
Hanamaki was never among the physically dominant players at Seijoh; the player with the best stamina on the entire team was Iwaizumi.
When Hanamaki started his break, players from the other two groups also began pausing for rest.
However, Akashi was still practicing...
Was he not tired?
That was highly unlikely. Although Akashi's stamina was peerless in middle school, now that he was in high school, his stamina was only considered excellent. After all, he was only a first-year, and the third-years had two full years more training than him.
But training is always like this; progress is accumulated little by little.
Just like now, even though Akashi was extremely fatigued, seeing others rest while he could practice for two extra minutes compared to his teammates filled him with motivation.
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
...
Standing in the rest area, listening to the continuous sound of Akashi's spikes, Iwaizumi inexplicably felt a surge of impatience.
Losing the match was one thing.
But if they lost even in training, what was the point of playing?
"Hey, you bastard Oikawa, are you rested? If you're done, hurry up and get over here to set the ball."
Oikawa, who had just opened his water bottle and hadn't even had a sip yet: "???"
...
The Competition Rises
Before long, hearing the spiking sound resume on the adjacent court, Akashi's heart stirred.
"They're done resting already?"
He subtly glanced at the court next to him. Sure enough, Oikawa's group had already returned to the court, having rested for less than thirty seconds.
"Oikawa, we need to speed up our training rhythm too. We're third-year upperclassmen, after all; there's no way we can lose to a first-year brat!" Iwaizumi declared.
"You got it, Iwaizumi!"
Oikawa responded, and soon, the spiking frequency on their court also dramatically increased.
...
On the other side.
Yahaba, who had been leisurely resting, suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of urgency when he heard the spiking frequency accelerate on Oikawa's court.
"Are you two rested? If you are, it's time for us to train too."
Kindaichi quickly responded: "No problem, Yahaba!"
Kunimi: "..." (So tired!)
"Get ready, we need to speed up as well. Even if we can't catch up to Oikawa, we certainly can't let a first-year at your same grade defeat us!"
Kindaichi shouted: "Oh! Don't worry, Yahaba!"
Kunimi's inner monologue: "I'm so exhausted!"
...
The sudden acceleration of spiking sounds from both adjacent courts caused Akashi, who was training, to pause slightly.
He glanced at Oikawa's court, then at Yahaba's court, and was momentarily dumbfounded.
Goodness gracious.
What is the meaning of this?
Is the grind starting already?
Speaking of which, before entering high school, Akashi knew that high school competition would be much more intense than middle school. Firstly, because the significance of high school matches is different from middle school matches, and secondly, because of the System's own settings.
In the settings of the [Competitive Grinding System], the best way for Akashi to quickly acquire [Grind King Points] would actually be to join a weak school, where no one would be able to out-grind him.
But the problem also lies there.
Since volleyball is a team sport, while Akashi would acquire [Grind King Points] more easily at a weak school, it would mean he would definitely not have good teammates.
In that case, no matter how strong Akashi was individually, he couldn't possibly win formal high school matches.
But if he joined a strong school, while the teammates would be better, the difficulty of acquiring [Grind King Points] would significantly increase.
High school competition is not professional sports, after all.
Professional players can freely choose trades and change teams, but if a high school player casually switches schools purely for the sake of winning or losing, it loses the true joy of high school sports.
Moreover, the System itself imposed restrictions on this aspect.
Therefore, this factor was one of the things Akashi considered when choosing which high school to attend.
However, even Akashi didn't expect the Seijoh players to start competing against each other so quickly. Is this something humans should be doing?
...
"Ah, Coach, aren't these kids a little too excited today?" An assistant coach remarked, looking at the training state of the main roster players.
"Hehehe~~"
Irihata Nobuteru-sensei chuckled: "It's fine. When new water is poured into a pond, it always causes a few ripples. It's good for them to feel a little pressure."
"I'm not worried about these second and third-years. But I'm concerned that the few first-years who just joined today, upon suddenly experiencing such high training intensity, might... might develop a desire to quit?" the assistant coach hesitated.
Irihata Nobuteru-sensei was completely unconcerned: "Relax! Don't underestimate the first-years who joined this year!"
Irihata Nobuteru-sensei's gaze drifted toward Akashi's direction, and he said profoundly: "I used to think that 'geniuses' were simply unreasonable beings, but now it seems that no one truly succeeds without putting in the work."