Recently, an even more monstrous genius setter had emerged—Tobio Kageyama! With tosses that were practically inhuman, this match was over before it even began.
"Next up, Hank."
"You'll take over the wing spiker's position. As long as you can finish the match, that's enough."
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself!"
The North River Middle School coach let out a sigh, then handed the number card to Hank, who was sitting on the bench behind him.
Once the time-out ended, the referee quickly recorded the number on Hank's back and motioned for him to step onto the court.
[ Ding! Congratulations, Host, on activating the King of Volleyball System! ]
[ System has detected that this is the Host's first awakening. Reward granted: beginner gift pack — max-level vertical jump, plus an overall boost to physical ability! ]
Just as Hank raised the number card and stepped onto the court, that notification suddenly rang in his ear.
After a brief moment of shock, a wave of heat surged through him. The tendons that governed his jumping ability awakened and shot straight to the highest level, while his overall physical condition rapidly improved as well.
His muscles filled out noticeably, and as he stood there, he looked straight and solid, like a spear planted in the ground.
"The system awakened!?"
"And I even got top-tier jumping ability!? My physical abilities got stronger too!"
"This is awesome!"
Hank tested a jump on the spot and immediately felt lighter than air, as if he had grown wings. At one meter eighty-five, combined with this terrifying vertical jump—
unless the opposing block was truly top-class,
no one would be able to stop Hank's spike!
It could be said that this top-tier jumping talent had instantly turned Hank into an extremely dangerous spiker. If he added proper training later on, his future potential would be limitless!
"Stop standing there in a daze, Hank."
"Everyone's waiting."
That reminder from the court snapped the wildly excited Hank back to reality. He was still in the middle of a match. After answering with a few quick words, Hank jogged over to the front of the net
and took his place at Position 4 near the sideline.
It was a perfect spot for a wing spiker to work with the setter to organize an attack, and whether it was for approach routes or movement, it was an easy place to operate from.
The score was 3–15, and the set count was tied at 0–0.
The situation was grim. If nothing changed, North River Middle School would undoubtedly lose. But Hank's strength had just risen dramatically.
The ending had not been decided yet!
With a sharp whistle from the referee, a serve came from the back line of Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High and, without the slightest deviation, slammed into the arms of the teammate standing behind Hank in Position 6.
A dull thud rang out as forearms met the ball, popping it upward in an arc
toward North River Middle School's setter.
Seeing this, the North River setter gave a slight jump and raised both hands to set the ball above his head. At the same time, his eyes flicked, intentionally or not, toward Hank's position.
That single glance was enough for the three blockers from Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High to catch on.
The intent was too obvious. The opposing side was definitely going to use their wing spiker for the attack. The moment he realized that, Kageyama heightened his guard as well,
his eyes fixed on the North River setter's hand signal.
And the three players responsible for the block sprang up the instant the ball left the setter's hands and was sent high toward Hank. Their six arms dropped toward Hank like an iron wall.
Against a setup like this, a normal school team's wing spiker wouldn't just fail to spike—
he might not even find an angle to send the ball over.
At the sight of it, the three Kitagawa Daiichi players handling the block all showed relaxed smiles.
There was no doubt about it. Even if North River managed to send this ball back, it would most likely be nothing more than a free ball. After that, all Kitagawa Daiichi had to do was run a simple attack, and with North River Middle School's receiving level, there was no way they could handle it.
This rally, too, should have been theirs without exception!
"This is bad. They read it completely."
"Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High is way too strong."
As he watched the ball he had set begin to drop, shame appeared on the North River setter's face.
He was the one responsible for organizing the offense for the whole team, yet the other side had seen straight through his pattern.
That was simply too humiliating.
But just as even the North River school team's coach was shaking his head and sighing, convinced the chance was gone, Hank, standing at Position 4, moved.
Power exploded through his steps, and the rubber soles of his shoes screeched loudly across the floor. Then, under the eyes of everyone on the court—
approach, jump!
With a max-level vertical jump and a height of one meter eighty-five, nearly half of Hank's body rose above the net.
Staring at the ball, which still hadn't begun to fall, he swung his arm and spiked with all his force.
Bang!
The crisp sound of the ball smashing onto the floor made all six players on Kitagawa Daiichi freeze, their faces stiff with shock. None of them understood what had just happened.
How had a ball they were certain they would win ended up becoming a point for the opposing wing spiker who had just come off the bench!?
How had he done that!?
At that moment, even the spectators who hadn't thought much of North River all went silent. They stared blankly at Hank, standing at Position 4 on the court.
A sense of shock rose in their hearts. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes,
they never would have believed anyone could jump that high!
"This guy's jump height is completely ridiculous. Half his body was above the net."
"What kind of athletic talent is that!?"
(End of Chapter)
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