For the next week, Maple Field Taiichi devoted himself almost entirely to volleyball training, his days consisting of eating, sleeping, and playing volleyball.
As for class time, for Maple Field Taiichi, it had already become a precious period of rest. Although in one math class, he was chosen by the teacher to go to the blackboard and solve a problem. But for this student who had experienced the crucible of China's college entrance examination, the difficulty of first-year high school math in Japan was like a gentle breeze, nothing to fear.
Maple Field Taiichi calmly answered the questions and easily solved the difficult problems, and after that, no teacher went to Maple Field Taiichi again. Of course, this was just a small interlude in his week of training.
According to the system's standards, factors affecting a person's ability include: speed, strength, jumping ability, stamina, and skill. Among these, while speed, strength, jumping ability, and stamina can be improved to a certain extent through scientific training methods and persistent effort, an individual's innate talent largely determines the potential for improvement and the ultimate height these abilities can reach.
Skill, as an acquired ability, is a key factor that improves through daily training and accumulation of practical experience. Its room for improvement is relatively large, and it has a decisive impact on an individual's competitiveness in a game.
Especially with the help of the system, Maple Field Taiichi can achieve steady improvement in skills, but it is still unlikely to achieve all-round improvement in blocking, serving, intercepting, setting, and spiking within a week.
Biting off more than one can chew, his current energy should mainly be focused on blocking and intercepting. Blocking is the meaning of him being on the court, and intercepting is the reason for him to stay on the court, after all, if he can't intercept the ball, everything is over.
***
A week passed quickly, and Maple Field Taiichi's intercepting and blocking both improved to a basic level. After Saturday's training, Aoba Johsai was at home, waiting for Karasuno's arrival.
Maple Field Taiichi pulled Kindaichi to the school gate to welcome Karasuno's players.
“Why do I have to come?” Kindaichi looked very reluctant.
“Of course, it’s because you used to be Kageyama’s teammate, and I’m very interested in him too,” Maple Field Taiichi replied. Rather, he was more interested in Hinata, but no one had discovered Hinata's special qualities yet.
“He’s nothing special. Although his skills are superior, he’s not suitable for team play at all,” Kindaichi said, frowning again. “Because he’s always self-centered.”
“Let’s not talk about him. Speaking of Karasuno, I remember their team manager is a beauty, right?”
“Really?” I didn’t expect Kindaichi, this blockhead, to have this side to him…
“Of course, I heard the seniors talk about her, she’s quite famous…” Senior Shimizu’s good name spread far and wide.
Outside the stadium, the bus slowly came to a stop, and the door opened. A dense crowd of figures streamed out, the players wearing Karasuno uniforms.
Maple Field Taiichi and Kindaichi unhurriedly walked towards the Karasuno group, as a figure quickly flashed past them from far to near.
“So fast!” Maple Field Taiichi’s gaze followed the figure. Was that Hinata?
“Hinata Shoyo, height 163cm, speed 95, strength 65, stamina 99, jumping ability 95, technique: blocking 60, intercepting 60, spiking 65.” The system's prompt sounded in time.
Maple Field Taiichi couldn't help but click his tongue. What kind of monstrous data was this? This physical quality was almost the limit of human beings. Even with a height of only 164cm, the sense of shock it gave was extraordinarily strong.
Shoyo disappeared in the blink of an eye, and the other Karasuno players were almost upon them.
“Excuse me, we are members of the Karasuno Volleyball Club. We are here at your Coach's invitation for a practice match. The player who just ran past was one of our teammates; he went to the restroom because of a stomachache.” As expected, Sugawara Mama was the one responsible for communication at first.
It's really Karasuno! Maple Field Taiichi was too excited to speak. When he first transmigrated, he was completely immersed in the tension and excitement of the game, and for a moment, he overlooked this feeling. At this moment, Maple Field Taiichi once again felt the shock, he was actually in the volleyball world he had dreamed of!
“Hey, Taiichi, why are you spacing out?” Kindaichi elbowed Maple Field Taiichi.
Maple Field Taiichi came back to his senses and said seriously, “Hello everyone, we are members of the Aoba Johsai Volleyball Club here to take you to the stadium. I am Maple Field Taiichi, a first-year, and this is Kindaichi Yutaro, also a first-year.”
Maple Field Taiichi rubbed his ribs, which had been elbowed by Kindaichi. Both sides were sizing each other up, only Kindaichi, that idiot, was staring at Kageyama Tobio.
“...Long time no see, King. What kind of tyrannical rule are you imposing at Karasuno? I'm looking forward to it.”
The atmosphere suddenly became tense. So, chuunibyou teenagers just love to spout harsh words.
“Oh, okay.” Kageyama Tobio replied calmly, then was immediately pulled away by his teammates.
Maple Field Taiichi silently led the Karasuno group. He had originally thought that this would be a relatively simple match since Nishinoya Yu and Azumane Asahi had not yet returned to Karasuno, but seeing the ability values given by the system, Maple Field Taiichi felt that things were not simple.
“Kageyama Tobio, height 182cm, speed 88, strength 90, stamina 95, jumping ability 88, serving 94, setting 96…” Another even more versatile monster. Oikawa was right, in terms of setting alone, Kageyama was indeed even more terrifying.
“Sawamura Daichi, height 177cm, speed 80, strength 88, stamina 80, jumping ability 80, skill 88 (all-rounder)…” The foundation of Karasuno, this Captain's balance is a bit too much.
“Tanaka Ryunosuke, height 177cm, speed 80, strength 90, stamina 88, jumping ability 75, spiking 80…” What a single-minded, specialized man.
“Tsukishima Kei, height 188cm, speed 75, strength 70, stamina 76, jumping ability 76…”
Compared to the shocking numbers of Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama Tobio earlier, Tsukishima Kei's various stats appeared more balanced and conventional. Hearing this, Maple Field Taiichi couldn't help but slightly relax, thinking to himself, “Finally, a first-year who seems relatively normal.”
However, Maple Field Taiichi knew very well that these data could not fully reflect Tsukishima Kei's true strength. The speed, strength, stamina, and jumping ability values given by the system, while able to show some basic qualities of a volleyball player, did not cover other key factors that determine the outcome of a match.
Especially for a player like Tsukishima Kei, who excels in intelligence, his height and volleyball IQ, two unquantified characteristics, are precisely the key to his ability to play a huge role on the court.
Maple Field Taiichi led Karasuno to the stadium with a slightly heavy heart. After a brief pre-match greeting, the game began.
The players on the court for Aoba Johsai were Iwaizumi Hajime, Yahaba Shigeru, Kindaichi, Matsukawa Issei, Watari Shinji, and Kunimi Akira. The players on the court for Karasuno were Hinata Shoyo, Kageyama Tobio, Tanaka Ryunosuke, Sawamura Daichi, Ennoshita Chikara, and Tsukishima Kei.
Oikawa, that idiot, twisted his ankle playing volleyball with his nephew, probably trying some flashy move again. Although it was a minor sprain, he didn't participate in training these past few days to recover quickly.
Unexpectedly, the match was not as intense as Maple Field Taiichi had imagined. Hinata Shoyo was so nervous that he was completely out of sorts; his steps were messy, his movements stiff, and he was a completely different person from the Hinata Shoyo Maple Field Taiichi remembered.
Oh, right, this seems to be Hinata Shoyo's first high school match. He probably went to the restroom earlier because of nervousness, too.
But Aoba Johsai didn't care about any of that. Although they didn't know why the short number 5 was performing so poorly and Karasuno hadn't substituted him, there was no reason to go easy in a practice match. Taking advantage of Karasuno's disarray, Aoba Johsai quickly took control of the match rhythm.
As expected, Aoba Johsai quickly won the first set with an overwhelming advantage. It is worth mentioning that on the set point, Hinata Shoyo's serve hit Kageyama Tobio directly on the head.
Watching Kageyama Tobio look like he was about to explode, Maple Field Taiichi silently mourned for three seconds for Hinata Shoyo, who was huddled like a chick.
However, having easily won the first set, and with the opposing team acting like a comedy duo, the Aoba Johsai members felt a sense of ease in the atmosphere.