"Wake up, come on, wake up... How can you fall asleep standing up? The coach is calling you!"
Chen Jue was pushed from behind and looked up to see an annoyed middle-aged man. His mind suddenly cleared as his memories slowly returned. This was a training camp for Aoba Johsai, and he seemed to be just a substitute... and had actually fallen asleep on the sidelines!
"Taiichi, after the match, do five laps around the court with diving drills. For now, get on the court and sub in for Matsukawa. Use your speed to support the first pass—don't let them score off their serve."
The moment he heard the name "Taiichi," his body instinctively moved. After listening to the coach's instructions, he suddenly realized something huge—
He had transmigrated into the world of Haikyuu!!
But aside from a bit of basic volleyball he learned in college PE class, he didn't know how to play volleyball at all… Chen Jue stumbled blankly toward the court, thinking: How the hell am I supposed to compete with these monsters from Haikyuu??
Just then, a voice rang out in his mind:
"Activating Genius All-Rounder System... Please wait..."
"Welcome, Host. The All-Rounder System has been activated. Matching host to Japan's high school volleyball league standards."
Huh? Although he'd been a light novel reader for over ten years and was well aware of the whole transmigration + system cliché, now that it had really happened to him, Taiichi was still a bit stunned.
"Ding! Data match successful. Explaining the high school volleyball standard rating system: The average stat is 60. The highest score for school team players is 100. Below 50 is amateur level.
60–69: Normal school team player
70–79: Intermediate
80–89: Excellent
90–99: Top tier
100: Peak state (momentary burst only).Your current overall ability: 65."
"Wait—so there's no one with a permanent score of 100?"
"100 only represents a top-tier player's peak performance during critical moments."
Now understanding the situation, Taiichi looked at the stat panel that suddenly appeared in front of him:
Host: Kazeihara TaiichiHeight/Weight: 184cm / 72kgOverall Ability: 65Speed: 90Strength: 75Stamina: 60Jumping: 65Skill: 40(Skill includes serve, receive, set, spike, block; weighted differently by position.)
"...Great. So I'm only decent physically and terrible at everything else." Taiichi sighed. What's the point of getting on the court like this? What if I get totally humiliated and the coach benches me forever? That'd be tragic, right, System-senpai?
"..."
"Granting Host a beginner's starter pack. One-time-only reward."
Taiichi could almost hear the system emphasizing that "one-time only."
Beginner's Starter Pack:
Excellent Player Trial Card ×1(Temporarily grants stats of an excellent player for 5 minutes.)
Beginner Training Mode(While any skill stat is below 60, the host will recover stamina quickly during training and won't experience fatigue.)
Stamina Potions ×10(Restores stamina to half. Cannot be used in official matches.)
Taiichi stared at the spinning gift box in front of him, blood pumping with excitement.
"System-senpai, use the Excellent Player Trial Card!"
"Confirmed."
He watched eagerly as a golden card appeared and began to spin rapidly.
"SSR! Come on, no duds, no duds... SSR!"Even though he knew it was silly, Taiichi had a habit of chanting this every time he drew cards in games.
The card slowed… and then stopped with a "ding!" The card showed a smirking red-haired boy.
"Tendou Satori!"
Wait—was it because his real name Chen Jue also had a "Jue (Satori)" in it?? Taiichi stared at the card.Overall ability: 88 — nearly top tier! Not bad, not bad.But what caught his eye was the shining golden stat under "Skill": Block - 92!
Taiichi's fingers itched. He wanted to get up and block someone right now.
"Taiichi, you're brave, huh? Sleeping on the bench. Dreaming of anything good?" Oikawa Tooru turned around with a teasing smile as Taiichi stepped onto the court.
Dreamed you got smacked by Iwaizumi, Taiichi thought silently, but outwardly he looked apologetic and well-behaved.
"Ignore him. Focus on playing," came Iwaizumi's calm voice. Hard to believe he wasn't the team captain.
"Yes, sir." Taiichi quickly straightened up and took his position.
Today, Aoba Johsai's opponent was a university team from Miyagi University. The coach had arranged a 6v6 match to let the new first-years experience their shortcomings firsthand.
Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and Hanamaki were the core trio from the third years. The rest of the lineup rotated between first- and second-years every five points. While giving the new players experience, the coaching staff also wanted to test the best lineup for the new year.
Current Score: Miyagi University 15 - Aoba Johsai 9
Miyagi's ace, Maeda, had just scored twice in a row with his serves. On his third serve, Aoba managed a receive, but it wasn't clean — giving the opponent an easy setup.
Maeda spiked ferociously, and Aoba couldn't defend at all.
Three points in a row, and the server was still Maeda. Taiichi had just stepped onto the court but could already feel the pressure.
The ref blew the whistle. Serve!
Maeda stood five meters behind the line, bouncing the ball calmly. After a short pause, he bent his knees and tossed the ball up. Charging forward, he jumped a step before the line and slammed the ball down like a cannon blast toward Aoba.
So fast! Taiichi couldn't even react. Standing there, watching the ace serve, he felt overwhelmed.
"I got it!"Wataru, a second-year libero, jumped into action. With two serve receives already under his belt, he managed to judge the ball's direction and made the dig.
But it was barely received—the ball bounced off his arms and floated back to Miyagi's backcourt.
"Free ball!"The opposing team seized the chance. Their setter quickly moved, and Maeda sprinted to the net, full of confidence.
Even if you receive my serve, so what? If it's not a perfect pass, this point is mine!
Taiichi, seeing the ball bounce back, had already stepped up to the net. He focused intently on Maeda's movement.
As if guided by instinct, Taiichi predicted exactly where Maeda would spike. The moment Maeda jumped—so did Taiichi.
Boom! Maeda's spike.Slap! The ball smacked Taiichi's hands.Thud thud thud... The ball hit the ground.
Coach Irihata stood up in surprise. That block point was totally unexpected! It looked like pure instinct—but could it be?
This year's first-years… is there a blocking genius among them?!