The next morning hit differently.
The alarm in my dorm buzzed at 5:00 AM, way before sunrise, but I was already awake heart pounding with that restless energy that comes only when life has changed in a way you still don't fully understand.
"System"
I whispered into the dim room.
A soft chime echoed silently inside my mind.
[GOOD MORNING, KAZUKI.]
[BASIC INSIGHT PASSIVE ACTIVATED.]
The moment the passive flared to life, I felt… aware of my breathing, of how tight my shoulders tended to be, of how my posture dipped faintly to the right.It wasn't overwhelming just subtle hints, nudges pointing me toward improvement.
"Alright… let's start"
I tied my shoes, slipped into my training kit, and jogged outside.It was cold enough that my breath fogged in the air, the morning sky a dark indigo but Minamiyama High's athletic field, old, cracked, and lonely felt like a sacred battleground today.
I stretched.
My body optimization wasn't much, but it made everything feel smoother, like my muscles were responding with a slight edge of precision they didn't have yesterday.
"Let's test jump height"
I bent my knees, swung my arms, and jumped.My body launched upward with clean timing [Jump Timing Sense Lv.1 ] adjusting my takeoff instinctively.
[Thud]
I landed with a grin.
Higher.
Cleaner.
More stable.
Nothing superhuman, but definitely better.
Then I tested spiking form.
I tossed the ball lightly and swung.
Spiking Fundamentals Lv.1 made my arm follow a cleaner trajectory, elbow high, wrist snapping forward naturally.
'Yeah… this is real'
This system wasn't giving me power for free,
It was giving me a starting line most people never got.
"But I still need to grind."
I spent an hour running sprints, jumping, practicing approaches, shadow setting, shadow blocking every tiny movement becoming more precise.
And every time I slipped into a bad habit, Basic Insight nudged me:
[Your elbow's dipping]
[You're stepping too shallow on the second step]
[Wrist angle wrong for a float serve.]
I corrected. Improved.Corrected again.
Until the sun began coloring the sky.
Only then did I stop, sweating heavily, but smiling.
[TRAINING SESSION COMPLETE.]
EXP Gained: 34
Spiking Lv.1 → 16%
Setting Lv.1 → 9%
Stamina +1
Game Sense +1
Jump Height +1
'Not huge changes, but noticeable.
And enough to get me excited for team practice'
_______________________________________
Morning Practice – Minamiyama Volleyball Club
Minamiyama High wasn't known for volleyball.We weren't terrible maybe B-tier in the prefecture at best but not a powerhouse like Seijoh or Fukurodani, but stepping into the gym today, I felt something shift.
Not in the gym…
But in me.
People trickled in lazily, chatting, yawning.
Then the club captain, Daigo Senda, spotted me warming up alone, bouncing a ball.
"Hayama? You're here early."
His eyebrows raised. He was a third-year, 182cm, solid wing spiker with a reliable float serve. A strict guy but not a bad captain.
"Just thought I'd get reps in" I said casually.
Ryuusei arrived next, hair messy and grin lazy as usual.
"Bro, you're making the rest of us look bad. Morning."
"Morning," I said, tossing him a ball.
He caught it, eyes widening slightly.
"Damn—you're energetic today."
"You could say I'm motivated."
But motivated didn't even scratch it.
I had a mission now.
To rise.
To become a monster.
A genius.
A top candidate for the future U18 National Team.
Even if right now I was just a first-year bench-rider.
Practice began with the usual warmups, but I could feel eyes drifting toward me.
Why?
Because every movement I did was cleaner.
My stretches were deeper.
My approach steps sharper.
My passing crisper.
My jumps higher.
The difference was small but noticeable to people who trained with me every day.
"Hayama, you okay?" one of the second-years asked. "You look… different."
"Did you grow overnight?" someone else joked.
Coach Fujimoto finally blew his whistle.
"Everyone line up!"
We formed rows.
"Today's practice we're focusing on transitions and quick attacks. First-years, you'll rotate in later."
Third-years took the court first.
Second-years received balls.
I watched the flow, studying everything with fresh eyes and immediately Basic Insight began highlighting tiny details:
Senda's approach too shallow on left side.
Ryuusei's block timing off by 0.2 seconds.
Setter's hands tilted inward on fast sets.
Libero too far forward during back-row defense.
Nothing huge, just micro-flaws.
But enough to piece together bigger strategies.
"So that's how this works…" I whispered.
Game Sense rose naturally, too.
"Kazuki! You're up!"
Coach called me onto the court earlier than usual.
I swallowed, grabbed a ball, and walked in.
First drill: receive → transition → approach → spike.
The setter threw a high ball.
I moved instinctively and my body worked.
Approach smooth. Jump powerful. Arm swing clean.
[BOOM]
The ball slammed the court harder than usual.Not insane power, but sharper, cleaner.
The gym went silent for half a second.
"…Yo, what was that?" someone muttered.
Ryuusei whistled. "Sheesh. Someone drank monster juice this morning."
I continued hitting.
Five balls.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Each one a little better.
More controlled.
More confident.
Coach Fujimoto's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Hayama. Again."
He tossed a tougher ball.
I chased it my speed stat helping more than before and connected mid-air.
[BOOM]
The ball shot past the defender.
Coach lowered his clipboard.
"Your form improved drastically. Did you train over break?"
"Something like that," I said.
He stared at me longer than usual, evaluating me.
"Good. Keep it up."
Relief washed through me.
But then came the surprise.
"Next: back-row attacks," coach said. "Third-years rotate out. Hayama, stay."
The gym murmured.
Back-row spiking wasn't something first-years usually got to try, especially not benchwarmers.
Ryuusei raised a brow. "You sure, coach?"
"I want to see his versatility," Coach replied.
My heartbeat quickened.
This was huge.
If I showed potential as an all-rounder, that would drastically change my trajectory.
I took position in Zone 1.
The setter Yuto, a second-year signaled.
The ball went up.
I ran in, timing my jump perfectly with the new skill.
Mid-air, I swung
[THWACK!]
The ball zipped past the block and kissed the baseline.
In.
Perfectly in.
Everyone stared.
"…No. Freaking. Way."
"Hayama can do back-row??"
"Since when!?"
Coach Fujimoto pinched the bridge of his nose, equal parts impressed and confused.
"You've been hiding this?"
I shrugged, hiding a grin.
"I didn't know I could until today."
"Then we test further."
His voice sharpened.
"Serve practice. Hayama, you're first."
Normally, serving was my weakest area.
But not anymore.
Still rough, but with improvements.
I tossed the ball, brought my arm up, and struck.
[FWIP]
[BOOM]
A solid float serve.
Clean trajectory.
Shaky at the end, but better than anything I ever did before.
Coach blinked slowly.
"…You improved in everything."
He wasn't wrong.
And everyone saw it.
I wasn't the same Kazuki Hayama from yesterday.
I wasn't just some random first-year.
I was someone growing fast unnaturally fast.
But no one could explain it.
Not yet.
Practice ended with the usual closing lines.
But Coach Fujimoto pulled me aside.
"Hayama."
"Yes, coach?"
"You jumped higher today. You hit harder. Your fundamentals tightened. Everything about you improved in one night."
His eyes dug into mine.
"Are you taking illegal enhancers? Supplements? Anything banned?"
My stomach clenched.
"I'd never do that."
He watched me for a long moment before nodding slowly.
"…I'll trust you. For now."
Then something surprising happened.
"Starting next week," he said, "I'm moving you into the regular rotation during practice matches."
I froze.
"Coach are you serious?"
"You earned it. But don't think this will last unless you keep working. Improvement means nothing if you stop."
Something inside me burned brighter.
"I won't stop," I said firmly.
He smiled faintly.
"Good."
________________________________________
After practice, while everyone showered, I lingered in the gym alone.
The system pinged softly.
[TODAY'S GROWTH SUMMARY]
Stamina +2
Jump Height +2
Power +2
Setting +1
Serve +1
Receive +1
Game Sense +1
Skills:
Spiking Fundamentals Lv.1 → Lv.2
Jump Timing Sense Lv.1 → 57%
Overhand Setting Basics Lv.1 → 32%
Rares:
Discipline Freak Talent Fragment: Progress 1/10
I exhaled slowly.
"Not bad… not bad at all."
At this rate, I could become a regular starter before the first tournament.
And after that?
My reputation would grow.
By my second year, I would be rising fast.
By my third year…
I might even qualify for the All-Japan High School U18 Training Camp—the same camp where Miya Atsumu met Kageyama and the others.
My path toward the national stage was opening.
And this was only Day One.
Walking out of the gym, I stared at my hands again.
Hands that would one day be known nationwide.
Hands of a future ace.
A future setter.
A future all-rounder.
"Kazuki! You coming?" Ryuusei called from the doors. "Let's get breakfast, superstar."
"Yeah, yeah," I laughed.
I grabbed my bag.
And as I walked out, the system flickered quietly behind my vision:
[PATH TO GREATNESS: PHASE 1 COMPLETE.]
[NEXT PHASE: "BREAK THE PREFECTURE LIMIT."]