The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Unfortunately for Yuki, he didn't have time to think about it. For the next few minutes, Kenzo transformed into a beast, bullying both him and Riku like a predator toying with its soon-to-die prey.

It frustrated them both how easily Kenzo could pierce their defenses, and to make it even more infuriating, it was apparent to them that he didn't even rely on Tondo's help at all. The passes set by the younger boy were always simple, crude, and sometimes even inaccurate. This only showed that Tondo wasn't suited to be a setter. Enjoy new chapters from empire

However, Kenzo was always able to execute passes perfectly. It didn't matter how good Yuki's game-reading ability was; Kenzo always managed to pull off something he had never seen before at the last second.

Yuki could still remember how in awe he was when he saw his opponent stop for a moment right before jumping, fooling him completely. Later, he learned that this was called a delay attack, when the spiker paused for a moment before taking off from the ground to throw off the opponent's timing.

It wasn't just that. The dink, the fake, the body movement, the eye movement—everything he saw from Kenzo was simply a piece of art. When Kenzo was serious, it was hard for Yuki to read his game. Every movement could be used as a fake, giving the opponent a headache. He reminded Yuki of Amagi from Matsuyama Kita High, but Kenzo was probably ten times better.

Overall, this was a mind-blowing experience for Yuki.

Riku was also frustrated by this situation. He had already expected a glaring difference between a high school player and a professional player. However, when the reality was in front of him, it was hard to accept. Still, he had to admit that Kenzo was a monster. There was even a moment when Riku joined Yuki to form a two-man block, only for Kenzo to outlast them both in the air. Not only was Kenzo's technique impressive, but his physical ability was also top-notch.

After struggling for a few more minutes and unable to find a way out of this situation, Kawaki finally blew his whistle. "Okay, let's finish the game! Everyone, gather here!" said the coach.

Yuki and Riku were stunned, and then the urge to complain rose in the next moment. Even though the situation was bleak for them, they were not willing to give up just yet, knowing that anything could still happen. They just needed to score one point, and they would win the entire test today.

It seemed Kawaki understood their thoughts, as he simply shook his head silently while pointing at the scoreboard. Confused, the two followed his finger, and when everything sank in, they widened their eyes in shock.

'They have already reached 11 points?! Since when?!'

Even though the objective had changed in the middle of the game, they both still remembered that the initial condition for winning was to reach 11 points first. This only meant one thing: they had lost the game.

"No need to be depressed; you did a good job," Kawaki said reassuringly when he saw hints of depression on Yuki and Riku's faces. "Adachihara-kun is probably one of the best players on our team, so scoring three points against him is a feat that no high school players have been able to achieve in the past. You are the first ones to do that, so you should be proud of yourselves."

Even though he said it nicely, Yuki and Riku still felt down. They didn't say anything else and decided to sit quietly, placing Kato between them. The other players smiled amusedly, knowing that they should be feeling frustrated right now.

"Well, let's do an evaluation first," Kawaki said, ignoring both of them. Everyone straightened their backs immediately, and even the players who had just been watching from the sidelines gathered to join in.

"First, for Miyahara-kun and Tondo-kun." The two U-19 players tensed immediately when they heard their names called. After pondering for a moment, Kawaki sighed before saying, "Honestly, except for the first few plays at the beginning of the game where you overpowered your opponents, you didn't play very well. You got caught in their rhythm and couldn't break free, and you couldn't even adapt when facing a service specialist. If this had been a normal game, you would have cost the team about four or even five points just from that. Overall, you are not ready to move up to the main team."

Tondo and Miyahara could only smile wryly, having no words to refute that.

"As for Adachihara-kun…" Kawaki turned his gaze to the man who had just played. "Well, aside from the carelessness in the first few plays, everything was as I expected. You did a good job." He praised him briefly. Honestly, Kawaki had many thoughts about Kenzo. However, since Kenzo was a main team player and he was just a U-19 coach, it wasn't his place to criticize him.

"And lastly, Kobayashi-kun and Agostini-kun, right?"

Kawaki finally focused his attention on the two main protagonists of the day. All eyes turned to them, filled with interest. They tensed for a moment, their hands unconsciously grabbing Kato's. This could have been an amusing scene worth teasing if only the atmosphere weren't so heavy.

After contemplating for a while, Kawaki finally said, "Well, as I said before, you did a good job. Even though it's clear that your bodies haven't developed to their peak and you lack experience, you compensate for it with your cleverness. You also have the guts to pull off plays that always catch your opponents off guard, and your versatility as players is top-notch. And yes, I'm talking about you both, not individually." Kawaki added the last part when he saw Riku wanting to speak.

"As for your individual performances, Agostini-kun, we need to curb your tendency to show off. You are a setter, so you need to blend well with your teammates rather than overpower them. But other than that, I have no complaints."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Riku nodded silently, acknowledging the critique.

"As for Yuki…" Kawaki pondered for a moment, struggling to find the right words to describe the boy. "Well, if you want to climb as quickly as possible, I can recommend you as a service specialist to the main team's head coach. What do you think?"

Not only Yuki, but everyone was stunned by the sudden offer, initially thinking it was just a joke. But when they saw the dead-serious expression on Kawaki's face, their eyes widened in shock, and they shouted in unison,

"EEEEH?!"