The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Holy shit! What the hell is that?!" Ogawa jumped, shocked at how the last play went by. He wasn't the only one here as almost all the members of the Tsunemori team had their jaws dropped in awe and astonishment. They still couldn't comprehend how fast things changed on the court. One moment they all were sure it was Kyoei Gakuen who would get the point, and in the next second, Matsumoto sent the ball back to their opponent's side as if it was nothing. "Play it back, Riku! Play it back!"

Fortunately, the streaming platform allowed its users to replay the streaming as much as they wanted, so Riku didn't have trouble doing that. He rewound the video 20 seconds earlier with most of the people behind him also leaning forward to get a better look at the screen. If before, all the eyes were focused on the aerial duel between Haruo and Akihiro, now they had their eyes on Lucas who after the play could be seen lying on the floor.

As they replayed the last play and saw what just happened, the astonishment grew even more at how ridiculous it was.

There, they watched after doing the serve, Lucas went back to the formation while also tracking all of his teammates' movements silently, ready to give support to the others. When the first attack from Matsumoto failed, he drew back to the backline immediately, knowing full well that this rotation made the team weak in the back. But once he saw the possible joust situation between Haruo and Akihiro, the Brazilian boy didn't even hesitate to rush forward as if he knew his kouhai would lose the battle.

True to Lucas's prediction, the ball fell into Konan's area, and with a dive, he managed to send the ball straight to Matsumoto's spot which in the end, the captain executed the counterattack perfectly.

Everything went so smoothly that it looked like it was planned before. Just in one play, Lucas showed amazing game-reading ability, awareness, and quick judgment that led his team to overturn the impossible situation in their favor, a true masterclass from the Brazilian boy.

"Holy shit…" This time, it was Riku who cursed, yet there was no heat in his tone. The blonde boy just sighed helplessly, feeling pity toward all the Kyoei Gakuen players who were still confused about what just happened. "To think that he is just one or two years older than us… What a terrifying guy." The other Tsunemori members also nodded solemnly.

In a moment like this, Yuki suddenly remembered what Maria said about Lucas and any Brazilian player in particular.

"Any players born in Brazil are usually natural-gifted players. They are fast, can jump high, can spike hard, have insane reaction speed, and the best – or worst part depending on whether the Brazilian players are your teammates or your opponents – is their instinct. It is as if they are born to do the sport. To put it simply, they are the biggest cheat code in this sport."

If before, Yuki couldn't see that in their game against Konan High because the team couldn't force Lucas into a desperate situation like this, now he could see clearly what Maria meant by a cheat code. Judging by reaction speed alone, Lucas was on a different level, should've played at a higher level. Thinking of this, Yuki turned his attention to another person who had already been playing at a higher level and suddenly looked forward to how the game would go after this.

'Now, what would you do, Haruo?'

-0-

"Good job, Lucas! That is such an amazing save!" Matsumoto grinned, showing appreciation to the Brazilian boy. "Keep it up, Cheetah!" Lucas mirrored the grin, especially at the badass nickname his captain gave. Then, he suddenly remembered something, and the smile on his face turned into a mischievous one as he turned his attention to Akihiro.

"So, Take…" The middle blocker could feel a shiver down his spine at the sweet tone coming from the ace. "This is your what? Fourth defeat in a row against him just in this game, right? It seems the situation is clear now. There would always be a huge difference between the number one and the number two in this world, right?"

Even though Akihiro could only understand half of his words, he still got the gist of it and scowled, unhappy. "Just wait, Lucas-senpai! I will make him eat the dust later!" He huffed angrily, leaving Matsumoto to sigh, and Lucas smiled innocently.

"Is that provocation necessary?" The captain sighed.

"Hell, yeah! He needs all the motivation in the world to beat that blondie! We are the best team in the country, so he has to make sure he is the best blocker in the country too!" Lucas answered in a heartbeat.

After a while, the commotion was finally over, and the game was about to start again. It was still Lucas's turn to serve, and after getting targeted twice in a row, Haruo decided to move one step to the front to anticipate another short serve from the Brazilian boy. He did the right thing here since the ball once again came in his direction.

BAM!

"Oh! Nice save, Haruo!"

"Yamada, follow it up! Send it to me!"

Yamada, Kyoei's setter, moved immediately to get the second ball. He also kept his eyes on the court, observing who would be the best one to send the ball to. In the end, as the ball was falling into his hand, the boy tossed it far to the right side where Ito, the team's captain was flying in the air already.

BAM!

"One touch!" Akihiro shouted after softening the blow from the attack.

"Oh! Good job, Take!"

"Sawada, send it to the left!"

The ball moved quite fast here, from being received by Shimada to Sawada sending it to the left where Kenta Maeda, Konan's opposite hitter was ready to attack. However, as if not wanting to lose against Akihiro, Haruo also reacted at a speed no ordinary players would be able to pull off, leaping forward to stop the incoming attack from

BAM!

"One touch!"

"Shit! Again?!"

"He is a pest, I tell you!"

Unlike all the Konan players who looked calm, it was clear by the scowl coming from the stand that their supporters started to get tired of Haruo's constant interference. Unfortunately, that was not something they could control here since they couldn't do anything about it other than putting more pressure on the blonde boy with the constant boos they shouted from their place.

Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire

"Yamada! Give it to me!"

This time, it was Nitta who asked for the ball. After getting shut down several times by Konan's blockers during the first set, he could feel his hand tingling, wanting to unleash his first unstoppable spike. Unfortunately, as he swung his arms and was ready to hit the ball, the Brazilian boy on the other side of the court was determined to become Kyoei's nightmare as he also leaped into the air at the same time, covering the sky with his huge hands and not letting Nitta pierce his defense so easily.

As a result…

BAM!