*Ding!*
"Congratulations for completing the final mission of 'The Road to the Ace'."
"System Reward 1: Rest-time setting. You may now choose the start time of the next match."
"System Reward 2: One lottery draw."
"System Reward 3: Overall attribute increase."
"Main Story II - The Reaper! Begins."
"Mission Update: Defeat Aoba Johsai in the Inter-High Qualifier."
Jin exhaled slowly. After fighting such a powerful opponents, he had finally cleared the first main storyline quest.
But instead of excitement, his face twisted with suspicion. "Lottery again, huh? Who knows what's gonna come out this time."
What he cared about most was the rest-time setting. In his memory, the prelims usually moved fast, after day one, the next battle would be tomorrow against Seijoh. Normally, there was only one night in between. But now the system forced him to choose.
Four options appeared before him:
A. Three days
B. Five days
C. Seven days
D. One year
"If no choice is made, the default bracket schedule will continue."
Jin's lips twitched. "One year? Who the hell would pick that? You want the preliminaries to drag on until graduation? No thanks."
He smirked and select his choice.
"Three days is more than enough."
---
The lottery spun. Light scattered, then three options appeared.
A. Perfectly Perfect
B. Eye of Death
C. Super Wish Fragment
Jin's face darkened. "Again with this stupid Super Wish…"
The first chapter had already given him one fragment. Another piece appeared now. If he collected them all, maybe something absurd would happen. For now, it was better to stack them up.
"Fine. C."
He confirmed the choice. The glowing interface faded, pulling him back into the real world.
"Line up!" Daichi shouted, cutting through his thoughts.
Jin shoved the system screen aside, jogged back, and joined his teammates at the net.
"Thank you for the match!"
Both teams bowed deeply to each other.
---
At the end, Aone remained. The silent giant reached a massive hand across the net.
Jin blinked. In the original story, this was Aone's gesture toward Hinata, his way of recognizing a worthy opponent. Now the hand was stretched toward him.
For a second, Jin hesitated. Then he took it.
Aone's grip was firm, his eyes unwavering.
"When spring comes again… I'll be the one to stop you."
Jin smiled, sharp as always.
"If you've got the guts, then try."
---
Outside the stadium, Karasuno gathered. Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei sent most of the players to the bus. Jin tried to climb on too, but Coach Ukai literally kicked him back out.
"You're walking."
So he trudged along with the others, sulking.
Hinata piped up first. "Hey, why do we get three days off this year?"
Jin's ears pricked up. 'So the choice really did affect the schedule…'
"It's because of the 50th anniversary of the Inter-High tournament," Kageyama explained, hand on his chin like a scholar. "They changed the regulations."
Daichi added, "Yeah. It's a commemorative event, so the rules are a bit special."
Hinata turned to Kageyama, grinning. "Wow, you actually know a lot!"
Kageyama grunted, embarrassed.
Jin smirked quietly. 'So that's how the system disguised it. My choice gets passed off as 'special rules.' In other words… I'm literally rewriting the reality.'
The thought thrilled him.
---
At the back of the line, Hitoka spoke up softly. "Uh… my house is the other way. I'll split off here."
"Oh, thanks for today, Hitoka," Daichi said warmly.
But Hitoka didn't move on. Instead, she stood there, eyes darting toward Jin.
Jin frowned. "What? You scared? Want me to walk you home?"
Hitoka shook her head, voice barely audible. "My mom… told me to bring you back with me. To celebrate. It's our first time breaking through prelims."
Jin stiffened. 'Crap. I forgot about this part.'
The chill that ran down his spine was worse than facing the Iron Wall. If he went tonight, without at least a week's recovery… Madoka would tear him apart.
Sugawara noticed the awkward air, clapped someone on the shoulder, and kept walking. "Young people's business belongs to young people."
"Celebrate, huh?" Jin rubbed the back of his neck. "It's already late… maybe another day?"
Hitoka twisted her fingers together, lowering her eyes. "Is it… inconvenient for you? If you're too tired, then…"
This wasn't the Hitoka who usually stammered nervously. Her eyes carried something else, something more serious.
"…You planned this ahead of time?" Jin asked bluntly.
Hitoka's gaze darted away. "…It's not like that. I just… I believed we'd win. So I thought…"
Seeing the disappointment flicker in his eyes, Jin cursed himself. He couldn't turn him down, not here.
"Fine. I don't have anything to worry about anyway." Jin reached out and ruffled Hitoka's hair.
She blinked in surprise, then nodded quickly.
So, with a heavy heart and the feeling he was walking into a trap, Jin followed Hitoka.
Onto the road of no return.