The nurse's office at Yukigaoka Middle School looked exactly like every other nurse's office Ryu had ever seen - sterile white walls, a few uncomfortable plastic chairs, and the persistent smell of disinfectant that somehow managed to be both comforting and nauseating at the same time.
"Just hold this ice pack on your nose for ten minutes," the school nurse said, handing him a cold compress that felt like a blessing against his throbbing face. "No broken bones, but you'll have quite the bruise tomorrow."
"Thank you," Ryu mumbled through the ice pack, his voice coming out nasally and weird.
The nurse bustled around, making notes on a clipboard and muttering about "boys and their sports" before disappearing into an adjacent room to handle some administrative task. That left Ryu alone with Hinata, who was perched on the edge of a chair like a caffeinated bird ready to take flight.
"I still can't believe you want to keep playing volleyball," Hinata said for the third time in five minutes. "I mean, not that I'm complaining! It's just... you got hit really hard. Right in the face. With a volleyball. That I set up for you."
"It wasn't your fault," Ryu said, adjusting the ice pack. "I just... mistimed it."
"You jumped with your eyes closed."
"Did I?"
"And you were facing the wrong direction."
Ryu winced, and not just from the ice. "Look, I'm new to this, okay? I'll get better with practice."
Hinata's expression softened into something that was almost pity. "Hey, don't feel bad about it! Everyone starts somewhere! I mean, when I first started playing, I couldn't even receive a proper serve. I just sort of... flailed at the ball and hoped for the best."
That was probably meant to be encouraging, but considering Hinata was still doing exactly that, Ryu wasn't sure it was the pep talk he needed.
"The important thing is that you want to keep trying!" Hinata continued, his enthusiasm returning full force. "That's what separates good players from great players - the willingness to get back up after you get smacked in the face!"
As Hinata launched into what sounded like the beginning of a motivational speech about persistence and volleyball dreams, something strange started happening at the edge of Ryu's vision. A faint blue glow, like the reflection of a computer screen on glass, began pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
" - and that's why height doesn't matter as much as people think," Hinata was saying. "I mean, sure, it's an advantage, but if you have enough jumping power and determination - "
The blue glow suddenly exploded into a translucent rectangular window that filled Ryu's entire field of vision. He jerked backward so hard that he nearly fell off his chair, the ice pack tumbling to the floor with a wet plop.
"Whoa! Are you okay?" Hinata leaped up, reaching for the fallen ice pack. "Did you see something? You look like you've seen a ghost!"
Ryu couldn't respond because floating directly in front of his face, in crisp blue lettering that seemed to glow from within, were the words:
[TRANSMIGRATION INTEGRATION SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[Host Identity Confirmed: Yukitaka Izumi (Soul: Ryu Miyamoto)]
[Beginning Comprehensive Volleyball Skills Assessment...]
"Oh no," Ryu whispered, watching a progress bar slowly fill from 0% to 100%. "Oh no, oh no, oh no."
"What's wrong?" Hinata pressed the ice pack back into Ryu's hands, his orange hair practically standing on end with concern. "You're looking at something, aren't you? What is it?"
[Assessment Complete]
[Preparing Statistical Breakdown...]
[Warning: Results may cause emotional distress]
The warning was probably meant to be helpful, but it only made Ryu's stomach clench tighter. A new window appeared, this one displaying a neat grid of numbers that made his heart sink into his shoes:
[Current Stats:]
- Serving: 2/100
- Receiving: 1/100
- Setting: 3/100
- Spiking: 0/100
- Blocking: 0/100
- Stamina: 15/100
- Jump Height: 28/100
- Game Sense: 10/100
Ryu stared at the numbers in horror. He'd expected to be bad - really bad - but seeing it quantified like this was somehow even worse than he'd imagined. His spiking wasn't just terrible; it was literally nonexistent. His receiving was so poor that he was apparently worse than someone who had never touched a volleyball in their life.
"I'm doomed," he said out loud.
"What? Why are you doomed?" Hinata grabbed his shoulders, shaking him slightly. "Izumi, you're starting to scare me. Did you hit your head harder than we thought?"
"My spiking is zero," Ryu said faintly. "Zero out of one hundred. How is that even possible?"
"Your what is zero out of what?" Hinata looked around the room as if searching for whatever Ryu was staring at. "Are you hallucinating? Should I get the nurse?"
Before Ryu could figure out how to explain that he was apparently the only one who could see the floating blue interface, more text appeared:
[Special Ability Detected: Empathic Connection]
[Description: Ability to sense teammates' emotional states during physical contact]
[Current Level: 1 (Locked)]
[Unlock Requirement: Reach 15 Game Sense]
—
[Additional Ability Detected: Critical Strike]
[Description: Random chance to execute perfect technique regardless of current skill level]
[Current Level: 1 (Locked)]
[Unlock Requirement: Reach Level 2]
—
[Welcome Package Available]
[5 Skill Points to Allocate]
[Tap Interface to Continue...]
Skill points? Ryu looked at the glowing interface with something approaching hope. Maybe this system thing wasn't entirely useless after all.
He tentatively reached out to touch the interface, half-expecting his hand to pass through empty air. Instead, his finger made contact with something that felt like cool glass, and the menu shifted to a new screen showing his stats with small plus signs next to each number.
"What are you doing?" Hinata asked, watching Ryu poke at apparently nothing. "Why are you pressing the air?"
"I'm... checking something," Ryu said, trying to sound casual while he studied the allocation screen. Each skill point would add one point to any stat he chose. His Game Sense was currently at 10, which meant he needed 5 points to unlock his special ability.
Without hesitation, he allocated all five points to Game Sense.
The change was immediate and overwhelming. Information flooded his mind - not about volleyball techniques exactly, but about patterns and flow and timing. Suddenly he could see exactly why Kageyama's serves had been so effective, how Kitagawa Daiichi had controlled the pace of each rally, where his own team had made positioning mistakes.
It was like someone had handed him a playbook for a game he'd been trying to play blindfolded.
[Skill Unlocked: Empathic Connection (Level 1)]
[Current Capability: Can sense teammate emotions during physical contact]
[Warning: Ability may cause disorientation during initial use]
"Whoa," Ryu breathed, swaying slightly as the new knowledge settled in his brain like puzzle pieces finding their places.
"Okay, that's it," Hinata said, grabbing Ryu's arm to steady him. "You're definitely concussed. I'm getting the nurse - "
The moment Hinata's hand touched his arm, Ryu gasped. It was like a door had opened directly into Hinata's mind. He could feel the smaller boy's emotions as clearly as his own - concern, yes, but underneath that was burning determination mixed with excitement. An almost manic energy that refused to be crushed by their devastating loss.
And something else. Confusion. Hinata was confused about Ryu himself, about the sudden personality change from reluctant basketball player to eager volleyball enthusiast.
"You're worried I'm not really me," Ryu said without thinking.
Hinata jerked his hand back like he'd been burned, eyes wide. "How did you - what did you just - " He took a step backward, pointing an accusatory finger. "That was really weird! How did you know that?"
The connection broke, leaving Ryu feeling oddly empty. But the information he'd gleaned remained clear in his mind. Hinata suspected something was different about him, even if he couldn't put his finger on what.
"Lucky guess?" Ryu offered weakly.
"That wasn't a lucky guess!" Hinata's voice cracked slightly. "That was like... like mind reading or something! Are you sure you didn't hit your head? Maybe we should call your parents - "
"No!" Ryu said quickly. "I mean, no need to worry them. I'm fine. Just... observant."
Hinata stared at him for a long moment, then slowly sank back into his chair. "This whole day has been really weird," he muttered. "First you want to play volleyball out of nowhere, then you get smacked in the face, and now you're acting like some kind of emotion detective."
More notifications were appearing on Ryu's interface, but he tried to keep his expression neutral as he read them:
[Daily Quest Available]
[Complete 1 hour of focused volleyball practice]
[Reward: +3 Experience Points, +0.1 Random Stat]
[Failure: Mild nausea for 24 hours]
—
[Main Quest Unlocked: Find Your Team]
[Join a volleyball club or team within 30 days]
[Reward: Unlock Critical Strike ability, +3 Skill Points]
[Failure: All stats reduced by 2 points]
A penalty of reduced stats? That was terrifying. Ryu's stats were already so low that losing five points would probably make him worse than someone who had never seen a volleyball.
[Tutorial Quest Available]
[Successfully receive 10 serves in a row]
[Reward: +1 Receiving stat, Basic Tutorial unlock]
[No penalty for failure]
That seemed more manageable, at least in theory.
"Are you doing it again?" Hinata asked, watching Ryu's eyes track across empty air. "The weird staring thing?"
"Sorry," Ryu said, focusing back on his teammate. "I was just... thinking about practice. When can we train together?"
"Really?" Hinata's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "You actually want to practice? Even after today?"
"Especially after today," Ryu said, and found that he meant it. The system might be bizarre and his stats might be embarrassingly low, but for the first time since waking up in this world, he had something that felt like a plan.
"This is so awesome!" Hinata bounced up from his chair, practically vibrating with excitement. "We can practice receives! And serves! And maybe some basic attacks! Oh, and jumping exercises! I know this great spot on the riverbank where we can - "
"Slow down," Ryu laughed, standing up and testing his balance. The ice pack fell to the floor again, but his nose had stopped throbbing. "One thing at a time."
[Level: 1]
[Experience: 0/100]
[Next Level Reward: Random Skill Card]
A random skill card. Ryu's mind raced with possibilities. If the system could grant abilities like Empathic Connection and Critical Strike, what other volleyball skills might be available?
"So when do we start?" Hinata asked, practically bouncing on his toes.
Ryu glanced at his Daily Quest again. One hour of focused practice. No time like the present.
"How about right now?"
Hinata's expression shifted through several emotions - surprise, delight, concern, and finally determination. "Right now? But your nose - "
"Is fine," Ryu said, grabbing his gym bag. "Besides, I have a lot of catching up to do."
As they headed toward the door, Hinata chattering excitedly about training routines and basic techniques, Ryu took one last look at his status screen:
[Current Status:]
[Host: Yukitaka Izumi (Soul: Ryu Miyamoto)]
[Level: 1 (0/100 XP)]
[Skill Points Available: 0]
—
[Stats:]
- Serving: 2/100
- Receiving: 1/100
- Setting: 3/100
- Spiking: 0/100
- Blocking: 0/100
- Stamina: 15/100
- Jump Height: 28/100
- Game Sense: 15/100
—
[Abilities:]
- Empathic Connection (Level 1) - Active
- Critical Strike (Level 1) - Locked
—
[Active Quests:]
- Daily: Complete 1 hour of focused volleyball practice (Deadline: 24 hours)
- Tutorial: Successfully receive 10 serves in a row (No deadline)
- Main: Find Your Team (Deadline: 30 days)
The numbers were still terrible, but they were his terrible numbers. And in a world where hard work and determination could overcome any obstacle, maybe terrible was just another word for "room to improve."