The reception of Cautious Hero among readers was sharply divided.
Since the market was still dominated mostly by traditional hero stories, many younger readers couldn't accept the kind of anti-hero narrative that Cautious Hero presented.
However, with the decline of the classic hero trope, some readers who were already well-versed in those clichés found Cautious Hero's fresh take quite refreshing.
Overall though, sales were decent, largely because older readers, who generally had more spending power, were supporting the book.
This was exactly why editor Wakayama Kika wanted to meet with Akashi Asuka. Some editors in the department suggested tweaking the story to attract a wider audience by adding more conventional plotlines.
But Asuka decisively rejected that idea.
He felt that trying to cater to everyone would likely alienate both new and existing fans. If he chose the anti-hero path, he intended to stick with it all the way.
During the meeting, Asuka handed over the manuscript for volume two as well.
Wakayama nearly spat out her coffee when she saw that, the way Asuka looked at her was like she'd just encountered some rare species.
An author who wasn't late on their manuscript? Unbelievable.
Monday, back at school.
Asuka immediately sensed a shift in the atmosphere around the Seijo volleyball club. The tension of an impending battle hung heavy in the air, making everyone's expressions unusually serious.
Even Kunimi Hide, who had recently stopped talking about "saving energy" during practice, was focused and intense.
The reason? The high school league was about to begin. The list of teams for the preliminaries had just been announced, with Seijo seeded in Group A.
The preliminaries were scheduled for June 2nd, so barring any surprises, this week would likely be their final one before the official matches began.
Bam!
"Next!"
Bam!
"Next!"
Inside the gym, Tetsu Oikawa was tossing balls to the players one after another. Thanks to his efforts, the rhythm of Seijo's training had increased by at least a third compared to before.
Previously, after a full session, most players would only sweat a little.
Now, before even finishing half the session, many were nearly out of breath.
Soon it was Asuka's turn.
Oikawa tossed a ball, but as soon as it left his fingertips, his expression changed.
"Ah, sorry. That toss was a bit too high."
Normally, such a rookie mistake was rare for Oikawa, but recently, every time he played with Asuka, he made little errors.
The real cause, though, wasn't Oikawa's fault.
It was Asuka's rapid improvement.
Often, after days of practice, Oikawa would finally be able to toss the ball stably to Asuka's hitting point.
But then, Asuka would suddenly jump higher.
Though the improvements were subtle, barely noticeable to most people, Oikawa, who held himself to extremely high standards to overcome his own shadows, had to adjust instantly every time Asuka changed even slightly.
Like now...
Whoosh!
Oikawa's warning came just a moment too late, Asuka had already launched into the air.
Before, such a misstep would have been hard to recover from, even for Asuka.
But this time, as if struck by inspiration, Asuka tensed his body mid-air and... seemed to hover in place.
He stayed suspended until the ball descended to his hitting point, then swung his arm down sharply.
Bang!
The ball slammed into the floor and bounced high back into the air.
Such a subtle change was invisible to outsiders, but Oikawa, standing closest to Asuka, saw everything clearly, and his pupils dilated in shock.
"Asuka... did you just... freeze in midair?"
"Hmm~"
Asuka thought for a moment, then summoned his data panel in his mind. After a quick glance, he nodded.
"I think so. Looks like my hang time improved again."
Host: Akashi Asuka
Strength: 82.3 [Core 82.3, Arm 82.4]
Speed: 78.6 [Burst 78.1, Reaction 79.1]
Stamina: 80 [Endurance 80, Cardiovascular 80.1]
Jump: 80.4 [Leap 81.2, Hang Time 80]
Basic Skills: 75.9 [Serve 79.3, Dig 73.8, Pass 67.5, Spike 81.6, Block 79.7, Defense 74.4]
Advanced Skills: [Cross-court Spike 80.5], [Straight Spike 80.7], [Power Jump Serve 81.6]
On the data panel, Asuka's hang time attribute had risen from 79.9 to 80.
Until recently, he'd been focusing on improving his stamina. After pushing both endurance and cardiovascular stats over 80 the day before, he planned to work on hang time next.
But unexpectedly, it surpassed the limit today.
Oikawa twitched his eyelid.
"'Improved a bit'?"
This was a change visible to the naked eye. And you call that just a little?
Does being gifted mean you can do whatever you want?
"Asuka, after today's training, let's measure your current hang time properly."
"Got it!"
Asuka nodded.
He understood this improvement was another major challenge for Oikawa, just like with Ushijima Wataru. Once hang time reached a certain level, it could itself become a powerful weapon.
As the tournament approached, Asuka's training plan would shift again.
Just like back in Junior High, he would now focus mainly on specialized skill development.
Days passed.
By Saturday, Wakayama sent another email with the third week's sales figures.
Compared to the previous two weeks, sales had increased again, to 5,452 copies.
The publisher decided to print another 10,000 copies.
Meanwhile, volume two had already been sent to the factory for printing. Thanks to volume one's success, the first print run for volume two was set at 20,000 copies.
With this, Asuka estimated his royalties for the first month would exceed 4 million yen.
Amid such good news, the National High School Comprehensive Sports Tournament preliminaries officially kicked off...
(End of Chapter)
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