Vol.19 Ch.6: The Explosive Noble

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And so, the next set arrived. The ball flew high into the air, perfectly matching Cornelia's jumping ability.

As expected of a high-caliber setter, the captain was capable of adjusting her sets quite acutely to the spiker's preferences. It was truly an honor to practice alongside an accomplished senior like Daniella.

BAM! Another powerful spike! The ball rammed so hard into the floor that it wouldn't have been odd for it to leave a crater behind! But...

"Out," Daniella reported.

"O-Oh, yes, I see. Hmm." Cornelia opened and closed her mouth in defeat. This time, her spike went so far out of bounds that she struggled to come up with any defense for her case.

At first, she considered blaming this on the captain's set, but clearly, there was no fault with Daniella's art. That ball ascended to the perfect height for Cornelia to hit it with all her might. As such, the fault lay entirely with Cornelia's aim.

But, of course, this was not allowed to be written off as a "mistake" on her part. After all, as the noble daughter of the von Galen family, Cornelia could not possibly make such embarrassing mistakes.

And so, Cornelia puffed her chest in confidence. "I simply wanted to practice outs for a little bit, that's all there is to it."

"Huh." Daniella narrowed her eyes. "And, why would you want to practice something like that? In case you've forgotten, this game is all about placing the spikes INSIDE the court."

"O-Of course I remember something so elementary! It's simply such a rare experience for one as noble as myself to ever hit outs, so I felt like getting a taste of that exotic experience on this fine morning, ohoho!"

Yeah, sure. It's "rare". Daniella rolled her eyes. Girl, your wild spikes miss more than they land. Sigh.

Cornelia's spikes were powerful, no question about that. However, with great power came great responsibility.

The spikes had impressive velocity but they sacrificed accuracy in exchange. The harder Cornelia struck the ball, the more likely it was to go out. This was practically a scientific law at this point.

"How about dialing down the speed a little bit?" Daniella suggested. "It doesn't seem like you'll be placing any shots inside the court if you keep hitting with all your power."

"H-Hmph, very well." Cornelia lifted her chin. "Since this plebeian court cannot contain the full force of my noble shots, it appears I must hold my brilliance back a little."

"Please do."

And so, another set. The ball flew high into the air again, just as carefully and as accurately as last time. Truly, the captain's tosses were ever filled with elegant skill. It'd be a shame to waste such noble effort, therefore Cornelia absolutely had to nail this next spike.

BAM. She struck the ball with great force, but she made sure to hold back just a little. It was truly a shame that this puny court was unable to withstand the full extent of her noble strength, but such was the plebian nature of this mass of land.

BAM! The ball crashed into the floor. The loudness made some girls turn their heads, as they should always do. After all, all of them should be grateful that they had the chance to witness Cornelia's magnificence in action, and free of charge to boot.

Fortunately, this time, the ball landed within bounds. It suspiciously swayed to the left toward the very end of the flight, but it was all good in the end.

"Good one," Daniella said. "Though, it was cutting it a little close there. You might want to slow down even more."

"Non, non. That will not do." Cornelia wagged her finger. "Any slower than this and my spikes will no longer be able to deliver the full extent of my noble brilliance."

"Is that so..." Daniella made a face. "Well, you do you. Let's get a few more shots in before the scrim begins."

"Gladly!"

Daniella set the ball a few more times, and Cornelia leaped at every opportunity to spike it. She was like a hungry beast jumping at every prey presented to her.

After dialing down the fierceness of the strikes, Cornelia's accuracy increased just enough to place most of her spikes inside the court. Many of those were still too close to comfort and nearly slipped outside, but it was fine as long as they ultimately landed within bounds.

Well, personally, I wish she hit them in a safer spot. Daniella thought. Then again, hitting your spikes close to the line is technically optimal, so eh...

That quirky spike trajectory was both a blessing and a curse at the same time. These spikes were definitely difficult to receive, but they also had the bad habit of going out of bounds all by themselves. As such, it was difficult to place too much confidence in them.

Alas, regardless of Daniella's concerns, this was the only type of spike Cornelia was willing to hit. She never compromised on anything less.

Well, she DOES have another type of spike, but... Daniella felt even less confident about that one. Still, I have to make sure she's at least warmed up with it. It rarely ever lands in, but it's pretty impressive when it works.

And so, Daniella made sure to have Cornelia practice that backup tool.

This troublesome girl had the accuracy of someone throwing darts in the dark, but she sure packed a lot of force. With effective warmup, it should be possible to fine-tune Cornelia to become a strong asset to the team.

BAM! BAM! BAM! The gym sounded like a warzone because of the repeated bombarding noises. Some girls shuddered at the mere thought of being on the receiving end of these destructive spikes.

After a few more rounds, it was time to take a break.

"Make sure to get some rest before the scrim," Daniella said. "You'll tire yourself out before the match if you keep going this hard."

"Hah, ha..." Cornelia's breathing was visibly ragged, but she took a deep breath and straightened her posture. "Me? Tire myself out? Please. A noble such as myself holds unlimited energy! I shall keep spiking for as long as the ball keeps going up!"

"Yes, I'm sure you will," Daniella said. "But, take a break just in case, okay? This will ensure that your 'noble brilliance' will be as brilliant as it should be during the game." Or something, I dunno.

"Hmm. Very well." Cornelia nodded. "You are quite right, it is important for a noble such as myself to maintain optimal form at all times. Tiring myself out before the game, even by a negligible amount, is not elegant."

"Yep, exactly."

And so, Cornelia agreed to take a short rest before the actual game. Hopefully, she'll recover all the energy shot lost from spiking the ball like a mad beast...

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