"Hmm. Let's see..." Cornelia stepped onto the court and eyed the practicing girls. Then, she randomly thrust her finger at one of them. "Hey, you! Eh, what was your name again? Well, doesn't matter. I wish to practice spikes, so set for me!"
"Eeeh?" the girl made a face. "I'm not really good with that stuff."
"Nonsense, I've seen you setting up just fine," Cornliea said. "Besides, it's but a simple set, how hard can it be?"
"But, you're totally going to complain if the sets aren't to your liking..."
"Of course I will." Cornelia nodded. "If the sets won't permit me to properly practice my spikes, then there is no point to them."
"You see? You do want the high-quality sets, after all." The girl made a face. "But, I'm the reserve libero, remember? Heh, who am I kidding? Of course you don't. Anyway, I don't do sets often, so I'm not that good at them."
"Hmm, I see." Cornelia nodded in understanding. "But, it is never too late to learn! So, come on."
"Somebody, save meeeeeeeeee..."
"Alright, alright." Another girl stepped. It was Daniella, the captain of the club as well as the team's main setter. "I'll set for you."
"Much obligated, captain." Cornelia expressed proper respect toward the senior in charge. Such was the expected etiquette from a noble lady.
Just you watch, Fiona! Cornelia thought as she jumped toward the set ball. Today, I shall make sure that the name Cornelia von Galen will go down in history as the name of the one who triumphed over the Landberht scion!
BOOM! It sounded like an explosion, but that was just the sound of the ball crashing into the floor. Cornelia struck that one with all her might and the set was quite ideal, as expected from the captain. Therefore, Cornelia was able to exhibit the full extent of her noble talent with that spike!
The sound of the crash echoed throughout the gym. Such intimidating noises were perhaps common in boys' volleyball, but not so much in girls'.
Naturally, many of the girls turned around to check out the source of the explosion. In other words, they were all gazing upon the mighty Cornelia von Galen! Surely, they'll now revere her as the queen of the volleyball court!
But...
"Out," Daniella said.
"... excuse me?"
"It was out."
"W-Was it?" Cornelia was taken aback. "S-Surely you jest. It was right there on the line!"
"Nope, it was out. I saw it clearly. Right, girls?" Daniella addressed the ones who stood closer to the point of impact. The girls confirmed that the ball indeed landed a little outside the bounds.
"T-That can't be..." Cornelia gritted her teeth for a moment, but then covered her mouth and burst out in laughter. "Ohohoho! Yes, of course it might've landed out of bounds. After all, I did not strictly try to place the shot within the court itself."
"Oh, you didn't?"
"Not at all. After all, this is but warm-up, ohoho!"
"Hmm, I see." Daniella nodded. "Then, from here on out, please make sure to hit all your spikes inside the court. It's important to warm up your aim, too." Especially, in your case...
"Of course, of course." Cornelia nodded. "Very well. As a noble lady, I shall elegantly place all my powerful shots within the court! This is no challenge at all for a scion of the von Galen family!"
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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