The System Makes Me a Player

The next day, already back at school, Kelvin was still deeply intrigued by what had happened during training. More specifically, his second goal, he was certain he was going to shoot with his left foot, but something made him use his right...

"Was it the system?", he murmured to himself

"It's capable of even preparing me to make the best decision".

The bell rang.

He got up from his chair just as Ian appeared behind him, giving a light pat on his shoulder.

"Dude, I still can't get that goal out of my head! It was just insane", said Ian, flashing a wide, excited smile.

"It wasn't all that, Ian"

"Yes, it was!"

The two started walking down the stairs until, at the bottom, Kazana was there, as if waiting for their arrival… or rather, his arrival.

Kazana leaned against the wall, arms crossed, eyes locked on Kelvin. The same smile from when training had begun, but this time, there was something completely different in his expression.

Kelvin stopped, and Ian, coming right behind, halted as well. For a brief moment, the two stared at each other for about three seconds, while Kelvin waited for Kazana to speak.

"Kelvin", said Kazana, in a calm tone.

Kelvin raised his chin.

"Speak"

"That goal…", Kazana slightly tilted his head, as if observing an experiment.

"Was it luck?"

Kelvin raised an eyebrow. Ian took a step forward, but Kelvin lifted a hand, signaling it was okay.

"No", he replied simply.

"It was the result of hard work: training"

Kazana made a low sound with his mouth, seemingly unconvinced.

"I see…", he murmured.

"Because if it was training, I want to see you do it again. Today. On the court. One-on-one"

Ian let out a short laugh.

"You've got to be kidding me. You've got way too much free time"

But Kelvin kept his eyes firm. The system flickered faintly in his peripheral vision, as if already calculating something.

"Fine", replied Kelvin.

"After class. On the court"

Kazana simply turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing down the hallway. He said nothing more. But just before disappearing around the corner, he raised one arm and held up a single finger — as if to say he was the number one in that school.

Ian exhaled loudly.

"That guy's insane… You do know he's in the third year, right? I also heard he's super cocky. Guess he got a little hurt after your goal", said Ian, laughing.

Kelvin gave a small smirk.

"That's good. He'll be a great way to train"

At that moment, the system responded:

[New Mission Activated: Prove Your Superiority]

[Objective: Defeat Kazana in the 1v1 challenge.]

[Difficulty: Medium]

[Reward: +80 XP]

Kelvin closed his eyes for a second and murmured:

"Medium, huh?"

The rest of the classes dragged on. Kelvin tried to stay focused, but his mind was already on the court, on the moment he would face Kazana one-on-one. He didn't feel nervous, he felt challenged. It was as if the system was already energizing his body, warming up his muscles before he even stood up from his chair.

When the final bell rang, he didn't even need to look at Ian. They both stood and headed to the locker room together. The hallway was filled with students going home, but something felt different around the court. A small crowd seemed to know what was coming.

"I swear I didn't spread it around", said Ian, noticing a group gathering by the outer court fence.

"But this school has sensors for this kind of thing"

"Well...", said Kelvin, tying his cleats.

"I don't really mind"

Even among the small crowd, Kelvin could easily spot Kazana, short, about 1.60 meters tall, with stark white hair. Minutes later, already on the court, Kazana was there, juggling a ball alone.

"Took you long enough, rookie", he said, not even looking at Kelvin.

"Relax, I'm here", replied Kelvin.

Rafael arrived shortly after, holding a clipboard with a whistle around his neck.

"So this is really happening? One-on-one?", he asked, visibly skeptical.

"Just training, coach", said Kazana, feigning innocence.

Rafael sighed.

"Alright. First to five goals wins. The goalkeepers are in place"

He blew the whistle. The ball was placed at the center. Tension filled the air.

Kazana had the first possession. He advanced quickly, using his body well to shield the ball. He scored the first goal with a powerful shot into the corner.

1–0.

Kelvin stayed calm. The system began highlighting small data points in his vision: positioning, angles, possible paths. But he ignored it for a moment. He wanted to trust himself.

With the ball in his control, he started calmly, waiting for Kazana's move. He faked to the right, then spun left with a sharp turn, striking low to the opposite corner.

1–1.

The game went on. Kazana scored another, and Kelvin tied it again with a quick dribble that drew reactions from the small crowd. Both were playing seriously.

On the fourth goal, Kelvin used a dribble he didn't even know he could pull off, a spin with his foot planted, completely breaking Kazana's defense.

3–2.

Kazana began to get irritated. His moves became rougher, and he even shoved Kelvin during one play. Rafael blew his whistle but let it continue.

The score reached 4–4.

Final goal.

The ball was passed to Kelvin. He didn't think. The system went silent. It was just him, the space, and Kazana. He pretended to back off, then made a sudden cut forward. Kazana fell for the move, the goalkeeper rushed out, but didn't realize the ball had already passed between his legs.

He was dribbling through everyone.

And when he stood face-to-face with the goal, he stopped. Looked back for a moment, as if to say "Is this match?", and struck it with a backheel.

Goal.

The silence was broken by scattered claps. Rafael didn't react, he just looked at his clipboard, scribbled something, and said loudly:

"Match over"

Kazana stood in the middle of the court, sweating, breathless, staring at the ground.

Kelvin walked over to Ian, who stood there wide-eyed and speechless.

"Dude... you...", Ian tried to say something but couldn't.

Kelvin just smiled. And then, the system responded:

[Mission Completed]

[+80 XP]

Kelvin looked back, Kazana was right behind him.

"How?"

Kelvin rolled his eyes.

"How what?"

Kazana sighed.

"I trained so hard… How are you better than me? How?"

Kelvin just gave a smile.

"I'd never even heard of you… How did you just take all of this?"

Kelvin didn't know what to say. Just as he was about to speak and break the silence, Ian cut in:

"Forget that guy, Kelvin. Let's go home. Training starts again tomorrow! I'm already pumped!", said Ian, grinning from ear to ear.

Kelvin let himself be pulled away by his friend, while Kazana stayed behind, still trying to understand what had just happened.

"Kelvin... you bastard"