Nevan tensed up. He knew, it was childish but who could judge him? He had come up with this just in half a minute. Pride swelled in his chest, despite that. Being called like this. "That you?" The other boy asked.
Nevan nodded. "That's me." He followed how his name and the position blended in on the board. That was when he noticed, a camera was showing him. He saw himself on the screen. He heard the others get introduced as well. It was just as brief as his but there were some remarks made as well.
The ones who were longer in this business got a better, more majestic introductions. They were being promoted. People would bet on them after hearing about their wins.
"This concludes the introduction! Even if you want to bet for a good player your heart must thump with excitement when you think of the risk. What if one of the newbies is better than an experienced player? No risk, no fun, baby!" The voice of the woman dropped. "Keep that in mind."
Nevan would have never thought, he would ever do something illegal. Yet, here he was. The system was making him do this. Even after a few weeks of operating it, he had no idea how to escape all these tasks.
They went to the formation that had been chosen for them. He was a midfielder, the one who he had talked to earlier was one too. It had only been a few hours since he had been at Athlete Zone and found out, he had not been selected to join SPC. He had little to no time that he could have used to reflect on Ms. Takahashi's words. Despite that, it was still a great opportunity to check out, if he could change. He had to, eventually.
"Well, then. Everyone ready? You can place your bets during the match, so no rush!" The woman sounded hyped. The crowd cheered. They were eager. "Great! Now, let the fun begin!"
Unlike Keisuke, Nevan had never played in front of such a crowd. This was overwhelming but he decided to focus on the game alone even though the cheers and sounds from the people was anything but soothing for his senses.
The ball was played. The other team had gotten the lead. They truly seemed like they were used to it while his team seemed uncoordinated. Why did he have such a luck today? To play in an undetermined team. It was the second time already.
A small scoff escaped his mouth and he started running towards the man who held the ball. No hesitation. He warned himself. Not anymore.
Once he knew, what he had done wrong, it was very easy for him to change and adapt. The screen on the system changed.
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[Information for the host]
This game has no rules.
The quest will be closed if unexpected interruptions occure.
⇢ This is a penalty task. To make it up, if this case occurs the following tasks will become 5 times harder.
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He let out an exasperated scoff and simply concentrated on the game now. He had run off to the opponent who had taken the initiative and was moving towards them. Nevan stole the ball from the man and moved away from him, towards the other team's goal.
"It seems like Ace of the field is eager to show just how much of an ace he is. He strikes his opponent like a predator and steals the ball, in a second!"
Nevan had no time to comprehend these words. He turned around, saw that one of the strikers was free to receive a pass. He kicked the ball. It flew right towards his teammate.
[Host should check out his stats after every match to see his strengths and weaknesses.]
The system was playing an active part again. What had happened earlier this day? It was as if the Allstars System had decided that Nevan should be rejected. He pushed the thoughts away, shifting his focus solely to the ball.
The striker scored a goal. It had happened so fast. At first, the crowd was stunned by the intensity of the match that had only begun. Then a loud roar rumbled through the entire stadium.
"The initiative taken by Ace bore fruit! Just now, ladies and gentemen, our Drake has scored a goal. It stands 1 - 0 for the newbies!"
"Don't call us newbies!" One of his teammates yelled. "I am a soccer player too, damnit!"
Nevan disregarded it and decided to strike again. The shouting of that man seemed to have gotten drowned since the next thing that was said over the speaker was something regarding the game again. "Oh! Ace strikes again. He seems to want to live up to his name." There was a small pause. "Just now, $5000 were placed on Ace of the field!"
Nevan's breath hitched. For real? Someone placed a bet on him? He felt a small grin spread on his face. The ball was already being passed through his own team as they had the ball. It was kicked in his direction. He took it.
With big steps, he dribbled the ball towards the goal again. No hesitation, he recited again in his mind. He approached the goal and came closer and closer to it. His heart was beating fast, his breath a bit heavy. It was not some hard workout and yet, he was out of breath right now.
The hoodie was in his way. He couldn't see his opponents clearly. That was why Faisal was able to take the ball from him. Nevan reacted reflexively. He spread out his leg and almost got the ball. No rules. He could do anything.
"Guys! You are so risky today! Betting on a newbie like Ace of the field? Another $2000 were placed on the one who is dominating the field right now!" The womak announced. Surprise could be heard in hier voice. "And $7000 were placed on Scorpion!"
Faisal, or Scorpion managed to get away with the ball. Nevan pursued him relentlessly. He was looking for an opening. Which he got. Right when Faisal was about to pass the ball, Nevan swiped the ball from him. "So annoying." Faisal groaned.
Nevan let out an amused chuckle and rushed towards the goal before the man could chase after him. It was perfect. The dots aligned in the right order. The goalkeeper was standing a bit to the left, leaving enough room for the ball on the right.
Nevan kicked it with his full power and it landed in the goal. The threads stretched and then the ball bounced back. The crowd cheered. He was starting to like it very much. And this lifted his spirits from the earlier defeat at Athlete Zone.
"Our newbies are full of energy today, it seems! Another goal for the newbies. It is 2 - 0 now!"
The other team was starting to feel threatened now. They wanted to win some money too, after all. As experienced players in this type of games, they had a reputation to defend. The game had grown more intense than before. The players resorted to violence, leading to some of the newbies to scream or groan in pain.
That was when Nevan started to notice. This really was not some normal soccer game. There was a reason why this was illegal. A game without any rules. Anyone could do what they wanted to do.
He was going to do his best either way. He could defend himself if he wanted to, after all. He was pursuing the ball once more on the field. The people were placing their bets now without any hesitation. They knew which player was good and who wasn't by now. They had played for almost thirty minutes, after all.
No hesitation. This thought kept moving through his mind. Ms. Takahashi had said, this was the worst trait to have and Nevan didn't want this. He was about to stretch out his leg to get the ball when he saw something. Something that made him hesitate, at the end.
The light had reflected on the stainless steel. A knife. So, this man would stab him if he took the ball, huh? He took a step back. A laugh sounded from the player who held the knife. "Good choice."
"Seems like someone wanted to use a knife this time?" The voice sounded from the speaker. "Not a rare occurence but maybe a source of trauma for our Ace of the field."
Nevan had distanced himself from the ball after that for a while. He started to blend into the background more and more. He didn't want to get closer for now. He would have. But he didn't. He wanted to keep living without having any lethal injuries.
It went good for a while. The crowd was still cheering. Nevan got the ball after it had been passed by the man who had that knife. Now he was running towards the goal once more. He passed the ball right before he got cornered.
"Please pay attention, dear visitors. The game has been going on for almost forty-five minutes. This is a good time to conclude this as we have gotten information about police cars closing in to this place." Everyone on the field came to a halt. He looked at other players, confused.
"With this Team Newbie wins. Everyone will receive $1000. Those who receive more are Scorpion from Team Intermediate with $9000 and Field King from the same team with $8000." The list went on. Nevan tensed up when he heard the last sentense. "With $5000 Ace of the field gets the most money from the newbies. Congratulations!"
This made Nevan feel happy. A way to earn money, huh? Just when he started to cheer up, the woman spoke up again. "Though, the money will be handed out the next time since the cops are closing in."