The time seemed to have slowed down. Nothing was done for over a day. At least, Nevan had done nothing. Keisuke's parents had went to work as usual. They had to, after all. All the boy could do was complete the daily tasks and rest for a small while.
[Text Eiran Sinclair.]
These words had appeared on the screen and that was when he finally seemed to remember. Mr. Sinclair had told him to get in touch with him once the selection was over, right? How could he forget it? Well, of course he could. His mind had been occupied with thoughts about his uncertain future.
Wasn't Eiran Sinclair the right person in this matter? He might know some insider information.
He had the man's number. All he had done was send a text message in which he asked for a meeting so that they could discuss the outcome of the selection. Nevan had not played many matches at Athlete Zone.
It was as if his whole ambition had been put to a pause after knowing he had not made it. He has no idea if it was even a good idea to play mindlessly, without having a goal in his mind. It only made him feel lost, the same feeling that always lingered in the back of his mind since he had been forced out of his warm nest by his menace of a father.
'Do we even have to talk? If you would have made it, you would be sitting in the plane right now.'
His phone had vibrated after half an hour of sending the message to Mr. Sinclair. Annoyance spread out through his body as he read it. That was right. And surprisingly, he had come to the right conclusion.
'Yeah, but I want to discuss something.'
Now, his reply was much faster. They had agreed on a time today. He had returned to Japan, after all. Now he had to wait for a few hours.
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Fever Task (0/1)
- Run for [1.5] hours. (0/90)
[Reward] +4 Endurance-Points
[Penalty for not completing the tasks] Hidden - Will be revealed if Host fails to complete the tasks.
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As if he had time to rest. He looked at the display. A fever task. Nevan had no idea, why he was supposed to complete numerous of tasks. It had started to make him quite weary and bored. "Why am I supposed to even do these?" He complained.
[Host must keep enhancing his skills to be ready for the upcoming events. From now on till the start of the events, he will be forced to complete 1x daily tasks and 4x fever tasks.]
Upcoming events? What was this thing talking about? He felt like a puppet on strings. This system was playing with him relentlessly. As if he was a player in some video game.
Another thing crossed his mind. He hadn't stopped thinking about the time, he had been teleported to NYC. The encounter at the end of it. And about the money, he would be getting on the next time. Very important. Nevan was broke with not much money in his pockets. "What about that underground soccer matches? Will I be taking part in that again?"
[Certainly.]
Good to know. He let out a sound of relief. After a quick warm-up, he had started working on the task displayed on the screen. That was nothing but he couldn't help but wonder, what the upcoming events were which the system had talked about.
There had been many moments which had made him realize how much influence this system had on this world. How it was able to change someone's memories, change reality and even teleport him to different places. And not to forget, summon things. He still had the key which he had used to get to the underground playground in NYC. This was certainly not a dream.
Ninety minutes of running without many breaks was not an easy task. He wanted to be done with the task, however. That was why he did it. By the end of it, he collapsed on a bench in the park and wiped his sweat off his forehead with his wristband. He tries to catch his breath. He cursed inwardly about the weather. It was just too hot.
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Fever Task (1/1)
Completed.
[Reward] +4 Endurance-Points
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The rest of his remaining time, he had simply gone to have lunch. He had also done some grocery shopping for Sumire.
They were meeting up in the same café as the last time. There were barely any seats left as he entered the place. Luckily, he noticed a familiar silouhette sitting at a table in the corner.
Once he had bought his favourite beverage － cocoa, he approached the man who was waiting for him. "You don't look shady at all." Nevan greeted him. He was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses.
The man looked up at the boy who had just arrived. "It is nice to see you too." He replied nonchalantly.
Nevan took a seat across from Eiran. He was sipping on his coffee which looked like espresso. Just like the last time.
"So, you ended up not making it?" He cale straight to the point. His voice sounded serious. He shoved his glasses down his nose bridge to see Nevan better.
Nevan was taken aback. Mr. Sinclair sounded more serious than the last time and even a bit upset. "Unfortunately, no." He spoke, obviously disappointed about the results.
There was a pause. Eiran Sinclair looked like he was deeply in thoughts about something. He clicked his tongue before finally speaking. "I had hoped, you would make it but it is perfectly fine, either way. Failures are not avoidable." He inspected Nevan's expression. "What was the reason for this? I am sure, you had a conversation with your evaluator?"
"Hesitation." Nevan didn't even think about it. This was a word, he had started to hate more than anything. A word, he knew, he had to stay away from when it was not needed.
Eiran caressed his chin as he thought about this for a few seconds. He always seemed to think properly before talking, a stark contrast to his usual straightforwardness on the field. "The same thing, I pointed out at our last meeting? I can understand, though. You only had a few days to improve after that so it might have gotten hard."
Nevan had no idea what to respond to this. He had thought about this a lot and the more he thought about it, the more he felt lost.
Eiran was the one who spoke again. "That doesn't mean, you should blame anything but yourself in this situation. There is something you need to keep in your mind. You need to be able to adapt quickly. Once you find out about your weakness, you should work to make it better and annihilate it."
"True." He agreed with the man. There was a lot going on in his mind. Mostly, his uncertain future as well as the pressure of having enough finances. He couldn't keep living at the Sato residence. He shoved that thought away, trying to concentrate on Eiran Sinclair.
The man had taken his time to analyze Nevan's features and determine all the changes he had gone through since their last meeting. "Anything else on your mind?"
He straightened his back and nodded slightly. Eiran didn't know about his circumstances, only the fact that he wanted to be a professional soccer athlete. "I have no plans of what I want to do." He admitted. "All I know is what I want to be at the end of this journey. But, how is this path supposed to look like?"
"That is something, you have to decide, Nevan." The response was direct but not helpful in this matter.
"How? My friends started a long time ago. Actually, all those who are serious about this began with their training ages ago. I noticed this during the selection. There is this determination that burns in their eyes and I seem to not be able to keep up with them." The words just blurted out. Nevan didn't even think about what he was saying.
Eiran took a sip of his drink. He gestured Nevan to take a sip from his own beverage too, in order to calm down. "That is right. They started a long time ago and that is their advantage. That doesn't mean, you have to question yourself." His face softened a bit. He let out a exasperated sigh. "Why did you start?"
He was finally asking it. He didn't know this man but he decided to be honest with Mr. Sinclair. "I need to get back home. My father kicked me out and he said, I have to make a name for myself. Otherwise, I wouldn't be allowed back."
Irritation spread through Eiran. How could a parents do this to their own child? He took another sip of his espresso. "That is enough Motivation for you. For now. Keep going with this target before you find something else."
He nodded. That was it. None of them said any more words. Nevan nipped at his paper cup and looked around. Silence spread out between them. "What do I do?" Nevan spoke then, calmly.
Eiran deliberately shoved his sunglasses back up his nose bridge. His eyes rested on Nevan. "I can't believe I am doing this. This is a proposal made to young players with extraordinary talent only." He started. "I will talk to them about you and try to get you in there, okay?"
"Talk to who?" Nevan was confused. His heart leapt. This was probably a new opportunity, he would get.
Eiran Sinclair leaned forward, his hands resting on the table. "Have you heard about 'Golden Hive'?"