"Come on! This can't be true!" This pained pledge of something being a dream could be heard in the room. The words of agony echoed through the walls and yet no one noticed them expect for the one who entered the room.
The new ranks had been exposed. Just after an hour the evaluation of the first stage had been wrapped up. All of them were surprised. The difference of this was whether they were surprised in a positive way or in a negative one.
Nevan was definitely satisfied. He hadn't received the highest position despite having the ball almost more than half the time. But he wasn't the last anymore which was a relief.
He was on his bed and simply looked at Kento having a bad temper tantrum. With his balled fists and his red cheeks he almost looked like a toddler.
"You can always get better." He had tried but it had only seemed to ignite his anger even more.
Kento turned to him and glared at him. "Oh yeah? A few more mistakes and I will be disqualified."
Nevan sighed and rubbed his temples. This was just getting too much already. This guy had kept complaining and stressing himself out for almost an hour now － since the results had been revealed. What if he had gone down by two ranks? Nevan could guess why Kento was mad. Because he had taken the man's position as thr second best of this team.
"You can do this." He spoke once more with a hint of urgency in his voice this time.
The door opened and the last person Nevan had to know from his team came in. It was the grumpy guy. He simply looked at Nevan and Kento as if they were just a nuisance to him.
"I am going to take a shower, don't bother me." His voice held a cold and sharp edge to it which made Nevan stop from making any comment.
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[Teamplayer]
Minoru Akiyama
16 years old.
[Abilities]
Passing accuracy - 65%
1v1 play - 89%
Foresight - 61%
Assertiveness - 78%
[Rank in Golden Hive]
391
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His eyes followed the man as he went to the attached bathroom to freshen up. A grunt came from where Kento was and then he saw how the boy started to climb up the stairs to his bed. Finally, he would give Nevan some peace and he could think without being interrupted.
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[Career]
Task - 19
Get to know your teammates.
[Status] Completed.
[Progress] 10/10
[Reward] Badge 'Teamplayer - advanced' ⇢ Granted.
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Good thing, he had managed to do this. Now, all the teammates were probably in the system. A warm feeling of relief spread through him as he watched the screen. He was already thinking how he could use this system to his advantage at the next selection or game.
That was when another display popped up. The content made him somewhat confused. His eyebrows furrowed as he read the letters, making words out of them to understand them better.
[Host meets the requirements needed to take an exam to qualify for the special feature. Do you want to accept?]
He simply stared at it. With his arms folded behind his head, he was simply laying there after having gone through a hard fever task which had taken a toll on his legs, especially. As a positive factor, his endurance had gotten better again. It would definitely help him. Though, he would like to enhance his other stats as well.
"What is this special feature?" He asked, making sure to keep his voice low to not draw Kento's attention.
[This feature was added a few days ago. Host will get various advantages step by step which exceeds human comprehension. By accepting the invitation, you will take part in an exam to determine whether you are qualified to use it or not.]
Exceeding human comprehension? What did this mean? He pinched his nose bridge. Sometimes this system truly was beyond his comprehension. What was the harm in it? He couldn't think of any. The worst that could happen was him becoming better. And in this context, this was the best that could happen.
"I accept."
Suddenly the boy's face loomed down at him. He seemed somewhat calm now. Kento had turned upside down, holding onto the bed recklessly. He was looking at Nevan, his messy hair falling down like a curtain. This was weird. "Did you say something?"
So, he hadn't been discreet enough, it seemed. His mind was working at a high speed right now to come up with a possible and good excuse. "Yeah. I was wondering how long it will take for the second selection to begin."
"Hopefully not long. I want to climb up again. Being down to #390 is giving me chills. I can't afford to lose here. If I get disqualified here, my dream will forever be a dream!" He was getting hysterical once more.
Again, a sense of annoyance spread out through Nevan's body. He could already imagine how it was mixing with his blood. "Why don't you go and train for the next selection already? We don't know what it might be so the best we can do is prepare ourselves for the unknown."
Kento's brown eyes looked at him as if he had just told a secret he hadn't known. He blinked a few times with his mouth agape before he turned somewhat serious. "Right. Training. I will go."
This guy literally jumped down from his bed. "Thank you, Nevan. I was panicking when there was no reason to."
Finally, he seemed to understand. The door opens and closed, followed by hasty footsteps. He was alone in the room.
"What is the exam about?" He continued his conversation with the system where he had left off seconds ago.
[You will be teleported and have to find out for yourself.]
"So, I will be leaving this place for a while. What happens when the second selection begins while I am absent?"
[The second selection would not be beginning in the next one hour and forty-five minutes.]
This thing, this system really knew everything, it seemed. He was probably thinking too much. Special features. Skills beyond human comprehension. This just sounded like, AllStars System was trying to make Nevan invincible.
"Then－" He paused as if to contemplate on it for a few minutes even though he knew, he would end up getting curious and agree, at the end. "I want to take that qualification exam now."
[Very well. The host will be teleported to an alternate universe and will take part in the exam.]
It was the same weird feeling, that returned. A feeling which made his whole bory cribble and feel overly sensitive. As if he would turn into golden dust at any given moment.
[3]
There was no sound that could get to him now. He was just laying on the bed, knowing he would be brought somewhere he had never been at.
[2]
Everything around him turned blurry. This was the same blurry vision anyone would get if they were on rides on a fair which moved and circled around at such a high speed that you could not even tell where above and where below was.
[1]
Everything turned black around him. He felt like he was floating. It was a feeling that made him feel like he was detached from his own body and he was only the soul which harbored it.
[0]
[Teleportation completed.]
The blue screen was especially prominent when surrounded by the darkness as if it was the black hole itself. Teleportation completed. So, he wasn't in his room at the Bee Hive facility anymore?
He looked around. He felt like he was in a bubbly cloud as he tried to move around. Despite having his eyes wide open, he felt like they were closed since all he saw was nothing but black. He took a deep breath.
"What? Where am I?" His voice echoed as if he was in a tunnel or an empty room.
[Welcome to the 'QUALIFICATION' Exam. It will begin shortly.]
He felt like he was being pranked. What was this? Where was he? Why did his body feel funny? Nevan took a deep breath to calm down as much as possible even though it was a tough task.
There was am explosion of light in his vision all of the sudden. His eyes felt vulnerable after being in a pitch black environment for the past minutes which was why he shut them and waited for it to be over.
He felt his feet at the ground which made him finally open his grey eyes and let them wander around to see where he was. It seemed like a game.
He was in something that seemed like a room with a goal in front of him. It seemed like a normal soccer field to him. The whole place was held in a dark shade of green which confused him. He had just been exposed to extremely painful and illuminating light, right? Or had it been a hallucination?
He waited for something to happen. Anything that could give him a clue on what it was about. Then, something did happen. A metallic whirring sound caught his attention. Just like back then with the key to the underground soccer event, he saw a soccer ball appear at his feet. He simply stared at it before placing his foot at it, feeling the round shape of the ball beneath his sole.
"What is the exam about, now?" He asked once more. Confusion was written on his face, embedded deeply into his features.