Chapter 77: Just a Side Hustle
The next day.
Ten minutes remained before the Third Selection.
Kira and the other four had all changed into the standard blue jerseys.
As the match time approached, the five of them prepared to walk out of the tunnel.
Isagi bent down to tie his shoelaces, only to suddenly realize his legs were trembling uncontrollably. The sound of his own heartbeat drummed in his ears.
Images of the overwhelmingly powerful opponents and scenes of potential failure flashed through his mind, one after another. Sweat beads the size of beans rolled down his forehead.
"What's wrong, Isagi? Scared?"
Kira noticed Isagi's strange behavior.
Isagi looked up to find Kira and Bachira standing in front of him.
Kira looked completely relaxed, and Bachira wore his usual carefree, silly grin.
"Phew."
Isagi took a deep breath.
'Both my teammates look completely unfazed. I can't let them look down on me.'
"Being nervous is unavoidable, but more than that, I want to know what I can do in front of world-class players."
Isagi finished tying his laces and stood up confidently.
Kira smiled with relief. "Actually, I'm the same. Every cell in my body is jumping with excitement right now."
"Fighting with your true self... that is the most stylish way~" Aryu turned back and said with a flair.
"Small fry. Don't drag me down..." Rin's expression was serious.
Kira knew that Rin also placed great importance on this match.
After all, this was a rare and precious opportunity for experience.
"Don't worry, Rin. Right back at you."
"When the time comes, don't be the one dragging me down."
Kira replied with equal confidence.
Having said that, Kira took the lead and pushed open the heavy doors of the tunnel.
The five of them walked out at a leisurely pace.
***
Monitoring Room.
Anri looked at the financial settlement list in her hand, her brow furrowed in distress.
"I'm telling you, Ego-san. With this expenditure, those old geezers at the Football Association will definitely kill us."
Hearing this, Ego didn't speak. His eyes were glued to the screen.
"Hmm? Is this the first match against the World Select team?" Anri looked at the images on the screen with interest.
"Mm." Ego responded indifferently.
"Do you think our first team to clear the Second Selection has any chance of winning against the World Select?"
"It would be impressive if they even scored a goal," Ego replied curtly.
"Those five players I chose... there are only a handful of teams in the entire world that could beat them if they played seriously."
"I hope they can understand the gap between themselves and the world's top players through this match."
This was Ego's expectation for the game.
***
On the pitch.
When Kira and the others walked out of the tunnel and the figures of the opposing players appeared in their field of view...
Everyone was shaken by the insufferably arrogant aura emanating from the other side.
"It... It's really them." Bachira started stammering.
"Superstars I could only see on TV before are actually standing in front of me?" Aryu was unusually nervous.
[Detected attribute that can be absorbed!]
[Speed +60 (Continuous decay)]
[Spatial Awareness +55 (Continuous decay)]
[Dribbling +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Passing +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Shooting +40 (Continuous decay)]
---
[Detected attribute that can be absorbed!]
[Spatial Awareness +45 (Continuous decay)]
[Strength +45 (Continuous decay)]
[Speed +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Shooting +58 (Continuous decay)]
[Passing +40 (Continuous decay)]
---
[Detected attribute that can be absorbed!]
[Spatial Awareness +45 (Continuous decay)]
[Strength +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Speed +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Passing +45 (Continuous decay)]
[Shooting +45 (Continuous decay)]
---
[Detected attribute that can be absorbed!]
[Spatial Awareness +45 (Continuous decay)]
[Strength +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Speed +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Passing +45 (Continuous decay)]
[Shooting +45 (Continuous decay)]
---
[Detected attribute that can be absorbed!]
[Spatial Awareness +55 (Continuous decay)]
[Strength +20 (Continuous decay)]
[Speed +20 (Continuous decay)]
[Passing +60 (Continuous decay)]
[Shooting +30 (Continuous decay)]
[Duration: 10 minutes]
[Retention Time: 24 hours]
[Absorb?]
...
Five notifications pinged in Kira's mind.
Finally. He hadn't absorbed any attributes from Rin or the others today just to wait for this moment.
'It's a pity I can only absorb four.'
Kira silently chanted 'Absorb' in his heart.
A string of information began to pop up in his mind again.
[Absorption successful. Obtained Julian Loki Attribute Trial Card x1]
[Speed +60 (Continuous decay)]
[Spatial Awareness +55 (Continuous decay)]
[Dribbling +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Passing +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Shooting +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Silently chant 'Use Julian Loki Trial Card' to activate!]
---
[Absorption successful. Obtained Adam Blake Attribute Trial Card x1]
[Speed +60 (Continuous decay)]
[Spatial Awareness +55 (Continuous decay)]
[Dribbling +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Passing +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Shooting +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Silently chant 'Use Adam Blake Trial Card' to activate!]
---
[Absorption successful. Obtained Leonardo Luna Attribute Trial Card x1]
[Speed +60 (Continuous decay)]
[Spatial Awareness +55 (Continuous decay)]
[Dribbling +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Passing +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Shooting +40 (Continuous decay)]
[Silently chant 'Use Leonardo Luna Trial Card' to activate!]
---
[Absorption successful. Obtained Pablo Cavasoz Attribute Trial Card x1]
[Spatial Awareness +55 (Continuous decay)]
[Strength +20 (Continuous decay)]
[Speed +20 (Continuous decay)]
[Passing +60 (Continuous decay)]
[Shooting +30 (Continuous decay)]
[Silently chant 'Use Pablo Cavasoz Trial Card' to activate!]
Four Trial Cards were deposited into the inventory in Kira's mind.
'The gap is this huge?'
'It's too exaggerated.'
Kira had expected a gap, but he hadn't expected it to be this vast.
Compared to world-class All-Star players, Kira was currently being crushed in every aspect...
"Hahaha, they're way scrawnier than I imagined!" Opposite them, Dada Silva looked at the five teenagers entering the field and couldn't help but mock them in fluent English.
In Brazil, with physiques like that, they wouldn't even be able to hold onto the ball in a match.
"Didn't I tell you? Japanese people don't grow muscles..."
Adam Blake stared at the entrants with a bored expression. "I win the bet. You owe me ten grand."
"What are they saying? Why are they laughing so happily..." Bachira looked confused.
Since the superstars were speaking English, Bachira couldn't understand them.
'You don't want to understand,' Kira thought to himself. 'They're laughing at us.'
"Hahaha, you're going to use that money to play with women, right?" Dada Silva looked like he understood him completely.
Adam Blake crossed his arms and said coldly, "Shut up. Aren't you here to make some quick cash on the side, too?"
"Hey."
At some point, Rin had walked up behind the two of them with his hands in his pockets, speaking in fluent English as well. "What do you mean? Is this match just a part-time job to you?"
'This guy...' Kira followed suit, standing behind Rin.
"There's an idiom in my country: 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you.' You're professional players, after all. Since you're taking the money, you should at least take the job seriously."
"Wow, both Kira and Rin can speak English..."
Stars appeared in Bachira's eyes. English was like an alien language to him.
"Hah? If it wasn't for the easy money, who would want to come to this godforsaken place?"
"Does Japanese soccer deserve our seriousness?"
Dada Silva stepped forward, thrusting his massive face right in front of Rin and Kira.
'Holy crap, he's huge,' Kira complained internally.
"Right? You womanizing thirty-year-old geezer?" Silva turned back to look at Blake.
Blake rolled his eyes. "I'm twenty-six. And I came to Japan for a legitimate reason."
"I'm here to teach English to Japanese women in kimonos."
'Teach English?'
'Is that English teaching… legitimate?'
Dark lines appeared on Kira's forehead. 'This Blake guy looks like the type who spends all his time buried in piles of women.'
----
HAND OVER YOUR GODDAMN INFINITY STONES!!
Every 100 stones = +1 extra chapter!
If you want to read chapters early and show some support, check out my P4trƐon!
Just search "Demonic_Fiction" on "P4trƐon" (link in the synopsis)