The vibration of the phone was usually enough to wake Rio, but tonight, the System decided to bypass the device entirely.
A loud, digital trumpet blast exploded directly inside his brain.
Rio sat bolt upright in bed, gasping, his heart hammering against his ribs.
The digital clock read 3:14 AM.
"What?" he whispered, rubbing his eyes. "Did I get released? Did the stadium burn down?"
He blinked, and the interface materialized in the darkness of his room. But it wasn't the usual calming blue. It was pulsating with a vibrant, electric neon green.
[SYSTEM ALERT: NEW USER DETECTED!]
[Classification: WONDERKID (Current Generation)]
[Connection Established.]
Rio frowned. Wonderkid?
Usually, the chat was a graveyard of greatness. They were ghosts. But "Current Generation" meant... someone alive? Someone playing right now?
A new chat window opened.
[User 'Phantom_X' has joined the chat.]
Hand_Of_King: What is this? A green name? Is he an alien?
The_Phenomenon_9: Wonderkid? Is it Endrick? Lamine? Hey kid, do you like haircuts?
Phantom_X: ...Who are you people? Why is there a HUD in my eyes?
Rio stared at the text. The new guy was confused. He was just like Rio had been on day one.
Rio_Lance: Hey! Don't panic. You've been invited to the Legends Chat. I'm Rio. I play for Girona.
There was a long pause. The three dots ... danced on the screen.
Phantom_X: Girona? Never heard of you. I play for... actually, no. I'm not telling you.
Rio_Lance: Why not? We're all in this together.
Phantom_X: Because if this is real, you are my competition. And I don't give data to the enemy.
Rio felt a spark of annoyance. The kid was arrogant.
[Voice Lounge: Active (1 User - Phantom_X)]
Curiosity got the better of him. Rio mentally tapped the headphone icon. The audio feed crackled to life.
"Hello?"
The voice was young. Very young. Maybe sixteen or seventeen? It had a sharp, confident edge to it, but the accent was hard to place—a mix of international school English and something else.
"I can hear you breathing," the voice said coolly. "You're the Girona guy? Rio?"
Yeah, Rio projected his thought, lying back on his pillow. And you are?
"I'm the guy who's going to win the Ballon d'Or in three years," Phantom_X replied. "The System says you're Level 3. I just joined and I'm Level 1, but my potential rating is higher than yours."
Rio bristled. You can see my stats?
"Only the summary. Speed 92. Not bad. But your Technique is... E-Rank? Ouch. You run fast and kick the ball into the stands, don't you?"
Rio clenched his fist. I scored against Betis last week!
"One goal," Phantom_X scoffed. "I scored a hat-trick in the Youth Champions League yesterday. But fine. Keep your secrets, Speedster. I'll keep mine."
[User 'Phantom_X' has left the Voice Lounge.]
Rio sat there in the silence, stunned. Who was this kid? He sounded like a Bond villain in training. A hat-trick in the Youth Champions League? That narrowed it down, but there were dozens of top academies in Europe.
King_10: Competitive spirit. I like it. Iron sharpens iron, Rio. You were getting too comfortable being the only student.
Total_Football_14: Indeed. A rival is a mirror. He will force you to run faster.
Rio gritted his teeth. Comfortable? I'm fighting for my life every day!
The next evening, the sun was setting over Girona, casting long, golden shadows across the concrete cage known as "El Hoyo" (The Hole).
It was a small, gritty street pitch tucked between two apartment blocks. The fences were rattled and bent, the goals were rusted metal frames without nets, and the surface was a hard, unforgiving synthetic turf that scraped your skin off if you fell.
Rio stood by the fence, pulling his hoodie up over his head. He didn't want to be recognized. Being a La Liga goalscorer meant he couldn't just wander around without someone asking for a selfie, and tonight wasn't about him. It was about Leo.
"You ready?" Rio asked.
Leo stood next to him, adjusting his expensive new boots. He looked the part. He was tall, lanky, and wore a vintage oversized jersey that looked cool in an effortless way.
"It's just a pickup game, Rio," Leo sighed, popping his knuckles. "Dad forced me. He said, 'You signed a contract, now go sweat.' It's annoying."
"It's practice," Rio insisted. "You start training with the U16s tomorrow. You need to get your lungs working."
Leo rolled his eyes and walked onto the pitch.
The game was a chaotic 5-on-5. The other players were local street kids. They didn't care about tactics. They cared about nutmegs and survival.
"Hey! New guy!" one of the kids shouted, tossing the ball to Leo. "You're with us. Don't suck."
Leo trapped the ball. As expected, his first touch was magnetic. The ball died instantly on his toe.
[Scout's Eye Active!]
[Target: Leo Lance]
[Status: Disinterested / Nervous]
Rio watched closely. He expected magic. He expected Leo to dribble through the entire team and score with a rabona.
The game started.
Leo received a pass in the back. He looked up.
Total_Football_14: Look at his head movement. He has already scanned the pitch three times. He sees the passing lane.
Leo saw the lane. He wound up his leg to play a precise, diagonal through-ball to his teammate. But this wasn't a video game. And this wasn't an empty training pitch.
Just as Leo planted his foot, a chubby kid in a dirty tank top came barreling in like a bowling ball.
The kid slammed his shoulder into Leo's chest. Leo, who had a Physicality stat that probably hovered around a 30, went flying. He crumbled to the ground, the breath knocked out of him. The ball was stolen.
"Foul!" Leo gasped, looking at the imaginary referee.
"No fouls in the cage, princess!" the chubby kid laughed, scoring a goal at the other end.
Rio winced. "Welcome to the street, Leo."
Leo got up, dusting off his knees. He looked annoyed.
The next time he got the ball, he was wary. He received it and immediately tried to shield it. But street football is about intensity. Two defenders swarmed him instantly, poking at his ankles, pulling his jersey.
Leo panicked. He tried to do a fancy spin—a roulette.
But the surface was slippery. His foot slid over the ball. He tripped over his own legs and face-planted into the turf. The other kids erupted in laughter.
"Look at his boots! Two hundred euros and he can't even stand up!"
Leo lay on the ground for a second longer than necessary. Rio knew that look. It was the look of someone who wanted the ground to open up and swallow them whole.
The_Phenomenon_9: He is soft.
Dinho_Magic_10: He is thinking too much! He is trying to calculate the angle of the spin. You cannot calculate the street! You have to feel the chaos!
Leo stood up, his face burning red. He didn't ask for the ball again. For the next ten minutes, he walked around the perimeter of the game, hiding behind defenders, actively avoiding the play.
When the ball did come to him, he just passed it back immediately, hot-potato style.
He's hiding, Rio realized, feeling a pang of sympathy. He has all the talent in the world, 90 Vision, 88 Dribbling... but he has 0 Experience.
The game ended 5-2 against Leo's team. Leo walked off the pitch, sweating profusely, his expensive boots scuffed.
He grabbed his water bottle and chugged it, refusing to look at Rio.
"So," Rio said gently. "How was it?"
Leo slammed the bottle cap shut. "It was stupid. That fat kid fouled me every time. And the pitch is uneven. The ball bounces weird."
"Excuses," Rio said.
Leo glared at him. "It's not excuses! It's physics! How am I supposed to play 'beautiful football' when everyone is just kicking my shins?"
"That's the point, Leo," Rio said, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "In the academy, it's organized. But in the real world? It's a fight. Your 'Geometry' works on a whiteboard. But out here, you have to earn the space to draw your lines."
Leo looked at the kids still playing in the cage. They were laughing, shouting, pushing each other.
"I hate running," Leo muttered.
"I know," Rio smiled. "But you hate losing more, don't you?"
Leo didn't answer, but the scowl on his face said everything. The Competitive Spirit (F-Rank) in his stats flickered for a second.
Hand_Of_King: The boy has had his first taste of dirt. Good. Now he knows that talent is not enough. You must teach him, Rio. You are the older brother.
Rio nodded to himself. I'll protect him, he thought. But first, he needs to learn how to take a hit.
"Come on," Rio said. "Let's go home. I'll show you how to shield the ball without falling over."
[System Notification!]
[Quest Update: The Sleeping Giant]
[Progress: 35% - First Humiliation Complete]
Rio checked his phone. A new message from Phantom_X.
Phantom_X: Scoring in La Liga is easy. Try doing it on a rainy night in Stoke. Or wherever you play.
Rio typed back quickly.
Rio_Lance: Watch me.