The stadium was louder than Ares had ever imagined.
Not the abandoned field.
Not the empty training ground.
This one breathed.
Thousands of voices merged into a living roar, echoing across concrete stands and steel beams. The Rising Star Trials had officially begun—and with them, the moment Ares Locke had chased for most of his life.
He stood at the edge of the pitch, number 47 printed on his temporary jersey.
Forty-seven.
Not a lucky number.
Not a favored number.
Just a number given to someone no one expected anything from.
Ares inhaled slowly.
The smell of freshly cut grass mixed with sweat, tension, and ambition. Around him stood dozens of young players—some stretching confidently, some laughing loudly, others pacing like caged animals.
Academy elites.
Club-sponsored prospects.
Children of former professionals.
And then there was him.
Ares Locke.
No academy.
No background.
No reputation.
Only thirty days of pain, obsession, and a system that demanded belief.
DING.
A familiar chime echoed in his mind.
⸻
Trial Phase Initiated
Reader Presence: STABLE
Current Engagement: WATCHFUL
Reminder: This is not the climax.
This is the beginning.
⸻
Ares exhaled.
"So even now," he murmured, "they're watching."
He stepped onto the field.
The First Test
The Rising Star Trials didn't begin with matches.
They began with cruelty.
Speed drills.
Reaction tests.
Ball control under pressure.
No cheers.
No applause.
Only clipboards and cold eyes.
Ares sprinted when told to sprint.
Stopped when told to stop.
Moved when told to move.
His legs burned—but not like before.
Not blind pain.
Controlled pain.
The kind Rowan had drilled into him.
"Again."
"Balance."
"Touch first. Speed later."
"Don't fight your body—command it."
Ares obeyed every principle.
When his turn came for the control drill—tight cones, narrow spacing—he felt the eyes on him.
Skeptical.
Curious.
Dismissive.
He lowered his center of gravity.
Tap.
Shift.
Turn.
The ball stayed glued to his foot.
Not flashy.
Not explosive.
But clean.
Very clean.
A coach raised an eyebrow.
Another wrote something down.
DING.
Reader Emotion Detected: INTEREST
Will Resonance: +Minor Stability
Ares didn't smile.
He kept moving.
The Shot That Changed Everything
Then came the final evaluation of the day.
One shot.
One moment.
Each player received a single ball at the edge of the box. No retries. No warm-up shots.
Make it count.
Miss—and be forgotten.
Ares stepped forward when his number was called.
"Forty-seven!"
The ball rolled toward him.
He placed it carefully.
The goal looked far.
The keeper looked bored.
Someone in the stands laughed softly.
Ares closed his eyes.
For half a second, the world narrowed.
DING.
Skill Ready: Limitless Vision
Reader Anticipation Rising…
He opened his eyes.
The future unfolded.
Not the whole match.
Not destiny.
Just the next fraction of a second.
Wind angle.
Keeper's weight shift.
The exact point of impact.
Ares didn't hesitate.
He struck.
The sound was different.
A sharp, clean CRACK that cut through the stadium noise.
The ball curved—not wildly, not dramatically—but precisely.
It kissed the inside of the post and slammed into the net.
For half a heartbeat—
Silence.
Then—
A low murmur rippled across the stands.
"That was… clean."
"Who was that?"
"Number forty-seven?"
Rowan Vale, standing with the scouts, didn't speak.
He only smiled.
DING.
Reader Emotion Detected: SURPRISE
Engagement Level: RISING
System Evaluation: SUCCESSFUL DISPLAY
Ares walked away calmly.
Inside, his heart was on fire.
Judgment
The sun dipped low by the time the first day ended.
Names were called.
Some celebrated.
Some cried.
Some stared into nothing.
Then—
"ARES LOCKE."
He froze.
"Step forward."
He did.
A senior scout looked at him coolly.
"You'll proceed to the next phase."
Just that.
No praise.
No promise.
But for Ares, it was everything.
As he stepped off the field, Rowan approached him.
"You didn't rely on luck," Rowan said quietly. "That shot was controlled."
Ares nodded. "I trained."
Rowan studied him for a long moment.
"Good. Because from here on… training won't be enough."
The system chimed softly.
DING.
Volume One Objective Achieved
"System Awakening" Phase Complete
New Arc Preparing…
Ares felt it.
The shift.
The invisible line he had crossed.
This wasn't survival anymore.
This was competition.
That Night
Ares sat alone in his small room, staring at the ceiling.
His body ached.
His mind buzzed.
DING.
Final Reward (Volume One):
Passive Trait Unlocked — Unbreakable Will
Effect: Willpower cannot be reduced below baseline.
Growth Rate Increased permanently.
He smiled faintly.
"So this is it," he whispered.
Not the end.
Not even close.
Just the first door.
And beyond it—
A professional world that would tear him apart if he faltered.
Ares clenched his fist.
"I won't."
Closing Line
Outside, the city slept.
Inside, something unstoppable had been born.
A will that refused to break.
A player who refused to disappear.
And a story—
That had only just begun.