Rio tore down the right wing like a jagged bolt of lightning cutting through a dark sky.
Ota, the hulking FC Tokyo left-back who had tried to body-check him into oblivion a split second ago, was left face-planted in the dirt. He twisted his neck, his eyes wide with confusion, looking like a man who had tried to tackle a ghost.
"He's fast!" Ota screamed, his voice cracking with panic. "Cover the line! Someone cover him!"
The FC Tokyo defense, disciplined and arrogant until this moment, shattered. Two central defenders peeled away from the middle, abandoning their structure. They saw a skinny boy running at a speed that shouldn't be possible for a human with F-Rank muscles.
Panic is a contagious disease, and Rio was the carrier.
Rio saw them coming. He saw the fear in their eyes.
[LIGHTNING STRIDE DURATION: 00:01 REMAINING]
Three seconds. That was the limit.
His muscles were screaming. It felt as if his quadriceps were being shredded by invisible razors. The G-force of moving at 250% speed was tearing at his ligaments. The System forced his body to perform, but it didn't protect him from the consequences.
But his mind? His mind was crystal clear.
By drawing two defenders to the wing, he had torn the FC Tokyo defense wide open. He had created a vacuum in the center of the pitch.
"Specter!" Rio yelled internally, the wind rushing past his ears like a jet engine. "Where is he?"
"Dead center!" Specter roared, flying above the pitch like a chaotic conductor. "He's waiting for you! Feed the monster!"
Rio didn't need to look up. He trusted the ghost. He trusted the game logic.
Just as the two defenders closed in to sandwich him—a collision that would surely break his ribs—Rio slammed his right foot into the turf.
[SKILL FEATURE: DRIFT ACTIVATED]
He didn't just stop; he anchored. The sudden deceleration from top speed to zero was violent. It kicked up a massive cloud of dirt and grass, blinding the defenders. They couldn't stop. Their momentum carried them past him, sliding helplessly out of bounds like cars on ice.
Rio stood alone in the cloud of dust.
He swung his right leg.
It wasn't a shot. He knew his shooting stats were garbage. It was a low, driven cross that sliced through the grass like a surgeon's scalpel.
The ball curled wickedly around the outstretched leg of the defensive midfielder, bypassed the panic in the box, and arrived perfectly at the edge of the penalty arc.
Waiting there, in a pocket of space so empty it looked suspicious, was Hiroto Nakamura.
The genius didn't even have to trap the ball. The pass was so perfect, so weighted, that the rotation of the ball matched his stride exactly.
"Nice service," Hiroto muttered, his eyes narrowing.
He swung his left foot.
BOOM!
The sound of the impact echoed off the concrete stands of Ajinomoto Field.
The ball didn't fly; it teleported. It was a cannonball that tore through the air, smashing into the top netting before the goalkeeper could even raise his hands to blink.
GOAL!Tokyo Verdy [1] - [1] FC Tokyo
The Verdy fans went wild. Green flares lit up the stands. The drums beat a frantic, tribal rhythm.
Rio didn't run to celebrate. He fell to his knees, gasping.
"Argh..."
The recoil from [Lightning Stride] hit him instantly. His thighs cramped up hard, turning into knots of pain. He gripped the grass, his knuckles white, trying not to scream. The bypass engine in his chest was fluttering wildly.
A shadow loomed over him.
Rio looked up through the sweat stinging his eyes. Hiroto Nakamura was standing there. The boredom and arrogance were gone from his face, replaced by a look of intense, scientific curiosity.
He extended a hand.
"You," Hiroto said, his voice low. "That change of direction. Humans shouldn't be able to move like that without snapping an ACL. Your mechanics are all wrong."
Rio stared at the hand. It was the hand of the Ace. The King of the Academy.
Rio took it and pulled himself up, wincing as his legs protested.
"I told you," Rio wheezed, forcing a grin despite the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. "I'm full of surprises."
Hiroto smirked. It wasn't a mocking smile. It was the smile of a predator recognizing another predator.
"That pass was... acceptable," Hiroto said. "Do it again, and we might actually win."
A blue notification box materialized between them.
[SYSTEM ALERT][RELATIONSHIP UPGRADE: HIROTO NAKAMURA]Status: Stranger -> Teammate (Level 1) Bonus: Passing accuracy to Hiroto increased by 5%.
"Teammate, huh?" Rio thought, testing the word. "I'll take it."
The game restarted.
The momentum had shifted completely. FC Tokyo was rattled. They were physical bullies, but bullies panic when the victim starts hitting back. They didn't know who to mark—the ghost-like dribbler (Hiroto) or the lightning-fast demon on the wing (Rio).
Their defensive shape crumbled. They started leaving gaps.
Minute 88.
The score was still 1-1.
The humidity in the stadium was suffocating. Both teams were exhausted. Players were bending over, hands on their knees, lungs burning.
Rio was running on fumes. He felt like a hollow shell held together by willpower and dark magic.
He looked at the corner of his vision.
[LIFESPAN: 68 Days, 09 Hours, 55 Minutes]
Every sprint cost him seconds. Every beat of his overworked heart was a transaction. He was literally paying for this match with his life.
"One last push!" Coach Tanaka screamed from the sidelines, his voice hoarse. "Don't settle for a draw! We are Verdy!"
Hiroto received the ball in the midfield.
Immediately, three FC Tokyo players swarmed him. They were desperate. They were terrified. They grabbed his jersey, kicked his shins, doing everything to stop him from shooting again.
"He's trapped!" Specter warned from above. "He has nowhere to go!"
But Hiroto didn't panic. He held the ball, shielding it with his body, his eyes scanning the field calmly amidst the chaos. He wasn't looking for a shot.
He was looking for Rio.
Rio saw the signal—a subtle tilt of Hiroto's head toward the box.
Now.
Rio checked his cooldown.
[LIGHTNING STRIDE: READY]
Rio gritted his teeth, ignoring the screaming protest of his muscles. One more time. Just one more.
[ACTIVATE: LIGHTNING STRIDE]
ZAP!
He exploded from the blind side of the defense. He didn't run down the wing this time. He cut diagonally, straight into the heart of the penalty box.
Hiroto sensed the disruption in the air pressure. Without looking, without turning, he back-heeled the ball through the legs of his marker.
It was a "Phantom Pass" to match Rio's speed.
The ball rolled perfectly into Rio's path inside the penalty area.
He was one-on-one with the keeper.
The stadium held its breath.
The angle was tight. The keeper, a giant boy who looked more like a rugby player than a goalie, rushed out to close the gap, making himself big.
"Shoot!" the crowd screamed.
Rio pulled his leg back. He was going to blast it.
But then, his vision flickered.
[PASSIVE TRIGGER: EAGLE EYE (0.5s)]
For a split second, the world turned into a grid. He saw the pitch from above.
He saw a red dot—a defender—sliding in from his right, aiming for a last-ditch block. If Rio shot now, the ball would hit the defender's leg.
Don't shoot. Cut back.
Rio's body moved faster than his conscious thought.
He faked the shot. He swung his leg, but stopped inches from the ball, dragging it to the left with his instep.
The keeper dropped to the ground, sold on the fake. The sliding defender flew past him, crashing into the goalpost with a loud CLANG!
The goal was empty.
Time stood still.
Rio looked at the open net. It looked like salvation. It looked like life.
He calmly tapped the ball across the line.
Swish.
GOAL!Tokyo Verdy [2] - [1] FC Tokyo
The referee blew the whistle seconds later.
GAME OVER. The Derby belonged to Verdy.
Rio didn't run. He simply fell backward, lying spread-eagle on the grass. He stared up at the night sky, watching the stadium lights blur into halos.
His heart was pounding a dangerous, irregular rhythm—thump... thump-thump... thump—like a dying moth hitting a lightbulb. But the notifications filling his vision were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
[MATCH WON!]REWARD: +7 Days Lifespan
[ACHIEVEMENT: GAME WINNING GOAL]REWARD: +2 Days Lifespan
[ASSIST BONUS]REWARD: +2 Days Lifespan
[QUEST COMPLETED: THE PERFECT WEEK]REWARD: +10 Days Lifespan + [Stamina Potion (Small)]
[TOTAL GAIN: +21 DAYS]
"Twenty-one days," Rio whispered, hot tears of relief pricking his eyes. He squeezed them shut. "I bought three weeks. I'm rich."
Specter floated down, lying next to him on the grass, mimicking his pose. The ghost blew a smoke ring toward the stars.
"You played like a demon today, kid," Specter said softly. "Ugly technique. Terrible stamina. But you had guts. Maybe... just maybe... you're not a complete waste of space."
Rio laughed weakly, his chest heaving. "Thanks, Coach. High praise coming from you."
"Don't let it go to your head," Specter warned.
Suddenly, a shadow blocked the stadium lights.
Rio squinted.
It wasn't Hiroto. It wasn't Coach Tanaka.
Standing near the entrance of the players' tunnel, separated from the celebrating team, was a man in a sharp black suit. He held a tablet in one hand and was adjusting his glasses with the other.
He wasn't looking at the scoreboard. He wasn't looking at Hiroto.
His cold, calculating eyes were fixed squarely on Rio. He stood perfectly still amidst the chaos, like a statue in a storm.
"Specter," Rio whispered, a chill running down his spine that had nothing to do with the sweat cooling on his skin. "Who is that?"
Specter sat up. The ghost's expression shifted from amusement to wariness.
"That," Specter growled, his voice dropping an octave, "is Jin Kenzaki. The Head Scout for the Japan National U-20 Team."
Specter looked at Rio, his glowing eyes flickering.
"And he doesn't look impressed. He looks... hungry."