The first rays of sunlight streamed through the academy windows, catching on the trophies that lined the halls.
Noah stretched, letting the stiffness of yesterday's match melt from his legs.
His body ached, but it was a good kind of pain—the kind that told him he was growing stronger, even if only a little.
Liam bounced a ball against the wall, humming a tune that sounded suspiciously like a pop song.
"Oi, slowpoke! Up already? You're going to let me have all the glory today?"
Noah smirked. "You'd need more than luck to beat me today, Rocket."
Marcus groaned from the corner, where he was pretending to lift a bench as part of some ridiculous "strength training." "If by beat you, you mean fall over trying to run past me, then yes.
You'll need luck."
Ethan, notebook in hand, scowled. "You two are hopeless. Noah, focus. Today's training is more important than your childish banter."
Noah rolled his eyes but couldn't help smiling. These idiots will never change.
The coach's whistle blew, sharp and commanding. "Positions! Today, we're doing small-sided matches. Quick passes, vision, anticipation! Move!"
Noah jogged to his spot on the left wing, scanning the field. His eyes fell on Damien Blackwood, already smirking from the opposite side.
The rival hadn't changed a bit: confident, precise, and almost annoyingly natural with the ball.
Not for long, Noah thought. This time, I'm ready.
The whistle blew again, and the game started. Noah's feet moved almost instinctively, guided by the system, though the glow was faint, subtle, just enough to make a difference without being obvious.
SYSTEM ALERT: Spatial awareness +0.5.
Optimal pass trajectory detected.
Noah dribbled forward, brushing the ball past a defender with a flick that felt… new.
The memory of his adult self—the way he had once studied matches, anticipated moves, calculated every step—merged with the system's guidance.
It was almost as if he were seeing the field through multiple lenses at once: one eye on his teammates, another on the opponents, and a third on the invisible lines the system drew before him.
He passed the ball to Liam, who shot forward like a rocket, dodging a sliding tackle from Damien.
Noah ran to intercept Damien, anticipation guiding his every step.
He expected the spin, the feint, the predictable outcome—but Damien tried something new, something Noah hadn't seen before.
For a moment, Noah froze. The system flickered and pulsed:
SYSTEM ALERT: New opponent behavior detected. Suggested counter: diagonal intercept + low feint.
Noah's legs moved before his mind fully caught up.
He sidestepped Damien's spin, tapped the ball past him, and sprinted toward goal.
The other defenders reacted too slowly, unable to predict the sudden maneuver.
He struck the ball cleanly. Goal.
The field erupted.
Liam shouted, Marcus whooped, and even Ethan's glasses fogged as he jumped up in excitement.
Noah's heart pounded, but there was something else—a thrill he hadn't felt since the first day he woke in this past life.
The system's faint glow lingered, but for the first time, he felt its true potential—not just a guiding hand, but a way to see beyond ordinary limits.
"Oi! That was insane!" Liam said, bounding over. "How did you do that?"
Noah chuckled, brushing grass from his jersey. "I don't know… maybe I'm just getting lucky."
Marcus shook his head. "Yeah, right. Luck doesn't move like that, Noah. That was… scary good."
Even Damien stopped, staring at him with a mix of irritation and admiration. "Not bad, Ravenscroft.
Not bad at all. But this is only the beginning. Don't think you can outshine me yet."
Noah smiled faintly. "I don't intend to. I just intend to catch up."
The match continued, and Noah began experimenting with more subtle system effects.
A tiny adjustment in his posture increased his speed by a fraction.
A glance at a teammate highlighted the optimal angle for a pass. He didn't rely on it fully; he still dribbled, ran, and calculated like a human. But the system was slowly becoming another layer of intuition.
By the end of the training session, Noah was exhausted, panting, but his grin stretched from ear to ear. Liam clapped him on the back.
"You're terrifying when you try, you know that?"
Noah laughed. "And you're still annoying as ever."
Marcus groaned, collapsing onto the grass. "Can we stop now before my legs officially revolt?"
Ethan adjusted his glasses, notebook in hand.
"You're improving fast, Noah. Faster than anyone I've seen at this age.
But remember… improvement alone won't make you a legend.
You need experience, strategy, and—most importantly—resilience."
Noah nodded. The words echoed in his mind.
Experience, strategy, resilience… All things he had in abundance from his past life.
But now, coupled with this system… the possibilities were endless.
As the sun dipped lower, casting long shadows across the pitch, Noah felt a flicker of anticipation.
Not just for the next match, not just for the next drill, but for the countless challenges that awaited him:
rivalries, tournaments, injuries, victories, defeats, and the slow, grinding journey that would turn him from a ten-year-old boy into the greatest footballer the world had ever seen.
And for the first time, he didn't just dream of greatness—he felt it within his grasp.
A soft glow appeared in his vision. The system's words hovered faintly:
NEW ABILITY AVAILABLE: Shadow Step (Short-range speed burst + evasion technique). Duration: Temporary. Cooldown: 10 minutes.
Noah blinked, excitement surging. "Looks like the real grind begins now."
Damien jogged over, ball under his arm.
"I hope you're ready for what's coming next, Raven—because I won't make it easy for you."
Noah smirked. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
And with that, the sparks on the pitch burned brighter than ever.