SWNOVELXO Chapter 7: Invitation
[System Notification: Post-Match Analysis Available]
While my teammates were cheering on the bus on the way back to school, I focused on my system.
[Post-Match Analysis]
Goals Scored: 3
Assist: 1
Tackles: 1
Stamina Management: A-
Decision making: A
Overall Performance: S
[Performance Rewards: Level-Up One Skill]
My eyes widened a bit at the reward. I mean, it doesn't seem much, but with how OP my skills are. Oh yeah, this is going to change the game. The skill I'm improving is an obvious choice.
[Would You Like to Level-Up The Skill: One For All?]
I pressed yes and waited to see what upgrades to the skill do I get.
[Congratulations To The User For Leveling-Up Skill: One For All]
I went and checked my stats to see the upgrade.
(Stats)
Host: Shizuka Haiji
Team: Sakuraoka High Boys Soccer Team
Position: Forward
[Rank: SR]
STR: B
AGI: B
SHO: A
SPE: A
VIS: B
END: A
[Skills]
One For All (Lv.2): When the going gets tough, you have to go beyond! PLUS ULTRA!
(Raise all stats by a single rank for ten minutes) [Cooldown: 15 minutes]
Fa Jin (Lv.1): Build momentum, unleash power!
(Raises shooting or speed stats by one rank for five seconds) [Cooldown: 3 minutes]
[Perks]
Resilient Frame: Resist minor fouls and physical challenges, making it harder for opponents to knock you off balance.
I blinked at the upgrade. Raise all stats by a single rank for TEN minutes?! If I was the kind of person to get turned on by this, I would've had a raging hard on by now.
I shook my head to clear out these weird thoughts.
Just then, someone put their arm over my shoulders. It was Okita. "Hey buddy, what are you staring off into space for? The starman should join the celebration."
I let out a small laugh before joining the festivities on the bus.
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As I made my way home, the weight of my accomplishment settled on me. Helping my school to become a district champion felt great. If the Blue Lock program never happened, I would've most likely stuck around and help the school win the Nationals. That's usually the ticket for a lot of youth players to becoming professional soccer players.
But Blue Lock's just around the corner. So I'm going to have to focus on that.
As I entered my home, tired from the celebrations. My mom in this world, Aiko Haiji, greeted me. "Welcome back Shizuka, I'm sorry I couldn't see your match, but I heard your school won. So how about we have your favourite meal for tonight?"
I smiled at her. "That's great mom, I can't wait to eat."
"Alright, can you help set the table while I prepare the food?" said Aiko. As I prepared to set the table, a thought occurred to me.
Something I noticed in this world is that Haiji's parents are always busy with work, but while the mom always made an effort to show her support for Haiji's endeavors. Apparently, the dad works overseas, and there's barely been any contact with him since I arrived here. This is starting to feel like Izuku Midoriya's family life.
After Shizuka's... my mom set the dish down, we dug in to our meal. This guy's favourite dish is Katsudon. Do you see the similarities here? I fear for my future honestly. While I doubt I'm going to be fighting a mass murderer, but the idea I might get injured to the point of having to retire early sent shivers down my spine.
Aiko noticed the shiver, and she commented. "What's wrong Shizuka? Still having an existential crisis?"
"No, just thought of a bad future is all." I said as I slurped the soup in the bowl.
"Well, I don't think having negative thoughts will do you any good, so let's switch topics." smooth mom, smooth. "This came in the letter earlier today. It's addressed to you."
As she pulled out the envelope, I immediately snatched it and started reading the contents. This was it, the Blue Lock invitation letter. I am now one step closer to becoming the number player in the world. I felt the excitement course through my body.
"So? What does it say?" inquired my mom.
"It's an invitation to a training camp held by the JFA." I explained to her. "It's being held in Tokyo and I have to be there at 8 am tomorrow morning."
Her eyes widened at that. "Oh my, a training camp held by the JFA? Well, you should get properly rested for tomorrow then. Don't stay up late, okay? I can drop you off tomorrow if you'd like."
"That'd be great thanks, mom."
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I did not know the train ride from Nara to Tokyo would be four hours. So here I am, at two, almost three in the morning, at the train station. Curse these ungodly hours. This takes me back to college, where I had to be at the bus station at these kinds of hours to get to my college.
Aiko doesn't seem like she's faring any better, bless her soul. Mothers can be a gift to this world.
"Thanks for dropping me off, mom." I said as I turned to her.
"Don't mention it Shizuka, you just have fun at the camp alright honey." She said to me.
Yeah, fun, sure it is. She then brought me in for a hug. I hesitated, but reciprocated it.
I waved to her before going into the station. As I boarded the train, I can't help but think about the craziness of this situation. It's been what, a few days? A week? I've found myself in a world I once thought was fictional. Got a system to play football. Now I'm going to attend a football death game. Minus the dying part. Physically, that is.
As the train departed from the station, I turned on my phone to see some other differences, mainly in the footballing world. First off, let's look at the team I support back in my old world. Arsenal. Or in this world, Ars.
Yep, still the same as ever. Wenger retired earlier, and now the one managing my team is Thierry Henry. He's a better manager here than in my world, that's for sure. Trust the process and all that.
Let's look up other facts. Messi and Ronaldo retired after the 2018 World Cup. Legends. France still won the 2018 World Cup. What else? Noel Noa won the 2018 Ballon D'or. Not Modric.
Just as I was scrolling through Wikipedia, Factspedia here. I noticed the person sitting across from me. My eyes widened seeing him, just like his seeing me.
"Hey Zantetsu, fancy seeing you here." I greeted the bespectacled boy.
"What are you doing here, Haiji?" said Zantetsu.
"Same as you most likely, a training camp in Tokyo?" I pulled out my letter.
For a moment, he sat there dumbfounded. He can't possibly be that stupid, can he? He cleared his throat and pushed his glasses. "I see, well congratulations are ordered."
"Are in order you mean?" I corrected him.
"Yes, what you said." He nodded at that.
I got up from my seat and sat next to him. "Since we're going to the same place, why don't we go together? There's a lot of stops before we get to Tokyo. It'd be nice to go with someone you know."
He contemplated it before he nodded. "Alright, I don't see why we shouldn't. But we'll be following these directions my family gave me."
He pulled out a piece of paper that had detailed instructions on which station to get off and what to do. I whistled at that. "Okay, my memories pretty bad anyway, so having these instructions would definitely help."
He seemed pleased at the compliment. We sat next to each other on the entire train ride talking about random stuff. Same thing at the next station. So on and so forth until we reached Eifukuchō Station. After that, was a walk to the designated meeting place.
Despite arriving early, there were quite a number of people already in the place. Like Hajime Nishioka or his moniker 'Aomori's Messi'. I can't imagine how early he had to be to get here.
There are only a few faces that were familiar, mainly because their features are almost one to one with their designs. Seeing them in drawings and in real life is completely different. I still can't get used to the fact that my hair looks like confetti.
We waited a few more minutes before the show got on. "Congratulations, you unpolished gems." A thin man with striking features wearing a black suit and glasses was on the stage up front.
"All you under-18 strikers have been chosen solely based on my criteria and biases to be here today. All 300 of you." He continued. Murmurs spread around the auditorium. "I am Jinpachi Ego. My job is to make Japan a team capable of winning the world cup."
Chills went through everyone in the auditorium. The murmurs intensified. The thought of Japan winning the world cup has always been a pipe dream. Only countries that treat football as a religion or a country with strong players made it to that stage.
Despite the murmurs, Ego pressed on. "I'll put it in simple terms. Japan only requires one thing to become the strongest powerhouse in football. And that is the creation of a revolutionary striker."
Normally, people would scoff at that notion. Football is a team sport. Just one striker isn't going to make a difference. On the contrary, there is a nation that made it far thanks to one outstanding player. Wales. A nation that has always performed poorly on the world stage shocked everyone by making it to the semi-finals of Euro 2016. Topping a group that had England and Russia. While beating Belgium in quarter finals before losing to eventual champions in Portugal.
Through it all, their star player, Gareth Bale, dragged Wales to win after win. In my old world, it was because of him that Wales made it to the World Cup for the first time since 1958.
"From you 300 players gathered here today. I will forge the best striker in the world through a certain project."
My body shivered from the excitement. This is it. The moment I've been waiting for.
"Look here. For this purpose, we have built this facility." Ego pointed towards a projection of a hexagonal compound. "Called Blue Lock."
"Starting today, all of you will all live in this building. And follow, down to the letter, my personally designed training regime. You will not be able to go back home, and as of now, can consider your football careers as you know them, over."
The statement caused shockwaves throughout the auditorium. The other players were in disbelief. I can see why; it's like hearing you've been drafted to Vietnam. Not really, but you get the idea.
"But I will say this," Ego added. The atmosphere growing more tense. "If you manage to survive in Blue Lock, and defeat the other 299 players around you, you—the last player standing—will have become the best player in the world."
Ego finished delivering his speech. The silence in the auditorium was deafening. You could hear a pin drop. I have to say, the speech delivery was a 10/10 although the topic was a bit crazy. I just imagined Ego practicing the speech in front of the mirror. I let out a stifled chuckle. Zantetsu looked at me weirdly.
"Hey. Sorry, but I can't agree with what you said just now." someone in the crowd raised their hand. There it is, the Jewel of Japan Football, Kira Ryosuke.
"For most of us, our team is our main priority... Particularly those of us who'll participate at Nationals." said Kira.
"There's no way I'll accept these kinds of terms. I... I will not throw away my team."
Like a wave, other players who were in Nationals started raising their voices. Protesting this kind of arrangement.
Zantetsu nudged me. "You're in Nationals. Aren't you worried about your team if you aren't there?"
"I don't know, this seems a lot more interesting than Nationals," I rubbed my chin. "Besides, I have a feeling Nationals aren't going to be on these players' minds anytime soon."
Zantetsu raised his eyebrow in confusion. I motioned him to continue listening.
Amidst the chorus of yells from the crowd, Ego scratched his head, seemingly in thought. "I see. All of you are really fucked in the head, huh."
The crowd was stunned in silence. He didn't say it as a question, but as a statement of fact. Ego's eyes narrowed at the crowd. "Get lost, then. If you're thinking of leaving, go right ahead."
This stunned the crowd once more. The casual dismissal of some of Japan's best high school players treated as mere dirt by someone they didn't even know. It was like getting blindsided.
Despite this, Ego continued, "Your teams are what now? You'd really choose your teams over becoming the best striker in the world? You'd rather be a high school champ in this shithole of a country? Huh?"
His gaze swept over the crowd, seemingly judging them like a parent would at their delinquent child. He continued, "When I look at all of you, I cringe at the future of Japan football."
Have to be honest with you. No wonder this guy could convince 300 kids to this crazy idea. This guy has charisma. Or is it because he's blunt?
"Japan is the best in the world when it comes to organizing skills in football. Which most people attribute to our national character." He raised his index finger, pointing at the projected image behind him. "But when it comes to everything else, we're second rate."
The crowd was silent, as if in a trance. His penetrative gave swept through the crowd once more. "I want to know something... What is football to all of you?"
"Football, at its core, is a sport about scoring goals even at the expense of your teammates."
His words sent a chill through the crowd. Man, who did he hire for public speaking lessons? I want to sign up for his class.
"The player is the one that scores the most goals. If you want to play pretend football instead, then get lost already."
The crowd was once again silenced. However, one person wasn't silenced. "How insulting. You take those words back." Kira raised his voice.
"Players like Honda, or Kagawa, and many others... All of those who shaped the Japan national team's lineup... The value of team play instilled in the national team is the same that's part of us." His voice raised higher. "They played with heart and respect for their teammates—That's what made them great."
Ego responded by scratching his head. He scoffed. "You mean the squad that never won a single world cup? Not those trash. Didn't I say about becoming the best team in the world?"
His response shocked Kira. Ego didn't wait and continued. "But you know who did? Noel Noa, Ibrahimović and Pelé. Those are the names that resonate worldwide. Why? Because they have something that Japanese football lacks—their extraordinary egoism."
There it is, the flaw in his argument. Ibrahimovic never won the world cup. But that's not the point.
Looking around, I see that some of these guys are gritting their teeth. I looked at Zantetsu. He was no different, his fists were clenched as if he's trying to dig in his palm for blood.
"In Noel Noa's words 'I feel better losing 3-4 scoring a hat-trick than winning 1-0 with an assist'. A top scorer in every league he goes to, Zlatan Ibrahimović proclaims himself the god of football. Pelé, arguably the best player in football history and winner of three world cups, calls himself the best player in every position."
Every sentence, Ego, seems like he's growing more manic. "Their extraordinary egoism allows them to play with absolute certainty that they are the best players in the world. You will not become the best player in the world if you don't have the egos to match."
He paused once again, his gaze sweeping over the players.
"My purpose is to create the best player in the world. From the corpses of 299 players, one hero will rise in all his glory!!"
He paused, tension in the room growing with the silence. "Alright, you unpolished gems... Let me ask you one last question. Imagine this, you're at the very finals of the world cup... Playing under the eyes of 80,000 spectators in the stadium... You are on that very field."
"The score? 0-0. It's stoppage time in the second half. Your teammate has managed to pass the ball to you. It's 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper. There's a teammate six meters to your right. You pass it and he'll probably score that goal. The hopes of all of Japan lie on your shoulders, Without hesitation... You shoot."
I imagined myself as Götze. Probably not what he meant.
Ego continued, unaware of my thoughts. "If you desire that rebellious 'egoism'," Behind Ego giant double doors opened, "then step through the gate. Throw away your common sense. When you're on the field, you're the star. Your greatest joy is scoring goals and nothing else. You live for the excitement of that very moment."
His smile widened as he looked at the crowd. "Now, that's a 'striker', don't you think?"
I'm sold already. I ran in front towards the gate before anyone else did.
"Hey Haiji what? Wait." I didn't mind Zantetsu and continued rushing.
Like a flood gate being opened, everyone else joined and rushed towards the gate as well.
Football is at its most critical moment. And from there, the greatest player in the world will be born.
.
.
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{Authors Notes}
Heyyo people. Hope you enjoyed. This is the longest chapter I've written so far. Mainly because I copied the manga verbatim. After this, who knows if I'll make another chapter this long.
We'll finally be going into the Blue Lock storyline. There are some things I already have planned, but we'll see how they pan out. I also made some changes to Ego's speech. For one, he used Cantona as an example and I changed it to Ibrahimovic. I never really understood why Kaneshiro used Cantona in that list of world cup winners when he never won any. Plus, Cantona isn't that egoistic, he's just insane. You don't karate kick a fan cause of ego. So instead I used Zlatan to drive home that ego speech. No one does it like Zlatan after all.