02 - Sixteen Again!
When Lucas Tanaka looked down at his feet and saw the ball, he shook his head, not understanding what was happening. He raised his head to see Tsuyoshi Nishida still running with one arm raised, indicating that he wanted to receive the pass.
Lucas lifted his foot, instinctively wanting to pass the ball to Nishida, but soccer is a fast-paced sport that requires sharp decision-making, and there's usually not much time to think on the field. Just as Lucas was about to kick the ball, an opponent suddenly appeared and, with impressive speed, this player glided across the field and made a perfect, clean run to steal the ball from Lucas.
Lucas' fall was sudden. The trolley took the ball from him, but it also knocked him down. But the tackle wasn't, and the opponent didn't bother to help him. Instead, the boy got up and started running quickly with the ball, setting up a counterattack.
Lucas tried to get up quickly, but the pain in his heel stopped him.
Nishida, returning from the attack, was the one to offer a hand to help him up.
"Tanaka, why didn't you give me the pass?" Nishida asked as he helped him to his feet.
Lucas didn't know what to say, nor did he understand what was going on.
"I'm sorry, I hesitated..."
Nishida gave Lucas a weak pat on the back. "It's okay, I'll be there next time. Just pass it to me and I'll score."
But there was no next time. For the next few minutes, Lucas tried to keep up with the pace of the game, but each move seemed more difficult than the last. His mind was foggy, and he simply couldn't process the surrounding events clearly. He tripped over the ball a few times and fell, and his legs felt heavy and uncoordinated.
"Tanaka, what's happening to you?" asked Nishida during a brief stoppage in play after a foul. "You're our playmaker. If you can't connect passes, we can't score."
His friend's worried look only added to Lucas' confusion.
"I... I don't know," Lucas mumbled, trying to wipe the sweat from his brow.
Over the next few minutes, the ball stopped coming to Lucas. His team's players began to make more runs down the flanks, trying to get into the attacking half.
It was then that the team's coach, Mr. Yamamoto, noticed the situation. With a serious look on his face, he signaled for Lucas to leave the field.
Lucas slowly walked to the side of the field, greeted the teammate who would be replacing him, then the coach, and sat down on the bench in frustration.
With a towel over his head, he took a moment to take a deep breath and try to understand what had happened.
The strange transition from a near-death state to this familiar but confusing scenario was beyond what an ordinary human mind could easily process.
He knew something extraordinary had happened. Lucas looked around. The sounds of the game, the shouts of the players, the people, everything was too real to be a dream. He closed his eyes, trying to clear his vision and his mind. The towel over his head isolated him at least a little from the stares of the surrounding people.
'Why? Why is this happening to me?' he asked himself, looking down at his hands.
His hands weren't chubby, nor were they full of wrinkles like before, and looking at his own body, he could easily see that he was younger, much younger. It was clear that he had somehow rejuvenated himself or rather gone back in time.
Lucas then raised his head and began to pay more attention to his surroundings.
There were only a few people on the bench. He was one of the few players there.
The coach, Mr. Yamamoto, a man in his fifties, was giving instructions to both teams. Of course, it was a practice game of eleven against eleven, but the field was smaller than a normal soccer field. It was a reduced soccer field, in other words, the school field.
Several times a week they practiced on the school field, so this could have been any day, but there was something different.
On the field, the players gave their all and seemed focused. Something important was about to happen. However, it was impossible for Lucas to easily remember such a normal situation from his youth, and it would be strange to suddenly ask for the date in question. Therefore, it was useless for him to try to find out what day it was at this moment.
The same was true for the mysterious reason why he was back. If there was a reason, Lucas felt it was to play soccer, otherwise why on earth would he come back in the middle of a game?
Lucas clenched his fist, stood up, tossed his towel aside and said:
"Mr. Yamamoto, can I come back in?"
"Tanaka, of course you can't come in, you just..."
When Yamamoto turned to look at Lucas as he replied, Lucas could tell just by looking into Yamamoto's eyes that something had changed. At that moment, Yamamoto stopped halfway through his answer, looked straight ahead, crossed his arms and continued:
"Okay, but get a vest. You'll be on the reserve team."
"Yes, sir."
Lucas quickly grabbed the vest, eager to get back into the game. The sun was still high and strong, and his heart was beating faster.
The reserve team was struggling to keep up with the first team, but the score was 4-2.
Lucas took a deep breath, and when he finally took his first step onto the field, everything around him stopped, and the same voice he had heard before echoed in his mind.
[The skill of
[
[To become a champion, you must increase your Star Level.]
[Your current Star Level is 0].
[Complete missions in the
[The rewards will increase with each level you reach].
[The
[The mission "The first step of the second chance" has been granted].
[Do you want to know the purpose of this mission?]
Lucas, still stunned by what had happened, blinked twice, looked around, saw that time had stopped, and nodded without a choice. The words were gone from his mouth.
[Main Mission: The First Step of a Second Chance
Description: This is a practice game before an important school championship. The starters for the first championship game will be decided in this scrimmage, and you need to convince the coach that you are a good option. Winning is an important step in this process.
Objective: Win this scrimmage.
Rewards:
+10 Star Points
+1 Loot Box.]