"Ren! That was amazing!" Ryo shouted, his voice nearly cracking as the ball hit the net. His dad was on his feet beside him, clapping and cheering just as loud.
{Quest Complete!}
(Situational Quest – Cheerleader)
[Cheer On Your Brother As He Scores His First Goal.]
[Rewards – New Skill: Crowd Support (E)]
{New Skill!}
(Crowd Support – E)
[When The Skill Is Activated, A Temporary Boost In The Overall Stat Is Given Based On The Crowd's Cheers. The Higher The Rank, The Higher The Boost In Stats. Can Only Be Activated Once A Game.]
Oh, this is actually pretty useful. If I need more power in my shot—or just a cleaner technique—this could come in handy.
The cheering for the goal soon died down, and the match slowly drew to a close. After Ren's equalizer, the opponents never recovered their momentum. So, in the 85th minute, Ren slipped a pass to a teammate for the final goal, sealing the win.
"Good job, Ren-nii!" Ryo called as his brother walked over after the game. "That goal was amazing. The way you dribbled past those two players looked so cool."
Ren scratched his cheek, smiling a little sheepishly. "Thanks… Honestly, I don't even know how I pulled it off. But in that moment, it just felt like I could."
The two of them chatted happily about the game all the way home, their dad walking a few steps behind. Watching them laugh together, he couldn't help but smile the entire way.
Ren was a part of his school's second team, so even though he played in matches for a league, they didn't participate in the regional tournaments. Even then, the football season ended earlier than they had hoped for as the first team was eliminated in the semifinals of the regional tournament. With that, their matches were done until the following spring.
Soon enough, the winter snow started falling over Nagano. The family celebrated Ren's birthday, Christmas, and the New Year together. On his birthday, Ren unwrapped a pair of brand-new cleats, his old pair already too small for him.
On New Year's Day, he passed those down to Ryo, who until then had been practicing in plain running shoes. Their parents added a football of his own, so he wouldn't have to borrow Ren's anymore.
Over the months that followed, Ryo threw himself into practice. Every daily quest was completed without fail, even if snow came up to his knees. He would shovel the bare minimum needed to practice.
Ren was always there beside him, often helping him with shoveling the snow. Then, as the spring season started, whether he was tired or not, win or lose, he never once left his little brother to practice alone. In turn, Ryo became his comfort when defeats stung.
Ryo spent his time training, sometimes running a bit around the field or doing pushups, on top of doing his daily quest. And each week, The System rewarded him with a single stat point, which he distributed carefully, keeping his growth balanced. Slowly but steadily, the numbers climbed.
He also began to understand how The System really worked. Progress wasn't random; every stat had an efficient way of growing through training. His Acceleration rose when he focused on bursts of speed and sharp cuts across the pitch. Lung Capacity increased after long swims at the local pool, something he discovered while taking a break on a sweltering summer day with Ren. Even his Vision improved, little by little, as he made a habit of scanning his surroundings both on and off the field.
Some skills, though, surprised him. Goaltending, he learned, wasn't just about standing between the posts and acting as a goalkeeper. It measured how well he could prevent a shot from reaching the net at all, especially focusing on interceptions, blocks, and deflections. Reaction Speed wasn't pure reflex either; it was about how quickly he could recognize a situation, predict the ball's path, and choose the right response.
Piece by piece, Ryo was learning the rules of his own growth—and he felt himself changing.
Then came the first week of April—the week Ryo would finally start school. Cherry blossoms were in full bloom, their petals drifting lazily on the breeze, and the air was warm and dry on that last Sunday afternoon before classes began.
Ryo lay stretched out on the backyard grass, his head resting on his football as if it were a pillow. He had just finished his final Daily Quest and allocated his last stat point. Part of him had expected some hidden reward for seventy weeks of perfect completion, but The System remained silent. Still, Ryo couldn't bring himself to feel disappointed. After all, it had already given the greatest gift of all: his eyesight.
When The System first appeared, he had wondered if it could truly reverse the "incurable" blindness that had stolen his vision. But week after week, his sight never faded; in fact, it had only gotten better. That led to a single, burning question. What can't The System do?
If it could cure Neuro-Ocular Severance Disorder, a disease unknown to humans, can it cure cancer? HIV? ALS? One thing was for certain, though—The System had regressed him. And if it could do that, what couldn't it do?
Yet after all this time, Ryo had also learned something else: The System never lied. It might be cryptic, but its promises had always held—always delivering the rewards to quests. Maybe it's just luring me into trust, waiting for the right time to take over my body… Should I ask it?
Ryo scoffed at that idea, instead focusing on a more pressing matter.
School starts tomorrow, huh?
The thought drifted through his mind. Though he loved learning, Ryo's feelings toward school were complicated. Most of his classmates had either avoided him or pitied him.
But being blind was not something Ryo wanted to be pitied for. Sure, his life was a bit more difficult, but if people were truly sorry for him or wished to help him, the only thing they had to do was treat him normally.
Only the handful of them who understood that could have been called real friends. On the other hand, he had been spared from bullying—Ren's popularity probably shielded him—but that hadn't made it easier to fit in.
Maybe this time will be different.
Ryo would now be able to make friends; he could sit in class and take notes with his own hands. He could see what a classroom looked like.
After being regressed, Ryo could be considered one of the smartest six-year-olds in all of Japan, having been exposed to complex analysis, quantum mechanics, classical English literature, and organic chemistry in his previous life. Including his knowledge of academic research published until his death, Ryo could easily reach top universities and pursue the path of academics.
The same was true for the arts. With enough practice, he could become a world-class soloist. He had enjoyed playing violin and piano, classical pieces resonating beautifully throughout his house when nobody else was home.
But neither academia nor music held his heart.
That spo belonged to the pitch.
He had made a promise with Ren to eventually play in the World Cup, taking his place and rising to the top despite the odds. Hopefully, Ren remembers the promise we made in our past lives. Even if it only exists somewhere deep inside him.
And now, with school starting tomorrow, Ryo could finally take the first step toward that dream.
This time, he would live it.
Especially now, with The System.
{System Menu}
[Age: 6]
[Exhaustion: 0]
[Height: 118 cm]
[Player: Aoyama Ryo]
[System Level: 1]
[Weight: 23 kg]
{Career Info}
[Career Assists: 0]
[Career Goals: 0]
[Current Team: None]
[Fame: Newbie]
[Past Teams: None]
{Player Skills}
[Crowd Support (E) – When the skill is activated, a temporary boost in the Overall Stat is given based on the crowd's cheers. The higher the rank, the higher the boost in stats. Can Only Be Activated Once A Game.]
{Player Stats}
(Overall: 27)
(Player Rank: E)
{Agility: 28}
[Acceleration: 29]
[Jumping Power: 25]
[Top Speed: 31]
{Ball Control: 30}
[Dribbling: 33]
[Feinting: 28]
[Trapping: 30]
{Defense: 28}
[Defensive Pressure: 28]
[Goaltending: 28]
[Tackling: 30]
{Intelligence: 26}
[Positioning: 28]
[Reaction Speed: 25]
[Tactics: 25]
{Passing: 28}
[Corner Kicks: 29]
[Long Passing: 28]
[Short Passing: 28]
{Physicality: 22}
[Lung Capacity: 23]
[Stamina: 23]
[Strength: 21]
{Shooting: 31}
[Long Distance Shooting: 31]
[Shooting Technique: 31]
[Short Distance Shooting: 32]
{Vision: 24}
[Awareness Of Ally Positions: 24]
[Awareness Of Enemy Positions: 25]
[Field Of Vision: 24]
[Unused Stat Points: 0]
{Player Titles}
(One Blessed By The System)
[Being Blessed By The System Allows For Extraordinary Growth.]
(One Who Lacked Vision)
[The Player, Who Was Once Blind, Now Experiences A State Of Focus And Calm When Closing Their Eyes.]
(System Protection)
[The System Wishes For The Player To Grow, So Injury And Illness Become Less Probable And Heal Quickly. The System Will Cure The Player's Neuro-Ocular Severance Disorder.]
(Quests)
[None]