[6] Legend? Or Ambition!

"Did the 'Heaven Sent Child' drop his little pearls?" Shinichi speculated maliciously as he glanced at Isagi, who was sitting on the bench with his head lowered.

However, recalling everything that had just transpired, even he couldn't help clenching his fists. "No wonder so many people want to take you down. The feeling of being one step behind is truly unbearable."

Letting out a long sigh to release his frustration, Shinichi pushed aside his chaotic thoughts and began analyzing Isagi's movements.

"Vision control, blind spots, distraction…" he muttered quietly, even starting to reenact plays directly on the field.

First, he led his team away from a defensive "parking the bus" formation.

He stopped holding onto the ball actively and instead acted as a decoy to attract opponents' attention for his teammates.

Unfortunately, whether it was due to his lack of finesse in utilizing his vision or his overwhelming presence, he couldn't effectively create visual blind spots by using others as cover.

Every player on the opposing team stayed glued to him, and as soon as he crossed the halfway line, someone was already marking him tightly.

Ironically, this tactic of drawing attention worked too well. His teammates managed to capitalize on the openings, scoring two more goals before the match ended.

"This is… absolutely useless for reference," Shinichi muttered, shaking his head in exasperation before requesting to be subbed out.

Just as he stepped off the field, a voice he hadn't heard since awakening his system at the age of five suddenly echoed in his ears again.

[Ding! Match concluded. Storyline officially initiated. The 'Skills' option has been unlocked. You have three unread messages.]

[Unsettled matches detected. Auto-settlement executed.]

[Current settlement period: one year. You have received the following rewards.]

[You may select two traits from the rewards. Duplicate traits will automatically fuse.]

...

Shinichi's eyes widened in surprise.

It wasn't the sudden reactivation of the system that shocked him—he'd known for years that its silence was due to a bug he'd unintentionally triggered, causing it to awaken prematurely.

He had already guessed that the system would resume normal operations once certain conditions were met.

What truly stunned him was that the system not only auto-settled his progress but also allowed him to choose two rewards this time!

He considered himself to have had a decent, though not particularly spectacular, year.

Sure, he'd won a low-level archery competition and recently qualified for the national football tournament after passing the regional stage.

But compared to some of his past achievements, this was nothing remarkable. And in all his previous experiences, he'd only ever been able to select one trait reward at a time.

"Is it because, in the world of Blue Lock, football is the primary focus, making the rewards for it more substantial? Or is it due to the storyline officially starting, unlocking more system features?"

Contemplating this, Shinichi opened the reward list. He was pragmatic—better to secure the rewards now and analyze the rest later.

[Selectable Traits:]

1. Sharpshooter (Blue): Whether with a bow or a soccer ball, your precision is unmatched. As a sharpshooter, you gain increased accuracy in all sports requiring precise aim.

2. Learning Ability (Blue): Rising from nothing, you've twice climbed to prominence with no prior foundation. Your rapid progress astonishes others. Your learning ability is enhanced, allowing you to pick up new skills faster from scratch.

3. Reflexes (Purple): Your outstanding performance has left a lasting impression on Isagi Yoichi, the "Egoist, Heaven Sent Child, and..." Your reflexes are acknowledged by him, granting you an increase in reaction speed (Mental +8).

[Selectable Skills:]

[Zone (Gold): You've unlocked the key to the legendary state that even characters in over-the-top sports anime dream of achieving.

You can now voluntarily enter the Zone during matches. However, its duration depends on your current stamina, ability, focus, and willpower. Be warned: Zone depletes stamina rapidly and increases the risk of injury if your physical condition isn't strong enough.

Though this story wasn't designed to be a power fantasy, you've earned this perk through your efforts and bug exploitation. Consider this your final newbie gift.]

Reading this, Shinichi felt his heart skip a beat.

What's going on? He'd always assumed the system was purely mechanical and devoid of consciousness.

Then again, it made sense. If this were some ordinary cheat, it wouldn't matter, but the system seemed far too artificial for that.

If this were a fantasy world, Shinichi would be plotting revenge right now—vowing to break free from the system's shackles and the mysterious mastermind controlling it. "My fate is mine to decide!"

But alas, this was a sports anime world, devoid of supernatural powers.

Even if someone was pulling the strings, what could he do?

He might as well just accept it and go to sleep.

After all, he had been given a second chance at life.

Every additional day was a bonus. Heck, if his past self were offered this opportunity, he'd probably kneel on the spot and call the system his godfather.

...

Shinichi quickly came to terms with the situation. As for the rewards, the choice was obvious—he selected the Zone skill without hesitation. However, when he moved to choose the traits, he noticed two additional icons…

A lock-shaped icon and a circular icon made of two arrows caught Shinichi's attention.

As someone who had played Teamfight Tactics, he immediately understood their functions without even reading the system's description. "Isn't this just reroll and lock?"

Upon closer inspection, he noticed numbers next to these options: 2 for reroll and 10 for lock. With no other choice, he had to obediently check the system's announcement for details.

"So that's how it works. Even though I can only select one trait during settlements, any traits that weren't solidified or didn't appear in the options are converted into points and stored in the system. And my current points are…"

"114,514 points?! What a ridiculous number! And here I thought unused points wouldn't carry over. System, you're more thoughtful than my mom—at least you saved them for me. My mom used to save my red envelopes, but I have no idea where they went!"

He couldn't help but mock the system, though it did lighten his mood.

After a brief hesitation, he chose Reflexes (Purple) and locked Sharpshooter (Blue).

As for Learning Ability (Blue), he decided against it since it overlapped with his Genius trait.

Moreover, its utility was far more limited.

A year ago, he might have considered it, but now, he was committed to football at least until the storyline ended.

Unlike his earlier try everything approach, this trait felt increasingly unnecessary.

Not to mention, he still didn't have a clear idea of how difficult it would be to earn points, so wasting them seemed unwise.

After finalizing his rewards, Shinichi opened the system messages.

The first update clarified that now that the system had resumed normal operations, he could no longer manually select settlement times.

Instead, settlements would be triggered automatically based on the storyline.

He speculated that future settlements would align with the elimination stages of Blue Lock, with one settlement per stage.

The second update introduced the point system.

Unfortunately, the system's store only offered basic items like injury recovery potions and training aids.

Unlike typical system stores with overpriced but overpowered items, this one didn't allow points to boost attributes, nor did it provide stamina recovery potions.

It was clear the system wouldn't offer him any shortcuts or unfair advantages during matches.