Rock Bottom
"Rock bottom?" Nevan asked, bewildered. His eyes showed surprise by the way how wide they were. "You just decided this by seeing my performance of one day?"
Mr. Tachibana had no expression on his face. A plain, emotionless expression laced on his facial features. As if, he had no thoughts in his mind. And this triggered a sense of irritation which crept up Nevan's whole being.
The man simply stood up. Nevan could see the malnourishment etched to every single fiber of Mr. Tachibana's body. He walked up to a cupboard on Nevan's right and opened the door. He took out a sports bag.
"I will be taking your bag. And your phone." The man stretched out his skinny fingers, telling Nevan to give him his phone.
After a second of hesitation, he took his phone and airpods out of his pocket and placed it in his palm. He rolled the bag to Mr. Tachibana who just glanced at it. In exchange, he handed over the sports bag. "There are some things you will need."
Nevan simply looked at the dark bag with golden outlines. There was a honey comb texture with hexagons and a golden fineline, saying Golden Hive.
"Now, let's get you to your team." Mr. Tachibana led the way which Nevan followed. He had no other choice. Was this man bullied as a child? He looked like that to Nevan. If he was in his age, he was sure, he couldn't have resisted the feeling to do so.
They walked through a few corridors and then some stairs. They arrived then. "Go. I won't be coming." That was all the man said. He typed in a code before giving Nevan a nudge. With his skinny elbow, it hurt.
With small steps, he entered the place. It looked like a hall. No, a cantine. There was a food distribution point on the outer left side of the square. And some people were standing there, scanning something that was fixed at their right upper arm.
He let his gaze swipe through the room. All of them seemed in Nevan's age. The oldest must be eighteen, Nevan thought. They were all training for the U20 which was in two years. They couldn't exceed that age to be able to take part, right?
Someone paused with his food tablet in his hand as he noticed the new face. The orange-haired only gave him a confused look befoee continuing his way to a table. No one seemed particularly close to each other here. This much to a warm welcome and a coordinated team.
He started to walk towards the center. Maybe, he would need to ask someone. His mind was playing with these thoughts but at the upper left corner of the space, he found a shield. Teams 7 - 10. That was what it said.
Rock bottom was Team 10. Nevan was the player #11 of Team 10.
He walked down that corridor and looked around. They were as well-lit as the rest of what he had seen. He found the door to Team 7 on his left, after a while Team 8 on his right. At the end, he found the door. It said 10 in bold, dark grey font on a light grey door. And it was almost the end of the hallway.
There was no doorknob to open it. And no display to type in a PIN or something akin to it. Just a display which looked like a scanner. What was to be scanned here? He looked confused. Then, he started to look through the bag he had gotten.
"You looking for something?" A deep voice sounded behind him, leaving him somewhat startled.
Nevan turned to the man. He looked likea bodybuilder but would go as an athlete too. Though, Nevan had to fear about the ball losing its air to this guy.
"How do I get in?" He asked.
The guy demonstrated it to Nevan. He pointed at his upper right arm. "With this thing." He walked to the scanner and held his arm at it's level. It scanned the chip there. The door slid open to the left side, into the door frame. "Come in. Your chip must be attached to your attire. You can check it out later." He offered.
"Thank you." Nevan worded his gratitude and entered it.
"You are the eleventh player? I was already wondering, why there were only ten of us when there are usually eleven. We haven't even played a single game yet." Nevan noticed his black hair tied to a knot on his head. His thick neck cocked his head to Nevan's side. "I hope, it will change now."
Nevan didn't know what to say. He just nodded. "Doesn't sound so thrilling to only train and not be able to test your skills in a match."
"You understand me quite well." He commented and stopped. "That room must be free. Mine isn't. Otherwise, I would have invited you."
A feeling of dread spread through him. He would have to share a room with men his age? Oh, no. "Oh, don't worry. I am not making a fuss of it." He was. At his heart, he was going crazy.
Nevan headed towards the room, the guy had pointed at. He cursed himself for not asking his name. He would ask him later, for sure. At least, this door had its knob which Nevan used to open it.
The room was devoid of any human but he noticed three beds there. A single one and a bunk bed. It was pretty easy to see which bed was occupied and which wasn't by just glancing at it. The single bed was in use and the upper bunk bed too. So, the only choice for Nevan was the lower bunk bed.
He slumped onto it, almost hitting his head at the bottom of the bed above him. He wasn't claustrophobic but this place gave him ideas. He was relieved, this bed was rather stable.
He finally opened his bag to look what was inside. A uniform? Now, he seemed to realize it. Everyone was wearing the same thing. A type of uniform, it seemed. Held in a blue color with black random lines as well as the chip to scan. And now, he noticed a small display too. It probably showed a rank.
Should he get ready? Probably. Nevan stood up and entered a room which was seperated. The bathroom was rather spacious. At least, this was good. Actually, the facility didn't look like, the expenses had been cut off here. It seemed like the ones who had financed it were generous.
Nevan put on his clothes. It was a shirt and a sweatpants. They both clung to his body which was uncomfortable at first. He sighed before looking at himself in the mirror. Just fine, it was.
His eyes glanced up at the display.
[Syncing complete. New informations added. Host may look them up.]
Finally, he was able to use the system again. He felt relief. This was almost like having something of his own. Something, even Mr. Tachibana couldn't take away from him. "Show me, what you have added."
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[Stats]
⇢Possession percentage - 36 % (Lv. 1)
⇢Pass accuracy - 56 % (Lv. 2)
⇢Shots on target - 3 % (Lv. 1)
⇢Ball control - 6 % (Lv. 1)
⇢1v1 defending - 36 % (Lv. 1)
[i: Stats are available after every match.]
[Teams]
Team 10
[Teammates]
⇢ Available soon.
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The stats hadn't changed. All that had been added was the team he was in and that the teammates would be available soon. Was this the 'upcoming event' the system had talked about in the past? As if, it knew. Could it foresee Nevan's future?
He simply finished getting ready and exited the bathroom. He paused as he suddenly saw two fellow players in the room. Those, who were residing in this room already?
"Oh, hey. You are new?" One of them asked.
The other one only glanced at him but mainly focused on the ceiling. What was so interesting about it? He couldn't tell. Oddly enough, they reminded Nevan of Sunshine and Grumpy who he had met at the selection.
"Yeah. It's nice to meet you. Seems like we will be sharing this place." Nevan spoke and held out his hand.
The one who was standing took it. "Yes. I am Yoshino. Nice to meet you."
"I am Nevan." He introduced himself. He turned to the other guy and was about ti speak up when he felt a nudge at his side.
"Don't. You would rather not talk to him. Believe me." He spoke as if he was telling a secret. Nevan's mouth stayed open. Maybe, he should talk regardless of what others said? But he didn't. He closed his mouth and decided to follow the advice for now.
Nevan had just sat down at the bed. He didn't talk much as if he was still trying to adapt.
"You arrived today?" He was asked to which he only nodded. "Oh, man. I can't wait to finally play. Now that we are eleven players, it is more than just likely that we will play." He sounded so excited.