Egoistic Ace System

"Ankara Messi… Kara Messi… Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal!!!" 

A chaotic noise reverberated on Toshiaki Aoi's earphones as the owner of the voice seemed to have lost oxygen, repeatedly shouting a word.

Meanwhile, Aoi continued to watch on his phone with his usual indifferent expression, in contrast with the enthusiastic voice thundering in his ears.

The noise was so blaring it even entered the ear of the person behind him.

"Aoi!" Kantaro Oka exclaimed beside him, leaning his head forward to see what Aoi was watching on his phone.

He asked, "You are still watching the compilation of Messi's goals? Seriously?"

Aoi, despite hearing nothing but the tumultuous clamor on his earphones, heard Oka and nodded.

"When he is on the field, he is exceptionally beautiful. The dribble, the feint, the goal… So beautiful…"

"I know. I used to watch it before. But haven't you gotten tired of watching it?" Oka rolled his eyes, leaning on his seat.

They were currently on a train, entering a tunnel, swallowing the light in an instant.

The train was so swift it quickly reached the other side of the tunnel in a second, even though the tunnel was five kilometers long.

Aoi, so focused on the phone, watched another scene of Messi performing a gorgeous dribble and replied to Oka, "Will you not get tired seeing Okane?"

Oka was taken aback, face turned flushed, scratching his cheeks awkwardly.

He coughed.

"That was a different thing. You see, Okane is beautiful and I can see her every day, and each is different. At the same time, yours are pretty much the same. Unless you see Messi, nothing will change."

Aoi lost focus on his phone, contemplating.

He said, "Messi finally retired, right? I want to be like him.

Like Ronaldo.

Pele.

And others."

Aoi slowly said, taking each breath to mention different names.

Oka's eyes widened when he heard Aoi, falling into complete disbelief, as he replied, "Oh, right. You also used to watch Ronaldo's clips, too. How many times have you watched his bicycle kick again?

Ten times?

Hundred times?"

"A thousand times," replied Aoi instantly.

Oka was dumbfounded.

He sighed, his thick eyebrows furrowed as he gazed at Aoi. 

Concern could be hinted deep within his lime-green pupils.

"I'm afraid to tell you that it is already too late. We are nearing our thirties. If you had that ambition back when we were in high school, I would have accompanied you on your out-of-the-blue dream."

Oka used to be a playmaker in their high school days, even playing in a national tournament. 

However, during the tournament, he received an Achilles Tendonitis injury, causing him to be unavailable for the match, resulting in his team losing.

After all, he played a crucial role and was even treated as the core player on the team.

He was healed weeks later, but it was a chronic injury, affecting his future performance.

Hence, he quit football.

Aoi could still remember Oka's smile when he announced to him he would quit football.

As his best friend, he had no choice but to remain silent and hug him.

When he recalled it, he felt watching more football clips was spoiled, so he played music and pushed his phone in his pocket.

Oka sensed his best friend's mood took a drastic low, having a slight idea of the cause.

He tried to cheer him up with an intriguing question, "Aoi, do you know about the debate of which is really the GOAT between Messi and Ronaldo, right? Who do you think is really the GOAT?"

Aoi's expression changed slightly. He pulled his phone away, glancing at Oka's lime green eyes, having an average face, and indifferently glanced forward, falling into deep contemplation.

"Only two of them? What about Pele?"

Oka rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"I was talking about the era of Ronaldo and Messi!"

"I see." Aoi nodded.

He said, "The debate is absurd. Each has a distinct way of playing on the field. Although they were strikers, they played in their own style. Comparing them is like trying to determine which is stronger, Fire or Ice."

Oka was stunned.

He always knew Aoi was smart and cool-headed, not someone who took sides. Of course, if it was for the sake of his friends, he would not hesitate to take sides with them… Unless they committed an absurd act.

Nevertheless, Aoi's way of thinking always surprised him.

After all, Oka has his own bias, too, like other football fans, when it comes to the debate of which was the GOAT during Messi and Ronaldo's era.

"Yeah, right? They had their own name etched in the history of football. Whether one of them is crowned as the true GOAT, both have accomplished enough for every fan to remember their name."

"You think logically. That's surprising," said Aoi sarcastically.

Oka was taken aback, feeling offended by Aoi's remarks. He rolled his eyes again and replied, "What do you think I am? A Fool? I–"

"Yes," Aoi interjected.

Oka fumed in anger.

Oka was about to teach Aoi a lesson by talking for a long time, proving himself guilty, when Aoi cover his right ear with his earphone.

He was about to take it off when someone suddenly stood up, even though they were still a bit far from their destination.

It caught his interest, resulting in his mouth closing and watching in horror as the man covered with a black hood from the black jacket and black mask took a gun out of his pocket and swept it to other people.

"Calm down!" He shouted.

Alas, his voice died down when people hurried away from him, and women were screaming at the top of his lungs.

Oka was terrified when he saw the gunman, even more so to discover it was standing beside Aoi, who was listening to his music at full volume, closing his eyes to take a rest.

Oka budged Aoi's shoulder, but he was ignored.

He wanted to shout to wake Aoi up, but he was afraid the gunner would turn their attention to them.

However, his horror turned out to occur in reality.

The gunner, seeing that the chaos would not die down, turned behind his back, pointed his muzzle at Aoi's head, and did not hesitate to pull the trigger.

Bang!

The train quieted down.