Striking Cobra

"You wanna train?" The guy with pink-dyed hair asked. He had an eyebrow and ear piercing. With his haircut and his stature, he looked more like a k-pop star than a young man who wanted to become a professional athlete.

After lunch, Nevan had excused himself in order to find the remaining two people he had to get in his list before the deadline. Lucky enough, he had just run into one right after he had decided to go train for a bit.

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[Teamplayer]

Shouji Shima

16 years old.

[Abilities]

Passing accuracy - 63%

1v1 play - 89%

Foresight - 34%

assertiveness - 51%

[Rank in Golden Hive]

391

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He was dumbfounded as he stared at the guy. How could someone look so out of his profession? His look didn't match his aesthetic at all.

The light made his pinky, fluffy bun illuminate even more. He looked like a princess. The only thing that was left was a dress and a small crown.

"Yeah. I was thinking about that." He admitted. He already knew, he would be invited to practice with him together. That was what every decent human did, especially to those who－

Shouji kicked the ball with full force. Despire having aimed at the goal, he had missed it miserably. A small tinge of red appeared at his cheek. His eyes averted to the ground and he spoke in a rather harsh tone. "Come by later or use other fields and rooms. I don't want to be disturbed."

He was embarrassed. How was it possible? Over something as trivial as missing a goal? Nevan's foot stepped back on its own at these words. He wasn't truly burning to practice with him. They were strangers, after all.

"Sure. Have fun practicing." Nevan's voice had sounded more detached than he had intended to.

He made his way out. His steps echoed through the empty field. Where should he go now?

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[Fever Task]

⇢ 80 Push-ups (0/80)

⇢ 80 Sit-ups (0/80)

⇢ 25 laps around the field (0/25)

⇢ 10 goals (0/10)

[Reward] +3 Attribute-Points; +4 Endurance-Points

[Deadline] Complete the task as soon as possible.

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Where would he find such a field with lapses around it? He would probably have to ask or just peak into some of the halls. While walking around, he seemed to notice how tight this suit was. Every fibre of it clung to his skin which made him feel captured.

"Nevan! Where are you going?!" As soon as these words hit his ears, he turned around and noticed Akimitsu's bulky body run towards him.

They had just seen each other earlier. His feet were glued to the ground, not moving even an inch. "What's the matter?"

"These rooms aren't reserved for us. Did you want to do some workout?" He inquired.

Nevan's gaze wandered to the rooms where he had been headed. "They are for another team?" He got a sound of confirmation from the man. "Where can I train? I want to go to the gym. Is there any?" He was sure there was. Why would Golden Hive not have it?

"Follow me." A smirk had spread on his face. If someone knew about this then Akimitsu. That was for sure. One glance at his body and it was as clear as the day.

This facility was like a maze. A network of hallways webbed together which seemed to connect everything. With almost 400 players who needed to be rated individually. No wonder, Mr. Tachibana looked so malnourished and sleep-deprived.

The room they had gone to was in one of the hallways where Nevan would have never gone. It was no secret but it wasn't a room to seek often for most of the players here.

"Everyone from this group goes there, so you will see those who we will probably compete against during the next selections."

"Is this like a smaller version of a tournament?" He already knew the answer to this. This was.

"Yeah. I have been here since a week too and Mr. Tachibana really doesn't give away any informations other than those that we need for the next tasks." He scanned his chip which made the door slide open.

It felt like they had entered an entirely different world. The lights were dimmed while they were a different shade as well. It was a warmer tone of yellow, almost golden. It seemed not much different from other gyms.

The place was equipped with everything a gym enthusiastic would wish for. Even though, Nevan didn't need them for this fever task, he would probably go and use them later, after finishing the task.

"Let's just part ways, yes? If you need any help just approach me." Akimitsu simply left Nevan alone.

Not many were here. From the conversation earlier during lunch, he had found out this group had six teams. This meant 66 players. They were all spread out in thie hexagon which was given to them. Considering this, it was no wonder that this place was anything but crowded.

Since he didn't need the equipment, he moved to the training room. Instead of the cold stone ground, it was bedded with a carpet and mats. Perfect for his training. He took off his shoes to not make anything dirty and felt the soft texture of the mats when he pressed his feet onto it while entering the room.

He noticed, he wasn't alone. Someone was there. But he wasn't one of his team and Nevan had not even a glimmer of clue about who this might be. Should he approach the guy?

"Just don't make too much noise." He was told. The man was doing some warm-up exercises. He didn't glance at Nevan as he entered the room.

A soft huff escaped his mouth. Nevan simply moved towards the other end of the room and started warming up his muscles.

Soon after, the presence of the unknown man was forgotten and blended out by Nevan. He focused on the tasks at hand. Due to the system, he knew what his final goal of this workout session was.

In the past two weeks, he had managed to find ways to bring the tasks into his daily life and even during his regular work-out sessions.

He didn't really care about how much noise he made. With his routine, it was bound to happen. His body adapted rather quickly as he finally laid his hands upon the tasks being shown to him.

His heart was working overtime. After he had done about forty push-ups and thirty sit-ups, he sat down on the bench at the edge while watching the guy for the first time since he had startsd working out.

He wasn't doing intense workout like Nevan was doing. The tall and lean person was moving with the agility of a ballet dancer and the flexibility of a acrobatics performer. He was using his bodyweight but in a different way than that of Nevan's.

His movements flowed like water and they seemed to be in perfect control. It was as if the man was aware of each and every movement of even the smallest muscle. He made no noise as he simply lifted his feet off the ground while balancing on his arms. His gaze was fixated on a point, he had probably chosen to remain focused.

Nevan had gotten back to his own routine. It seemed like he was being ignored by the guy who seemed to be the calmness himself. Though, he couldn't care less.

He had pushed himself, like always. After forty-five minutes, Nevan had completed half of the fever tasks. The room was soaked in a silence which － for the first time － didn't seem uncomfortable. It seemed rather pleasant. As pleasant as the feeling which spread in one's body during meditation.

At some point, he was doing a plank, to strengthen and challenge his core strength. He had found himself being face to face with the other guy. He had done various positions in the air and stopped at one which seemed to just like the plank Nevan was doing.

Grey eyes met his green one's. It was a staring contest, a silent challenge passed from one man to another. As if to see who was better. To see who could hold his own and who couldn't.

He had never felt something like this before. Something like this urge which made him want to be the last one standing or in this case balancing.

It was only a matter of seconds. However, it felt like hours were passing. The man's agility, his eyes. They reminded him of a snake. One who was waiting for the right time to strike his prey.

Maybe, it was the fact that the man suddenly blinked or his body had just grown tired. It could also be that his hand had slipped. Nevan fell on his stomach and let out a slight sound of surprise, mixed with a huff.

An amused chuckle came from the other side of the room. It could only be one person. The man stood up from his position as well. He wasn't much taller than Nevan.

With a swift move, Nevan stood up as well, rubbing his hands. He still had a few tasks to do. And thinking about a challenge to his 'manliness' wasn't part of it. He sighed and decided to get some water and heading to Akimitsu to ask him about where Nevan could find a place to run laps.