Chapter 2

The building was awe-inspiring, to be able to accommodate 300 people and, if the projections were to be believed, was actually bigger on the inside.

Quickly after the bus stopped, Katsu stepped off to properly look at it. 'This is what I've been training for.' He thought to himself.

"And next… Katsu Nanami!" A beautiful woman said his name as he walked over and grabbed the uniform she held out to him. [Anri Teieri] is what her name-tag said, anything he had on him was taken like his wallet and phone, sad but he knew scoring a few goals would let him get those back.

Properly looking at the uniform he saw it had the letter and number V-225

'Team V huh?' He thought, a small smile gracing his face as he went inside the massive building.

Inside it actually kinda reminded him of a prison with how bland the colors actually were, though he didn't think of it much as he made it to his team locker room.

Opening the door, he gathered the attention of a few before he put on the uniform and walked in to the main area where one person would have to unfortunately get sent out.

<Katsu>

After changing my clothes and going into the area that was roughly the size of the penalty area, I looked at all the people here while noting the only three of worth.

'Zantetsu, Reo, and Nagi, everyone else are practically worthless.' The entirety of Team V in the original all lost in the second selection except for those three, knowing that I had absolutely zero care for them. Knowing they all fell there made them all pointless side characters in both the story of "Blue Lock" and my own.

Was it egocentric? Absolutely, and that's exactly what's needed inside of Blue Lock and, just what I need to figure out my flow state in the future.

<Third Person>

When Katsu walked in a few looked at him before looking at the monitor screen that just turned on, showing Ego's face.

"Have you finished changing you unpolished gems? From this point forward the people in your room will serve as both your roommates and your rivals." He said, installing tension into most. "We have evaluated your potential based on my judgement and my peers' calculations, which is reflected in your individual rankings." Ego explained, displaying biological metrics specific of Reo to show his point. "It is the number assigned on your uniforms." This revelation made a few look at their number with more interest. "Through this you can gauge your spot among the 300 players in this facility."

"Your rankings will fluctuate daily based on various factors, such as match performance and you're training, and without exception. The top five players will compete in a certain tournament sixth months from now... and will be registered as forwards for Japan's U-20 national team and play in the World Cup!"

This time Ego's words surprised every person in the room. However instead of pure shock they all had excited looks on their faces as if Christmas came early.

"Also... those who are defeated in Blue Lock... will be permanently disqualified from playing on Japan's national team." He continued, symbolizing this statement with the image of a player falling on a crumbling ground while clutching a football.

"We are seeking one crucial element here, 'EGO.' It is what we will measure as you live in this facility. So, it's time to play a game of tag." A ceiling panel opened up in front of some black-haired boy. "You have 136 seconds (about 2 and a half minutes). Whoever is struck by the ball is 'it' and by the end of the timer, the last person tagged will be... eliminated." A ball dropped from the hatch. "And remember, no using your hands."

Ego's face then vanished, replaced by a cartoonish image of the black-haired boy as the timer started counting down: 2 minutes and 15 seconds, 14, 13...

"What!?" Exclaimed the black-haired boy. "I'm 'it' cause I have the lowest rank here? Fine! No hard feelings!" The boy quickly kicked the ball, aiming for anyone to hit as the one's in the way ran in fear of being eliminated.

The ball bounced off the wall, closing on Zantetsu as he pulled his left leg back and struck the ball, sending it flying into some poor boy's stomach, the kid retched over, coughing up spit before he kicked the ball, albeit a bit slow, at the person who hadn't moved since the timer started, Katsu.

<Katsu>

Seeing the ball slowly come towards me, I flicked it up, making myself 'it' as I bounced it off my foot a bit as I watched the timer lower. 50 seconds, 49, 48... I let it reach all the way to 30 before I suddenly kicked it with enough force that it ricocheted off the wall and hit some guy's back hard, forcing him on the ground as he tried to kick it back at me as some sort of vengeance. Easily stepping out the way, he looked on in horror as the timer ticked from 3, with one last attempt he aimed for the same boy that this game started with, he wasn't even paying attention, he thought it was over with how little time was left, big mistake, the ball planted into his stomach, making him fall over as a loud alarm sounded out, the timer ending as the screen showed the cartoonish image of the black-haired boy with the words 'Lost' below it.

"Good job you unpolished gems." Ego appeared on the screen once again, clapping his hands with an expression that barely wavered from neutrality. "Let us proceed with the results, Ebina Shuhei, you are disqualified. Lock off." The boy, who I now knew the name of, looked like the worst possible thing happened to him as he yelled at Ego, trying to understand how a game of tag had anything to do with soccer.

Ego just scratched his head in response before he laid down an explanation similar to one he did with Kira, this room was the same size of the penalty area, most goals are made here, and the usual amount of time someone has the ball is 136 seconds. With each answer Shuhei's expression became worse and worse before Ego stated again. "Lock off." With that the boy angrily left, glaring at the boy who eliminated him before our attention was once again on Ego.

"So how does it feel? This feeling of putting your career on the line, pros do it all the time during matches, did you think, 'All right I survived?!'" Ego's expression became darker. "That's what victory feels like! Engrave this feeling into your minds, each time you feel it your ego will grow, propelling you to become the best striker in the world. Congratulations, you have passed the Blue Lock dorm admission."

As a sense of optimism began to fill the players that needed it, Ego interrupted. "There are 11 of you in this room. You will live together, work together, become each other's rivals, wreck the dreams of others! Welcome to Blue Lock... Team V."