Challenge 3

Ogata could never comprehend the sudden change from the ball, and as he looked at Aoi, who was just closing his eyes while stepping over the ball, he shuddered.

He could not shake off the feeling he was staring at a towering monster looking below him. 

When he gazed below and stared at the ball, he felt like he was staring at a pitiful, helpless man being stepped over by a devil. The helpless man obviously could not utter a single word, for he had been totally conquered and surrendered to the devil.

As much as Ogata tried to convince the ball to speak what his owner was thinking so he could beat Aoi again, he heard not a single sound from the ball.

He stared at Aoi again, and his hair stood on end.

When Aoi opened his eyes, he seemed to have exuded the aura of a veteran football player – based on the standard in the under 18 football players, at least.

Ogata found it difficult to comprehend Aoi's instant drastic change.

Curious, he tilted his head and asked Aoi, "What? Happened?" He uttered every single word in an inquiry tone.

Aoi, in reply, just smiled and finally stopped stepping over the ball.

Ogata lowered his gaze and tried to communicate with the ball again but to no avail.

The ball… was completely silent.

"Are you ready?"

Ogata was not. He was not ready yet. His mind was still in the midst of processing what was currently happening.

He was filled with endless questions such as why the ball turned silent, why he felt Aoi suddenly changed – not just a bit, but for an awfully massive alteration, too – and how was it the case.

It was befuddling.

With his chaotic mind, he was certainly not ready yet.

As he was about to fall into panic, not finding the right word to reply to Aoi when he could have just said, "No," Aoi just moved the ball slightly, and he reacted.

Aoi giggled and finally halted.

He wanted to relax his opponent first.

"Take some time," Aoi said.

"What is happening?"

"Yeah, why does Ogata seem to be panicking?"

The other football players noticed an abrupt change from Ogata instead of Aoi. They were puzzled.

Aoi casually swept his eyes to them and shrugged.

Still, when he stared at Ogata, still trying to assimilate based on his intuition, he was surprised.

To think Ogata's senses were that sensitive to the point the experience, memories, and information he received as a football player with dribbling skills of B grade was sensed by him was admirable.

He could not help but wonder.

'Does his understanding of his opponents make him understand their next move? But how did he have that ability, though? Sixth senses? That's too fantastical, isn't it?'

But then again, he could not just treat the idea as something fictional when even the Egoistic Ace System was one such.

Nevertheless, it was just a growing assumption, so he would believe in that idea for now.

Finally, when he perceived Ogata calmed down as his demeanor returned, Aoi grinned and could finally execute what he assimilated after upgrading his dribbling skills.

He did not have to ask if Ogata was ready, just seeing his solid stance and locked eyes, not even trying to blink, already gave him the answer.

So, without further ado, he lightly kicked the ball and exploded with speed.

He also utilized Explosive Power, causing his Endurance to dwindle quickly.

With a distance of five yards and his Explosive Speed, he quickly arrived at Ogata's range.

With his ball still rolling faster after it was lightly kicked by him again, Ogata could steal it.

Ogata saw the chance, but for some reason, he had the hunch it was just a deception.

However, no matter how he saw it, with Aoi's explosive speed, Aoi could not abruptly stop himself, though, or he would lose his balance and probably fall.

Furthermore, with how fast the ball was rolling, it was difficult to stop it, as well, even more so with Aoi running at fall speed.

So, stealing the ball should already be secured.

Yet, why could he not shake off the feeling that everything was a deception?

He was given little to no time to ponder as he had to decide.

Hence, without hesitation, he dragged his right foot forward and tried to kick the ball, but it suddenly halted.

It completely stopped. 

Ogata was utterly startled.

He quickly glanced at Aoi, attempting to discover the reason behind the erratic halt of the ball, and was surprised to see Aoi's ridiculous body position.

He stepped over the ball while his right hand was on the ground, obviously losing his balance after halting his explosive speed and trying to stop the ball's movement.

However, despite leaning upward, his body position and with quick reflex, he easily and instantly stood up while Ogata was still recovering from the stun.

He quickly repositioned his stance, trying to stop Aoi again, but Aoi suddenly performed…

A feint.

Ogata instantly reacted to Aoi's feint, and when he saw Aoi dribbling past in the opposite position, he was already a step too late.

His stance was completely shattered as he tried to stop Aoi from dribbling past his side.

Furthermore, he attempted to quickly recover from his lost balance and thus…

He fell to the ground.

His butt landed, biting him with pain.

A shadow soon towered over him.

When he turned around, he tilted his head upward and met Aoi's peremptory stare.

A crawl ran down his spine.

Furthermore, his heart seemed to have become submissive under those pitch-black eyes.

Aoi was just casually standing while stepping over the ball and looking down at Ogata with a condescending gaze.

His Ego was slowly building up.

[Ding! You have shown Egoistic Behavior!

You have been rewarded with the staggering 7 Ego Points!]

As he was enjoying the ecstatic feeling, he was stunned to see Ogata shivering in fear.

He thought he was dreaming, but when he saw Ogata's terrified eyes… he was certain.

Ogata feared him.

An uncanny feeling slowly swallowed him, filled with guilt, yet… despite this, he felt pleasure.

Aoi's ego surged.

However, this was only the beginning.