Chapter 1
-I am the lightning amidst the raindrops, and the dark mist and clouds-
In the next five years, how do you see yourself?
I feel like I've been hearing this type of question a lot lately. What can I say? Personally, I think it's a good question. Even if, in the end, the person asking sells courses on how to adjust your mindset to get rich or tries to recruit you for direct sales, it's still an interesting question.
This question makes me ponder what I am like now, what I will do in the future, and what will happen to me.
It's like an indirect psychological trick to encourage you to live your best life now, and the future you imagine will come true.
But when I tried to think of an answer to this question, I felt so depressed that my spirits sank. Because the image of despair in my future, I see and perceive it clearly.
Getting beaten up by the protagonist from the first encounter, having the bald guy steal the supporting role until I become a patient extra whose only job is to set up jokes, getting my legs broken mercilessly by enemies, being used as a punching bag by the main boss of the first arc while waiting for the protagonist to finish the job. When a new arc begins, I get blown up by a low-level demon's suicide attack, get my guts ripped out by a cyborg, have my love life thwarted by a popular villain, enter the dark side to level up my power, but in the end, I still lose to the protagonists.
All of that is what will happen to 'Assral', a character from the game G.O.A.T TRICKS.
Why is the fate of a character who was once the first villain of the story so miserable? Even though it sounds pitiful, I can't help but laugh. What kind of crazy person would be that unlucky?
This character's patheticness led to the meme "Assral, the Great Punching Bag God," making people laugh all over the country. I'm one of those who burst out laughing every time I see a meme of this character.
Uh, I'm not getting off-topic here. I'm not being chuunibyou about my own fate becoming like a game character either. Who would want to be a punching bag character like that? But it's really like that. All of that is what will happen to me in the next five years.
Why, you ask? Because I have now become that character.
I've become 'Assral'!!
I don't remember what happened or how it happened.
Like, I woke up in an unfamiliar room with a headache, and when I saw my face in the mirror, I immediately had a past life recollection.
I don't remember much about my previous life or identity, but I vaguely recall being a vocational student. The memories of Assral's body are also not fully remembered. It's as if the two memories are clashing, making everything a mess, to the point where I barely know which one is my true self.
But in any case, I'm confident that I am now Assral, and the world I'm in now is the game G.O.A.T TRICKS.
It's truly miserable.
Of all the characters in the game I could have become, why did it have to be this punching bag guy?!
Damn it, I can see the painful fate coming from a mile away. I'd rather be a background extra who just walks by, or even a villain who appears once and then is gone. That would be better.
Assral, even though he's a main character in G.O.A.T TRICKS, in reality, his only job is to be a comedic punching bag for people to laugh at and for villains to show off their cruelty.
G.O.A.T TRICKS
It's the name of a super-powered football game that was so popular it became legendary in my previous life.
In a world where football is so popular it can determine the fate of the world, the story begins with the protagonist, who loves football, embarking on a journey to train and pursue his dream of becoming the strongest footballer.
Of course, along the way, whether good or bad, our protagonist gets involved in many stories. The first obstacle or enemy of the protagonist is Assral, a spoiled delinquent from an old football club, which is me now.
It's a typical formula. The protagonist will easily subdue delinquents like me. But after that, we don't become allies. Assral still resents the protagonist, but then there will be a reason for them to cooperate and overcome all obstacles.
(Don't call it cooperation. Assral's only role is to get hit by a special move and fall over.)
Finally, the protagonist will gather allies to deal with all the villains and successfully become the strongest football team in the world.
It sounds fun and simple enough.
But don't forget! This is a super-powered football game!!Or rather, the level of extravagance in the football kicks in this story has reached a miraculous level. The power scale has gone beyond space. Every time a kick is wound up, the world seems about to break. Everyone in this story has a special power called NEX, which has universal bragging properties. The characters in the story will develop, train, and use this special power to create skills or ultimate moves for use in football.
Of course, when the game sets up the power scale like this, it's bound to be explosive and destructive, like blowing up mountains and burning down huts.
The protagonist's first ultimate move is called "Shooting Fire." Doesn't the name alone sound formidable? If you actually see the protagonist use it, you'll feel even more.
It starts by unleashing power to create a fiery aura covering the entire body. Then, the protagonist jumps into the sky, and upon reaching a height of about eight meters, performs a spinning volley kick of the ball in mid-air.
When the ball shoots towards the net, the fiery aura covering the ball explodes, hitting everyone in its path. Those hit by the aura will feel as if they are being scorched by flames, falling prostrate on the ground. According to the story, when Assral and his subordinates are hit by this move, they all roll and slide to lie flat on the ground.
Which means that one day, I will face that Shooting Fire shot.
I know it won't be fatal, but still...