The morning air was crisp as Takeshi stood outside his house with his suitcase, trying to burn the image into his memory. Three weeks. That's all. But it felt like he was leaving forever.
"Promise me you'll call every day," his mother whispered, tears streaming down her face.
Why does this feel like goodbye forever?
"Every day, Mom. I promise."
She hugged him tight, and for a moment he was just an eight-year-old boy scared of leaving home.
His teammates had come to see him off. Hiroshi looked miserable.
"Don't forget us when you become a superstar," he muttered.
"Idiot. I'm coming back in three weeks."
But even as he said it, something felt different. Like he was crossing a line he couldn't uncross.
Then she appeared.
Akari walked up to the group, her school bag slung over her shoulder. She must have made a detour on her way to school.
She came to say goodbye.
"Takeshi-kun," she said softly. "I wanted to wish you luck."
The world seemed to stop.
"Take care of yourself. And remember, sometimes the biggest victories aren't the ones everyone sees."
What does that mean?
Before he could ask, she smiled that smile that haunted his dreams and walked away.
"Three weeks," he said to himself. "I'll come back stronger."
For her. For everyone.
...
The car ride to the airport started quietly, but then something incredible happened.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
RANK UPDATE: BEGINNER CLASS E
STATUS: AJAX TRAINING CAMP INITIATED
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
His breath caught.
Beginner Class E? After everything I've achieved?
NEW QUESTS AVAILABLE:
⚡ Complete 3-Week Ajax Training Camp [0/21 days]
⚡ Survive Elite Competition (6 participants, 1 selection)
⚡ Reach Beginner Class C before return
⚡ ??? [HIDDEN QUEST - LOCKED]
REWARD: Advanced Technical Mastery
PENALTY FOR FAILURE: System Shutdown
System shutdown? What the hell does that mean?
TIME REMAINING UNTIL YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP: 21 DAYS
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The countdown timer appeared in the corner of his vision, ticking down relentlessly.
21 days to transform completely.
"Son, you look pale," his father said, glancing in the rearview mirror. "Having second thoughts?"
You have no idea.
"Just nervous."
"That's normal. Fear means it matters." His father's voice was steady. "But remember you earned this. That scout didn't pick you by accident."
He picked me because I'm different. But how different are the others?
...
The flight to Amsterdam felt endless. His father spent most of it giving advice about staying focused, eating properly, remembering his values.
"Three weeks isn't long, but it can change everything," his father said as they descended. "Come back the same good kid you are now. Just stronger."
I can't promise that, Dad. I don't think anyone stays the same after this.
Erik was waiting at arrivals, holding a sign with Takeshi's name. Back in professional mode, all smiles and reassurance.
"Welcome to Amsterdam, Takeshi! Ready to begin your journey?"
The goodbye with his father was brutal. Watching him walk away through security, trusting this stranger with his son, not knowing what Erik really was.
I'm alone now.
"Come on, kid," Erik said, his smile slightly too wide. "Time to meet your competition."
Here we go.
...
Walking through Schiphol Airport, Takeshi's eyes darted everywhere. The foreign signs, the different faces, the realization that he was further from home than he'd ever been.
"So when do I meet the other five?" he asked.
Erik's smile grew predatory. "Sooner than you think."
That's when he saw her.
She was sitting in a café area, casually juggling a football with her feet while reading a book. Not just juggling, the ball moved like it was attached to invisible strings. Every touch was perfect, effortless, like gravity was optional.
That's not normal.
She looked about nine, with blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. But something about her presence felt ancient. Dangerous.
Erik noticed him staring. "Ah, you spotted her. That's Elsa. From Norway."
Elsa. One of the five.
"She any good?"
Erik's laugh was cold. "She scored 127 goals in 30 matches this season. Against boys' teams two years older."
127 goals? That's impossible.
The girl Elsa looked up from her book. Their eyes met across the terminal.
For a split second, Takeshi felt like he was staring at a predator.
Then she smiled and went back to reading.
These are the monsters I have to compete against.
"Come on," Erik said. "Let's keep moving."
But they'd barely taken ten steps when Erik stopped again.
"And there's another one."
A tall Black boy was doing pushups near the gate area. Not normal pushups—one-handed pushups. With perfect form. People were staring.
He looked maybe ten years old but had the physique of a teenager. Each rep was controlled, powerful, like he was warming up rather than working out.
No eight-year-old should be that strong.
The boy finished his set and stood up, stretching. His eyes swept the terminal and landed on Takeshi.
The stare was challenging. Measuring.
He knows I'm competition.
"That's Kwame," Erik said softly. "From Lagos. Fastest kid I've ever timed. Stronger than most teenagers."
Kwame nodded at Takeshi... not friendly, not hostile. Just acknowledging a rival.
If these are just two of them, what are the other three like?
"Impressed yet?" Erik asked.
Terrified is more like it.
"They're... skilled."
"Skilled?" Erik laughed. "Kid, these aren't normal children. None of you are."
The way he said it sent chills down Takeshi's spine.
What does he know about us?
...
The drive through Amsterdam should have been exciting, his first time in Europe, the canals and old buildings, the Ajax stadium in the distance.
Instead, all he could think about were Elsa's impossible ball control and Kwame's inhuman strength.
I thought I was special. But compared to them...
[SYSTEM UPDATE]
QUEST PROGRESS: Arrive in Amsterdam [✓]
WARNING: Competition analysis suggests significant skill gap
RECOMMENDATION: Accelerated training required
Thanks for the pep talk, system.
"Having doubts?" Erik asked, watching him in the mirror.
"Just processing."
"Good. Doubt keeps you sharp. Overconfidence gets you eliminated."
Eliminated. Not defeated. Eliminated.
The Ajax training facility loomed ahead, modern buildings, perfectly manicured pitches, the kind of place dreams were made.
Or broken.
Erik parked and turned around, his professional mask slipping just enough to show the predator underneath.
"Welcome to hell, kid."
The sinister smile was back.
"Training starts tomorrow at 5 AM. Don't be late. The other three will arrive tonight."
Four more. Jesus.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
QUEST UPDATED: SURVIVE DAY 1
DIFFICULTY: EXTREME
TIME REMAINING: 10 hours, 23 minutes
Takeshi stepped out of the car and looked up at the facility. Somewhere in there, five other "special" children were preparing for three weeks of competition.
Only one of us gets selected.
The others...
He didn't want to think about what happened to the others.
21 days to level up from Beginner Class E to good enough to beat genetic freaks.
What have I gotten myself into?
The system countdown timer ticked relentlessly in the corner of his vision.
20 days, 23 hours, 47 minutes.
Time to find out what I'm really made of.
TO BE CONTINUED...