Three days had passed since they arrived at Blue Lock. From the very first day, those young men had been put through a rigorous training routine.
We see Isagi running on a treadmill. On either side of him were Igaguri and Naruhaya, both struggling to keep up with the machine's pace. However, Isagi seemed to be handling it a bit better than them.
Suddenly, their names were called by a certain explosive blond:
"Isagi, Igaguri!"
The two turned around and saw Raichi running intensely. His face was covered in sweat, but that didn't seem to bother him one bit.
"Is your stamina trash? How do you expect to become the world's greatest striker? Why don't you just go home instead of wasting your time here?"
Instead of replying, Isagi simply kept running.
"Shut up," Igaguri replied—only to vomit on the floor immediately afterward.
[System Expansion: A new attribute has been discovered!]
[Stamina: ??? ⮕ 43]
After the stamina test, the boys were taken to another training location where they had to demonstrate their jumping ability.
Kuon, a tall young man with long hair who always kept his eyes closed, approached Isagi and kindly offered him a bottle of water, which he gratefully accepted.
They had a brief conversation before the test began. Once the whistle blew, it was time to start.
The boys took their positions, and Isagi stood next to Kuon.
When they jumped, Isagi quickly realized the difference in their skill levels.
Isagi had jumped 61 centimeters off the ground—7 centimeters less than Kuon, who jumped 68. It might seem like a small difference… but no, that gap came from years of training.
At Blue Lock, all daily activities are strictly organized into a precise schedule to maximize weekly performance. It was divided mainly into three times: training, eating, and sleeping.
The players received different meals based on their rank. Since Isagi was one of the bottom four, his food was "bad," although still better than the other three.
Isagi and Igaguri took their respective trays and went to sit at the tables. Despite their rocky start on the first day, the two had grown closer in a short time.
At a table further away sat Gagamaru—a boy with wide eyes, long white hair with some black streaks. He was devouring several plates of food and, instead of using chopsticks, ate with his hands.
"I think he was raised by bears," Igaguri guessed, staring while eating his own food normally.
Just as he was about to put a piece of food in his mouth, another boy suddenly appeared, stealing it from Gagamaru's hand and eating it instantly.
"Hey. No. Give that back," Gagamaru asked calmly, politely.
"Oops. Already ate it," the thief replied, walking away while humming, chased immediately by Gagamaru.
"Isagi, hide your food," Igaguri said, shielding his plate with his arms.
"I don't think that's necessary. No one would want our food anyway," Isagi said, continuing to eat.
Finally, it was time to rest—arguably the best moment of the day. Isagi was trying to sleep, but it was proving difficult. His mind raced with thoughts about the system and things that had happened during the day. Not to mention Igaguri, who slept in a weird position that kept disturbing him.
His teammates' superior skills bothered him. It was obvious he had talent, but those guys were on another level.
With growing determination, Isagi got out of bed and headed to the training area.
"No matter how many challenges I face here at Blue Lock... I won't be consumed by jealousy."
As he ran, a ball was kicked at him from behind and hit the back of his neck, making him stop.
When he turned around, he heard someone call out:
"Isagi, are you alone?" asked a voice. From behind him appeared Bachira—the same guy who was sleeping on the floor during the first challenge.
"So, how about we play a little?" he asked, sitting on the ground still wearing his pajamas.
"Oh..." Isagi thought, but then a notification popped up in front of him.
[Legendary Mission!]
[Interception!]
[Condition: Prevent Bachira from successfully dribbling past you.]
[Reward: (Skill) Lv. 1 - Phantom Reading]
System Note: You only need to block one dribble. But it's still a very difficult mission.
Reading the mission details, Isagi thought it would be very tough—being labeled "Legendary" and all. But when he saw he only needed to block one dribble, he relaxed. That is… until that last warning from the system made him second-guess.
They headed straight to Team Z's training center. Once there, they warmed up in their own way and set up cones to create a small area for their game.
Isagi stood in front of Bachira, who had the ball at his feet. Before starting, Isagi decided to ask something.
"Hey, Bachira. Can I ask you something?"
"Hmm? What?"
"When we were playing tag, you didn't seem to care at all. You even landed a kick to Igaguri's face while half-asleep. What was that?"
"Hmm... Oh, that was because of the monster. He watches me all the time. That's how I knew."
The game began, and Bachira calmly approached Isagi, controlling the ball at his feet. Using a pivot move, he shielded the ball with his body.
"But that only happens in soccer matches. The monster tells me everything."
"Stand up. Kick him in the face."
"Argh, I got distracted..." Isagi thought. He had lost focus due to a subtle movement from Bachira, who switched the ball to his other foot, pushing it slightly farther away.
"Do you know why I kicked the ball at you?" Bachira said, not expecting a response.
"He told me… 'There's a monster inside him too'!"
Bachira got past Isagi, nutmegging him and passing the ball between his legs.
"Was he talking about… the system?"
"Obviously. It was pure instinct. I listen to the monster, and that guides my soccer. That's all."
Bachira turned to Isagi, standing a few meters away.
"You can hear it too, can't you? The voice of the monster."
"Actually, yes. But it'd be weird to say that out loud," Isagi thought, deciding to keep it secret.
"Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo... even Noel Noa. All those legends have their own monsters deep in their hearts. That's what proves they're strikers. That's what I believe."
Bachira said this while doing kick-ups with the ball.
"Isagi, that's why I'm glad I came to Blue Lock. Because I got to meet you."
Isagi's eyes widened in surprise at those words, but Bachira spoke again.
"Let's go again."
"He's really good at soccer... but the stuff he says and does... is so confusing."
"Come on," Bachira smiled, inviting Isagi to another round.
"This guy gave me the courage to move forward."
The match restarted. This time, Isagi was smiling. Now he was playing of his own will—not because the system told him to.
With a clumsy tackle, Isagi tried to hit the ball at Bachira's feet, but the boy quickly pulled the ball back. However, Isagi's fingertips managed to barely graze it, knocking it slightly away.
That counts as an unsuccessful dribble, right?
[Mission Complete!]
[Interception!]
[Condition: Prevent Bachira from successfully dribbling past you.]
[Reward: (Skill) Lv. 1 - Phantom Reading]
"I'll look into that later..."
Their game was interrupted by speakers blaring from the ceiling.
{Ding, dong! We've finished compiling the results from the past few days. Please return to your rooms and check your updated rankings.}
"Look, Isagi! I improved a few numbers here! Now I'm ranked 275."
"Looks like you changed too. Look," he pointed to the number near Isagi's shoulder.
"You're right. Now I'm 272."
Boop.
A huge screen lit up in front of the eleven players, showing Ego once again.
"Hello, and good work, rough diamonds. Are you enjoying life at Blue Lock?" he asked, waving his arm slightly.
Immediately, several players voiced their frustration with the intense routine and the living conditions.
"Shitty soccer requires a shitty environment. Got it, bonehead?" Ego replied, irritating Raichi, who had complained about the beds.
"Now, back to Blue Lock. This facility is divided into five fields. We have 25 teams, from Team B to Team Z. Each field houses five teams, all living under the same conditions."
"By the way, 25 players—one from each team—were eliminated after the first challenge. Right now, we have 275 players at Blue Lock."
That scrambled the minds of some of the players, who quickly realized their ranks hadn't really increased—only updated because others had been eliminated.
"Additionally, each team is formed based on the players' rankings. So, Team B includes players ranked 01 to 11, Team C from 12 to 22, and so on."
"As for you, Team Z, you're in the worst field of all—Field 5. The team consists of players ranked from 265 to 275."
"You've gotta be kidding me. I have to play with this trash?" Raichi was the first to complain, angrily turning to his teammates.
"Top players in other fields have the best food and training equipment. It represents the lifestyle of the best strikers."
"This is where the top players live like kings. Win, and you'll all enjoy that lifestyle. That's what Blue Lock is all about."
"You'll see," Raichi said arrogantly, smiling.
"Keep barking," Kunigami, a red-haired boy, replied.
"Let the first selection begin."