I woke up with a gasp, my hand shooting out to grab the floating blue box in front of me. My fingers went through it, finding only empty air. It was still there. The Momentum System. It hadn't been a dream.
A quick check of the status screen confirmed it. Name: Kai. Rank: Unranked. MP: 0. A wave of nervous energy washed over me. For the first time in years, the future wasn't a solid, gray wall. It was a fog, and this system was my flashlight.
One week until tryouts.
The thought was a drumbeat in my head. I had a system, yes, but my stats were still garbage. The system notification was clear: I needed to earn Attribute Points. To do that, I needed to earn Momentum Points. And the system was very specific about how to get those.
"MP is generated by successfully executing and chaining together high-efficiency actions during periods of intense activity…"
Intense activity. The heat of battle.
I couldn't just go to the official school arena. Practice was over, and I'd be kicked out in a second. I needed a place where no one would see me, where no one would care. A place where a ghost could practice.
An image popped into my head. Court 7.
It was an old public Aetherball court on the industrial edge of the city. The kind of place the shiny, corporate-sponsored league wanted everyone to forget existed. Its gravity projectors probably flickered, and the energy shields were likely cracked. It was perfect.
An hour later, I was there. The air tasted of rust and decay. The walls were covered in faded graffiti, old team logos, and angry slurs against the pro league. Court 7 was even worse than I remembered. The zero-g field was weak; I felt slightly heavier than I should. The floor plates were scuffed and grimy. It was a forgotten relic.
In one corner, covered in a dusty tarp, was exactly what I was looking for. An old 'Rebound-Pro' training drone. It was a simple machine, little more than an auto-pitcher that could be programmed for basic return shots. For a kid with no one to practice with, it was a godsend.
I managed to power it on. The drone hummed to life with a sad, rattling sound. I set it to the slowest speed, a simple chest-high shot. This was it. My first test.
"Okay, System," I whispered to the empty court. "Let's dance."
The drone fired. A slow, wobbling ball of Aether floated towards me. I sidestepped it easily. It splattered against the wall behind me. I waited.
My MP count remained stubbornly at 0.
"Okay. A single action isn't enough," I reasoned. "The system said 'chaining'."
The drone fired again. I dodged. Then I lunged back into position. Nothing. I tried blocking the next one. My form was sloppy, and the impact sent a jarring vibration up my arm. Still nothing.
I spent the next hour doing the same thing. Dodge, block, move. A hundred times. A thousand. Sweat poured down my face, my muscles ached, but the number in the top of my vision never changed. Zero.
Frustration started to boil in my gut. What was I doing wrong? Was the system broken? Was I not good enough for even my own private glitch?
I slumped against the wall, my chest heaving. "High-efficiency," I muttered, the words tasting like failure. "What does that even mean?"
I closed my eyes, and my mind drifted back to the Northwood game. To Elara. The way she moved. It wasn't just that she passed the ball. It was how. There was no wasted motion. Her body was perfectly aligned. When she dodged, she didn't leap five feet to the side; she shifted her center of gravity just enough for the shot to miss by a millimeter. It was… efficient.
It wasn't about doing the move. It was about doing it perfectly.
A new sense of clarity washed over me. The system wasn't a lenient coach. It was a ruthless judge. It didn't want effort. It wanted perfection.
I stood up, took a deep breath, and faced the drone again. This time, I didn't watch the drone itself. I watched the energy gathering in its barrel. I saw the trajectory it would take before it even fired. I didn't think. I just… knew.
The drone fired.
I didn't leap. I tilted my torso, a small, fluid motion. The Aether ball zipped past my ear, so close I could feel the heat. It missed by a hair's breadth.
A soft ping echoed in my mind. A blue notification appeared.
[Perfect Dodge Executed. Chain: 1. +1 MP]
My breath caught in my throat. One point. One point! It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The number in my HUD ticked up: MP: 1/100.
I grinned, a wide, delirious grin. "Again," I shouted at the drone.
It fired. I saw the path. I executed another perfect, millimeter-close dodge.
Ping.[Perfect Dodge Executed. Chain: 2. +2 MP]
Two more points! The reward was cumulative. The longer the chain, the more points per action. My grin widened. MP: 3/100.
The drone fired its third shot. This time, it was faster. I didn't dodge. I stood my ground, angled my forearm, and let the ball hit my Aether Gear's shield. I absorbed the impact perfectly, not moving back an inch. All the energy dissipated without affecting my stance.
Ping.[Perfect Block Executed. Chain: 3. +3 MP]
Three more points. MP: 6/100. I was on a roll. I could feel it now, a rhythm. My body and mind were in sync. This was the flow state I had only ever read about.
The drone's programming shifted. Its next shot was faster, aimed lower. It was trying to catch me off guard.
But I was already moving. I slid under it, my hand grazing the floor, and popped back up on the other side. A perfect slide. But was it good enough?
The system was silent.
I broke the chain. My heart sank. I was too slow. Too flashy. It wasn't efficient.
"No," I growled, refocusing. "I can do this."
I had to start the chain over. I took a breath. Dodge. +1 MP. My total was now 7. Block. +2 MP. My total was 9. The next successful action would give me at least 3 points.
The drone whirred, its internal gears shifting. It was unleashing its fastest programmed shot, a powerful blast aimed dead center. It was a Jax-style shot. All power.
My mind raced. A simple block wouldn't be efficient enough. A dodge might break my stance. I needed something else. The move came to me from a textbook, a basic but tricky maneuver for high-level players. A 'Kinetic Reversal'.
The ball of light shot towards me.
Instead of just blocking, I met it with my palm, my Aether Gear flaring. At the exact moment of impact, I twisted my wrist and pushed the energy down, redirecting it into the floor plate beneath me. The plate glowed for a second and then faded. The ball's energy was gone. Neutralized in one single, fluid, dangerous motion.
A new sound chimed in my head. It was richer, more resonant.
[Kinetic Reversal Executed. Flawless Efficiency. Chain: 3. +4 MP]
Then another notification immediately followed.
[Momentum Chain Complete. Total MP Gained: 7. Current MP: 10/100]
Wait. Ten? I looked back at the log. 1 + 2 + 4... my last chain was 7 points. But my old total was 3. Something was wrong with my math. No... the system had reset my chain when I failed the slide. My first successful chain was for 6 MP. I failed. My second chain started from scratch. 1 + 2 + 4 is 7. Wait, I'm an idiot. My first chain was 1 + 2 + 3 = 6. I failed. Second chain started. 1 point. Total: 7. Third chain. 1 + 2 = 3. Total: 9. One more point... wait...
I shook my head, my brain was fried. I looked at the number again. 10. That's all that mattered. I had ten Momentum Points.
I was exhausted, my body felt like jelly, but I was electric. I had done it. I had earned my first taste of power. It wasn't given to me. It wasn't a gift. I earned it.
My eyes drifted to the menu in my vision. And for the first time, I noticed that one of the greyed-out words was now glowing with a soft, inviting, blue light.
Analyze