Chapter 605: New Season, Same Hiro

Something strange, something ethereal began to take place the moment the screen displayed 100. For unknown reasons, Ken started glowing.

Dazzling light shot forth from his body, startling him in the process.

“What… What is happening to me?” Ken shuddered.

Ken’s heart rate spiked to an unbelievable rate while at the same time, he started gasping.

Everything felt strange and terrifying at the same time. He couldn’t tell what was happening. Strangely enough, he couldn’t feel anything either.

Even though he was glowing, he didn’t feel anything at all.

The strange phenomenon lasted for a brief moment before the light disappeared.

[Integration Completed!]

********

The stadium was a cauldron of emotion resonating with the excited cheer of the fans. Finally, after a long wait, they were able to witness the match.

For Kawasaki Frontale, it was the first match of the new season.

Many people were drawn to the match due to Hiro’s soaring popularity. They wanted to witness the magic of the little magician firsthand.

Hence, there was a surge of crowds at the venue.

Even the season tickets had already been sold out in the very first hour after it was released to the general public.

After a short wait, the players walked out of the tunnel.

In today’s match, Kawasaki was facing Kashiwa Reysol.

While the players prepared to start the match, the big LED screen lit up with the names of the players, displaying the formation of the teams participating in the match.

Hiro calmly looked ahead of him.

[Season Quest]

[Play more than 25 games] freewebnovel.cσ๓

[Score more than 20 goals]

[Provide more than 15 assists]

[Create more than 100 key passes]

[Maintain an average match rating of 7.5 or higher]

[Win 10 or more MOTM]

[Win the league]

[Reward on completion: 5000 points, Exclusive “Rising Star” bundle, and Universal Tongue (S)]

[Failure: None]

Hiro complacently stared at the screen. It was the first time, he had been presented with such a seasonal quest.

The notification regarding the quest had rung the moment he had stepped out of the tunnel. Looking at the quest, Hiro couldn’t help but salivate at the reward.

Especially, the talent of “Universal Tongue” fueled his desire to complete the quest.

[Universal Tongue (S)]

[Description: Shortens the time taken to learn a language and helps improve the pronunciation]

If he could shorten the time taken to learn a language wouldn’t he be able to learn any language with ease? Hiro couldn’t help but feel enticed.

That’d be extremely beneficial to him.

And it’d definitely come in handy in his future endeavors.

Especially, since he was still struggling with Spanish. If he could possess this talent, it’d make

it a lot easier for him in his next destination.

The first four conditions didn’t concern him. But the latter three were a little concerning.

Especially, the condition to average a match rating of 7.5 or more per game.

Even excellent players have worst days and Hiro wasn’t an exception to that rule.

So, he couldn’t help but feel worried about it.

He could have a fabulous season but if he messes even a single game, he would fail the quest. Wasn’t it too extreme of a condition?

But against the condition presented by the system, he was entirely helpless. Even if he wailed or complained he couldn’t change the outcome.

‘Sigh… Seems like I can only be careful.’

Hiro sighed as he resigned himself to his fate.

While the speakers were bombarding the introduction of the players, somebody rushed to the

field holding the MVP award that was presented to Hiro some weeks ago.

Hiro and the club had already talked about it. So, he wasn’t surprised.

He walked to the person and grabbed the award. Then he lifted the award high up, showcasing

it to the general public while the announcer commented on the situation.

The crowd went wild as they began to congratulate and applaud Hiro.

This scenario was pre-prepared by the club. So, he couldn’t shy away even if he wanted to.

The supporters of Kawasaki were extremely elated to see him lifting the trophy, sharing the moment with the fans.

They were pleased and jubilant.

Their homegrown talent had gone on to become a megastar. Some people followed him from his youth days on the stands.

Overwhelmed by emotion, many were even on the verge of tearing.

With rumors regarding the foreign club approaching Hiro, they couldn’t help but feel

threatened to lose Hiro the next season.

Although nothing had been made public yet, some had already accepted the reality that it

might be Hiro’s very last season with the club.

So, they wanted to savor this moment to the fullest.

The cheer of the crowd grew even louder with each passing moment. Some of them were even bowing their head out of appreciation.

After the short event ended, Hiro and the rest got to their position to kickstart the match.

Ono who was on the bench looked at his previous teammates. He felt a little damp looking at

them.

Beep!

The match commenced.

In today’s match, Hiro had slightly altered his position. He had moved further up on the field, playing as a shadow striker.

The more appropriate term for the position he played today would be a false 9.

Immediately after the opposing players initiated the kickoff, the players of Kawasaki charged ahead, pressuring the opposing team from the get-go.

The opposition wasn’t expecting the pressure to be so intense from the get-go. They were caught off guard, which led them to lose the ball almost immediately after the kickoff.

“Goal!”

It had only been nine seconds since the start of the match. Yet the opposing team already

conceded the goal.

Their manager looked at the field in disbelief.

The crowd although puzzled for a brief moment was already celebrating.

Even the commentator was at a loss for words. The match had only begun yet the ball was

already inside the Kashiwa’s post.

“Goal! Ah, goal….” the commentator exclaimed in disbelief.

“What a way to kickstart the match. Kawasaki takes the lead with an accurate shot from Hiro

in less than ten seconds.”