23 Chapter 23: The First Match Ends
The score in the first half already became 3-1, coupled with the huge gap between the two team captains, the game gradually turned into a one-sided situation in the second half.
Just as Kira Ryosuke expected, Baro Shoei in the second half completely focused on his own attack, without considering passing the ball to his teammates. The others could only accompany him in running back and forth.
Although Baro Shoei possesses outstanding individual skills, his offensive efficiency is very low in the face of the heavy marking from Team Z. Even though he managed to score a goal, it consumed a significant amount of possession and time, and the difficulty of receiving passes from his teammates also increased. He would loudly criticize his teammates for their incompetence.
"Can you guys do something useful for once?"
"Pass the ball! Give it to me!"
"You are all just servants, do you hear me? I am the king on the field!"
This made the atmosphere within Team X even worse, and Baro Shoei's relationship with his teammates plummeted to an all-time low.
Many teammates became frustrated as well. If they were leading, they would have no hesitation in passing the ball to Baro Shoei. But now, with a significant deficit, the situation was completely different.
The outcome of this match was already determined, and the remaining games were unpredictable in terms of victory or defeat. Each player couldn't help but think about another qualification rule, which is becoming the top scorer within the team.
Baro Shoei has already scored a goal, and in order to compete for the qualification, they could only try to score more goals than Baro Shoei.
Therefore, they no longer passed the ball to Baro Shoei and instead chose to attack on their own. However, their abilities were limited, and each person was vying for scoring opportunities. The entire team once again resembled the chaotic and disorganized state from before.
"You useless servants!"
Baro Shoei was infuriated by his teammates' choices, but he was powerless.
On the other hand, the Z team, led by Kira Ryosuke, grew stronger as the battle continued.
Having had sufficient rest, Kira Ryosuke not only utilized his full concentration to execute the Thunderclap Flash technique and score two points again in the second half, but he also created brilliant passes to provide opportunities for his teammates, further gaining the team's trust and bringing together the eleven individuals who had only known each other for a few days into a collective unit.
In the final moments of the game, it essentially turned into garbage time, and the score ultimately settled at 8-3.
As the final whistle sounded, veins bulged on Baro Shoei's forehead, as if they were about to burst through his skin. His face also turned red due to the intense physical exertion and anger within him. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, nothing came out. He left the field with an expression full of anger.
There was no conversation among the other members of Team X, and suffocating silence enveloped them.
On the other hand, on the side of Team Z, the crowd surrounded Kira Ryosuke:
"Amazing, Kira! How did you manage to score that goal?"
"So powerful! When that guy named Baro scored the first goal to equalize, I got scared, but you acted quickly!"
"Hail Kira! King Kira!"
The crowd cheered for Kira Ryosuke, as this was their first official match in the Blue lock, and the outcome was crucial.
...
"8-3 an unexpected score."
The match ended, and Ego Jinpachi was repeatedly reviewing the details of the game that had just taken place.
He did not expect that Team X would lose the game by such a wide margin.
"When the Blue lock plan was just implemented, I thought the team with Baro Shoei would be able to defeat Team Z. I didn't expect it to turn out like this."
Ego Jinpachi leaned back in his chair, gently stroking his chin with one hand.
As he expected, Baro Shoei, with his remarkable abilities, successfully transformed Team x from nothing to something, bringing the team together.
However, shortly after, their team collapsed once again because Baro Shoei was too focused on individual play.
Though uncertain, Ego Jinpachi had a bold speculation in his mind.
From start to finish, Kira Ryosuke was guiding Baro Shoei's actions, luring him into a cycle of continuous attacks, and then starting the offensive again himself, providing assists to his teammates. In stark contrast, Team Z became more united, while Team X crumbled once again.
All of this was perhaps orchestrated by Kira Ryosuke. He manipulated the entire game like a puppeteer, and even his passes to his teammates served a purpose beyond scoring.
"It's just a speculation and not confirmed..."
Ego Jinpachi pushed his glasses and muttered to himself.
"If it's true, there might be a terrifying monster imprisoned in the Blue lock... He has been hiding his fangs all along, and I failed to see through it."
...
"Awesome, Kira!"
Amidst the cheers and gathering of the crowd, Kira Ryosuke returned to the room where Team Z was located. Raichi was among the loudest shouting:
"That pass was incredible! Let's keep winning like this!"
"Yeah."
Kira Ryosuke nodded and smiled in response.
[Congratulations! You've earned 80 Competitiveness points.]
"As expected, official matches yield significantly more Competitiveness points compared to the previous game of tag, and performance in the match also grants substantial bonuses."
Kira Ryosuke immediately opened the system interface.
[Host: Kira Ryosuke]
[Current Competitiveness Points: 110]
[Current skills:]
[Competitiveness - Thunder Breathing - Full Concentration LV2 Proficiency: 38.07%]
[Competitiveness - Thunder Breathing - Thunderclap Flash LV2 Proficiency: 35.17%]
Using skills in actual combat provides Kira Ryosuke with a substantial increase in proficiency that regular training cannot achieve. However, even though combat provides significant proficiency, regular practice should not be neglected.
Currently, both Full Concentration Breathing and Thunderclap Flash have not reached 100% proficiency, so Kira Ryosuke cannot upgrade them. His gaze continued to move downward.
[Competitiveness: Thunder Breath - Rice Spirit (Locked, Unlock: 100 Competitiveness Points]
[Competitiveness: Thunder Breath - Thunder Swarm (Locked, Unlock: 150 Competitiveness Points, and Rice Spirit already unlocked)]
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