Element of Surprise

The blue-haired boy didn't annoy him anymore. Dennis could eat in peace and devour the one-pointer dish. He could save the points for luxurious items such as a bed and the smartphone they confiscated at the entrance. But he wasn't really out of his comfort zone; he could live without the phone, obviously.

Neither was he happy nor sad; this project was a kind of entertainment. The German felt as if he were in some movie or fiction, and the feeling of being far away from his daily duties made it even more satisfying. He could concentrate on football, and this was truly a dream come true. He had no idea he'd have so much time for football before.

There was school, there were tutors, and there was a mother that usually took some of his team for daily chores. "Man, I need to get my phone back or mom might be worried sick about me." Still, she was a true mother who stayed true to her own and her son's ideals, supporting his wish to become a footballer. "And probably also my uncle..."

His uncle was the one to get him into football, and he was a professional in his day as well, playing for one of the most well-known clubs in the world currently. He wasn't a striker; he was a middle fielder, but he was the main motivation for Dennis to start playing football and eventually reach the professional level.

The German, still in the cafeteria, looked up to see the sign with the prices of the items they could exchange. To be honest, the cost of the smartphone is three points, which a striker should be able to earn by scoring three goals. An easy task, considering he scored two goals today while playing defense.

He couldn't care less about what others will do; he will definitely score. Not sure if they are even capable, but this is definitely a reality slap from Ego. Yes, Dennis approved this side of the project. To receive something, you must score goals first. After all, this is the striker's job.

'Alright, time to go.' Dennis left the cafeteria, leaving it completely silent as nobody was there anymore. He had some plans first.

Watching the footage in the monitoring room to view different teams play and finishing the review in an hour or so. He was mostly interested in Team V since they were able to beat their opponents with such a difference in goals. How exactly did they play? 'Well, I'm going to watch it today.'

… … …

The room was quiet, meaning nobody was inside. Dennis entered and saw a giant screen at the front with several personal computers at the side. They were all turned on, and from a distance, he could already say there was special software written for the computers; of course, nobody should be able to cheat the confiscation of the smartphones.

"Hmm, let's see what we have here." Dennis sat down in front of one of the computers and immediately noticed multiple video files right on the desktop. He grabbed the mouse and clicked the one having a current date and the name "Team V - Team Y."

Instead of the video being played on the computer screen, the giant screen hanging on the wall turned on and displayed the footage. The video screen was split into several sections, showing the different angles of the football field. 'Convenient and not at the same time. Do I have to control this with a remote controller?'

The small remote controller was present. Thankfully, it's worth struggling with the controller, as with this screen, Dennis would be able to scan every play from almost every angle. 'Let's see what is special about Team V.'

He didn't waste time and instantly skipped the video to the part where the match started. The first to kick off was Team Y, and just like them, they were not so well prepared for the match. Their beginning was even worse than theirs. Chaotic and scrambled, there was no teamwork visible in their play. 'Well, it's just the beginning of the match.'

Several players moved off the ball to get into better positions, but their efforts went unnoticed because they were completely ignored by their teammates. 'The number 9 and the number 7—their positioning is good. Trying to calm their teammates down, attempting actual plays…' Noting those two players, Dennis turned to the defending side.

Team V, on the other hand, was different, but in a special way; they had defined positions and seemed to play attacking football more than defensive football. Their two players were already in front of the opponent's box. For them, it didn't take much to steal the ball, as Team Y's uncoordinated game resulted in the loss of possession.

The player with light purple hair with the ball at his feet didn't pass and moved on his own to the opponent's box. 'Box-to-box midfielder, definitely.' The guy who was numbered nine had great defensive skills, and no offensive player has such. His steal was easy, and he also moved past the opponents just as easily.

'This guy, he is to be watched out for. His endurance must be on point if they wish to play in high formation.' To run from box to box and dribble the ball at the same time, it's one hell of a job, to be honest. Purple-head must be a monster just like Raichi. 'And look at their expressions, haha.'

Team V was unbothered by the match. The number eleven didn't have an expression that showed any interest in football, to be honest. But he was at the front, meaning he must have been placed there by his teammates. Another one to be noted was number ten, which was waiting for the pass at the side…

"Huh. What about others?" It just didn't make sense at first—others weren't participating in the attack or what? They weren't hurrying to fill the open spots. "They must have used some element of surprise. This is just idi-" Dennis closed his mouth after seeing the purple-haired boy kick the ball.

'What the fuck was he trying?' The trajectory of the football wasn't even correct, plus there was only one of his teammates in the box; this seemed like a completely idiotic move. At least until the moment, the white-haired boy jumped like Michael Jordan in his prime, besides displaying elasticity even better than most gymnasts.

Dennis gasped upon seeing this. The boy was high in the air, and Dennis is unsure if he can replicate this. He is too massive to do that. Also, the control was brilliant; the white-haired boy caught the ball on the tip of his right foot, and it just stopped on it in mid-air. 'His vertical leap is unbelievable with those feet. He has explosive legs, and his body weight is also very low since he is so thin… no wonder.'

And by catching the opponents off-guard, the number eleven scored an easy goal. 'He is the one.' After watching the game between the other teams, Dennis concluded that they would have to try to stop this guy; others could be managed more or less.

It was unfortunate that he couldn't see much of the second team, specifically the Y team. They were like lab rats thrown into an experiment, unable to do anything to turn everything around. They weren't let by their opponents. 'Because our next game isn't against Team V, I can think of something for them to do in the meantime... Team Y is our next enemy.'

The information he collected is useful for the match. Dennis can already guess the style these guys play with. The number eleven is sort of lazy; during the match, he hadn't been moving around the field at all but waited for others to pass to him. He only then scored with his athletic abilities.

The guy with the number-ten shirt and sports glasses was a speedy guy; his acceleration was rapid. But from Dennis's observation, the dude couldn't maintain his speed for a large distance. His speed fell after covering a certain amount of distance.

The purple-haired… He can't say much yet; either the dude wasn't trying to score a goal or he just couldn't. This dude never stopped looking around for his teammates; he rarely dribbled, and always... ALWAYS searched for the white-haired boy. Their chemistry was also an important part.

As for their next opponents, Dennis wouldn't even worry about them. Their play was absolutely terrific. In Europe, it didn't matter what team you were playing against, getting scored eight goals was just humiliating. 'All of them were strikers, and they couldn't even score one.' Truly a shameful thing to watch.

He was about to get up and leave the observation room when someone else knocked on the wall, alerting Dennis of his presence. "I expected to see you here, have you already viewed the match of our opponents?"

"Oh, Kuon?" The German looked behind him to see his tall, brown-haired teammate standing at the entrance of the room. "I did, actually, and got pretty excited at the thought of playing against Team V. They are no joke if they improve even more."

The brown-haired guy took a step into the room and put the hand on his hips while looking at the giant screen. The replay was still on, and the attacking football that Team V played mesmerized him.

"Oh well, I already watched and won't bother you. Go ahead, take a seat." He finally got up after saying this and walked toward Kuon. He tapped him on the shoulder and was about to take a step outside the room.

"Hey, Dennis. Can we have a talk?" Kuon's eyes were always closed, almost, making it impossible for his German teammate to guess what he was really on about. How did his parents know if he was asleep or awake at night? "It's about our team, of course. Don't think something weird." He smiled reassuringly and waved his hands.

Dennis didn't even consider something weird, but just nodded nonetheless and asked, "Yeah, what is it?" "Hmm, what

do you think of our team? Do you think it will go far in this project? Currently, we are doing great, I would say. Everyone is so motivated." His question wasn't out of place. Wataru must have been bothered by the team since they got off to such a bad start. He actually seemed like an intelligent individual, unlike some.

Their first win… to be honest, doesn't mean much, as they could still lose others, regardless, and the possibilities of that were low. Their play in the second half was something else, and as Dennis said, their coordination could use some work, but for the first time, they played goddamn well.

They had one thing that others didn't have yet—a better defensive mechanism than others. They formed a proper one late in the game, and there were no goals after. The strikers slowly adapted and took their defensive positions seriously. They learned a lot in this game. 'I guess, thanks to Barou.'

"We will definitely—I have no doubt. Just look at the gameplay; I don't see anything tough in Team Y. Well work hard, prepare for team V too, and win just like that." It was easier said than done, but they had time, and they could use that.

Wataru sighed. "Do you think it will be that easy?"

"No, I don't think it will be easy. I say we will win with certainty. Their team doesn't look good at the moment, while ours does, so just do your best out there. As a matter of fact, nobody here wishes to lose; otherwise, they'll be kicked out." Dennis's words emitted confidence. As if the brilliant leader had said it, Wataru's nervousness was washed away.

"I guess the nervousness got me there. Sorry for asking a stupid question, it's just that the previous team I played with was, let's say, not like this one."

Dennis nodded in understanding, "I see, I see…Want to come with me to the field and juggle the football? I feel like you'll benefit from this."

Wataru raised an eyebrow. The German couldn't understand how easily this guy could change his expression with closed eyes, but it just worked. The Japanese were confused for sure, most likely because of the time he said this. "We won't be running or anything, just simple freestyle."

"Uh, sure, I guess."