9 The Second Stage

Rafael woke up to Ego's loud voice coming from the speakers.

[The second challenge has ended in all five groups. The teams that won, please proceed to the basement. Also, before you go down, put on your training uniform.]

Rafael got out of bed, yawning, washed his face and put on his training uniform.

Rafael left his room and faced his teammates. After they greeted each other, they entered a long tunnel and emerged into a large room surrounded by four white walls. He noticed the presence of four other teams.

'Why do I only see five teams? I thought Team X and Team Y were supposed to be out, but I see players from both. Didn't Ego say these teams were eliminated?' He thought, raising an eyebrow.

[Isn't it strange that we're only seeing players from the fifth group? Each group has five teams, but with fewer teams like X, W, V, Y, and Z. This setup could boost your confidence and keep things manageable.]

Everyone was surprised because they expected the building to be filled with strong teams like A, B, C, and others, but they were let down.

[The last challenge aimed to improve players from level zero to level one, but this challenge will take you from level one to level one hundred. It's split into five stages, each tougher than the last. To start, look to your left for a portal to the first stage. Complete all five stages, and you'll be ready to compete with the best young players in each of the five major leagues.]

Everyone was initially confused by the upcoming tough challenges. However, when Ego mentioned competing against the world's best talents, their faces lit up. In their minds, they imagined easily defeating these top players and couldn't help but smile foolishly.

Rafael ignored everyone and went to the gate, took the ball from the ball basket in front of the gate and entered.

When he entered the gate, his name appeared on the screen in front of everyone.

"Rafael da Silva?? What the hell is a foreign player with that name doing here?!!" one of the players shouted.

No one answered him, and everyone kept their thoughts to themselves and started moving in order to start the challenge.

Meanwhile, Rafael found himself in a tiny room facing a robot guarding the goal.

'The first stage is to score in the goal and just pass the goalkeeper? that's easy'

He moved forward with the ball and passed the white circle on the grass. When he crossed that circle, he heard an alarm sound and then Ego's voice.

[In this stage, you'll need to score goals against the goalkeeper while staying inside the 10-meter diameter white circle. Make sure you don't step outside the circle.]

Rafael understood the matter and turned to the left to see a screen with words on it.

[Time of the first stage: 80 minutes

Goal: Score 100 goals

If you score 100 goals before time runs out, you can pass to the next stage]

He read the instructions on the screen, then positioned himself behind the ball at the center of the circle. Standing two meters away, he kicked the ball, making it curve smoothly from right to left as it changed direction.

The robot goalkeeper had no chance to stop the ball because it passed so quickly that he did not even see the ball.

Rafael smiled, thinking to himself, 'The goalkeeper can't reach the top corners. I need to score in the top left or right corner'

After 15 minutes, he finished the first stage. He started moving forward in order to pass to the next stage.

In the observation room, Ego sat eating noodles and watched Rafael advance to the second stage with a smile on his face.

Anri said to Ego, "Ego-san, this young man is incredible! Did you see how effortlessly he scored those goals? It's like he's slicing through cakes."

Ego nodded , "He's cooking up some impressive plays out there"

"He handles the ball and scores goals with such skill that it's clear he's a seasoned football player, as if he's been playing for many years," he remarked, adjusting his glasses.

"Yes, that's what I noticed as well. He will definitely become a great player."

On the other side... a room from the first stage, in which was a young man with a calm expression named Rin Itoshi.

While Rin was about to kick the ball, he heard a sound from the screen and turned to it to see that it was a notification about a contestant who had succeeded in the first stage.

[Rafael da Silva: 100 goals in 15:09 minutes]

Ren was shocked by how quickly Rafael completed the stage so quickly, while he still had 10 goals remaining to finish the same stage.

"Is there someone as strong as my brother here?"

Rin frowned because he remembered his brother when they were young. They agreed and promised each other to go professional together in Europe, but his brother left him in Japan and went professionally in Spain to Real Madrid.

"This time, brother, you will regret that you left me and destroyed our dream together. Just wait, I will destroy you like you destroyed me."

Rin completed the first stage of the challenge in 21 minutes and saw a notification on the screen and moved forward and entered the door leading to the next stage.

He opened the door and entered the long corridor. He came out to see Rafael alone in the room.

"You're Rafael, aren't you?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Just so I know your name, because you are strong and I like to challenge the strong. What will we do in the second stage?"

Rafael did not answer him and merely pointed to the door that was written on it [Move forward with a team of three players].

Rafael asked him, "Do you want to be on my team?"

"No. I want to win over you for the sake of my dream. If I win over you, I can win over my brother."

"Is your brother a professional player?"

Rin almost spoke, but his words were interrupted by the entrance of Neji, Ryo, Baro, Isagi, and Bachira, along with a few other people.

Rafael pointed them out and after greeting him invited Nagi and Reo to form a team and they immediately accepted.

They approached the gate and entered it to find a small room consisting of a small playground, about 25 meters long.

They sat there and waited for another team to face.

After waiting five minutes, the team of three, Baro, Niko, and Naruhaya, entered.

Baro stepped forward and stood in front of Rafael, speaking arrogantly as if he hadn't lost in their previous match, "Here we go again."

When Rafael heard this, he thought of a character from some game that was in his previous world, but he ignored this and stood in front of Baro. "You see, yes, this time I will make sure to crush you well."