The sky hung low and gray above the academy's south pitch. The kind of weather that whispered of rain but never delivered. Leon stood at the edge of the field, stretching quietly as the academy's internal match was about to begin.
Coach Davor's voice boomed across the grass.
"Eyes sharp. This is evaluation day. I want decisions, not just action."
Leon nodded to himself. This wasn't just training anymore — this was about selection. The top performers would get invited to practice matches against outside clubs. Real exposure. Real stakes.
Kael jogged past, nudging Leon with his elbow.
"Try to keep up," he said, a half-smile on his face.
Leon just smirked. "Worry about yourself."
Player: Leon Vale
Level: 2
EXP: 175 / 200
Agile Step Lv. 1 – 18%
Stats:
Dribbling: 49
Passing: 57
Shooting: 42
Vision: 15
Mental: 44
Speed: 50
Stamina: 48
Active Systems:
– Minimap (Basic Mode)
– Agile Step Lv.1
– ZANE-003 Echo: Passive | Sync Drift 3%
Kickoff
The ball moved fast from the first whistle. Leon played central midfield again — the eye of the storm. His vision wasn't broad enough yet to command the entire pitch, but the basic minimap helped within its short radius. It blinked every three seconds, mapping player proximity like sonar.
Kael was on the opposing side this time — again.
By the third minute, Kael sliced through the left flank. Leon anticipated the cut.
Flash.
A moment — not of thought, but knowing.
Leon was already there before Kael had even shifted his weight.
He intercepted, rolled the ball around Kael's leg, and turned defense into a fast counterattack. The crowd of fellow students on the sidelines gave a short "whoa" in unison.
+8 EXP (Perfect Intercept)
+1 Vision
EXP: 183 / 200
Vision: 16
Agile Step Lv. 1 – 19%
Something Feels Off
By the tenth minute, Leon began noticing something strange. His reads were too precise. He wasn't processing angles — he was just knowing them. No calculation. No effort.
It happened again. A diagonal runner cut behind him — and without even looking, Leon stepped into the exact passing lane and trapped the ball mid-stride.
It was effortless. Too effortless.
System Notification – Internal Sync Detected
ZANE-003 Echo pattern integration: 96% confidence.
Player is exhibiting Predictive Threading behavior.
Source: Echo Legacy, not player-generated.
Tactical Skill "Foresight Window" remains locked.
[To unlock genuine predictive control: Vision ≥ 20 | Mental ≥ 50 | Level ≥ 5]
Status: Borrowed Insight – Unstable Foundation
Leon's breath hitched.
So that's what it was...
All this time, he thought he'd been improving. Seeing the game seconds before it happened. He'd called it instinct. Called it hard work. But it wasn't him. The skill called Playsight which allowed him to see 7 seconds ahead was just like a trial, the real skill Foresight Window is still locked and he was just getting to try it for free because of Zane's Echo. Agile Step was one of the skills that he earned himself.
It was Zane.
Or rather, the shadow he left behind.
"I wasn't seeing the future... I was borrowing it. ZANE-003 was feeding me fragments. Just instinct, not control."
Second Half
Kael came out blazing. Maybe he'd noticed it too — Leon's rhythm, his split-second preemptions. This time, Kael used it against him.
He threw a stutter step, baited Leon forward — and reversed course at the last instant.
Leon bit.
Too early.
Kael blew past him.
System Sync Warning
ZANE-003 Predictive Thread: Off-path deviation
Desynchronization: 6%
Leon winced, not physically, but mentally — as if part of his thought process had misfired.
His mind felt jagged, overloaded.
He quickly disabled the predictive overlay.
I need to learn this for real. Not like this.
Agile Step – Real Progress
Instead, he relied on Agile Step.
A sequence began — Leon intercepted a pass, tapped it forward, did a short burst past two players, pivoted, then redirected the ball with the inside of his heel to an open striker.
+12 EXP
+2% Agile Step Progress
+1 Mental
EXP: 195 / 200
Agile Step Lv.1 – 21%
Mental: 45
Coach Davor scribbled something into his notebook. His eyes hadn't left Leon since the first half.
Post-Match – Aria's Words
Leon sat under the awning, cooling down, sweat soaking through his jersey.
Someone handed him a bottle of water.
Aria Laurent.
She didn't sit. Just stood there, hands in her jacket pockets.
"You played differently today," she said. "Better… but more scattered."
Leon raised an eyebrow. "That obvious?"
"You were second-guessing. At least three times."
He looked down. "Yeah."
She crouched a little to meet his eyes. "It's not a crime to have an edge, Leon. But if you don't understand it, you can't control it."
Leon looked at her — really looked at her.
"I thought it was instinct. But it wasn't. It was someone else's echo. A ghost feeding me plays like I was on rails."
Aria's face softened. "Then maybe it's time to stop being a passenger."
She walked off before he could respond.
System Notification – Ability Hint
Later that night, Leon sat in his dorm, staring at the system interface.
The overlay pulsed faintly.
Skill Unlock Hint: Foresight Window
Status: Locked
"You've glimpsed it. Now earn it."
Requirements:
– Vision ≥ 20 (Current: 16)
– Mental ≥ 50 (Current: 45)
– Level ≥ 5 (Current: 2)
Function: Predictive visualization up to 7 seconds ahead
Risk: High mental strain. Short burst usage only.
He closed the window, then opened another:
Minimap Module – Tactical Upgrade Preview
Enhanced Field Awareness Module (EFAM)
Radius: 50m | Update Rate: 1.5s
Unlock Requirement: Mental ≥ 50, Tactical Sync Active
Status: Coming soon
Leon sat back.
So I haven't even started yet.
EXP: 200 / 200
Level Up!
Leon Vale – Level 3
EXP: 0 / 300
Dribbling: 50 (+1)
Passing: 57
Shooting: 42
Vision: 17 (+1)
Mental: 45
Speed: 52 (+2)
Stamina: 51 (+3)
Agile Step Lv.1 – 21%
He smiled faintly.
The real game was just beginning.