The digital scoreboard flickered, displaying the rosters for the scrimmage. My name, KAI, was lit up under the starting lineup for Team A. Directly across from it, under Team B, was JAX.
There was no escaping it. This was the coach's design.
We took our positions on the zero-g court. The tension was a living thing, a heavy pressure in the air. My own teammates on Team A kept their distance, their expressions a mix of skepticism and annoyance. They didn't trust me. To them, I was a wild card, a weird anomaly who had somehow tricked his way onto the team. They had no idea I had already memorized the entire playbook, that I could see every one of our planned rotations and offensive sets in my mind like a glowing blueprint .
Directly across the centerline from me floated Jax.
The contempt from the tryouts was gone. It had been replaced by something far more dangerous: a cold, focused fury. His eyes were locked on me, and they held the promise of pain. This wasn't a game to him anymore. This was personal. He wasn't just here to win; he was on a mission to break me, to prove to the coach and everyone else that I was a zero who didn't belong.
Coach Valerius blew his whistle, the sound sharp and final. "Play for real. First to five goals wins. Begin."
The ball launched into the center of the court.
Team B got the opening possession. A quick pass put the ball in Jax's hands. According to the playbook our team was using, Team B's first set was a right-flank push, designed to spread the defense thin.
Jax ignored it completely.
The moment the Aetherball settled into his palm, he abandoned his team's formation. He ignored his open teammates and charged directly at me, a missile locked onto its one and only target. He was trying to force a one-on-one confrontation, to turn this 5-on-5 scrimmage into a personal duel. He wanted to crush me with the raw power he believed was the only thing that mattered.
I saw the mistake instantly. My System-enhanced mind highlighted the massive tactical flaw he was creating. By charging me, he was pulling himself out of position, creating a huge, gaping hole in his own team's offensive structure. He was playing hero ball.
I didn't engage him directly. That would be suicide. Instead, I fell back on my core strength: defense and efficiency .
Jax fired a powerful shot, a warning shot. I dodged, a small, perfect motion that put me just out of the blast's path. He fired again, and I blocked, absorbing the energy without losing my position. I was baiting him, drawing him further and further into my side of the court, further away from his teammates and his responsibilities. He was so blinded by his need to dominate me that he couldn't see the trap.
My teammates on Team A were confused. They saw me giving ground, playing pure defense. They probably thought I was scared. But our team captain, a senior named Ren, saw what I was doing. He saw the opening Jax had created.
"Now!" Ren shouted.
Two of my teammates converged on the over-extended Jax. He was forced into a desperate pass, but it was too late. Our defender intercepted it easily. We had the ball.
And suddenly, we were on a 5-on-4 power play.
My mind, already running through the playbook, saw the path to victory. The 'blue line' wasn't just for me anymore; it was for the whole team. I knew exactly where to go. I didn't call for the ball. I didn't try to be the hero. I just moved.
I shot towards the right side of the goal. My movement was a threat that Team B's defense couldn't ignore. The player who was supposed to be guarding our captain, Ren, hesitated for a split second, then moved to cover me. It was the exact reaction I had predicted.
He had just created a 2-on-1 for Ren.
Ren, a smart and experienced player, saw it instantly. He faked a pass to me, freezing the goalie, and then took an easy, uncontested shot into the open side of the goal.
The goal chimed. The scoreboard lit up.
TEAM A: 1
TEAM B: 0
The point wasn't scored by me. I never even touched the ball. But it was my play.
From the sideline, I saw Coach Valerius nod, a single, barely perceptible motion. He saw it. He saw the strategy, the manipulation of the enemy formation. This was the 'brain' he had taken a gamble on.
Jax was livid. His own teammates were yelling at him. "What was that, Jax? You just left us hanging!"
His face was a mask of thunder. He turned his furious gaze from his own team back to me. His rage was so intense it felt like a physical heat. He had been outsmarted. Humiliated. And he blamed me for all of it.
The ball reset at the center of the court.
Jax got possession again. This time, he didn't even pretend to play with his team. He ignored their calls, their positions, everything. His world had narrowed to the space between me and him.
He rocketed towards me, unleashing not one shot, but a furious, non-stop volley of attacks. He was no longer trying to score. He was no longer trying to win the game.
He was just trying to neutralize me.