"Never miss out on an opportunity. You never know what you'll obtain by taking certain risks..."
The bus I had boarded finally stopped at a bus station.
I stood from my seat and walked down the bus, "Thank you sir."
The driver left without saying a word to me.
"Ha..." I sighed, scanning the environment.
—CHIYODA.
"So this is the city I'll be living in, huh?"
I took out my phone and took a look at the map that was given to us.
Chiyoda City, as named on the map and bus station was the city where the members of Team C were based.
The apps in our phones were earlier modified to suit our new lives, and we were assigned to various teams, which were probably already decided on even before we got there.
"Ah... I don't think it's this place." I sighed, looking up at a big mall by the road.
It was surprising how many buildings were there. Well, it is a city after all. People probably lived there.
I kept walking till I reached a large billboard.
— WELCOME TO TEAM C, CHIYODA, SW EAST.
"Oh, that's my team name." I smiled, standing before the unusually huge gate.
I took out my phone and placed my ID against the small box that was on the gate.
— CLICK.
The gate slid open as I walked inside.
The compound was very massive. The place was exactly like a mini city.
There was a main road running through the centre of the facility with smaller paths connecting key areas.
By the left side of the compound, there was a stadium for playing matches.
Going further towards the right side, there were two zones separated by a path of the road.
In the central area of the zone by the left was a building with the name board, 'MAIN BUILDING.'
By the right side of the zone were several other buildings, the 'RESIDENTIAL AREA.' This area had the medical building, cafeteria, parking area, and the dormitory.
Beside the dormitory was the training and sports zone, which had a main pitch, 2 small pitches, and a fitness building/equipment building.
"I'm definitely gonna love this place." I told myself, still looking around the place.
There was a fountain in the centre of everything. There was a garden in the residential area, pretty slick.
I walked towards the dormitory, clutching my phone tightly.
'I wonder what my teammates are like. I just hope they aren't like those from the other side.' I sighed.
I took a deep breath before trying to smile. Have to make a good impression.
"Here goes nothing." I mumbled while turning the doorknob.
"Ha?! What do you mean by that, Yusuke?!" A guy with a Pompadour shouted, a music player flying towards the door just as I walked in.
"Ah! Someone else's here. That makes 12 of us." A smiley faced guy said, walking towards the door where I stood, blood rolling down my nose.
"My God! You've hurt someone, Kimishita!" The guy who was in an argument with the Pompadour guy shouted, running down the stairs.
"S-sorry about that!" Kimishita apologised, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away.
"Oh my, are you alright?" A girl with light pink hair asked, taking some tissues to me.
"I…"
'So much for having better teammates.' I thought, smiling at the girl and grabbing the tissues.
"Thanks." I said.
"You're the last dorm mate to arrive. Did you encounter any problems?" The smiley faced guy asked.
I laughed nervously, 'Telling them what happened would be kinda...'
"Here's your key. Your room's just beside mine. If you need anything, tell me." He said, handing a key to me.
"Ah... thanks."
'Didn't we arrive at the same time?'
"By the way, the name's Tanaka Akaji." He continued.
I looked up at him, clutching the key.
"Ah, Kudou Atsushi. Nice to meet you." I smiled awkwardly.
"Come on, I'll show you to your room." He said, walking towards the staircase.
'Ugh... so fake. I'd rather stay away from Ikemen's like him.'
The room was a single room. It was big, way bigger than the one I used to live in.
They had already left lots of clothes in our closets, so there was no need to go outside to buy some.
I could easily view the training ground from the big window by the corner.
I slumped on the bed.
The bed was so soft that I found myself drowning in it.
"Ah... It feels so nice." I smiled.
I stood from the bed when I heard a knock on the door.
"Kudou-kun."
A feminine voice came from outside the door.
"Hm?" I asked, letting her in.
She looked up at me before looking away immediately, her cheeks beet red.
"Th-the coach just came back... he's asking for— everyone." She said, rubbing her hands nervously.
"O-oh... thanks."
She hesitated for a trice before walking out hurriedly.
'Oh? We've got people like that here, too?'
I looked around my room before locking it up.
"It's probably for introductions." I sighed, walking down the hallway.
---
By the time I got to the meeting room, in the main building, the others were already seated there with the coach.
"Ahem..." The coach cleared his throat after I was seated.
"The name's Yamazaki Haruya, and from today, I'll be your coach. Once again, welcome to SW East." He said.
"Thank you." They chorused.
"And now, I'll be giving you guys a run down of everything that's happening here and the things you need to know."
We all listened intently to him as he explained how the world works.
SW East was indeed a world based on soccer.
Every activity going on there was settled with a match, currencies were gotten from playing matches, and any private duel was also settled on the pitch.
"And now for the currencies," Haruya continued, a holographic board in front of him.
The currencies were called SW points, and those points could be used for shopping, which was basically it.
When we first arrived, we were all given 1000 points as start-up and an additional 10 per week.
"Take out your phones. When you turn it on, you'll see an app named 'My SW App'. There, your player profiles, stats, and previous match details are recorded."
An ad suddenly popped up on my screen when I opened the app.
— Activate the SW Market now with just 1000 SW points.
I cancelled the ad before clicking on my player profile.
"Okay, now all you have to do is register your details and scan your faces to activate the app."
Before I could start registering, the ad popped up again.
— SW Market, activate with points as low as 1000!
"Coach, what's with these ads? What's SW Market." Tanaka Akaji asked.
"Oh, that? It's just a market for purchasing stuff." The coach answered.
"Just for purchases, and they are charging 1000 points?! I'll go buy something from the convenience store even if I'm lazy."
The coach smiled before turning back to the holographic board.
'1000's a little too much, isn't it? Is this a good idea?' I thought to myself, cancelling the ad once more.
There were 9 different tabs, the main tab where our player data was shown; names, age, nicknames, team names, positions, and team role.
The second and third tabs were all about our player stats/ abilities and the APs we own. Stats like speed, passing, dribbling, shooting, etc. It also included our age and dominant foot(strong foot for playing).
The fourth tab showed a player development sheet.
The fifth tab showed the stat evolution chart.
The sixth tab showed our purchase log.
The seventh showed the match history/ players data in the last five games. This included minutes played, goals scored, assists, shots on target, intercepts, fouls, red cards, yellow cards, MVP's, average ratings, key passes, chances created, duels won, and possession lost.
The last two tabs were still unlocked and needed certain conditions to be met before unlocking.
"Coach, what are the conditions for unlocking the eighth and ninth tabs?" A girl sitting just across me asked.
"Hm... to get access to the eighth tab, there are two requirements, but it'll open after completing the first, and you'll be given full access when you complete the second. The ninth tab opens whenever."
My eyes stayed fixed at my screen, the ad still glistening.
Although 1000 points were a whole lot of points, that ad didn't seem like a scam.
'Is it possible that it's related to the last two tabs?' I thought, my fingers hovering above my screen.
I tapped the tab subconsciously.
— Activate SW Market, Yes/ No?
"Kudou-san?" The girl sitting beside me called, jerking me back to reality.
I turned off my phone immediately before turning to her.
"Hm?"
I looked back to where the coach was previously seated, and to my surprise, he was gone.
"Huh? Where'd he go?"
"He said he had something to do, so he just left." She answered.
"Oh..."
Akaji suddenly stood from his chair and walked to the centre of the meeting room.
"Hello, everyone. Since the coach is gone and we don't have anything doing, why don't we go ahead and introduce ourselves?"