The stadium felt too quiet like the silence before thunder.Kei stood near the sideline eyes narrowed at the opponent's formation.Something had changed but not on paper.On paper everything looked the same same numbers same positions same faces but to Kei's eye it felt like staring into a painting where the shadows had shifted just a bit
The ball rolled back into play.Kei let it pass him then turned and bolted back into a deeper midfield line.Amano didn't question it he just called out to the others to adjust
The whisper came on the wind
"They're not playing to win.They're playing to learn"
Kei's heart skipped
Every move the opponents made it wasn't to break them down it was to analyze them.Ren's dribble got mirrored perfectly on the next possession.Dazai's cross attempt?Copied and improved
Like a mirror that learned from what it reflected
Kei narrowed his eyes and touched the edge of his hidden system menu in his mind.Just a flicker.The Phantom System pulsed
No alerts.No warnings.Just a single message
"Caution recommended.Do not let your habits become readable"
He breathed slow
The next possession he didn't do what instinct told him to do.He did the second best option.Delayed a pass by 0.5 seconds.Took a weird first touch.Chipped instead of cutting in
The defense hesitated
The learning system on the other team hiccupped
It wasn't AI but it was like facing someone who evolved every time you played them
Kei adapted back
The tempo slowed then broke then surged again.A tug of war of strategies masked as a casual high school match
But the crowd didn't notice
Only the players did
By minute 37 Kei walked past the opponent's captain during a throw in.They locked eyes
"You see it too huh" the captain muttered with a grin
Kei smirked but said nothing
The whistle blew again.Play resumed
But this time no one was smiling
Not even Kei