Chapter 604: Rising Sensation
Chapter 604: Rising Sensation
"Breaking News! Young sensation wins the MVP award."
"Takahashi Hiro: The New Face Of Japan."
The news regarding Hiro caused a massive uproar throughout the country. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that almost the entire nation was focused on him.
However, the news was even more heated globally.
Even though the J-league wasn't particularly big like the European Leagues, it was still substantial enough to draw the attention of people.
Simeone who was looking at the computer screen smiled, "Ha..., Who knew that you'd start so early?"
On the computer screen was the picture of Hiro posing with the MVP award. The photo was taken yesterday after the event.
Although he routinely followed the progress of Hiro, he wasn't actually intending to see this news. He was only looking through the news circulating the world.
But he wasn't aware that he'd be seeing Hiro.
So, when he saw the article describing Hiro's magnificent season, he couldn't help but break into a smile. The news fascinated him.
Revealing a subtle smirk, Eric watched the news with a hint of intrigue flashing in his eyes, "Were we hasty to decide? Now, your value will surely skyrocket."
Later in the day, Eric received multiple inquiry requests for Hiro.
The request only kept on increasing with each passing day. Even the clubs that had previously rejected him were now trying to recruit him.
********
Several days had passed since he won the award.
Currently, Hiro is heading to the training field. The people around him had already congratulated him before.
Arriving at the field, he was met with a rather fascinating sight.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
His teammates were queued in a double procession line. They all were looking at him with smiles on their faces.
Hiro could tell where it was leading.
Looking at their faces, he couldn't help but smile.
"Here, comes our young sensation."
Junya Ito said, looking at him with welcoming eyes.
As Hiro moved forward, they patted him on his back and enthusiastically congratulated him. Hiro felt overwhelmed by their gesture.
Everybody looked motivated after the event. Well, many of them had been honored in the event. So, it was only natural for them to feel happy.
The morale of the squad was at an all-time high.
Even so, the training was as intense as it could be. Despite their recent achievements, they weren't given any leniency.
Their coach wanted to increase the tempo of the game. So, he had been working them tirelessly, preparing for the season.
With Hiro's popularity soaring, he didn't have any moment to rest even after the end of the morning training.
Right after the training, he had to head to a certain studio for a scheduled interview.
So, he couldn't even stay and share a proper meal with his teammates.
For the next few days, his schedule was cramped as hell.
********
Appearing rather troubled, Ken walked out of a wooden structure. After leaving the event, he had been hearing that voice often.
At first, he ignored the voice thinking of it as mere hallucination. But even after ignoring it for a while, it seemed like it wouldn't stop.
So, he even thought that he was possessed.
During his younger days, he often heard of people being able to listen to the voice of the unknown or being able to see their deceased loved ones.
[Do you want to change your destiny?]
Those were the only words he heard and the voice sounded neither feminine nor masculine. The voice sounded something like a faint whisper but it was clearly audible.
For some inexplicable reason, only he seemed to hear it.
So, it added further to his worries.
The reason why he never responded to the voice was because once he had heard from an elderly woman that if the living responded to the call of the dead, the dead would take them with them.
So, precisely out of fear he didn't respond to the voice.
Right now, he had come out of a shaman's place. He wanted to rid himself of possession.
'Did it work?' Ken thought after going through some shady ritual that promised to get rid of the possession.
Ken halted before the shaman's place, trying to listen to the voice.
Tilting his head, he looked at the sky.
The sky was blue and there were a few wisps of irregularly shaped clouds floating aimlessly in
the azure heaven.
The sun had yet to reach the zenith.
[Do you wish to change your destiny?]
Once again, he heard the voice. Hearing the ethereal tone made him frown.
'It seems like I can still hear it.'
Ken had enough of it. So, he resolved if his fate was to be sealed now then so be it. He couldn't ignore the voice forever and he didn't want to be startled often.
So, he resolved to answer the voice.
"Heck yeah! I'd prefer to live a meaningful life than this shitty one."
He muttered furrowing his brows.
If he could change his destiny why would he shy away from the offer?
It was the deepest desire he held and he had enough of hearing it. It was like the voice was
mocking him by speaking his desire.
[Consent received]
[Preparing to integrate with the host]
For the first time since he heard the voice, he heard something different. So, Ken felt startled
when he heard something different.
He had been expecting something unfortunate.
Was something unfortunate going to happen to him?
He couldn't help but feel panicked.
"What's going to happen?" he muttered, his voice laced with concern and fear.
Then out of nowhere, he started seeing a translucent golden panel. There were some numbers
on the panel.
"What's happening?" Ken uttered, appearing scared.
He couldn't figure out what was happening, "Am I going to get transported to another
world?"
He had seen such a scene before. But they were in the manga he read. Something like this happening in reality, he found it hard to believe.
Suddenly, the number hit 100 on the screen.
Ken startlingly stared at the screen, his heart pounding faster and faster.