Project: Bland King

Chapter 12: Our True Selves

Reo: Ayanokouji has the ball! Surround him!

Ayanokouji: (Using one skill at a time is just going to be a mere imitation. No, it's time I became a bit more creative.)

Something clicked inside Ayanokouji and it goes back to how he learned his 'ball placement' skill in the first place.

***Flashback to Project: Bland King***

Ayanokouji sent another shot which got easily swatted away by the hologram goalkeeper.

Ayanokouji: I haven't made a single goal. I can't seem to hit the ball in the direction I want.

Ego appeared on the screen.

Ego: Having a bit of trouble?

Ayanokouji: I know where I want to place the shot but I can't hit it properly.

Ego: Is that so? So what are you going to do about it?

Ayanokouji: I'll just find my mistakes and improve on th-

Ego: Wrong answer. In the case of prodigies, learning like a commoner is useless! You won't get anywhere learning it the basic way. It's not like you have much time as it is.

Ayanokouji: So what do you suggest.

He smiled.

Ego: Didn't I tell you? Your intelligence and physical attributes are S-class. However, the one advantage you have against anyone else... is those eyes of yours.

Ayanokouji: My eyes?

Ego: Precisely, those computers for eyes. You process information like a machine and your eyes respond to it. The way you plan to do it won't take advantage of your greatest strength so naturally in order for you to improve, we have to test the limits of your eyes.

Another screen pulled up and it showed acclaimed striker, Christiano Ronaldo.

Ego: This here is Christiano Ronaldo. Some consider him to be the best striker in the history of this world or for the most part, an equal hovering on the same level as Lionel Messi in their primes. The training I'm about to give you is simple. I need you to replicate each of his shooting patterns, their process, and their results: 20 consecutive completions. One mistake and you're doing them again. There are around 100 different patterns and shooting motions you can learn just by using those God-given eyes of yours. Of course if you don't complete this training by the end of the day, you'll be forced to exit so you have the next 24 hours.

Ayanokouji: And what next?

Ego widened his smile.

Ego: Then we'll just keep going down the list of the greatest strikers ever so you can engrave their motions into your brain. Don't just replicate them, embody them. That's what will set you apart, your data processing abilities. But no more talking, get moving. We don't have all day, Mr. Masterpiece.

***Flashback ended***

It took him countless attempts in a matter of a month to perfect ball placement because the clips he saw weren't in person. They weren't in his peripheral view. Throughout this match, he's continued to evolve his arsenal, copying and executing the skills he's observed.

Ayanokouji: (The next step in my development... is to combine the things I've learned into something different entirely.)

Two defenders met Ayanokouji's run.

???: You won't pass u-

Using his strength, Baro's positioning, his acceleration, and Bachira's high step-overs to create his own, unique, dribbling sequence that only he could perform.