Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna.Monday Night. 20:00 CET.Pitch Inspection (The Night Before the Match).
The stadium was empty, but the silence felt heavier than any crowd noise.
The floodlights were dimmed, casting long, dramatic shadows across the pristine grass like spilled ink. Tomorrow night, this concrete bowl would be a cauldron of noise and passion, packed with thirty thousand screaming fans. But tonight, it was a sanctuary—a place for players to test the turf and mentally prepare for war.
Rio Valdes walked onto the pitch alone. He wore his training kit, hands buried deep in his pockets to ward off the evening chill. He wasn't here to check the grass height or the firmness of the soil. He was here because the radar inside his skull was screaming.
A crimson alert pulsed rhythmically in his peripheral vision. [Proximity Alert: Host No. 04 is nearby. Distance: 50 meters.]
On the other side of the halfway line, the PSG squad had just wandered out. They were loose, laughing, taking selfies, and passing a ball around in a casual circle. Ousmane Dembélé was joking loudly with Achraf Hakimi. To them, this looked like a school field trip for millionaires.
But one man stood apart.
Kylian Mbappé stood in the center circle. He wasn't laughing. He wasn't holding a phone. He stood with his arms crossed, staring directly at Rio across the expanse of green.
The air between them seemed to shimmer, distorted by invisible heat.
Rio took a deep breath. The penalty for losing this duel was half his remaining life. He had 238 days. Losing meant dropping to 119. It meant death was breathing down his neck again, closer than ever.
Rio began his approach. Simultaneously, as if drawn by a magnetic tether, Mbappé detached himself from his teammates.
They met exactly at the halfway line. The laughter from the PSG players died down, replaced by confused whispers. They sensed the strange gravity pulling their superstar toward the Bologna captain. They thought it was just a staredown between two key players.
They didn't know it was a meeting of gods.
"So," Mbappé spoke first. His English was flawless, his voice smooth and laced with an arrogance that felt entirely earned. "You are the anomaly."
Rio looked him in the eye. Mbappé's irises weren't normal. Deep within the pupils, Rio could see a faint, rhythmic flicker. It was like watching a supercomputer processing data at a speed human eyes couldn't comprehend.
"And you are the Speed King," Rio replied. He kept his voice steady, though his heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird.
Mbappé chuckled softly. "Host Number 4. That is my designation. I have been active for five years. You? You feel new. Your energy is... chaotic. Unrefined."
"I've been active long enough to knock out Liverpool and Benfica," Rio countered, standing his ground.
Mbappé stepped closer. The System pressure radiating from him was immense, like standing in front of an active jet engine. Rio's Body Balance (Grade A) automatically engaged, locking his muscles just to keep him from flinching under the sheer weight of presence.
"Liverpool? Benfica?" Mbappé scoffed, shaking his head. "NPCs. Non-Player Characters. Beating them means nothing. They play football. We play with physics."
Mbappé leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Do you know why I wanted to come to Italy, Rio? Because I am bored. Time moves too slowly for me. Everyone moves in slow motion. But you... my System says you have potential."
Rio clenched his fists. "I'm not here to entertain you, Kylian. I'm here to eliminate you."
Mbappé's eyes widened, and then he laughed. It was a cold, sharp sound that cut through the night air. "Eliminate me? With what? That random Gacha luck? I possess the concept of Speed itself. I don't just run fast. I process reality faster than you can think."
Suddenly, the air displaced.
It wasn't a run. It was a glitch in the frame rate of reality. One second, Mbappé's hand was at his side. The next millisecond, he had tapped the club crest on Rio's chest and returned his hand to his pocket.
Rio didn't see it. He only felt the ghost of the touch after it had already happened.
A terrifying warning flashed in Rio's mind: [Speed Disparity Detected.][Opponent Reaction Time: 0.10s][Your Reaction Time: 0.25s]
Rio froze. The gap was massive. It wasn't a gap; it was a canyon.
"You didn't even blink," Mbappé said, looking bored again. "If that was a knife, you would be dead. If that was a ball, I would have scored twice before you turned your head."
Mbappé turned around, walking back toward his teammates. He stopped and looked over his shoulder one last time.
"Tomorrow night, I will show you the difference between a user who relies on luck... and a user who has mastered his domain. Don't disappoint me, Anomaly. If you are too slow, I will end your career in the first ten minutes."
Rio stood alone on the halfway line. The humid night air suddenly felt freezing. He touched his chest where Mbappé had tapped him. He hadn't seen it. He truly hadn't seen it.
If Mbappé could move like that in a match, no tactical formation in the world could stop him. The Speedster (Grade S) was fast. But Mbappé was something else entirely.
Rio's Apartment.Monday Night. 23:00 CET.
Rio sat on the edge of his bed. The room was dark, lit only by the ghostly blue glow of the System interface.
[Current Lifespan: 238 Days.]
He replayed the encounter in his head. Mbappé's speed wasn't just physical muscles firing; it was neurological. His "Speed King System" likely boosted his brain's processing power, allowing him to perceive time slower than everyone else.
To stop him, Rio couldn't just be fast. Racing a cheetah was stupid. To stop a cheetah, you didn't need to be faster. You needed to be a wall that the cheetah crashed into. Or a trap that snapped shut before the cheetah could move.
"I need a counter," Rio whispered to the darkness. "I need something that nullifies speed."
He opened the Global Gacha. He had unlocked Tier 2 (Legendary Shadows) after the Benfica match. But Tier 2 only lasted 45 minutes and cost 10 days. He needed something permanent. Or at least, a passive skill that could rival Mbappé's reflexes.
He navigated to the Shop. There was a section he rarely looked at because the prices were exorbitant. The Supernatural Tab.
His eyes scanned the list. Time Dilation (500 Days). Too expensive. Future Sight (1000 Days). Impossible.
Then, he saw it. A Passive Skill nestled in the defensive category.
Skill: The Eye of the Storm (Grade A+) Description: Slows down the user's perception of high-speed objects within a 5-meter radius. Does not increase physical speed, but aligns mental reaction with visual input. Cost: 40 Days Lifespan.
40 Days. It was a heavy price. It would drop him to 198 Days. But without it, he wouldn't even see Mbappé move. And if he lost the match, he would lose 50% of his life anyway.
Investment was necessary for survival.
"System," Rio said clearly. "Purchase The Eye of the Storm."
[Transaction Processing...][Payment Accepted. -40 Days Lifespan.][Remaining Lifespan: 198 Days.]
A searing pain shot through Rio's optic nerves. He gasped, falling back onto the mattress, pressing his palms against his eyes. It felt like someone was rewiring his brain with hot copper wire. Tears streamed down his face, soaking the pillow. The pain lasted for a solid minute, agonizing and white-hot, before fading into a cool, refreshing sensation like menthol.
Rio opened his eyes. The room looked the same. But when he looked at the ceiling fan spinning above him, something was different. He didn't just see a blur. He saw the individual blades. He saw the dust clinging to the edges. He saw the rhythm of the rotation.
He smiled, wiping the tears from his cheeks. It wasn't fast enough to match Mbappé completely. But it was enough to see him.
And if he could see him... he could catch him.
Matchday. Tuesday Night.The Tunnel.
The atmosphere was suffocating. The Champions League anthem blared, shaking the concrete walls of the tunnel. Kylian Mbappé stood at the front of the PSG line, chewing gum, looking relaxed and untouchable. Rio walked up to stand beside him.
Mbappé glanced at him. He paused. The Frenchman noticed something different in Rio's eyes. The pupils were sharper, dilating and contracting with unnatural precision. The fear from the previous night was gone.
"You bought an upgrade," Mbappé whispered, genuinely impressed. "Spending your life currency? Bold."
Rio stared straight ahead at the light at the end of the tunnel. "I told you, Kylian. I'm not here to entertain you."
Rio turned his head slowly, locking eyes with the PSG star. "I'm here to bankrupt you."
The referee picked up the ball. The game was on.
The System notification flashed one final time: [Mission Start: Predator vs Predator.][Win and take everything. Lose and die halfway.]