Blue Lock: Beyond Greatness

Eager to find out the results, Shinichi quickly took a shower, treating it as a symbolic cleansing. Without hesitation, he entered a private room and excitedly opened the long-awaited system interface.

[Blue Lock: Third Phase Complete. Settlement finalized. Final rating: S+. You have received the following rewards.]

[You may choose six rewards from the list below. Duplicate traits and skills will automatically merge.]

[Selectable Traits]

1. Genius (Gold → Red Gold): Recognized as a genius, all of your attributes far surpass the average, and your ability to learn and comprehend greatly exceeds that of ordinary people. (Locked)

2. Rising Star (Red): What you thought was the start of a legendary journey with a stunning debut performance turns out to be your peak. Your overall attributes immediately double, and you instantly gain ten random traits or skills. Furthermore, the quality of all your existing traits and skills is upgraded to Red Gold. Traits and skills already at Red Gold will be further upgraded to Red.

However, once you select this trait, you will no longer be able to acquire any additional traits or skills. Over time, as your debut date becomes more distant, your attributes, traits, and skill qualities will gradually decline—by 5% each year. (Debut time: 1 day.)

3. Evergreen Legend (Red): Injuries or illnesses, aside from limb amputations, will no longer affect your condition or attributes. Any ailment will fully heal within seven natural days. Your attributes will gradually increase with age, accomplishments, and recognition.

Your lifespan will significantly extend, and your physical decline will slow down considerably. ("200-year-old rookie Shinichi takes the field!") (Locked)

4. Superhuman Sports Series (Red): This trait does not provide direct attribute or other bonuses, but it unlocks some of your body's upper limits, allowing your attributes to exceed human boundaries through training. Additionally, the next settlement's reward pool will begin to include traits and skills that surpass human limits.

5. A Beautiful Boy in the Sports World (Red): Your charm attribute will greatly increase. Similar to how a certain boy captivated many admirers with his high jumps after school, your charisma in sports will also rise significantly. Furthermore, this trait will slightly improve all of your attributes based on the number of fans and admirers drawn by your athletic performance (currently, the admiration count can boost one random attribute by 1 point).

[Available Skills]

1. Tezuka Zone (Red Gold): A technique crafted by a natural-born prodigy whose talents rivaled, if not surpassed, the world's chosen ones, to the point that mysterious injuries were the only way to limit them. This skill enables you to control the spin of any ball, allowing you to execute extraordinary maneuvers. You can freely manipulate the trajectory of any ball after impact, though it requires some warm-up time.

2. Key to the State of Selflessness (Red): Rather than acting after deliberate thought, you react instinctively based on your body's accumulated experience, countering attacks automatically. This skill also allows you to utilize the signature moves of other athletes you've witnessed. Only those who've pushed beyond their limits can reach this legendary state.

This is a key that opens the door to a new level of mastery, unlocking the Gate to Selfless Tennis. However, how far you can advance depends on your own abilities and development.

3. World of Ice (Gold): A supreme skill unlocked by Atobe Keigo after honing his vision to the extreme. It allows you to accurately discern an opponent's weaknesses and blind spots, freezing them in place as if encased in ice.

...

When the system activated, a flood of red light nearly blinded Shinichi. Seeing a vast array of red-grade traits made his heart pound with excitement—this was more red light than he had ever encountered in his entire gacha history!

"No way, is this really the S+ settlement reward?! Almost all the options are red-grade, and there are six choices available?!" Shinichi's eyes widened in disbelief. Despite the overwhelming brilliance of the red light, he didn't dare blink. He couldn't help but crave them—after all, up until now, he hadn't obtained a single red-grade trait.

He no longer paid attention to the once-treasured Red Gold-grade traits, instead focusing directly on the enticing red traits.

"Rising Star... Damn! Is it really doubling all my stats?! With my current attributes doubled, wouldn't I skyrocket?! Even Bolt's speed stat is only 106, and mine would shoot up to 202? I'd practically be a superhuman!"

The first red trait he saw was so overwhelmingly powerful that Shinichi could hardly believe it.

But after the initial excitement, he managed to calm down. "It looks great on the surface, but it would only allow me to maintain peak performance for a few years. If I didn't already have Evergreen Legend, I might have seriously considered it. After all, an athlete's peak only lasts a few years. If I could use this trait to dominate the global sports scene for a few years, crush the competition, win all the trophies, and then retire, I'd still have a strong historical ranking."

"But now that I have Evergreen Legend, that seemingly appealing scenario feels less enticing. Besides, it's not like I'm struggling to keep up. My current abilities are still overwhelmingly strong, so I don't need to sacrifice my future for a temporary boost."

Reluctantly, he set aside the Rising Star trait and moved on to the next one—Evergreen Legend—the reason he decided against the first choice.

This trait needed no further explanation. Everything else could be disregarded. The simple fact that it extended his lifespan was worth more than a thousand words. That alone made this trait a must-have.

Without much hesitation, Shinichi directly selected Evergreen Legend. In an instant, a mysterious force coursed through his entire body. He felt as if he were basking in warm sunlight, and all the cells in his body began to cheer and come alive.

Simultaneously, various memories started flashing through Shinichi's mind.

They traced his journey from birth, to his budding talents, to winning short-distance races, dominating chess tournaments, and ultimately entering Blue Lock.

Scenes of him standing out on Team X, facing off against top-tier players, and defeating the U20 national team under the world's gaze all played out.

It took a full ten minutes for this exhilarating sensation to fade, and when it did, the system's notification sounded.

[Ding! Based on your achievements, the Evergreen Legend trait grants you an attribute point to allocate.]

Shinichi ignored the system's prompt and instinctively looked at his hands. He didn't notice any drastic changes in his overall stats after acquiring Evergreen Legend.

However, gazing at his now fairer, smoother skin—so flawless it almost seemed inhuman—he knew that in certain aspects, he was no longer the same as an ordinary person. He even vaguely felt that his stamina had improved.

"Phew… let's keep going." Suppressing the excitement bubbling inside, Shinichi held back his rising smile and continued to examine the rewards. "Superhuman Sports Series, huh? Is the system referencing official tropes now? But being able to unlock abilities beyond human limits…"

Shinichi fell into deep thought. Based on the storyline he had experienced since crossing over, he knew the New Hero had just begun.

If he followed the original pace, there would be at least one more major plot arc.

In other words, even if the system shut down after Blue Lock concluded, choosing the Superhuman Sports Series trait would cover at least two reward settlements.

And even if Blue Lock ended soon after that, the system would likely revert to its original once-a-year settlement format, making the potential gains almost incalculable.

"Let's see… I'll hold off for now." After much contemplation, Shinichi decided not to commit just yet. Instead, he saved the Superhuman Sports Series option for later, planning to review all the traits before making a final decision. He then turned his attention to the next reward.

"Hmm… 'A Beautiful Boy in the Sports World'? And it involves high jumps? Why does this feel like it could be risky? I'd rather not have some yandere named Sakura show up out of nowhere with a black cup and take me out." Shinichi muttered his concerns, though he couldn't deny the trait's incredible strength.

In fact, it was akin to the kind of overpowered cheat systems found in some sports novels—those that unlocked rewards through fan adoration. The only difference was that this trait focused purely on providing attribute boosts.

And the project he was thrown into wasn't some obscure niche sport, it was football—the crown jewel of the "big three" sports.

Just one World Cup was enough to unearth countless fake fans, underscoring its unparalleled global impact.

The only real limitation of the trait was that it could only attract fans through athletic performance; otherwise, he'd have just used his past life's knowledge to become a social media influencer and rake in the rewards that way.

"Still undecided, undecided," Shinichi muttered as he shook his head.

While the two red traits were undoubtedly powerful, they weren't overwhelmingly irresistible.

He decided to wait until he had seen all the options before making a decision. But when he came across the next reward, his heart—previously calm—began pounding uncontrollably again.

The moment he saw the name, he instinctively selected it, only to discover the details after the fact.

"What the heck? It's just a key? Why present a half-finished product?" Shinichi was baffled, but simply seeing that prestigious name made the choice feel inevitable.

Even after reading the fine print, he knew he would've picked it no matter what—because it was simply too overpowered.

The State of Selflessness, straight out of The Prince of Tennis. Even if you weren't familiar with the series, that name alone should give you a sense of how strong it was.

Compared to The Prince of Tennis, even the borderline superpowered basketball of Kuroko's Basketball felt more like a documentary.

In terms of power scaling from other action anime, this was like unlocking a Dragon Ball ability within the world of Naruto—utterly broken.

Even within The Prince of Tennis itself, this was a top-tier ability.

Simply entering the State of Selflessness allowed you to instantly mimic any technique you'd seen before.

In other words, the moment you mastered the basics, you'd essentially have Kise's skill-copying ability from the Generation of Miracles, combined with an enhanced version of the Zone's effects.

After entering the State of Selflessness, there were three additional pathways, each offering formidable abilities.

For example, the first pathway, The Limit of Tempering, allowed all of one's strength to be concentrated into a specific body part, effectively doubling that power.

While this might not seem directly useful for football—since returning an opponent's attack with double the force isn't exactly applicable—the sheer doubling of power alone was incredibly potent.

Given Shinichi's heavy shot, he feared that doubling his strength might reduce the opposing goalkeeper to mere fodder.

The second pathway, The Limit of Brilliance, was essentially a superior version of enhanced perception.

It allowed the user to predict the number of plays needed to finish a match. Even in a serious action series like One Piece, Katakuri's Observation Haki could only foresee events a few seconds into the future.

This ability, however, could anticipate an entire tennis match's outcome. That alone demonstrated its overwhelming power.

As for the final pathway, The Limit of Seamlessness, it was the pinnacle of the State of Selflessness.

Combining the strengths of the previous two, it represented the ultimate technique within that state, an ability that spoke volumes about its potential.

"Jackpot, what a haul!" Shinichi's heart surged with an unprecedented sense of security as he gazed at his attribute panel, which now included two new red-grade traits.

Just having acquired Evergreen Legend and the State of Selflessness made the reward cycle more than worthwhile. Yet, unbelievably, he still had four selections remaining!

"But there are no more red traits left to choose. The remaining options are the Red Gold-grade Genius trait, the Red Gold-grade Tezuka Zone, and the Gold-grade World of Ice..."

After a brief deliberation, Shinichi decided to go ahead and claim the previously pending red traits, Superhuman Sports Series and A Beautiful Boy in the Sports World.

While these three rewards weren't tempting enough to pass over a red-grade trait, they were still too valuable to ignore.

"So that leaves the remaining three..." Shinichi murmured. "As for Genius, I'm already at the gold tier. If I were to combine it with the Red Gold-grade Genius trait, there's a chance it could evolve directly into a red-grade trait. Moreover..."

At this point, Shinichi recalled the door he encountered in the second stage of the ZONE. He had a strong suspicion that ZONE and the Genius trait were somehow connected.

In the first stage, he could activate the ZONE at will.

However, once he entered the second stage and the ZONE's grade rose to Red Gold, it became much harder to control. Even now, his progress in the second stage of the ZONE remained limited.

"In that case, the final choice really comes down to a decision between the Tezuka Zone and the World of Ice. Considering practicality, the Tezuka Zone doesn't offer as much utility. After all, I'm playing football, not tennis. The ability to control the direction of a returning ball isn't all that impactful. Plus, Atobe Keigo's sharp vision is somewhat comparable to my own rapid reflexes."

With that in mind, Shinichi reluctantly passed over the Red Gold-tier Tezuka Zone and chose the slightly lower-tiered World of Ice.

However, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret. After some deliberation, he decided to lock in the Tezuka Zone trait for potential future use.

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