Chapter 2: System Unlocked — Thunder Breathing!
Ryosuke Kira's eyes continued to scan the system interface — there was still more information displayed.
[ Note: Points can be obtained in multiple ways. They are influenced by your public recognition, the strength of your opponents, and your individual performance during matches. In short, the stronger your opponents and teammates, the better your performance, and the higher your popularity — the more points you will earn. Points are only obtainable within the field of football. ]
[ Note: Points can also be gained through daily training (including stamina and skill practice). The amount gained depends on training intensity and duration. However, this method has a daily limit of 10 points. ]
[ Note: Unlocked skills can be improved through practice. Once proficiency reaches 100%, the skill can level up, consuming points to do so. ]
[ Note: When your Points reach certain thresholds, new skills can be drawn. ]
[ Note: Some skills may have special uses or synergies — please explore and discover them yourself. ]
From these explanations, Kira quickly understood how to earn points. Aside from training, the system was somewhat similar to "reputation points" seen in anime, novels and games — the greater his influence, the more points he could accumulate, unlocking new skills and amplifying both strength and fame.
Of course, everything was tied specifically to football. The system had bound Ryosuke Kira's fate to the sport.
And the Blue Lock Project, Japan's most anticipated football initiative, just happened to be the perfect stage for the system to shine.
Kira knew that once the project began, the participants would face intense, high-level matches. Every opponent — and even every teammate — would be among Japan's most promising young forwards, many already serving as their teams' aces. Later on, they would even compete against the nation's, and perhaps the world's, top players.
The stronger the opponent, the higher the point gain — Blue Lock was the ideal hunting ground for Points.
Kira himself wasn't particularly fond of football, though he didn't hate it either. Yet with a system like this backing him, the situation was entirely different.
The original Kira had talent and some fame, but he was eliminated in the very first selection. Even if he had passed that stage, his talent wouldn't have stood out among Blue Lock's monsters — he might've been just another average participant.
But now? Things were completely different.
With this system, Kira believed he might be able to go much farther than his predecessor — to achieve something the original never could.
Perhaps something interesting could happen in Blue Lock.
Even if not, it was still worth it — even failure would give him valuable material for a future manga.
He immediately tore open the letter he had received earlier. A bold line of text appeared before his eyes:
"You have been designated as a special candidate. Report to the Football Association headquarters by [Month X, Day X] for training."
Kira's lips curved into a faint smile. He had eight days to prepare.
---
The next morning, dawn's first light barely touched the horizon. Only a few faint rays pierced through the distant clouds.
Ryosuke Kira had already left home early, carrying his football to a nearby public stadium. It was the holiday season, so he had plenty of time to train.
He came to the field the very next day for one reason — to find out what would happen when a breathing technique from Demon Slayer was applied to the world of football. Just how much could it enhance his performance?
The field was mostly empty, giving Kira space to experiment freely.
After completing a basic warm-up, he stood before the goal and placed the football on the ground. The distance — roughly twenty-five meters.
Though he retained the body's muscle memory, this was the first time he was truly playing football.
Looking down at the black-and-white hexagonal ball, he recalled the instructions for Thunder Breathing: First Form — Thunderclap and Flash.
[ Football Skill: Thunder Breathing — First Form: Thunderclap and Flash | LV1 | Proficiency: 0% ]
For an instant, he seemed to sense a streak of golden lightning flash within him.
Accelerate — then strike!
The muscles in Kira's thigh tightened. He felt power gathering in his leg — and then he unleashed it in a powerful kick. The ball shot forward — no curve, no flourish — just a clean, blindingly fast straight line that tore into the goal net.
Even after being caught by the net, the ball's momentum made it quiver violently before it finally rolled to a stop.
Kira's eyes widened slightly. The shot had been far stronger than he'd expected.
The original Kira had already possessed accurate and powerful shooting, but this — this was faster and sharper than any kick in those inherited memories.
When the shot landed, the system interface shifted before his eyes.
[ Football Skill: Thunder Breathing — First Form: Thunderclap and Flash | LV1 | Proficiency: 0.01% ]
"So using Thunderclap and Flash for a shot increases proficiency… A hundred kicks for one percent — that means I'll need about fifteen hundred shots a day over the next week to raise it properly."
Kira muttered to himself. But this was only a preliminary test — he knew that to fully harness the skill, it had to be used together with Total Concentration Breathing.
In the world of Demon Slayer, the breathing styles worked by fusing Total Concentration Breathing with distinct sword techniques. The techniques themselves were powerful, but only when combined with that unique breathing rhythm could their true potential be unleashed.
Kira believed the same principle applied here.
He retrieved the ball and placed it back at the same twenty-five-meter mark. Guided by the system's imprinted memory, his body instinctively adjusted his breathing.
He opened his mouth, drawing in great gulps of air. Oxygen flooded his lungs, his chest rising and falling with force.
Blood surged through his veins like rushing tides. His heart pounded faster — he could almost hear it, like rolling thunder echoing inside his body.
Power coursed through every limb, and without realizing it, Ryosuke Kira's body began to move on its own.