Reincarnated As A Wonderkid-Chapter 543: Life Two.

The history lecture hall was vast. It was named the ’Hall of Time’, which sounded very dramatic for a Tuesday afternoon.

Professor Chronos (definitely a stage name) stood at the podium. He was holding an hourglass.

"Time," Professor Chronos said. "It is a river. It flows in one direction. But memory... memory is a boat that can sail upstream."

Alex sat in the back row. He was spinning a pen.

Upstream.

He closed his eyes.

He sailed back.

Life Two.

Leon Fischer.

He remembered waking up in the body of a ten-year-old boy. The shock. The small hands. The strange room.

He remembered the first time he saw the blue screen.

[PLAYER INSIGHT SYSTEM ACTIVATED.]

It was like magic. Numbers floating above people’s heads.

Potential: 92. Current: 34.

He remembered the academy. The cold mornings. The drills. The smell of cut grass and ambition.

He wasn’t Danein Blake anymore. He was Leon. He was fast. He was technical. He was a prodigy.

He remembered the first time he used the system to cheat... well, not cheat. To see.

He saw a defender’s fatigue level drop to 20%. He sprinted past him. He saw a goalkeeper’s positioning rating was low on the left. He shot to the left.

It was like playing FIFA with the cheat codes on.

He remembered meeting Mark. A scrawny kid with messy hair and a love for pizza that defied science.

"I am fast!" Mark had said, tripping over his own laces. "I am a rocket!"

And Rico. The Brazilian kid who danced with the ball but cried when he missed a trick.

"Samba is life," Rico had sniffed. "But falling over is pain."

He remembered the rise. The debut for the first team. The first goal. The headlines.

WONDERKID. THE NEW MESSI. THE PROFESSOR.

He remembered the trophies. The first FA Cup. The first Premier League. The feeling of lifting silver and gold.

But he also remembered the fear. The fear that it wasn’t real. The fear that he was an impostor. A 40-year-old man hiding in a teenager’s body.

"Who are you?" he would ask the mirror.

"I am Leon," the reflection would say. "I am the future."

But the future had a price.

He remembered the injury. The tackle that almost ended Life Two before it really began. The system flashing red.

[CRITICAL DAMAGE. REBOOTING...]

He had survived. He had come back stronger.

He remembered the World Cup. The weight of a nation. The penalty shootout. The glory.

He remembered standing on top of the world, holding the trophy, and realizing that he had done what Danein Blake could only dream of.

He had become the player no one forgets.

Alex opened his eyes.

The hourglass had run out of sand.

"Time is up," Professor Chronos said.

Mark nudged him. Mark was wearing a pirate hat and an eye patch.

"I AM CAPTAIN TIMEBEARD!" Mark whispered. "I AM SAILING THE SEAS OF HISTORY! I AM LOOKING FOR BURIED TREASURE! (It is chocolate coins!)."

"Mark," Alex whispered. "You are wearing an eye patch in a lecture."

"Depth perception is overrated!" Mark argued. "I see the world in 2D! It is very flat!"

The lecture ended.

Alex packed his bag.

Life Two. Leon Fischer.

It was a good life. A golden life.

But it was over. He was Alex Finch now. The merger was complete.

But the lessons remained.

Insight. Analysis. Calculation.

He still saw the numbers sometimes. Faintly. Like ghosts in the machine.

He walked out to the car park.

Milo was waiting.

Milo was dressed as... a Viking.

He was wearing a horned helmet, a fur cape, and holding a plastic axe.

"VALHALLA CALLS!" Milo screamed. "ALEX! I AM THE VIKING KING! I AM SELLING BOATS! THEY ARE JUST INFLATABLE DINGHIES! BUT THEY FLOAT! ONLY FIFTY POUNDS!"

"Milo, we are going to a football match, not a raid," Alex said.

"FOOTBALL IS A RAID!" Milo yelled. "WE PILLAGE THE GOALS! WE STEAL THE POINTS!"

They drove to the stadium.

It was the UEFA Super Cup. Arsenal vs Bayer Leverkusen. Warsaw. Poland.

Xhaka was waiting. And the new defender. The Mountain.

Steve, the manager, was waiting in the dressing room.

"Leverkusen," Steve said. "They are disciplined. They are strong. They have Xhaka."

He looked at the team.

"They want to bully us. They think we are soft. They think the Treble made us lazy."

He looked at Alex.

"Professor. Show them that we are not lazy. We are just efficient."

"Efficiency is key," Alex nodded.

Warsaw. The National Stadium.

The roof was closed. The noise was trapped.

Alex stood in the tunnel.

Granit Xhaka stood next to him. He looked like a stone wall.

"Professor," Xhaka nodded. "Ready for school?"

"Always," Alex said.

Behind Xhaka stood The Mountain.

His name was Jonathan Tah. But he was huge. He looked like he was made of bricks.

Tah looked down at Mark.

"Tiny man," Tah grunted.

"I am concentrated power!" Mark chirped. "Like an espresso! Small but mighty!"

"I will drink you," Tah said.

"That is weird," Mark whispered to Alex. "He wants to drink me."

The whistle blew.

The game started.

Leverkusen were tough. They played a physical game. They hit hard.

In the tenth minute, Xhaka tackled Rice. It was a crunching tackle.

"Welcome to the game!" Xhaka shouted.

Rice stood up. He dusted himself off. "Nice try, old man."

Arsenal tried to play their passing game. But Leverkusen clogged the midfield.

In the thirtieth minute, Wirtz got the ball. He dribbled past Saliba. He shot.

Raya saved.

"Wake up!" Raya yelled.

Alex stood in the midfield.

He closed his eyes for a second.

He tried to access the System. The old friend from Life Two.

Focus.

A faint blue shimmer appeared.

[ANALYSIS: LEVERKUSEN DEFENSE.] [WEAKNESS DETECTED: LATERAL MOVEMENT. TAH IS SLOW ON THE TURN.]

Alex smiled. The System was still there. Just a whisper.

"Mark!" Alex shouted. "Spin him!"

Arsenal restarted.

Alex got the ball.

He saw Tah. The Mountain.

Alex didn’t pass to feet. He passed behind Tah.

Mark ran.

Tah tried to turn. He was big. He was heavy. It took him a second to rotate his hips.

That second was all Mark needed.

"TURBO!" Mark screamed.

He sprinted past Tah.

He was in the clear.

He squared the ball.

Rico was there.

Rico tapped it in.

Goal.

One zero. Arsenal.

Mark ran to Tah. "You turn like a bus! A slow bus!"

Tah growled.

Halftime. One zero.

Steve was happy.

"You found the weakness," Steve said. "Keep spinning them. Make them dizzy."

Second half.

Leverkusen pushed forward. They left gaps.

Sixtieth minute.

Alex got the ball.

He saw the numbers again.

[PROBABILITY OF LONG SHOT: 18%.] [PROBABILITY OF THROUGH BALL: 85%.]

Alex chose the pass.

He hit a laser through the defense.

Saka ran onto it.

He scored.

Two zero.

Seventy fifth minute.

Leverkusen scored a consolation goal. Boniface header.

Two one.

But Arsenal held on.

The final whistle blew.

Arsenal 2. Bayer Leverkusen 1.

Super Cup Winners.

Alex walked off the pitch.

He looked at the trophy.

Another one.

He thought about Leon Fischer. The boy who started it all.

"We did it, Leon," Alex whispered.

Mark jumped on his back. He was wearing the Super Cup as a hat (it was getting predictable, but still funny).

"WE ARE SUPER!" Mark yelled. "I AM SUPERMAN! BUT FASTER!"

Milo ran onto the pitch. He was wearing a cape made of a Polish flag.

"THE SUPERHERO!" Milo screamed. "I AM CAPTAIN COMMERCE! ALEX! I AM SELLING KRYPTONITE! TO STOP THE OTHER TEAMS! ONLY FIFTY POUNDS!"

"Milo, Kryptonite isn’t real," Alex laughed.

"IT IS GREEN ROCK CANDY!" Milo winked. "SUGAR RUSH!"

They walked to the podium.

Alex lifted the trophy.

Confetti rained down.

He looked at the crowd.

He saw his past. Danein. Leon.

They were smiling.

He saw his future.

It was bright.

The Dynasty was strong.

And the Professor?

He was just getting started.

"Class dismissed," Alex whispered.