Even so, since this is such a unique ability, I’ll find a way to use time magic to achieve something super!

This time, I started experimenting with how to apply time magic to sports, wondering if I could become a pro athlete (this part is crucial) who earns big money with minimal effort in the future.

During elementary school, I tried soccer.

Playing in the J-League, then the national team, transferring to the Premier League or Real Madrid, making tons of money, and marrying a cute celebrity! After all, soccer players are the highest-earning pro athletes these days, right?

I was all fired up, but this time-stopping magic turned out to be a terrible match for soccer.

First, whenever I tried to do something while time was stopped—like dribbling past opponents—it just looked like teleportation from an outside perspective, completely inhuman. And since becoming a pro means everything gets recorded, I couldn’t just pass it off as people imagining things.

In that case, it would’ve been better if time just slowed down instead of stopping.

If time slowed, I could move briskly but normally during it, which might look slightly unnatural but still within believable limits. I could’ve calmly analyzed the situation, adjusted my movements to be just a bit faster, and avoided standing out too much.

Then, maybe I could’ve carefully observed defenders, dodged them, taken my time picking a shot, and calmly scored. Ah, but at that point, one second wouldn’t be enough, huh?

Anyway, the point is, there was basically no use for time stopping during actual gameplay.

I imagined myself effortlessly dribbling past multiple opponents, the entire stadium’s eyes fixed on me, then leisurely shooting into an empty goal.

The crowd would rise to their feet, chanting my name in endless praise.

But that fantasy vanished like morning dew.

Sigh. Still, after racking my brain for ways to make time magic work in soccer, I found one small use: penalty kicks.

If I stopped time right before kicking, I could carefully see which way the goalkeeper was diving and almost always score. The world’s greatest PK specialist—yay, me!

But that alone wasn’t enough. PKs are just the flashy cherry on top for star forwards who score all the time. A plain guy like me would never get the chance to take them.

There was a time when Japan’s weak penalty shootouts became a hot topic during the World Cup, but being a PK specialist alone won’t get you scouted by pros.

If I’d put in insane effort, maybe I could’ve scraped the very bottom of the pro leagues, but that’s not what I’m aiming for.

I want to use time magic’s special power to earn money easily and live a carefree life.

Thanks to all this, I wasted my elementary school years, but at least I learned that soccer isn’t the path to easy money.

So in middle school, I’ll challenge myself to become a superstar—using time magic in a different sport!