I Don't Want to Get Hurt, So I'll Max Out My Defense - Chapter 55 - Nicholas Er Gouzi

Eric Maddox, a 70-year-old American retired football coach once hailed for his tactical brilliance, now forgotten by time—closes his eyes for what he believes is a normal nap in his quiet Florida retirement home.But when he opens them, he's not staring at ceiling tiles, instead, he's on a touchline.Wearing boots in the rain.With players running on the pitch, fans jeering behind barriers, and the smell of cheap turf pellets in the air.“What the hell is this?”He’s twenty-five again, but it’s not Earth. It’s a world where football reigns supreme. A world where the sport is religion, its practitioners, deities in cleats. Coaches are revered, players are worshipped, and even the kit man gets treated like royalty.But there's one catch: none of it is familiar. The clubs, the players, the leagues, the competitions, and even the currency—they're all different. Alien. Like waking up in a dream where the rules are the same, but the language is foreign.As if that wasn’t enough, the body he’s now in? A youth coach with a laughable win record, a looming divorce, and a measly fifty thousand in the bank that his ex-wife is fighting tooth and nail to take. All of it.Just when the spiral seems inevitable, a monotone chime pierces the noise.[Initiating Golden Finger…][…45%… 75%… 100%][System Integration Complete.][Welcome, host. You are now bound to the Pro Manager System. Objective: Dominate the Football World. A new era begins]From washed-up has-been to chosen one of destiny, Eric Maddox is about to trade arthritis pills for tactical boards, and shuffleboard for Prestigious Cup glory.Because in this world, tactics are power.And on this touchline, he’s about to become a god.

He just wanted a quiet vacation and a good espresso... instead, he ended up seducing half the city.------Lux Vaelthorn wanted three things: a good coffee, peace and quiet, and zero responsibilities.What he got?A mansion, a system with the personality of a deadpan butler, and a bunch of heiresses fighting over who gets to be his first “investment.”As the heir of Greed and Lust, Lux was born to dominate markets, hearts, and boardrooms. But after centuries of cleaning up his parents’ messes in the underworld, he rage-quit Hell’s finance department and took a hundred-year vacation to the mortal realm.His problem?Even without trying, he’s too hot, too rich, and too damn magnetic.His Incubus Pheromones seduce emotionally unstable rich girls like clockwork.His Greed System scans bank accounts like X-rays.And thanks to a “minor” celestial bounty on his soul, some entities either want to marry him… or murder him.[Warning: 3 rich virgins detected within 15 meters. Incubus Pheromones activated.][Recommendation: Flee. Or flirt. Your call.]Lux just wanted caffeine.Now he’s got a mansion full of horny heiresses, a schedule full of power plays, and a city that thinks he’s a billionaire playboy CEO.Fine.If he can’t nap… he might as well rule.

Forcefully brought over from the modern world to an alternate world, Wang Chong felt detached and lived his life aimlessly.

However, when calamity struck and he saw his family and everything he cared for being torn apart, he felt regret.

Thus, he stood up and eventually became the Grand Marshal of the Central Plains, leading an army against those who seek to destroy all he cherished.

Yet, despite all his efforts, it was already too late to reverse destiny.

But before his death, a shooting star, the same one which brought him to this world, appeared before him, and he was given another chance to undo his regrets.

- Description from Novelupdates

I thought I had seen bad endings before—but nothing prepared me for the garbage conclusion of The Hero’s Path.Years of investment, countless struggles, and for what? The protagonist failed. The villain won. Everyone else? Dead. Furious, I sent a message to the author, only to get a chilling response:[Do you think you could do better?]Before I could even blink, my phone exploded in a blinding light, and the next thing I knew—I was waking up in a completely different body.Now, I’m Merlin Everhart, a fourteen-year-old with a 12-star talent, the kind of gift only the strongest should have.But here’s the problem: I have no idea who I am supposed to be.With nothing but a system and a first-day-of-school alarm ringing in my ears, I’m thrown into the world of The Hero’s Path.Am I just another side character in a world that already ended once?…Either way, I refuse to let this story beat me too.