My Football Legends Chat Group-Chapter 76: [Spinning...]

Rio opened up his mission tab and checked on his progress while jogging back to the halfway line.

#MISSION: The Creator

*Task: Register 5 Assists in the month of October.

(4/5) Assists

TIME: 15 minutes remaining.

REWARDS:

Skill ’Eagle Eye’ (S-Grade Vision)

Gold Lottery Ticket

Just thinking about what he could get with the Gold Lottery ticket gave Rio a huge burst of motivation. The game was won, 4-1, but the mission wasn’t done.

Dan James felt his lungs beginning to burn as he chased another one of Rio’s through balls. Remembering his comment on the bench almost an hour ago where he was worried about not getting game time, he suddenly felt exasperated.

If he had known that he would have to sprint for 20 minutes straight for this freak, he certainly wouldn’t have asked to come on.

It was weird, Rio would never stop until he reached the final whistle, even if it meant he had to force passes to the substitutes. Yet he would never shoot himself.

’Perhaps he’s trying to pad the stats.’ James thought, panting heavily.

However, the fact that this guy could create chances so consistently even at the 80th minute, made him excited. At first, the passes were too heavy, however, Rio quickly adjusted, finding the space behind the tired Southampton defense.

"Dan! Did you need a rest?" Rio called out, wiping the sweat from his brow but looking barely winded.

"Fuck off! I’m good!" He replied with a stale smile, though his legs felt like jelly.

’Damn this kid is relentless...’

After another ten minutes or so, the fourth official held up the board. 5 minutes added time. Rio was done with his warm-up passes. He headed over to the right wing and began looking for something.

A frown formed on his face as he scanned the box.

"R-Rio, behind you!"

He heard a small voice to his left, breaking his focus.

"Ah, A-Archie..." Rio felt his face heat up out of reflex, seeing the youngster limping slightly on the sideline, dressed in his oversized training jacket. He had been so focused on the mission and the situation with Dan James that he had barely noticed the kid since he went off injured.

He looked down to see exactly what Archie was pointing at—a gap in the Southampton defense that had opened up because Bednarek was too busy arguing with the referee.

"Thanks."

A genuine smile formed on his face as he took the advice. However, his expression stiffened once he realized the ball was already rolling towards him from a quick free-kick taken by Kamara.

"GO ON SON!"

A sound came out from the dugout behind him, causing him to turn quickly. He caught the tail end of Farke and the assistant coach falling over each other in excitement, creating quite a disturbance.

"Uh, I better go. Thanks again for the spot." Rio said, turning back to the pitch.

"N-No problem. Finish them!"

As Rio sprinted off, there was currently an argument being had on the bench where the commotion was earlier.

"What the hell are you doing!? You interrupted the counter-attack!" Farke was bonking the assistant on the head with his notebook, chastising him for the outburst.

"I-I’m sorry Boss, I got excited!" He replied, tears of laughter running down his face.

Archie saw all this and couldn’t help but laugh. Despite feeling a little awkward about his injury, he had finally worked up the courage to shout instructions to Rio, even though he was just a teenager on the bench.

This was just the first step. He would continue to support him, until he could run alongside him again.

Rio received the ball. He didn’t look at the goal. He didn’t look at the crowd.

[Skill: Eagle Eye (Passive)]

He saw the line. He saw the run.

Dan James was sprinting one last time.

Rio whipped the ball. It wasn’t a pass. It was an invitation.

The ball curled around the defender, slowed down, and sat up perfectly for James.

James hit it.

GOAL.

1-5.

DING.

[Mission Complete: The Creator]

[Progress: 5/5 Assists]

Rio fell to his knees. Not from exhaustion, but from relief.

"Finally," he whispered.

"I’m home," Rio called out, kicking his boots off after heading through the apartment door.

"Welcome home, Beast," Leo called out from the kitchen.

Rio raised his nose in the air and took in the smell of his favorite cheat meal. He walked into the kitchen and asked.

"Mmm is that pepperoni?" He asked, feeling his stomach growl in anticipation.

"Sure is. Extra cheese," Leo responded, turning to smile at his brother. However, in the next moment, his face scrunched up.

"Go shower, you’re ruining the delicious smell of the pizza."

Leo made a shooing motion as if he was a pest.

Rio could only laugh in response. He lifted up his shirt and gave it a smell, only to recoil right away.

’Damn, why is it that Championship football makes you smell like wet dog?’ He commented inwardly. He could have sworn that playing in Spain never smelled this bad.

"Okay okay, I’ll go shower then."

Some time later, Rio relaxed on his bed, his stomach full of pizza and cola. He was staring at the System window in front of him, just waiting for the ’processing’ bar to finish so he could open his rewards.

He always made sure to check the System alone, in case his dad walked in on his catatonic state. Rio did not know if he could be woken up during a System interface interaction, or what the consequences would be if he was.

Therefore he strictly adhered to this rule.

The moment the bar hit 100%, he pressed the button and found himself standing in the virtual locker room once again.

#SEASONAL MISSIONS:

Score 3 goals in 3 games - [Complete]

Register 5 Assists in October - [Complete]

Win Player of the Month - [Complete]

Maintain 90% Pass Accuracy - [Failed]

Make 10 Key Passes - [Complete]

Silence the Away Fans (upgradeable) - 500 Major points + Gold Lottery Ticket

He ran his eyes over the missions and smiled. Since he had been grinding every single match for the past 29 days, the only thing left was to claim the big prize.

Rio gathered himself, taking a few deep breaths. Today would be the day he would complete the first major arc of his career.

Having registered 5 assists and 3 goals in 4 weeks, Rio was confident that he had made a significant statement to the football world. The System too believed such, considering his Market Value had skyrocketed to £25m in this time.

He had to thank the Galactico Mindset skill, as well as his Titan’s Core for allowing him to progress so fast in such a little amount of time. Rio could already tell that the increase in stats allowed him to control the game far easier than before.

"Let’s do this... Gold Ticket!"

At his words, a giant golden wheel appeared in the virtual room, spinning with a sound like a jet engine.

"Hehe."

Rio watched the wheel spin. Skills, Attributes, Traits... they all blurred together.

[Spinning...]

[Spinning...]

[DING!]

The wheel stopped.

[Congratulations! You have obtained a Gold Tier Reward!]

[Skill Unlocked: The Zone (Grade S)]

[Description: For 5 minutes per match, entering ’The Zone’ slows down perceived time by 20%, allowing for superhuman reaction speeds and decision making. Cooldown: 1 Match.]

’Huh!?’ 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Rio stared at the screen for a few moments in disbelief. He had somehow uncovered an S-Grade skill within the System, just by merely assisting Dan James a few times.

Of course, he had worked to his limits the entire month which likely was a prerequisite for such a thing in the first place. However, it still felt as if a Ballon d’Or dropped from the sky right into his lap.

’Just what is this skill?’

Rio opened up his skill window with curiosity.

The Zone: You are rewarded based on your focus. Increases cognitive processing speed. Perfect for clutch moments.

’Holy crap! What is this skill?’

With the addition of this new skill, he would be able to get a huge advantage when compared to his peers just by activating it in the last few minutes. Since he already had the Eagle Eye skill, he could potentially see passes that didn’t even exist yet.

’Hold on. I had to train my vision for a whole month in order to get the Eagle Eye skill, so how did I get something so overpowered from a lottery?’

What he didn’t know was that his Captain’s Presence and his willingness to sacrifice his own glory for the assists (like the penalty pass to Piroe) had triggered a hidden ’Karma’ modifier in the lottery. The System had essentially rewarded his selflessness without Rio fully understanding.

Ignorant of the full impact the System had on his life, Rio turned his attention to the missions tab.

#MISSION: Ascend to the Peak (Part 2)

Task: Score or Assist against a ’Big 6’ Premier League team in the FA Cup.

TIME: Until FA Cup Draw.

REWARDS:

Platinum Lottery Ticket

Unlock Mission: European Dream

’Wow the reward is pretty good...’ He thought inwardly.

Rio closed the System. He lay back on his pillow, staring at the ceiling.

5-1 against Southampton. 5 assists in a month. And now, The Zone.

He looked at his phone on the nightstand. It lit up with a notification.

[New Message in Chat Group]

The_King: You fed the runners. You killed the game. Now, you rest. But remember... heavy is the head that wears the crown.

Cruyff_14: The Zone? Ah, I remember that feeling. It is like dancing in silence. Use it wisely, Rio.

Zizou_5: And next time, maybe score one for yourself. 5 assists is generous, but a King must also feast.

Rio smiled.

"Don’t worry, guys," he whispered to the empty room. "I’m just getting started."

He closed his eyes.

Tomorrow was a rest day. But for Rio Lance, there was no rest. Because somewhere out there, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal were waiting in the FA Cup draw.