Back at his dormitory, Harry couldn't believe he had signed such a big contract. He was elated, but he felt something was missing from his life. A face flashed in his mind. The face brought a lot of memories with it.
Harry remembered the toughest day of his life. The day he failed the tryouts and couldn't come to terms with the situation. It was embarrassing, but he ran away... Literally... Soon, he was alone in a city he knew nothing about.
When he came to his senses, he was lost, hungry, thirsty and he couldn't reach out to Maria. His cellphone wasn't with him. Hence, he couldn't contact his loved ones either.
As a result, he panicked. He felt despair. It was an emotion that reminded him of his last moments in his previous life. The fear, the helplessness and the negativity overwhelmed him. Harry lost his consciousness as if his brain was protecting Harry from the negative emotions.
When Harry woke up, he was in an unfamiliar place... It was there where he met her... The time passed by so much quicker while he was with her. Even by the time her parents came back, there was something that he hadn't realized... He didn't notice it on that day. Not even after he left, as her parents helped him find and meet up with his grandfather.
He only realised it the next morning, after coming back to his village, when he woke up to train.
He had found a goal... He wanted to be the one on the posters of that girl's room. Maybe... he wanted something more...
"Hey, lovesick kid, I always wonder why you never contacted Alizey again?" Harry was suddenly interrupted by Maria's annoying voice.
'Wohoo! Hey, I am not in love.' Harry almost literally jumped up to defend himself.
"Come on, since the last 2 weeks after I have been back... You are finding one reason or another to think about her. In fact, you only think about three things. That day you met her, her jet black hair and her sparkling eyes. Arghh."
'That's so not true! Hey, I am not having this conversation with an A.I. in my head.'
"Alrightyyy, but it amazes me, you know... I wonder how you became mentally stronger just because you met her..." Maria spoke in a teasing tone.
'Hey, I have always been mentally strong.'
"Says the guy who ran away from a stadium, because he failed to impress the coaches at a training camp."
'Hey, on that day, I was feeling really down. I just simply had a great time at her place and forgot about everything bad that happened. You do realise that I just had a normal conversation and dinner with her. I can't fall in love just because of this, nor can I become mentally stronger.'
"Sounds to me like you had a date." Maria teased him while giggling at his explanations.
'You are impossible!'
"Alright kiddo, I just wanted to tell you to have more faith in yourself than some girl with jet black hair and sparkling black eyes. Hey, I hope that girl has other body parts, or it would be just creepy."
'She has a cute, small, round and chubby face.'
"Ahaan, I guess you're the old-fashioned type. You know, like those grandmothers and aunts who love it when kids have fat on their cheeks for them to pinch."
'I really need to find a way to shut you out when I'm thinking.'
"That's not a nice thing to say. Anyway, what I was going to talk about was that...umm.. I really appreciate the effort you put in after you came back from the capital to the K village.
You put the pain of disqualification behind you. You paid no heed to the loss of the system. Your friends found success and left for the E continent, but you didn't mull over being left behind.
I found your focus admirable when you were training, improving your skills, getting proficient in the basics and breaking through your limits."
'Sorry & Thanks.' Harry still felt a little upset as he curtly replied.
"It's okay and really, I appreciate you not letting the system being away hold you back. By May that year, you even managed to go to the E continent and join an academy.
Although, the circumstances weren't exactly favourable. Nonetheless, you didn't let the fact that you were going to play in an amateur league get to you. You were witty and stood your ground to negotiate a favourable deal."
'Well, my agent was nervous because of the tricky situation and he was feeling pressured being around me. I had no choice but to be brave and bold against those people.'
"Yeah, that's cool. You know, I love the fact that when you played for the E-city team, you performed your best. Your Grandpa will be proud of you that you never stopped training to become a better player."
'Well, I wasn't that great, you know... I was dissatisfied. I sometimes got in a bad mood and acted like a stuck-up... erm... female dog.'
"Yeah, you did act like that, but that's just being human. Humans are emotional creatures."
'Hmm.. Anyway, it's strange, but I never felt that this was the end of the line for me. I managed to remain optimistic that things would change. Life would get better.
Therefore, every small improvement in my football ability made me happy. That's precisely why I never skipped my training and never forgot my goals.'
"There is a saying that the combination of Talent, Hardwork and Luck summarize how far you could go in any occupation.
Someone without talent might get lucky and reach heights they didn't imagine with hardwork.
Someone with loads of talent, but not much luck, will definitely become successful with hardwork.
However, someone who is not hardworking will definitely not be successful with talent and luck alone.
Harry, you are super talented. Furthermore, you couldn't get any luckier, being able to live again and having been born with a silver spoon. In addition, you are as hardworking as one could be.
Success is inevitable if you stay hardworking like that."
'I feel really grateful that I got you and my system back.' Harry spoke as he felt smug about himself.
"Even after learning why you couldn't use the system for two years?" Maria countered to bring him back to Earth.
'I really don't like you snooping around my thoughts all the time.' Harry was a bit annoyed and left the room to get some fresh air.
- - -
Ironically, two years ago, Harry was punished for not completing the Hidden Quest: Join One of The Top Two Football Academies of The World.
As a result, his system got locked & he couldn't contact Maria. Furthermore, his daily missions and items from Inventory (excluding system points) were removed.
In addition, his artificial stats stopped increasing. Moreover, he was judged to have failed the Passive Quest: Become a D-Rated Player Within a Year.
For the last part of his punishment, he was ineligible for rewards of the Position-Oriented Training Missions.
When he read through the notifications, Harry was elated to learn that the system didn't let his efforts go down the drain.
He was judged to have unlocked a Chained Passive Quest: Join Blaugrana or Red Devils.
Restrictions: * A minimum transfer fee of €30,000,000, * €120,000 weekly wages at the minimum & * a time limit of 5 years.
Step 1: Sign a Professional Contract with an E Continent Football Club.
Rewards: 100 System Points & S+ Speed Training Manual.
Harry unlocked another Chained Passive Quest: Become a Superstar of Football.
Step 1: Win the ECFF Young Player of The Year Award.
Rewards: Elite Player Skill (choice of 1/3) & 100 System Points.
The system rewarded Harry for completing the Hidden Quest: Learning the Mentality of a Superstar, 'Never Dwell on Failures & Always Focus on Improvements.'
Harry received rewards containing a Superstar Skill of his choice, +35 Overall Rating and 210 System Points.
The system rewarded Harry for completing the Yearly Active Mission. His stats increased accordingly; Physique +50, Technique +25 and Mental Attributes +75.
The system notified Harry of being rewarded for completing Passive Quests: Go to the E Continent & Join a Youth Academy.
Harry received the following rewards: 200 System Points, 1 each B Rated Physique, Technique and Mental Attributes Potion, 1 Legendary Skill (choice of 1/ 3) and Overall Rating +15.
Harry got rewarded for 100% skill proficiency in Passing like De Bruyne and Attacking Instincts of Reus.
His Short Passing, Long Passing, Crossing, Passing Vision, Attacking Awareness, Attack Positioning, Attacking Vision and Game Reading Stats became C+.
Harry was acknowledged by the system to have completed Step 2 to Step 4 of the Chained Passive Quest, 'Become a Football King,' by getting more than 10,000 fans.
He received the following Rewards: 135 System Points, 5 Free Lottery Spins, 1 Random Elite Player Skill & Unlocked Step 5.
The system acknowledged Harry for completing Step 2 of the Chained Passive Quest, 'Steady Improvement.'
He managed to do it by integrating his Natural and Artificial Stats.
Harry was rewarded with +20 System Points, +10 in Rating & Unlocked Step 3.
Finally, Harry received a notification of compensation for having the system locked in his rookie year. Consequently, until he became a B- Rated Player, he would have the abilities of a B- Player.
- - - -
Time passed painfully slow, as Harry waited for the completion of his transfer to the Peasants. He had gone down a trip to memory lane. He had been teased by Maria. Now, he had been walking around the streets for a while. He felt cold as soon as he realised it was winter, snowy and freezing out there. He walked back to his dormitory and looked at his system trying to see if he missed anything of notice.
____
User Stats:
Physical Ability: 675
Technical Ability: 695
Mental Ability: 680
Overall Rating: 683 C- Rated Player.
Current Ability: 760 B- Rated Player.
____
Inventory:
*380 System Points.
*2 B-Recovery Potion.
*1 C+ Recovery Potion.
* 1 C- Recovery Potion.
*1 A+ Healing Potion.
____
Harry's current stats were excellent for someone his age. He was an emerging young talent, but he could play like an experienced professional from the top 5 leagues.
Harry's Inventory had an excess of system points when the system came back. Hence, he opted to Upgrade his system with 500 system points.
As a result, he managed to unlock the System Shop. He got a random free shop item as a reward. The Item was a time-limited active mission.
**Impress the Scout of The Red Bulls, a G Country Football Club, in your next 3 matches.
Rewards: You will be offered a contract by The Red Bulls based on your performances.
Harry, with his upgraded abilities and new skills, had scored 7 goals and made 4 assists in 3 matches. Yesterday, he was offered a contract by the Red Bulls due to the completion of this mission. It was the best offer that The Red Bulls had ever given someone of his age.