Before Alex's eyes, an unopened steel pack hovered in the air, leaving him thunderstruck.
"What..!"
"Hahaha!"
Maybe it was because his body was too rigid or that he hadn't budged since crossing the white line; Laughter echoed from the stands—not in contempt, but because, after all, Alex's body was that of a child, the youngest on the field. Despite the adults' amusement, amidst the laughter, Alex could still faintly discern some cheering, likely coming from the body's family.
Alex felt a bit awkward at the thought as he jogged to his position. Despite being a 30-year-old adult, the memories of his time as an orphan still made him anxious. Shaking his head to dispel any wandering thoughts, he focused on what was before him.
The floating FIFA steel pack.
'Open'
With a mere thought, the steel pack opened, emitting a radiant light that prompted Alex to shut his eyes. However, just before closing them, he caught a glimpse of a faint golden light.
No way...
As a kid, Alex often bought FIFA cards and traded duplicates with others from the orphanage. Although later on he stopped buying them, he remembered how challenging it was for a lower-level card pack to yield a high-grade card. This pack wasn't even bronze; it was steel. Could he truly have acquired a golden card?
His hands sweated a little.
As the glow faded, Alex cautiously opened his eyes, revealing ten cards suspended in the air before him, one of which was gold!
Gold! The excitement and disbelief welled up within him.
Was he actually a lucky person? He had a little self-doubt. After all, what were the odds?
But before he could see the contents inside the golden card, words materialized beneath the cards.
[Will you choose one card, or will you choose them all?]
Was this some kind of joke? Naturally, he would rather choose them all, but the caution he acquired from society as an orphan and the years as a salary man, told him to think carefully, so he restrained his impulse.
This had to be a trick question, after all.
Alex pretended to chase after the player with the worn-out ball on the field, while his thoughts raced faster than his [PAC - 9] legs.
Ordinarily, the logical choice would be to select them all; after all, having all the cards would inherently mean you would also have the golden card. However, this was precisely what made Alex hesitate. Why have the option to choose just one unless that one card held a difference from having ten? Alex came to this conclusion, it was just that he did not know which was more beneficial to him.
Having the ten cards did not necessarily mean to have actually ten cards, of this, Alex was sure. Having them all could mean various things, such as combining the cards together into a single entity, a process that might either strengthen or potentially destroy all cards, or it could also mean a totally different thing. The key issue was that Alex was uncertain of what having ten cards meant.
Finally, after an internal debate, Alex finally chose the option of having just one card.
As they say, too much greed could kill you.
In the end, the option of selecting them all was full of uncertainties, while choosing just one offered certain guarantee.
Of course, if the cards before him were all of steel, he would, without a doubt choose the option of having them all... However because there was a valuable golden card that he couldn't afford to waste, he chose the safest option.
Before his eyes, the other nine cards vanished, leaving only the golden one.
Alex hands' were itchy, finally, he could take a good look to the contents inside.
"This..!"
This wasn't a FIFA card!
The card gleamed in gold with a unique lilac aura that surrounded it. Inside, there was an animated image of a man with a ponytail deftly rolling the ball with his foot before executing a nimble turn using the same foot. In the center of the card, a name appeared, adorned with a purple hue and a bright blue aftertaste. The name was…
"Ronaldinho's Elastico!"
Alex almost jumped in excitement. At his 30 years of age, this was the best decision he ever made!
This was a five star skill card!