---
By the time the match was over, Michael had added two more goals to the header he scored, completing his hat trick. Trey and Joshua each scored a brace, and Archie scored a rare goal. The final score of the match was nine goals to one.
After the match, Xavier addressed the squad. He didn't have anything specific to correct; he just said a few nonsensical words, not forgetting to insult everyone who played, and then dismissed the squad.
Once again, Alexis didn't walk home with Trey. He had to meet Anne, and Trey had something else to tend to. The duo said goodbye before going their separate ways.
"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were some middle-aged man hiding out inside the body of a teenager," Anne said to Alexis when she got to the café where they usually met. "In fact, who's to say that I know better?"
"Haha," Alexis laughed dryly. "You're getting funny."
"Seriously though, why are you always looking so serious? You should smile more often," Anne said. When she walked in, Alexis had a serious look on his face. It was obvious that he was lost in thought as he didn't even notice her standing in front of him. "It's like you're always thinking of something. Why?"
"Not all of us have rich fathers," Alexis said. "Some of us have to think about our future, college, and other stuff like that."
Anne smiled. "It's nice to know you've finally given up on football. I didn't want to tell you, but you were always a shit player."
Alexis looked at Anne with a serious expression. "Too far."
"Mmn. I don't really give a shit."
"Fuck you."
And like that, the rest of the evening passed. After he was done with Anne, Alexis went back to his house. As usual, he went into the bathroom and had a cold shower.
While he was showering, he heard the sound of a bell chime. Unlike previous times when he heard the bell chime, he wasn't excited. He was still a bit angry about what happened during the match.
|Ding! Host has completed his mission|
|Ding! Host has been rewarded|
Alexis felt a ticklish sensation all over his body. The sensation lasted for a few seconds before it was replaced by a chilly feeling, giving Alexis goosebumps.
|Ding! Reward process complete|
|Ding! New skill acquired!|
|ROULETTE (CLASS C)
|Downloading host's new stats|
|NAME: Alexis Butcher|
|CLUB/AFFILIATION: None|
|AGE: 14|
|FITNESS STATUS: Fully fit|
|STATS:|
|PACE: 66 > 67|
|SPEED: 55 > 58|
|DRIBBLING: 78 =|
|CONTROL: 63 =|
|PASSING: 64 > 65|
|SHOOTING: 61 > 63|
|DEFENDING: 21 =|
|PHYSIQUE: 27 > 30|
|OVERALL PLAYER RATING: 43 > 44|
|PLAYER POTENTIAL: 68
|SKILLS|
|ELASTICO (CLASS B)
|BODY FEINT (CLASS D)
|STEPOVER (CLASS D)
|ROULETTE (CLASS C)
|TITLES: NONE|
"New skill?" Alexis furrowed his brows when he saw that he had gotten a new skill. After seeing the skill, his eyes lit up. He had used a roulette to get past the defender when he set himself up for the free-post opportunity he had during the match. The system must've recognized it as a new skill.
'If it's like that, then the system is probably keeping tabs on whichever skill I use during matches. It also seems to know my proficiency using these skills. It was the first time I used the roulette skill, yet it's a class C, higher than some of the skills I use normally.'
Alexis continued to inspect his new stats. He checked where all the points had been allocated in his stats. Although the system didn't ask him, he felt quite happy with how the system allocated them.
What really made him happy was his physique. He remembered that it was 17 the first time he saw his stats. He was improving it quite steadily and felt it wouldn't be long before he became twice as strong as he was previously!
After finishing checking out his new stats, he started thinking about his talk with Xavier and how he needed to adapt to David and Archie's style of play.
They liked to draw out the midfielders and create the gap between the midfield and the defense, leaving loads of space for the attacking midfielder to exploit.
Alexis wasn't used to people creating space for him. He was used to creating his own pocket of space. That was what he was taught to do as an attacking midfielder. The two central midfielders behind him were to focus on defensive duties while he spearheaded the creative process.
He considered himself someone very good at adapting to new systems. He could play in a possession-based team and orchestrate attacks through carefully timed passes. He could play in a direct system through progressive passes, he thrived in a counter-attacking system, and he could also play through long balls.
In all those systems, however, he would be the one helping himself. He wasn't used to having the pivot behind him creating space for him.
To most people, it would seem easy to sit back and let others take some work away from you. But to someone like Alexis, who was basically taught to play like that, it wasn't easy to leave old habits behind.
After thinking for a little while, Alexis decided that he would have to do separate training to get himself used to playing with them. He planned to talk to them after training the next day. If they agreed, they would all stay behind and do some training drills together.
Seeing as he had solved his little problem, Alexis crashed on his bed and fell asleep. The friendly had fallen on a weekday, so he had school the next day and needed a large amount of rest.
---