Minutes later, in the locker room of the Wushia High School soccer club, everyone was tired, exhausted.
The players, still panting and sweating, were scattered around the room. Some sat on the bench, others on the cold floor.
Goalkeeper Toshinori rested his back on the bench and threw a sweaty towel over his shoulder.
"Do you think every game will be as exhausting as this one?" Toshinori asked the others.
Kuwabara took a drink of water and answered:
"Tiring? What are you talking about? Goalkeepers don't even get tired."
"Are you kidding?" Toshinori raised an eyebrow. "It's too exhausting to be in the back concentrating all the time, even if you're not in the game all the time."
The conversation was becoming lighthearted, a brief respite from the tension of the game.
Suddenly, the locker room door opened with a soft creak, and Mr. Yamamoto walked in. He was holding a folder of documents, and his eyes looked a little more serious than usual.
"Everyone, please gather here for a brief discussion." Mr. Yamamoto asked, his voice echoing slightly in the quiet room.
The players began to gather around Mr. Yamamoto, all of them confused.
"About the next game..." Mr. Yamamoto pulled a piece of paper out of his briefcase and looked at everyone with a serious expression. "We're playing Itou High School."
Confused looks and a series of silent questions arose among the players.
Nishidafrowned and asked: "Itou High School? I've never heard of them."
Mr. Yamamoto's expression remained serious. "Itou High School isn't very well known because it's in Aichi Prefecture. However, they have a player who did something extraordinary in today's game. Shinto Ishikuno is his name."
The name echoed through the silent locker room, but most of the players were still confused.
"Shinto Ishikuno?" Kenji asked.
"Yes. Shinto Ishikuno is a phenomenal player. In the game that took place earlier, he scored all six goals in the match."
A stunned silence fell over the locker room. Without saying anything, everyone understood that if a player was able to score six goals by himself, it meant that he possessed extraordinary talent, a monstrous level of skill. It was likely that an ordinary player could score three goals in a soccer match, a hat trick, because scoring goals was just the result of a series of actions. However, a single player scoring six goals was highly unlikely, especially in a league like this.
"Six goals in one game?" Kuwabara asked, stunned. "That's... impossible."
"It's not impossible, it's just rare," Yamamoto said. "And that's why we have to be prepared. Ishikuno is known for his ability to dribble and create almost impossible chances. If I could compare him to any famous player, I'd say he's a Neymar-type player."
There was a moment of silence as everyone absorbed the information.
"Like Neymar? Does that mean he's a monster who holds the ball up and passes it to anyone with improvised dribbles?" One player from Wushia High School asked.
"Yes. I know we've just finished a tiring game, but the next game against Itou High School will put us in the real tournament bracket. We already knew that we'd face some great players in this tournament, and that's why we're all here."
"Right!" The Wushia High School players immediately agreed.
Mr. Yamamoto looked around and noticed Lucas' absence. "Oh, by the way, Lucas is the only one who isn't here. Where is he?" he asked, looking at Nishida.
"He told me he went to check on Yukihiro in the infirmary."
"Strange, I just came from there." Mr. Yamamoto scratched at his unshaven beard.
In fact, Lucas Tanaka was sitting on the toilet seat in one of the stadium's public restrooms. With the door closed, Lucas had the slightly bluish light of a system monitor in his face.
He sighed and said: "Finally... I can't believe I did it."
The glow of the notification was a message from the Champion system that read:
[You have completed the "Troubleshooter" mission bonus!]
[You have received +1 Uncommon Loot Box].
[You have received +1 Common Card].
"The loot boxes are now always displayed as uncommon. Does that mean that what's inside is rarer?" Lucas thought aloud. "Besides, I won a card... Okay, let's do this in parts. First, I want to see what this ordinary card is that seems to be the mysterious reward from earlier." He muttered to himself, tapping at the notification with a finger trembling with anticipation.
When he touched the card notification, a surprisingly bright floating letter appeared in front of him. The letter seemed to be made of a material that oscillated between the physical and the ethereal, glowing with a soft gray radiance. A [Reveal] button was in the center of the card.
With a hesitant movement, Lucas extended his right index finger and clicked the button to reveal the contents of the letter.
The letter was revealed with a faint crackling sound, like a stream of air passing through a field of dry leaves. A bluish light emerged from inside the letter. A floating message appeared in front of Lucas.
[Congratulations, you have obtained the Common Skill: Quick Vegetable Slicer.]
Lucas blinked in confusion as the information settled in his mind.
"Quick Vegetable Slicer? What the hell is that, System? How is that going to help me with soccer?" He thought aloud again, frowning.
This skill was as irrelevant to Lucas as straw was to an architect.
Frustrated, he decided to forget about it for now and open the two Uncommon Loot Boxes he had received. He tapped on the notification of the first Uncommon Loot Box. Immediately, a floating, ornate box appeared in front of him, spinning slowly while emitting a blue-green glow. Lucas took a deep breath and opened the box with a light touch.
The loot box revealed a bottle of yellow liquid.
[You have received 1 Rapid Recovery Elixir.]
Lucas took the bottle and felt the cold substance on his skin. "Rapid Recovery Elixir, this is..."
[This elixir will instantly restore 50% of your energy and cure your fatigue.]
"That's great." Lucas muttered, putting the vial in his inventory. "Now let's see the second loot box."
With the same anticipation, he touched the second uncommon loot box. The box spun and glowed before opening, revealing a bracelet-like object made of a silver metal that shone brightly.
[You have received 1 weight bracelet.]
[This bracelet weighs 20kg. It can be useful for you to train your strength].
Lucas smiled bitterly as he took the bracelet. "This will come in handy... sometime... I think..."