~----~
[You have completed system mission: It is your debut game; make your mark, make it memorable!]
[You managed to give an assist during your debut professional game for Enyimba FC, your first professional football club!]
[Mission penalty has been voided!]
[Congratulations! You have awakened real-time game experience accumulation!]
[NOTE: Real-time game experience accumulation is the ability of host to develop real-time during professional football games and training without the system while being recorded by the system, including improving your skill masteries on the pitch and even leveling up your attributes!]
[NOTE: The progress of real-time game experience accumulation on host is based on a few factors!]
[NOTE: You have finally unlocked skill and skill mastery tab!]
…
[Owned Football Skills:]
(La Croqueta)
(Skill Mastery Level: Basic)
(Skill progress to intermediate level: 31/100]
~
(Body Feint)
(Skill Mastery Level: Basic)
(Skill progress to intermediate level: 12/100)
…
(Cruyff Turn)
(Skill Mastery Level: Basic)
(Skill progress to intermediate level: 89/100)
…
(Power Shot)
(Skill Mastery Level: Basic)
(Skill progress to intermediate level: 2/100)
…
[You have completed matchday system mission: Win the game!]
[You played only a few minutes of this football game as a substitute!]
[Calculating reward…, please wait…]
[Calculation complete!]
[You have been rewarded with 1 Skill Point!]
[Available Skill Points: 2]
~----~
Seeing these system notifications, the first emotion that Sam felt was ecstasy. 'Damn! Finally!' He exclaimed in his mind, the fact that he was not alone in this room was the only reason why he didn't erupt yet.
For a long time, he had wondered about the reason why he couldn't see the football skills that he already mastered.
Despite the fact that he was still not a professional football player, Sam was confident in his football skills, even from when he was just 14 years old.
As an attacking midfielder, he may not be up there with the best players in the world yet but against his peers, Sam was confident in his skills.
This was why he was baffled by the reason why his system didn't display his football skills before now. At some point, he thought it had a separate perk for that and he needed to level up the system to unlock it.
But now, he knew the reason why.
Apparently, he had to complete his first professional football game to unlock it. At this moment, he truly realized how much of a milestone his first game against Nasarawa United truly was.
Another reason for his ecstasy was because personally, he already confirmed that the system was right.
Among the myriad of football skills that he tried his hands out with during his little purple reign of football love after the 2011 Champions league final, these 4 skills indicated by the Ultimate Football System were truly his strongest traits.
On his day, on a football pitch, Sam could see himself easily executing the Cruyff turn and la croqueta skills against other players of his caliber.
He also had a great shot, evident from his first and only training game with Coach James in preparation for the Christmas Game.
He may not be as proficient with his body feint skills, but he was glad his system acknowledged it nonetheless.
Despite this, Sam was pretty sure that there were other skills that he had some knowledge of, no matter how small.
He understood why the system didn't display them though. 'My mastery level with these skills is not yet up to the basic mastery level'.
For a few seconds, he reflected, simply appreciating how much this revelation from his system could affect his football career. 'Damn! The system is the OG!'
'With it, I can literally track my growth with practicing football skills!' Sam was giddy with joy.
Another factor that left him excited was the simple fact that he finally learned how to earn more skill points consistently.
To earn skill points, he simply needed to play games. 'The more games I play and the more playing time that I get, the better'. He thought, excited at the possibility of earning more skill points.
After all, to make use of the skills market, he needed skill points since it was the only currency accepted by the system so far.
At this moment, his system beeped with a notification.
~----~
[WARNING! You are past a professional football player's bed time!]
[System penalty: No penalty]
[System Remark: To get to the top of the football world, you need to have a disciplined schedule to avoid career-ending injuries and to always be in top shape to perform at the top of your game consistently.]
[System Hint: Go to sleep]
~---~
Sam was stunned. 'This is new'. He almost laughed.
Yawning, he finally paid attention to the time. He could not afford to stay awake any longer, it was already past 12.
'Damn, I miss the times when I could sleep anytime I wanted'.
'But like the system said, if I want to achieve my dreams and rise to the top of the football world, I need to be disciplined'.
With a big smile on his face, Sam finally dismissed his system interface.
He thought. 'I'm living the dream'.
And then, he finally beat the excitement of experiencing his very first professional football game, falling asleep.
…
Sam slept late but the next morning, he managed to keep to his early waking schedule, waking earlier than his captain.
Sneaking out of the room, he went on a job.
Unlike the others, he had a system daily quest to complete.
About an hour later, he finally got the notification that he was looking for.
~----~
[You have completed Daily Quest: Get back in shape!]
[You have been rewarded with a low-grade physical conditioning elixir!]
~----~
With a slight smile on his face, Sam jogged back to the hotel room drenched in sweat. He found his captain standing idly outside the hotel. "Where are you coming from?"
Sam grinned. "I went on a jog".
Hearing that, Austin Oladapo grinned. "Good," he nodded. "Do you want to go on another lap?"
"Why not? You want to jog with me?"
"Yeah, I like this dedication of yours, keep it up". Austin smiled. "You're the first teammate that's willing to go on a jog in away ground since I started playing football".
Hearing that, Sam smiled cheekily. "Ok," he agreed readily, eager to build a closer relationship with his captain.
They jogged for another 30 minutes before finally calling it a day. Taking turns, both players entered the bathroom to take a bath and freshen up once they were back in their room.
They soon got an SMS message from Coach Yemi Daniel indicating that the bus would depart in 45 minutes.
Sam and Austin met up with the schedule and alongside their teammates, they finally embarked on their journey back home after their first football league game of the season.
Later in the day, after all the games were played, Coach Yemi Daniel sent the results of all the matchday 1 fixtures to his players, Sam included.
Coach Yemi Daniel also sent the fixtures for matchday 2 to his players.
With his phone, Sam accessed the results.