Chapter 4 - The Futsal Match
Cleiton quickly joined the red team, eager to play. Seeing his teammates as red holographic figures and the opposing team as blue holograms was odd at first, but he quickly adjusted his focus, ready for the game.
As he took his position, the system began feeding instructions on futsal positions directly into Cleiton's mind.
Goalkeeper:
The goalkeeper's job was to protect the goal. Though he could join the attack, he wasn't allowed to touch the ball in the opponent's defensive area. The system emphasized the goalkeeper's role in starting plays and protecting the court.
Defender:
In the defender role, Cleiton was tasked with covering the back, preventing the ball from reaching the goal area. The system reminded him to stay calm, observe his opponents' movements, and intercept passes and dribbles with precision, while also helping to set up his team's offensive plays.
Winger:
The wingers were the most agile players on the court, responsible for advancing the ball along the sidelines and playing either on the right or left. Their role was to move up and down the court, connecting with other players, especially the pivot.
Pivot:
As the attacker, the pivot played closest to the opponent's goal, aiming to finish plays created by the team or draw defenders to create space for the wingers to break through.
With the instructions clear, the holographic players on both teams took their positions. Cleiton stood firm in his defender position at the center of the red team's defense, analyzing the space and mentally preparing his strategy.
A hovering drone acting as the referee descended to the center of the court with a two-sided coin, one red and the other blue. It flipped the coin, which landed on blue, signaling that the blue team would start with the ball.
The drone whistled, and the game began.
The blue players advanced quickly, exchanging short, sharp passes. Cleiton held his position, watching as the red team's wingers pressed to block the initial attack. The left winger of the blue team attempted a quick dribble, but the red team's right winger intercepted and, with a precise pass, sent the ball to Cleiton.
As he received the ball, Cleiton felt the pressure from the blue attackers closing in. He controlled the ball steadily, took two steps to the side, and, noticing the red pivot free in the center, sent a low, direct pass. The pivot received it, turned, and shot, but the blue goalkeeper deflected it with agility.
The game quickly picked up intensity. The tight court and rapid pace required Cleiton to stay in constant motion, alert to intercept any attempts by the blue team to advance. After another quick series of passes, the left winger from the blue team found a gap and shot hard, aiming for the lower corner. Cleiton spotted the shot at the last moment and lunged to intercept, deflecting it with his leg out of bounds.
Buoyed by his play, the red team positioned themselves confidently. Cleiton noted that each second of the game demanded a level of focus and reaction beyond what he was used to in regular soccer.
When the blue team regained possession, the red team's right winger approached Cleiton and shouted a quick instruction. The ball came speeding toward Cleiton, and he intercepted it with a controlled touch, passing it back to the winger, who surged forward on the counterattack. After a quick series of passes, the ball reached the red team's pivot, who faked out a defender and scored!
1–0 to the red team.
Cleiton was still celebrating the red team's first goal when the game resumed. Feeling confident, he stayed in his defensive role and tried to take on more responsibility in building plays. However, the blue team quickly adjusted their strategy, upping the intensity and moving more in sync.
As Cleiton received the ball on defense, he attempted a long pass to the right winger. But the pass was weak and off-target, landing directly at the feet of the blue team's left winger. Seizing the opportunity, the opponent surged forward, and Cleiton, scrambling to cover, realized too late what was happening. The blue winger passed to their pivot, who spun, faked Cleiton out, and scored, tying the game.
Cleiton felt the sting of his mistake but tried to stay focused. The red team restarted play, and he returned to his defensive position. Yet the opponents seemed more prepared, attacking with even more precision and speed. In a new play, the blue team's right winger passed the ball to their pivot, who was well-positioned near the area. Cleiton tried to anticipate the pass and intercept, but his timing was off. Arriving too late, he watched as the blue team's pivot easily controlled the ball, using his body to keep Cleiton at bay, and shot a powerful cross, scoring again. In a matter of minutes, the blue team had turned the game around: 2–1.
Fatigue began to set in for Cleiton. The intensity and pace of futsal were testing his endurance. Panting, he returned to the center of the defense, trying to recall the system's instructions, but his mind felt foggy, and his body, drained.
With the scoreboard against them, the pressure mounted. Cleiton, trying to regain confidence, attempted another risky pass to the left winger but failed once more. The blue team's winger intercepted, dribbled past Cleiton effortlessly, and, in a swift move, passed to the pivot. Cleiton tried to position himself to stop the play, but the pivot outmatched him, using his strength to shake off Cleiton's challenge and scored yet again, bringing the score to 3–1.
With each mistake, Cleiton's confidence dwindled. The blue team relentlessly exploited his lapses, while his holographic teammates, though in position, couldn't cover every gap Cleiton left behind. The opponents attacked in waves, capitalizing on each misstep, each poor decision.
After about twenty minutes, exhaustion had taken over. Cleiton's passes were sloppy, his ability to cover opponents was weakened, and he was repeatedly outplayed by the blue team's attackers. His feet felt heavy, his movements sluggish, and the court seemed to shrink as the blue players darted around him with speed and accuracy that he couldn't match.
Cleiton barely managed to coordinate with his teammates for any effective attacks. Each time the red team regained possession, he tried to push forward, but he'd misplace himself or pass directly to an opponent. The blue team controlled the game, seizing every mistake, every bad call.
With the final whistle, Cleiton collapsed to his knees, weighed down by each error, yet he felt a spark of growing determination. The system had made it clear: a great player isn't made in a single game.
Just seconds after the game ended, Cleiton felt a surprising burst of energy. All the accumulated fatigue vanished like magic, and he felt completely refreshed. Confused, Cleiton addressed the system.
"System, why do I suddenly feel fine? Wasn't I completely exhausted just moments ago?"
The system answered in its usual tone:
'The physical exhaustion accumulated during games in the system's environment is temporarily removed to allow the host to play multiple matches in succession. However, as soon as you exit, the physical and mental fatigue will return. Don't worry; a good night's sleep will be enough to recover completely. Just remember: the more you play, the more sleep you'll need to fully eliminate the fatigue.'
Cleiton thought for a moment, worried about potential real-life consequences.
"And this fatigue… could it actually hurt me? Like, make me end up injured from training so hard here?"
The system assured him it wouldn't.
'There's no risk of injury. All physical and mental fatigue from training in the system will dissipate with rest. But adequate sleep is essential to avoid a buildup of exhaustion.'
Understanding all this, Cleiton felt motivated to try again. He stood up, stretching his arms, ready for a second match. This time, he wanted to apply what he'd learned and work to correct his mistakes.
The game resumed, and Cleiton, more determined, took his position as the red team's defender. However, the match proved even tougher than the first. The blue team came out with more speed and organization, and Cleiton quickly fell back into making mistakes. His passes were intercepted easily, and his efforts to cover opponents fell short. The blue team seemed twice as aggressive, exploiting every defensive gap he left.
In a key play, the blue team's pivot took advantage of Cleiton's lack of coverage and scored with ease. From that moment, the score spiraled out of control in favor of the blue team, who quickly added another goal, then another. Desperately, Cleiton tried to adapt, but his clumsy movements and difficulty keeping up with the game's pace only worsened his performance.
By the end of the match, the red team had lost by a landslide, with Cleiton once again the primary cause of their defeat. He realized he still had a lot to learn about futsal, from defending to positioning and passing. Each mistake was a painful lesson, but he was determined to improve, even if it meant facing more losses along the way.
After the crushing loss in the second match, Cleiton didn't give up. Determined to learn, he kept playing, racking up five more matches. Each brought another defeat. With every game, he recognized his errors, but fixing them in the short term was nearly impossible; Cleiton could only give his best. Still, he persisted, believing his understanding of the game would improve and that the system might reward him for his efforts.
But after the seventh match, instead of the miraculous relief from fatigue, Cleiton received a stern notification from the system:
'SAFETY ALERT'
'THE HOST HAS REACHED THE SAFE LIMIT FOR THE USER'S CURRENT PHYSICAL AND MENTAL CAPABILITIES.'
'AS A STANDARD SYSTEM SAFETY MEASURE, THE HOST WILL BE FORCIBLY REMOVED FROM THE TRAINING FIELD.'
Before he could process what was happening, Cleiton was suddenly ejected from the Training Center. Back in his room, he barely had a moment to catch his breath before the accumulated fatigue from all the games crashed over him like an avalanche. The exhaustion was so overwhelming that he could barely close his eyes before falling into a deep, heavy sleep.
But it didn't take long for the nightmares to begin. In his tired mind, he saw himself being kicked out of the youth team. He saw the look of deep disappointment on his father's face, heard the harsh words accusing him of lacking effort and being a disgrace to the family. Suddenly, the image of his mother—whom Cleiton had barely known—appeared in his mind. She gazed at him with a dark expression, and the words she whispered cut through him like a blade:
"You were the reason for my death. A waste... I died in vain to give birth to a useless son."
Her words echoed in Cleiton's mind, sinking him further into guilt and fear.
Then, the sound of his phone alarm jolted him from the dark nightmare. It was 5 a.m., and he had to get ready for another day of routine: mission, school, work, training. Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself together, remembering that he still had something to check. First, he decided to open the system and view his status. After the intense training and painful defeats, he wanted to see if, after all, he had gained anything.
---
Attributes:
Physical:
Strength: F+
Speed: F- > F
Agility: F > F+
Stamina: E- > E
Mental:
Focus: F+ > E-
Resilience: E- > E+
Discipline: E+
Technical:
Positioning: F > F+
Defensive Awareness: F- > F+
Game IQ: F- > F
Standing Tackle: F+
Interception: F- > F+
Jumping: F+
Heading: F
Passing Accuracy: F- > F
---
Clearly, these improvements weren't just due to the system's simulation training but also from the accumulation of last week's daily training. Even so, Cleiton was surprised by the progress, especially in his mental attributes, all reaching rank E. Beyond his mental attributes, his technical skills had also shown impressive advancement, especially in defensive awareness and interception, both jumping from F- to F+.
Observing his remarkable progress from just one week of training, Cleiton couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Yet, routine is relentless, and he had to get moving if he wanted to accomplish all the day's goals.