As the coach spoke, Eric and his group got into position at the side of the pitch and began their race. Emmy couldn't help but laugh out loud as many of them collapsed after completing only two laps. Some managed to finish three laps before giving up, while only a handful completed four laps, with a couple pushing through to five laps.
"At least I'm not hopeless,"
Emmy muttered, watching as they started falling one after the other.
Eric, on the other hand, lived up to his name and completed the ten laps he was given. Emmy couldn't help but applaud him.
"I hate to admit it, but that bastard is good."
Although ten laps were merely child's play for those who had awakened some time ago, apart from the new ability users, every student on the pitch could complete ten laps with relative ease. However, Emmy still hoped Eric would fail, to humiliate him.
The coach conducted a quick screening of the newcomers, then had them join the cone ball drill. After a while, he ordered everyone to stop.
"We still have a lot of time before school closes, so I want you all to rest before starting the next training. We'll be using the full field now,"
Coach Enzo said as everyone sat on the pitch in front of him, beads of sweat rolling down their faces as they breathed heavily.
"The next training is a match among yourselves,"
The coach continued.
"It will be between you new ability users and your seniors. This match is not just for the seniors to display their skills and dominate the field but mainly for you new ability users to push your powers to the limit. Give your seniors a hard time, even if it's your first time playing with your abilities. The purpose of this match is not for you to win, and it's not for you not to lose. The main purpose is to show great determination when facing strong opponents. You can conceed as many goals as you want, but you must give them a tough match."
He separated them into two groups: the new ability users to the left and the old ability users to the right. He referred to the latter as seniors because they naturally had more experience with their abilities than those who had just awakened—unless there was a talented one among the newcomers who could outshine them.
The newly awakened students were fewer than the seniors, they're 19 in total, while the seniors numbered twice as many.
"As you can see, they are not only more experienced than you but also outnumber you. They'll be more versatile with substitutes. So you guys are naturally at a disadvantage. Some of you might be naturally gifted football players, but against experienced ability users, even with just a year of experience, you're no match.
"I'm sure you've realized this during our training in the past. But today, I want you to push your abilities to the fullest and make a change. They won't be holding back for you guys like they have in the past."
The coach then stared at the tallest boy among the seniors before shifting his gaze to Emmy.
"In this match, I'll only spectate and officiate. Karim will be in charge of the senior team, while Emmy will captain the newbies."
Karim was the team captain and also the tallest player in the school team. He would be in charge of the old ability users, while Emmy would lead the newly awakened students. It had always been like that in the past before Emmy and the others awakened.
"I'll give you ten minutes to set up,"
The coach said, moving back to sit down while the two teams prepared.
Now that everyone had awakened, choosing who would play and their positions would be a challenge for Emmy. He knew the positions every single player in his team played, but now that they had all awakened, it would be different. Thankfully, he had observed all of them using their abilities during the ball work training, so he could work with that.
Emmy cleared his throat and said,
"Henry, you and I will be at the center as usual. Caren will be behind us. You will strike, and you and will..."
He began choosing players and setting the formation while also assigning roles. They decided on a 4-3-3 formation. The three players at the front were speed and spatial ability users. The two players with Emmy possessed flame and lightning abilities, respectively, while the defenders had strength-related abilities and one elemental ability. However, all of them were at a low level and relatively weak.
"Hey," o
One of the boys who had come with Eric earlier said, walking over to Emmy. He was the same boy who had called him a bastard earlier and one of the newly recruited students.
"Just because you're the captain here doesn't mean you can do as you please. Tell me why you decided to bench all of us who just joined the team. Is any of you better than us? And you claim to have a speed ability, but you never showed it, even during training."
The boy complained aggressively, clearly annoyed.
Emmy smiled as he folded his arms. He had indeed chosen the players he knew from the team and benched all the newly recruited students. Not only were they new and unfamiliar with how the team played, but it would also be difficult to cooperate with them as they hadn't played together before. Emmy knew the capabilities of everyone he had chosen, and they all knew each other well. They cooperated effectively on the field, even though they didn't get along with him off it. So it wouldn't make sense to start the newcomers.
More importantly, these players were Eric's minors, and who knew what could happen on the field? Although everyone Emmy had chosen was also one of Eric's minors who had abused him together with Eric, they cooperated well on the field. Emmy wasn't taking any chances.
"I never said you guys aren't playing. You're just on substitution, and you can use that chance to watch closely how we play so you won't make any mistakes when you come in—if there's a chance of course."
Emmy said with a smirk before walking back to the coach. The others followed him.
The seniors had also finished preparing and returned to the coach.
"Now, get into position. It's the usual one hour: thirty minutes each half,"
The coach said, and everyone took their places on the field.
'Wise kid,' the coach thought upon seeing that Emmy hadn't replaced his players with the newcomers. Although some of the newcomers possessed strong abilities that could increase their chances, Emmy had stuck with the players he knew.
'He followed the saying: the devil you know is better than the angel you don't know,'
Coach Enzo smiled, then blew the whistle.