[Quest Completed]
[Reward Granted]
[User Has Received New Attribute: Football Insight]
'Football Insight?'
At the end of the match, the newly awakened students outperformed their own expectations. The match ended in a 2-2 draw, a shocking result that humiliated the seniors. Not only did they fail to score any goals in the second half, but they also conceded two goals, which was truly surprising.
Even the coach was dumbfounded, unsure of how to react. However, the most surprised were Emmy and his players.
Their initial goal had been to stop the seniors from scoring while trying their best to score a single goal themselves. But they never imagined they would completely prevent the seniors from scoring and even manage to score two goals.
They couldn't believe it.
But their unexpected performance came thanks to one person.
The brown-haired boy, Fred.
Emmy had approached Fred to use his ability on the team, and the initial plan was for Fred to activate his ability when everyone was exhausted. However, after activating his ability at the start of the second half, Fred never deactivated it.
As a Level Four ability user, using his ability on so many people would drain his Energy Points quickly, leaving him with only a dozen minutes or so. They decided to take advantage of that window and played aggressively, managing to score a goal before Fred's Energy Points ran out.
But what they didn't expect was that Fred had a bottle of energy-boosting pills. These pills temporarily restored Energy Points for a few minutes. With an entire bottle of them, Fred was able to maintain his ability until the match ended.
This was both surprising and suspicious to Emmy. Just one of those pills was extremely expensive, and Fred had used an entire bottle. Emmy didn't even want to imagine how much they had cost. Why would Fred spend so much on them just for this match?
Emmy wondered.
But soon, he found out.
After the match ended, the coach applauded and encouraged them. He pinpointed the seniors' flaws and explained how their arrogance had led to their downfall. He went on to analyze the match, highlighting Emmy and his team's strategy.
While the coach was busy talking, Emmy noticed Fred sitting apart from the group, almost as if he was trying to get close to him. Seeing the opportunity, Emmy approached Fred to ask his question.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Emmy asked.
Fred stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. He looked pale, with exhaustion clearly written on his face.
"I mean, why did you use all those energy pills to help us? I'm sure you've been saving them to help your friends in a tough spot. So why use them on us?"
"They're not my friends!" Fred replied, his voice loud and filled with pain.
They were both sitting at the back, so only a few people could hear Fred's words. Of course, Emmy knew Fred was treated differently by his group. To them, he was almost like an asset. Emmy could see it in the way they treated him, but it wasn't Emmy's problem, so he didn't interfere.
"Yeah, I know they're not your friends. I know you're forced to hang out with them, and I know they bully you as well as protect you from others. But my question is, why waste your precious pills on us? The match wasn't that important—we just wanted to put on a show."
Emmy spoke directly.
"Because... because I want to be your friend," Fred replied.
Emmy chuckled softly, finding the words amusing.
"You want to be my friend? Ha ha ha, that's something I've never heard before!" Emmy couldn't help but laugh.
Fred ignored his laughter and said, "Since coming to this school, apart from Eric, you're the only Year 2 student I've seen who isn't scared of Blake. You're the only one who talks back to Blake confidently. Not only that, but you even talk back to Eric and stand your ground against him.
"Even Blake bows down to Eric and follows him because Eric is stronger. Blake only respects strong people.
"I've also noticed that the other players listen to you naturally. Even though they're all Eric's subordinates, they still listen to you on the field. So, I thought you must be stronger than both Blake and Eric. I wanted to gain your favor."
Fred looked away in embarrassment as Emmy laughed again.
"No, you must be mistaken," Emmy said. "I'm probably the weakest person on the team. I can't even defeat an ant, and my ability is only at Level One. I'm—"
Fred interrupted, "Then why are you so confident in front of Blake? That guy is brutal and ruthless; he won't let you off."
Emmy smiled again. "Because he can't do anything to me. Eric won't let him."
"You seem too confident. Why would Eric stop him from touching you? Even Eric wanted to beat you earlier, so what are you saying?" Fred asked, his tone panicked.
Emmy smirked. "He's all talk. He'd never touch me because I have people stronger than him protecting me."
Fred looked at him for a while, unsure of what to say. Eventually, he spoke.
"Who knows. I only joined Blake's group because he's strong and people are scared of him. He only accepted me because of my support ability.
"But in return, I had to give him not just my ability but also my money, all while being bullied by them. I had no choice but to do whatever they asked. With me around, they'd challenge anyone without a second thought and come out unscathed. But today, we were all defeated by Eric alone. Then Blake bowed down to Eric and started following him."
Emmy was shocked. So Eric had just met these newcomers today, and they already respected him enough to follow him.
'It's true—the strongest rule,' Emmy thought.
"Seeing you stand against both of them so confidently, I thought you must be strong. And I noticed that you're a person of justice. That's why I didn't hesitate to use the entire bottle of pills on you. But now, if Blake finds out, he'll definitely break my arm," Fred said dejectedly.
"Well, now that you know I'm weak, you should go back to them. If you're scared of Blake, you should hang around Eric. He doesn't tolerate bullies.
"Although that bastard is ruthless and brutal, he won't bully the weak, especially his subordinates. He only hates me because I refuse to be one of them and because of a friend of mine he wants to get close to."
Fred thought about it for a while, then nodded. Just as he was about to speak, the coach's voice came from the front.
"Fred, you were a great asset in this match, so prepare yourself for Friday. Don't be timid," the coach said as he stood up.
"Till tomorrow, then. You're dismissed."
'Huh? Tomorrow? Has the training schedule changed? And what's happening on Friday?'
Emmy thought, realizing the consequences of not paying attention to the coach's speech.